It's the emoji that the ":)" that makes this particular maybe rather cheeky.
He adds that to the end of every "maybe". It's practically his trademark at this point.
OT: Signs point to "yes". The design similarities are too glaring to be accidental. As others have pointed out, Ashiok has some slight differences too. My guess is that they made some sort of demonic deal (hence the horns) in return for extended/eternal life.
Yeah but mechanicaly they both exile cards and let you play them from there. I don't know what colours ætherborn are assosiated with, but it could fit red's 'impulse draw' very good.
Do you think chandra has some ætherborn somewhere in her ancestry? Her hair is always litt with red mana.
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I have dyslexia, no I am not going to spell check for you, yes you have to live with the horrors of it.
Yeah but mechanicaly they both exile cards and let you play them from there. I don't know what colours ætherborn are assosiated with, but it could fit red's 'impulse draw' very good.
Do you think chandra has some ætherborn somewhere in her ancestry? Her hair is always litt with red mana.
Aetherborn are in black. They are a new race exclusive to black according to the show at PAX.
I'm sure they can be multicolored though like Ashiok being Dimir in color.
Red also got an exclusive new creature type called Gremlins and they eat artifacts by breaking them down with acid.
White is bringing back Dwarves.
Do you have a link to the presentation? I missed it.
I'm still watching it live. (Technically I'm behind because I started watching late and drug the Youtube slider back to the start so I'm like way behind)
It was the opening of the World Championships
If it is live, just drag the slider back to the start to watch the PAX presentation.
If it is not, it should be up on their Youtube page sometime tonight or tomorrow.
The panel refers to Gonti as "They" for it's pronoun. Akin to the genderless Ashiok. That's what pushed me well into believing it is an Aetherborn from Kaladesh.
Didn't all the Elder Dragons come from prehistoric Dominaria?
I don't know if it's technically "prehistoric", but yes, the original five Elder Dragons all came from ancient Dominaria. Nicol Bolas is from Dominaria.
Also, pretty sure Ugin is from Tarkir. First, he's been referred to as the soul of the plane of Tarkir, and Tarkir was slowly dying after he died (in the original Khans timeline). Second, planeswalkers pre-mending were pretty protective of their home plane, as Ugin was back in some of those older stories. Ugin's from Tarkir.
Do you think chandra has some ætherborn somewhere in her ancestry? Her hair is always litt with red mana.
Uh, sure, that's definitely what's going on with that.
On some of the forums there are those who thinks that Chandra swings both ways, if you know what I mean. I would think æthersword would have a bigger tendensy to do that. (This is purly speculation on my part. They might prefer one or the other.) So it might be in her bloodline.
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I have dyslexia, no I am not going to spell check for you, yes you have to live with the horrors of it.
Maybe, but other than the wispy black smog stuff, I don't think Ashiok really resembles any of the concept art of the Aetherborn. Ashiok's face (what's left of it) looks distinctly humanesque, while the Aetherborn's faces all look very alien with their strange mouths and very craggy, jagged skin. They also have those disjointed arms that looks like they've been severed and are being held in place with aether, where Ashiok has fairly normal appendages. Ashiok also has the whole thing with half of his head being missing and those large horn things on either side of what's left of his head. The Aetherborn, from what I've seen, lack those horns. I wouldn't rule it out, but I think they're going to have to explain why Ashiok looks so different from your average Aetherborn if he/she/it is one.
Do you think chandra has some ætherborn somewhere in her ancestry? Her hair is always litt with red mana.
Uh, sure, that's definitely what's going on with that.
On some of the forums there are those who thinks that Chandra swings both ways, if you know what I mean. I would think æthersword would have a bigger tendensy to do that. (This is purly speculation on my part. They might prefer one or the other.) So it might be in her bloodline.
Given that they are beings made of Aether and Aether byproducts, with incredibly short lifespans, and no gender, they probably can't interact with humans in that way. And likewise, humans as the one race explicitly stated to not be affected by aether biologically, probably couldn't reproduce even if they could interact with the Aethersworn in that way.
As for the finger thing that people keep mentioning: Ashiok has really long fingernails, and they are very distinctly fingernails. The Aetherborn have claws. There is no discernible difference between the tip of the finger and tip of the nail on them.
Ashiok literally has the same skin and anatomy as that aetherborn concept art, tI the point where if we were shown that art out of context, 100% of people would think that it's Ashiok
Ashiok literally has the same skin and anatomy as that aetherborn concept art, tI the point where if we were shown that art out of context, 100% of people would think that it's Ashiok
Its not even supposed to be ambiguous
Given the Aetherborn don't have ears, fingernails, humanoid lips, or horns, and that Ashiok doesn't have skin like broken marble, and glowing segments of Aetherial energy (the blue bits) maybe it's not as unambiguous as you think?
