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Magic: The Gathering fans often enjoy tribal strategies — what player hasn't built a goblin deck at some point? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives two beloved mechanics that align perfectly to its setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first mechanic, called "Ally," was introduced in a Zendikar and gives boosts each time additional permanents bearing the Ally type come onto play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is another enchantment type that originated with Kamigawa. While not a creature tribal theme, these enchantments also gain power as a player has additional Shrines on the battlefield.

A Return of Allies Mechanic

Although Shrines have shown up occasionally across recent sets, Allies subtype has been much rarer — but this changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature is heavily featured.

Aang has to assemble many friends during his quest to bring back peace across the four nations, and it's no more fitting way to show that through a Magic set.

Exclusive Card Showcase

After its first card announcement, here are a look of one Allies plus one Shrine cards in the upcoming ATLA release.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

This character is a beloved supporting character in ATLA, a boy from the Earth Tribe who resided at an Air Temple following his village was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Because of his dad's skill in mechanics, he is able to soar in the air using a flying device, and dares the Avatar in a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his love of flying along with his tribe's reliance on flying machines by letting the player loot whenever you attack using an airborne creature, while additionally boosting your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, this is represented in the card The Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life when entering play, based on the number of Shrines you control.

It furthermore removes one more life whenever another Shrine enters the field.

It appears to be a powerful addition, given the card's low mana cost and valuable ETB effect.

A major weakness of Shrine decks outside of EDH are the fact that these cards are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple is great when paired alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while Universes Beyond products are garnering significant criticism from the community, an iconic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, with the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.