Exclusive: The Way Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Brings Back Two Popular Tribal Gameplay Features
Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts consistently enjoy tribal tactics — what player hasn't constructed a zombie strategy before? — and the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond release is reintroducing 2 well-known examples that fit perfectly to its theme.
Returning Tribe-Supporting Abilities
The initial ability, known as "Ally," was introduced in the Zendikar set which grants bonuses each time more permanents bearing the Ally subtype enter play.
On the other hand, "Shrine" is another enchantment type which first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribal theme, Shrines also become abilities as a player has additional of them in play.
The Comeback of the Ally Mechanic
While Shrine cards have been shown up occasionally in newer sets, the Ally mechanic was seldom seen — until that ends in ATLA, in which this feature is heavily featured.
The protagonist Aang has to recruit a lot of companions on the journey to bring back peace to the world, so there's no better way to represent that through a Magic: The Gathering expansion.
Exclusive Card Showcase
After the first card announcement, below is a look of an Ally and one Shrine card from the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.
Teo, Spirited Glider: A Beloved Character
This character stands as one cherished minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from Earth Kingdom who lived at the Northern Air Temple after his village was destroyed in a disaster, which left him paraplegic.
Due to his dad's prowess in mechanics, he is able to glide through the skies with his glider, and dares Aang to a flying contest.
The card Teo represents his fondness for the skies and his tribe's reliance on gliders by letting the player loot each time you attack with a flying creature, while also boosting your team via counters at the same time.
Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine
Regarding his dwelling, this appears in the card The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life upon coming into the battlefield, depending on how many Shrine cards you have.
The card also removes an additional point anytime a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.
It appears to be an impactful card, given its cheap cost and valuable enter the battlefield effect.
A big weakness of Shrine-based strategies in formats besides EDH is that Shrines are typically Legendary, however this card can be effective in combination with Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which drains all opponents during the start of your main phase.
The Timely Crossover
At a time while crossover sets have been receiving significant backlash from fans, a beloved series such as Avatar could be precisely what MTG needs.
Spoiler season is already here, and the full set will be launched on Nov. 21.