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Magic: The Gathering players consistently enjoy tribe-based strategies — what player has not built a goblin strategy at some point? — while the upcoming ATLA crossover release brings back 2 popular mechanics that fit seamlessly with its theme.

Reappearing Tribal Mechanics

The first mechanic, named "Ally," first introduced in the Zendikar set which gives boosts whenever more creatures with the Ally type enter play.

On the other hand, "Shrines" represents an enchantment type that originated with Champions of Kamigawa. While not exactly a creature tribe, these enchantments also gain power when a player controls additional Shrines on the battlefield.

A Comeback for the Ally Ability

While Shrines have been shown up occasionally in newer sets, the Ally subtype was far less common — but this changes with ATLA, where the feature gets heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang has to gather many companions on the journey to bring back peace to the four nations, and there's no better way to show this in a Magic: The Gathering set.

Revealed Card Showcase

After its initial card announcement, here are previews of an Ally plus one Shrines cards in the new ATLA release.

Teo, Spirited Glider: The Beloved Character

Teo stands as a popular minor figure from ATLA, a young man from the Earth Tribe who resided in an Air Temple after his village was destroyed by a disaster, which left him unable to walk.

Due to his dad's skill with mechanics, he is able to fly through the skies using his glider, and challenges the Avatar to an aerial race.

The card Teo reproduces Teo's love of the skies along with the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines by letting you loot each time a player attacks using a flying unit, and additionally pumping your team via +1/+1 counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Strong Shrine

Speaking of his home, it appears in the card Northern Air Temple, that reduces an opponent's life when entering play, based on the number of Shrines you have.

It also removes an additional point anytime a Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

It appears to be a strong card, considering its low cost and valuable enter the battlefield ability.

One major drawback of Shrine-based strategies outside of EDH is the fact that these cards are typically legendary permanents, but this card can be great in combination alongside Sanctum of Stone Fangs, which deals damage to all opponents during the start of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time when crossover sets have been garnering a lot of criticism from fans, an iconic series like Avatar: The Last Airbender could be precisely just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, and the full set will be released November 21st.