Scoop: How Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Brings Back Two Fan-Favorite Tribal Gameplay Features
Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribal tactics — who has not assembled an elf deck before? — and this forthcoming ATLA crossover release revives 2 beloved examples which match perfectly to its flavor.
Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities
The first ability, called "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar set and grants buffs whenever additional permanents with the Ally type enter the battlefield.
On the other hand, "Shrines" is an enchantment-based subtype that originated in Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines likewise become strength when you owns additional Shrines in play.
A Return for the Ally Mechanic
Although Shrines have been appeared sporadically in recent sets, Allies subtype has been much rarer — until that changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic is prominently used.
Aang must gather a lot of allies during the quest to restore peace across the four nations, so there's no better way to show this in an Magic: The Gathering set.
Revealed Card Preview
Following its initial card announcement, here is previews of one Allies and a Shrine card in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.
Teo, Spirited Glider: A Fan-Favorite Character
Teo stands as one popular supporting figure in ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom that lived in an Air Temple following his village was ruined in a flood, which left him unable to walk.
Thanks to his father's expertise in engineering, Teo is able to soar through the skies with a flying device, even dares Aang to an aerial contest.
This card Teo represents Teo's passion for flying along with his tribe's use of gliders by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks with an airborne unit, while also strengthening your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.
Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine
Speaking of Teo's dwelling, it is represented as the card Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life total upon entering the battlefield, based on the number Shrine cards you have.
The card furthermore removes an additional life whenever a Shrine comes onto the field.
It looks like an impactful addition, given its low mana cost plus valuable ETB effect.
A big drawback of Shrine strategies outside of Commander are that Shrines are always Legendary, but this card is effective when paired with another Shrine, which drains all opponents during the start of your turn.
The Welcome Crossover
Currently when Universes Beyond products are receiving significant criticism from the community, a beloved series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly just what MTG requires.
Spoiler season has begun, with all cards set to be launched on Nov. 21.