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Magic: The Gathering players often embrace tribal tactics — what player has not constructed a goblin deck at some point? — while this new ATLA Universes Beyond set revives two well-known examples that fit perfectly with the theme.

Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The first ability, known as "Ally," first introduced with the Zendikar set which grants buffs whenever more creatures with this subtype come onto play.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based subtype that originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, these enchantments also become strength as you owns additional Shrines in play.

A Return for Allies Ability

Although Shrine cards have been appeared sporadically in recent sets, Allies mechanic has been seldom seen — but that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must recruit numerous allies during the journey to bring back peace to the four nations, and it's no better method to represent that in an Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following its first card reveal, below is a look at an Allies and one Shrine cards from the upcoming ATLA set.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Character

This character is one cherished supporting character from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided at the Northern Air Temple following his village was ruined in a flood, which rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his dad's expertise in engineering, Teo can fly in the air with a flying device, even dares the Avatar in a flying race.

The card Teo reproduces his passion of flying and his tribe's use on flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard whenever a player attacks using a flying creature, while also pumping your team via +1/+1 counters in the process.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of his home, it is represented in a card named Northern Air Temple, that drains your opponent's life total upon coming into the battlefield, based on the number of Shrines you have.

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

This appears to be an impactful card, considering the card's low mana cost and valuable ETB ability.

One major weakness of Shrine-based strategies outside of Commander are that these cards are typically Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, that deals damage to all opponents during the start of your main phase.

The Timely Collaboration

At a time while crossover products have been garnering a lot of hate from fans, a beloved franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be exactly what Magic: The Gathering requires.

Preview period has begun, and the full set set to be launched on Nov. 21.