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Magic: The Gathering fans consistently enjoy tribal tactics — what player has not constructed an elf deck once or twice? — while this upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set revives two popular examples that match seamlessly to its theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Abilities

One first mechanic, named "Ally," first introduced in a Zendikar set and grants buffs each time additional permanents with the Ally type come onto the battlefield.

Meanwhile, "Shrine" represents another enchantment type which first appeared in Kamigawa. While not a creature tribe, Shrines likewise become strength when you controls more Shrines on the battlefield.

A Return of the Ally Ability

While Shrine cards have shown up occasionally in recent sets, the Ally subtype has been seldom seen — until that changes with ATLA, in which this mechanic gets central.

The protagonist Aang has to gather numerous friends on the journey to bring back balance to the four nations, and there's no better method to show this in a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Exclusive Cards Preview

After the first set reveal, below is a look of one Ally and one Shrines card from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender release.

Teo: A Beloved Figure

This character is one popular minor character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy from Earth Kingdom that lived in an Air Temple following his village was ruined in a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Due to his father's expertise with engineering, Teo is able to fly in the air with his glider, and challenges Aang in an aerial contest.

This card Teo reproduces his love for flying along with the Earth Tribe's use of gliders through letting the player loot whenever you attack with a flying unit, and additionally strengthening your creatures with +1/+1 counters at the same time.

The Temple Card: A Strong Shrine Enchantment

Regarding his dwelling, it appears as a card named The Northern Air Temple, which drains an opponent's life total when entering play, based on how many of Shrines you have.

The card furthermore removes one more life whenever another Shrine enters the field.

It looks like a powerful card, considering its low mana cost plus valuable ETB effect.

One big weakness of Shrine decks outside of EDH are that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple is effective when paired alongside another Shrine, that drains every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Crossover

At a time while Universes Beyond sets have been garnering a lot of criticism by fans, an iconic franchise such as Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely what MTG needs.

Preview period has begun, and the full set will be released on Nov. 21.