I'm kind of disappointed the Aetherborn are all turning out to be thugs, criminals, etc. I liked how their philosophy was different from the usual "all black characters are criminals and bad guys" shtick they usually assigned black, but it turns out all the Aetherborn are criminals and bad guys anyway. Oh well.
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"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
With the exception of the life-draining card, I don't think the Aetherborn are specifically depicted as "evil". Most cards are related to either their hedonism or creativity, or are neutral.
The Blue/Black one also shows the "patron of the arts" side we were promised.
Yeah, not seeing bad guys. Unlawful sure, but that's not inherently bad, especially when the Consulate has been hinted at as being a bad thing. But really this is the kind of area Black plays in, and when your lifespan can be measured in months it's not really surprising that they are doing unlawful things.
This is not about the story, but more about the flavor of Aetherborn. They have very short life span, so their life's goal tends to be enjoy themselves the best they can, but at the same time recognizing the coming of their end.
This is a side of black I think Wizards doesn't explore as much as they should; tragedy. Just like red is about chaos and emotions, there are very few cards like Feldon of the Third Path that showcases its sympathetic side. With Aetherborn, and the cards that spoiled so far, they have this genuine sorrow embedded into them, a knowing that they will Die Young therefore must Live Fast, which fuels many of their hedonist schemes like Gonti, Lord of Luxury. This direction gives black a more human side, not just pure evil, violence, and corruption that permeates the color pie. Cards like Bereavement also has that tune to it, but Aetherborn takes it further.
I wish Wizards can continue to dish out the less common side of colors. Heliod, God of the Sun being an antagonist as white, and Nahiri, the Harbinger being a antagonist at W/R are both nice additions, I want to see more.
With the exception of the life-draining card, I don't think the Aetherborn are specifically depicted as "evil". Most cards are related to either their hedonism or creativity, or are neutral.
The Blue/Black one also shows the "patron of the arts" side we were promised.
She's not a mere patron, she deals with contraband and thus works directly against the law. She's not even doing it out of moral reasons, like the rebels, she's doing it for her own benefit. While I wouldn't go as far as saying that criminals are inherently "evil" (Glamdring never said evil by the way) I do believe that it disqualifies these individuals from being 'neutral'.
As for your statement that we haven't seen any evil Aetherborn: We have two cards in which an aetherborn is killing or about to kill someone else (Essence Extraction and Underhanded Designs) and we know that Gonti is a crimelord and does deals with Kambal, who himself is corrupt.
I've been reading murmurs about Aetherborn having the latent ability to steal planeswalker sparks, and the possibility of an Aetherborn planeswalker in the next set.
If that's true, then they might become established as another 'villainous' force in Magic lore alongside Nicol Bolas, Phyrexians, and Eldrazi. Of course they're definitely a bunch of sweethearts next to those.
It would make a lot of sense that certain Aetherborn would choose to steal planeswalker sparks to traverse the multiverse and experience different worlds. What Aetherborn wouldn't be tempted if given the opportunity?
It's also a way to get rid of planeswalker sparks and retire characters or nerf them. The Aetherborn are thus functionally a kind of autonomous federal reserve bank for planeswalker sparks.
If this is true, then it's a great development for Magic's story. Maybe one of the greatest.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
Aetherborn with the ability to drain life stealing a planeswalker spark would be interesting.
It's worth noting that Heartstones, which are uncharged powerstones implanted in a living beings, did have the ability to drain away a person's essence, including their spark. Glacian's is lost this way, and it's a matter for debate whether Urza had one of his own or artificially got Glacian's. When Karn got the might and weakstones at the conclusion of the Weatherlight Saga, it's how he became a planeswalker.
I've been reading murmurs about Aetherborn having the latent ability to steal planeswalker sparks [...] If that's true, then they might become established as another 'villainous' force in Magic lore alongside Nicol Bolas, Phyrexians, and Eldrazi.
I think if an Aetherborn stealing a planeswalker's spark ever was to happen (and it'd be pretty cool honestly), then I think it would be more of a one-time story event. Given how important planeswalkers are to the story, I think removing a spark would be presented as being quite difficult, even when you have some innate ability that makes you able to do it.
On a more general note, I'm not that amazed when it comes to Aetherborn as everybody else seems to be. The short lifespan thing has already been done with the Faeries in Lorwyn/Shadowmoor and the 'tragic existence' thing with the Cinders and Returned in Shadowmoor and Theros blocks respectively. The Aetherborn may be more human-like, which makes them more relatable, but I don't think their concept is that 'fresh' overall.
For Faeries, by and large the sense most people have about them is that they're mischievous. And most seem to enjoy their existences on the whole, thriving on the mischief.
Returned are a lost cause. They're undead with consciousness but no capacity for long term memory, which kinda makes them dead twice over. Very tragic but require more development/involvement with other characters to stand.
Cinders were the closest we came, but they are mostly known as a bizzaro/bad end version of the Flamekin, and feel more confined to their bizzaro world setting. Cinders are more about Flamekin than Cinders themselves, if that makes sense.
Besides that is the improved communication of the sympathetic B and [/mana]R[/mana] elements in recent times, this communication also helped by Magic's storyline being featured in short stories rather than those novels they used to do.
