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Magic: The Gathering fans frequently adopt tribe-based strategies — who has not built a goblin deck once or twice? — while the forthcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover release is reintroducing 2 well-known mechanics which fit seamlessly with the theme.

Reappearing Tribe-Supporting Mechanics

The first mechanic, known as "Allies," first introduced with a Zendikar set which grants bonuses whenever additional creatures bearing this subtype come onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, "Shrines" is another enchantment-based type which originated in Champions of Kamigawa. While not a creature tribal theme, these enchantments also become strength when a player controls more Shrines in play.

The Return of the Ally Mechanic

Although Shrines have been shown up occasionally across recent releases, Allies mechanic has been far less common — until that changes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, where the mechanic is heavily featured.

The protagonist Aang must gather many friends during the quest to bring back balance to the world, and it's no more fitting way to show this through a Magic: The Gathering expansion.

Revealed Cards Preview

After its first set reveal, here are a look at an Ally and a Shrine cards from the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Teo: A Fan-Favorite Figure

This character stands as one cherished minor figure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a boy of Earth Kingdom that lived at the Northern Air Temple after his home was ruined by a flood, an event that rendered him paraplegic.

Thanks to his dad's prowess with mechanics, he is able to glide through the skies with a flying device, even dares the Avatar in an aerial race.

The card Teo represents his love of the skies and the Earth Tribe's reliance of flying machines by allowing you draw and discard each time a player attacks using a flying creature, while additionally strengthening your creatures via counters at the same time.

Northern Air Temple: A Powerful Shrine

Speaking of his home, this appears in the card Northern Air Temple, which drains your opponent's life when entering play, based on the number of Shrines you have.

It furthermore removes an additional life whenever another Shrine comes onto the battlefield.

It appears to be a powerful card, considering its low cost and valuable ETB ability.

A big weakness for Shrine-based decks in formats besides Commander are that Shrines are typically legendary permanents, but Northern Air Temple can be great when paired with another Shrine, which drains every opponent at the beginning of your turn.

The Welcome Collaboration

At a time while crossover products have been receiving significant hate by fans, an iconic franchise like Avatar can be exactly just what MTG needs.

Preview period is already here, with all cards will be launched on Nov. 21.