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MTG enthusiasts often adopt tribe-based tactics — what player hasn't built a zombie strategy at some point? — and this new ATLA crossover set brings back two well-known examples that fit perfectly with the theme.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The initial ability, named "Ally," first introduced with the Zendikar and gives bonuses each time more creatures bearing the Ally type come onto the battlefield.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based type which originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, these enchantments also become strength when a player owns additional Shrines in play.

The Comeback of the Ally Ability

Although Shrine cards have been appeared occasionally across recent releases, the Ally mechanic has been far less common — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this feature gets heavily featured.

Aang must gather numerous allies on his journey to bring back balance across the four nations, and it's no more fitting method to represent this in an Magic set.

Revealed Cards Showcase

After its initial card announcement, below is previews at one Ally plus one Shrine card from the new ATLA release.

Teo: A Beloved Character

This character stands as one popular minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom that lived in the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined by a flood, an event that left him paraplegic.

Because of his dad's prowess in engineering, he is able to glide in the air with his glider, even dares Aang in an aerial race.

The card Teo reproduces his passion for the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders by allowing you draw and discard whenever you attack using an airborne unit, and also boosting your team via +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: The Powerful Shrine

Regarding his home, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total when coming into play, depending on the number Shrine cards you control.

The card furthermore drains one more life whenever a Shrine enters the battlefield.

This appears to be an impactful card, given the card's cheap mana cost and good ETB effect.

A major drawback for Shrine decks in formats besides Commander is that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is great when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

A Timely Collaboration

Currently when Universes Beyond products are receiving significant backlash by the community, an iconic franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly what MTG requires.

Spoiler season is already here, with the full set set to be released on Nov. 21.