You don't call "dying to removal" if the removal is more expensive in resources than the creature. If you have to spend BG (Abrupt Decay), or W + basic land (PtE) to remove a 1G, that is not "dying to removal". Strictly speaking Goyf dies to removal, but actually your removal is dying to Goyf.
I would like to speak to the defense of why it makes perfect sense for why lots of Aetherborn would turn to a life of crime:
Kaladesh seems like a very bureaucratic plane. for a being who only has about 4 years to live at the most, being told "well you need about 3-5 years of experience for this job, and if you get hired you might get a promotion in about 10 years" is going to be met with a resounding "screw that."
Yes, they get around the bureaucracy a bit with the whole inheritance thing, but there's only so much wealth they would be able to get legally. Yahenni was made heir to a fortune that had been accumulated over literal generations from "smart investments." A typical mono-B character isn't going to be satisfied with "oh well maybe another person down the line might benefit from what I'm doing now." They are going to want to do things for themselves right now.
And with a bureaucratic government blocking them at every turn with miles of red tape, it's little wonder that someone would turn to the allure of a life of crime where they can "Live Fast and Die Young" and maybe even get rich doing it. Plenty of real life humans do this with a regular human life expectancy.
"You say 'learn from history,' but that does not mean 'learn the same bull***** the people in history learned alongside phrenology and alchemy.'" - The Blinking Spirit
The Blue/Black one also shows the "patron of the arts" side we were promised.
so basically the aetherborn are this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUYvIAP3qQk
She's not a mere patron, she deals with contraband and thus works directly against the law. She's not even doing it out of moral reasons, like the rebels, she's doing it for her own benefit. While I wouldn't go as far as saying that criminals are inherently "evil" (Glamdring never said evil by the way) I do believe that it disqualifies these individuals from being 'neutral'.
As for your statement that we haven't seen any evil Aetherborn: We have two cards in which an aetherborn is killing or about to kill someone else (Essence Extraction and Underhanded Designs) and we know that Gonti is a crimelord and does deals with Kambal, who himself is corrupt.
Thanks to XenoNinja at Heroes of the Plane Studios for the sig.
If that's true, then they might become established as another 'villainous' force in Magic lore alongside Nicol Bolas, Phyrexians, and Eldrazi. Of course they're definitely a bunch of sweethearts next to those.
It would make a lot of sense that certain Aetherborn would choose to steal planeswalker sparks to traverse the multiverse and experience different worlds. What Aetherborn wouldn't be tempted if given the opportunity?
It's also a way to get rid of planeswalker sparks and retire characters or nerf them. The Aetherborn are thus functionally a kind of autonomous federal reserve bank for planeswalker sparks.
If this is true, then it's a great development for Magic's story. Maybe one of the greatest.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
It's worth noting that Heartstones, which are uncharged powerstones implanted in a living beings, did have the ability to drain away a person's essence, including their spark. Glacian's is lost this way, and it's a matter for debate whether Urza had one of his own or artificially got Glacian's. When Karn got the might and weakstones at the conclusion of the Weatherlight Saga, it's how he became a planeswalker.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I think if an Aetherborn stealing a planeswalker's spark ever was to happen (and it'd be pretty cool honestly), then I think it would be more of a one-time story event. Given how important planeswalkers are to the story, I think removing a spark would be presented as being quite difficult, even when you have some innate ability that makes you able to do it.
On a more general note, I'm not that amazed when it comes to Aetherborn as everybody else seems to be. The short lifespan thing has already been done with the Faeries in Lorwyn/Shadowmoor and the 'tragic existence' thing with the Cinders and Returned in Shadowmoor and Theros blocks respectively. The Aetherborn may be more human-like, which makes them more relatable, but I don't think their concept is that 'fresh' overall.
Returned are a lost cause. They're undead with consciousness but no capacity for long term memory, which kinda makes them dead twice over. Very tragic but require more development/involvement with other characters to stand.
Cinders were the closest we came, but they are mostly known as a bizzaro/bad end version of the Flamekin, and feel more confined to their bizzaro world setting. Cinders are more about Flamekin than Cinders themselves, if that makes sense.
Besides that is the improved communication of the sympathetic B and [/mana]R[/mana] elements in recent times, this communication also helped by Magic's storyline being featured in short stories rather than those novels they used to do.
"OH GOD MY BRAIN IS EXPLOADING AT HOW BAD THE ART IS ON MY OWN CARD"
-A friend's first impression of Ancestral Recall
10/10, I tapped.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Kaladesh seems like a very bureaucratic plane. for a being who only has about 4 years to live at the most, being told "well you need about 3-5 years of experience for this job, and if you get hired you might get a promotion in about 10 years" is going to be met with a resounding "screw that."
Yes, they get around the bureaucracy a bit with the whole inheritance thing, but there's only so much wealth they would be able to get legally. Yahenni was made heir to a fortune that had been accumulated over literal generations from "smart investments." A typical mono-B character isn't going to be satisfied with "oh well maybe another person down the line might benefit from what I'm doing now." They are going to want to do things for themselves right now.
And with a bureaucratic government blocking them at every turn with miles of red tape, it's little wonder that someone would turn to the allure of a life of crime where they can "Live Fast and Die Young" and maybe even get rich doing it. Plenty of real life humans do this with a regular human life expectancy.