Scoop: How Magic: The Gathering's Avatar: The Last Airbender Expansion Reintroduces 2 Fan-Favorite Tribe-Focused Mechanics
Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts often embrace tribe-based tactics — what player has not built a goblin deck once or twice? — while the new Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release brings back 2 popular examples that align seamlessly with the flavor.
Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics
One first mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced with the Zendikar which grants buffs each time additional permanents with the Ally subtype come onto the battlefield.
Meanwhile, "Shrines" is another enchantment type which first appeared in Kamigawa. Although not exactly a creature tribe, Shrines likewise become power when you controls more Shrines on the battlefield.
A Return for Allies Mechanic
Although Shrine cards have been shown up occasionally in newer releases, Allies mechanic was much rarer — until this ends with ATLA, in which the feature gets heavily featured.
Aang must assemble a lot of allies during the quest to bring back balance to the world, and it's no better way to show this in an Magic expansion.
Exclusive Card Showcase
Following its first set reveal, here are a look at one Allies plus a Shrines card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.
Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character
This character is a beloved supporting character in ATLA, a boy from Earth Kingdom that resided at the Northern Air Temple after his home was destroyed by a flood, which left him paraplegic.
Because of his dad's expertise with mechanics, Teo is able to glide through the skies with a flying device, even dares the Avatar in an aerial contest.
This card Teo reproduces Teo's fondness for flying along with the Earth Tribe's reliance on flying machines through allowing you draw and discard each time you attack using a flying unit, and additionally pumping your team via counters in the process.
Northern Air Temple: The Strong Shrine Enchantment
Regarding Teo's home, it is represented as a card named Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life total when coming into play, based on how many of Shrines you have.
It furthermore drains one more life whenever another Shrine enters the field.
It appears to be an impactful card, given the card's low cost and valuable ETB ability.
A big drawback for Shrine-based decks outside of EDH are the fact that these cards are always Legendary, however Northern Air Temple can be effective when paired with another Shrine, that deals damage to every opponent at the beginning of your main phase.
The Welcome Collaboration
Currently while crossover products are garnering a lot of backlash from fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar: The Last Airbender can be precisely what MTG requires.
Preview period has begun, and the full set will be released on Nov. 21.