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Magic: The Gathering fans often embrace tribe-based tactics — who hasn't assembled a goblin deck before? — while the new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set brings back 2 popular examples that fit perfectly with the setting.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The first mechanic, called "Allies," was introduced with the Zendikar which provides buffs whenever additional permanents bearing the Ally type enter the battlefield.

Meanwhile, "Shrines" is an enchantment-based type which originated in Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribal theme, Shrines also gain power when a player controls more of them on the battlefield.

The Return for the Ally Mechanic

While Shrine cards have shown up here and there in newer releases, Allies mechanic has been seldom seen — until that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this feature gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang has to gather a lot of friends on the journey to bring back balance to the four nations, and there's no better method to reflect that through an Magic set.

Exclusive Cards Showcase

Following its initial card announcement, below is previews at one Ally and a Shrine cards from the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

This character stands as one popular minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a young man of the Earth Tribe who resided at the Northern Air Temple following his village was destroyed by a flood, an event that left him unable to walk.

Due to his father's expertise with mechanics, he can fly in the air with his glider, even challenges Aang to a flying contest.

The card Teo represents Teo's passion of the skies along with his tribe's use on flying machines through letting the player draw and discard whenever you attack using an airborne unit, and also strengthening your creatures via +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine

Regarding his dwelling, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, that reduces your opponent's life upon coming into play, based on how many of Shrines you control.

It furthermore drains an additional point anytime a Shrine enters the battlefield.

This looks like a powerful card, given its cheap cost plus valuable ETB effect.

A big weakness of Shrine strategies in formats besides Commander is that these cards are always Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is effective when paired alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets are garnering a lot of hate by the community, an iconic franchise like Avatar could be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.

Spoiler season has begun, with the full set will be launched November 21st.