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Magic: The Gathering players frequently enjoy tribe-based decks — what player hasn't built a goblin deck at some point? — while this forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set revives 2 beloved examples that fit seamlessly with the setting.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

The initial ability, named "Ally," was debuted with the Zendikar set which grants boosts whenever more permanents bearing the Ally type enter the battlefield.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" is an enchantment-based subtype that first appeared in Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly creature-based tribe, these enchantments also become abilities as a player controls additional Shrines in play.

A Return for the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrines have been appeared here and there across newer releases, the Ally mechanic was far less common — until that ends in Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which this mechanic gets prominently used.

The protagonist Aang must gather a lot of friends on his journey to bring back balance to the world, so there's no better method to show this in a Magic expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

Following the first set announcement, below are a look of one Ally plus a Shrine cards in the new Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Fan-Favorite Character

Teo is one beloved minor character from ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that lived in an Air Temple after his village was ruined in a disaster, which rendered him paraplegic.

Because of his dad's expertise in engineering, he is able to glide through the skies using a flying device, and dares the Avatar to a flying race.

The card Teo, Spirited Glider represents his fondness of flying and the Earth Tribe's reliance of gliders through letting you loot each time you attack using a flying creature, and also pumping your team with +1/+1 counters in the process.

Northern Air Temple: The Powerful Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his home, this is represented as the card Northern Air Temple, which reduces your opponent's life when coming into play, based on how many of Shrines you have.

The card furthermore drains an additional point anytime another Shrine comes onto the field.

This looks like a powerful card, given its low mana cost and good ETB ability.

One big drawback of Shrine decks in formats besides Commander are that Shrines are typically Legendary, but this card can be great in combination with another Shrine, which drains every opponent during the start of your turn.

A Welcome Crossover

Currently while crossover sets are garnering significant backlash by the community, an iconic franchise such as Avatar could be exactly just what MTG requires.

Preview period has begun, with all cards set to be released on Nov. 21.