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MTG players often embrace tribe-based strategies — who has not built a goblin strategy once or twice? — and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release is reintroducing 2 well-known examples that match perfectly to its flavor.

Reappearing Tribal Abilities

The initial mechanic, named "Ally," first debuted in the Zendikar which provides boosts each time more permanents bearing the Ally subtype come onto the field.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" represents an enchantment-based type which first appeared in Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines also gain strength as you controls more Shrines on the battlefield.

The Return for the Ally Ability

Although Shrines have been shown up occasionally across newer releases, Allies mechanic has been seldom seen — but that changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of companions during the journey to bring back balance to the world, and there's no more fitting method to reflect this through a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

Following the initial card announcement, below are a look at one Ally plus one Shrine cards from the new ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character

This character stands as one beloved minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of the Earth Tribe who lived in an Air Temple after his home was ruined by a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Due to his father's prowess in engineering, he is able to fly through the skies using a flying device, and dares Aang in a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider showcases his love for the skies and his tribe's use on gliders by letting the player loot whenever a player attacks with a flying unit, and additionally boosting your creatures via counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: The Strong Shrine

Speaking of his dwelling, it appears in a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life total when coming into the battlefield, based on the number of Shrines you control.

The card also drains one more life anytime another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

This appears to be a powerful addition, given its low cost plus valuable ETB effect.

One big weakness of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be great when paired with another Shrine, that drains every opponent during the start of your turn.

The Timely Crossover

At a time while crossover products have been receiving a lot of backlash by the community, an iconic franchise like Avatar can be precisely just what MTG requires.

Spoiler season has begun, and all cards will be released on Nov. 21.