Reveal: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar Set Revives 2 Fan-Favorite Tribal Mechanics
Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently adopt tribal decks — what player hasn't assembled an elf deck before? — while this new ATLA crossover release is reintroducing two popular mechanics that match perfectly to the flavor.
Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics
The initial mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced with a Zendikar set which gives boosts whenever additional creatures with this subtype enter the field.
On the other hand, "Shrine" represents an enchantment subtype that originated in Kamigawa. While not creature-based tribal theme, Shrines likewise gain abilities as you controls more of them on the battlefield.
The Return for Allies Mechanic
Although Shrine cards have shown up occasionally in newer releases, the Ally mechanic was much rarer — but that ends with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where this mechanic gets central.
Aang has to recruit many friends during his quest to restore balance to the world, so there's no more fitting method to show that through an Magic set.
Revealed Cards Preview
After the initial set announcement, here are previews at an Allies plus a Shrines card in the new ATLA release.
Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Figure
This character stands as a beloved minor character from ATLA, a young man from Earth Kingdom who resided at an Air Temple following his home was ruined by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.
Thanks to his father's skill in engineering, Teo is able to fly through the skies using a flying device, even dares the Avatar to a flying contest.
This card Teo, Spirited Glider represents Teo's passion of the skies along with his tribe's reliance of flying machines by allowing the player draw and discard each time you attack with a flying unit, while also boosting your creatures via +1/+1 counters at the same time.
Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine Enchantment
Speaking of his dwelling, this appears as the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life total upon entering play, depending on the number of Shrines you have.
It also drains an additional point whenever a Shrine enters the field.
It looks like a powerful card, considering the card's cheap mana cost and good ETB ability.
One big drawback of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides Commander is that Shrines are typically Legendary, but Northern Air Temple is effective in combination alongside another Shrine, that deals damage to all opponents at the beginning of your turn.
The Welcome Crossover
At a time while crossover sets have been receiving a lot of criticism by fans, a beloved series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be exactly what Magic: The Gathering needs.
Preview period is already here, and all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.