Didn't all the Elder Dragons come from prehistoric Dominaria?
I don't know if it's technically "prehistoric", but yes, the original five Elder Dragons all came from ancient Dominaria. Nicol Bolas is from Dominaria.
The Elder Dragons predate Dominaria. Dominaria is just their favorite stomping grounds. We don't actually know where they're from.
On some of the forums there are those who thinks that Chandra swings both ways, if you know what I mean. I would think æthersword would have a bigger tendensy to do that. (This is purly speculation on my part. They might prefer one or the other.) So it might be in her bloodline.
Oh, good, you're using fanon to support your theories. That's not a bad idea or anything...
Didn't they say in their presantation that they invented the Aetherborn solely fpr the purpose of black having something besides necromancy on Khaladesh? So the only thing that could be true is that they put Ashiok after inventing the aetherborn to be an aetherborn. Because they said that they sqeezed in little bits of Khaladesh into Origins, but that they weren't sure how things would be laid out at this point. Think they had not invednted the aetherborn at that point. But that cannot stop them from saying ashiok is one now, because they can say everything
So what, exactly, is the origin of an Ætherborn? Is it created from leftover æther, or is it actually literally "born" as a biological being?
Because beings that are created, such as angels and demons, cannot naturally possess a planeswalker spark. They would need to obtain a spark through other means, such as Karn using the Mightstone and Weakstone.
Furthermore, Ætherborn have very short lifespans that only last a few years at most. A spark no longer keeps a planeswalker alive indefinitely, nor does it greatly extend a planeswalker's lifespan, so Ashiok would need to find a way to circumvent this as well.
The problem with defining this format by what is "fun" is that everyone seems to define fun as what they don't lose to. If you keep losing to easily answered cards, that means you should improve your deck. If you don't want to improve your deck, then you should come to peace with the idea that you are going to lose because you chose to not interact with better strategies.
Didn't all the Elder Dragons come from prehistoric Dominaria?
I don't know if it's technically "prehistoric", but yes, the original five Elder Dragons all came from ancient Dominaria. Nicol Bolas is from Dominaria.
Nope, go to Bolas wiki page, lists his home plane as unknown as says he fought with a demon leviathan in a "still young" Dominaria and that it was t he first planeswalkers battlefield on said plane. Points to Bolas and his kinds pre-dating Dominaria.
Also, pretty sure Ugin is from Tarkir. First, he's been referred to as the soul of the plane of Tarkir, and Tarkir was slowly dying after he died (in the original Khans timeline). Second, planeswalkers pre-mending were pretty protective of their home plane, as Ugin was back in some of those older stories. Ugin's from Tarkir.
This is competely...coreect. From the Tarkir planeswalker guild;
Fate will not be kind to Sorin's quest. Although Ugin was native to Tarkir and a source of powerful magic on the plane, the dragon was killed long ago.
“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
So what, exactly, is the origin of an Ætherborn? Is it created from leftover æther, or is it actually literally "born" as a biological being?
Because beings that are created, such as angels and demons, cannot naturally possess a planeswalker spark. They would need to obtain a spark through other means, such as Karn using the Mightstone and Weakstone.
Furthermore, Ætherborn have very short lifespans that only last a few years at most. A spark no longer keeps a planeswalker alive indefinitely, nor does it greatly extend a planeswalker's lifespan, so Ashiok would need to find a way to circumvent this as well.
Well, he feasts on the dreams of the living to live himself Wouldn't that be nice? The tragedy of the existence being aetherborn?
//edit: But I actually don't think he is an aetherborn.
So what, exactly, is the origin of an Ætherborn? Is it created from leftover æther, or is it actually literally "born" as a biological being?
From the races segment of the story/planes page for Kaladesh:
Aetherborn came into being spontaneously as a byproduct of the aether refinement process.
So they seem to be artificially created, though by accident.
Personally, I don't see how Ashiok resembles an Aetherborn in more than vague appearance. As soon as you take a look at the face, all similarities end - the well defined mouth and ears look nothing like the protoss-like, featureless aetherborn.
Weird that this highly discussed thread is over in speculation while the exact same thread in the non speculation storyline thread is getting very little discussion. So I'll reiterate here. What similarities? Gray skin and a wispyness? Lets break down visible differences
Ashiok_________________________Aetherborn
Smooth skin____________________Rough rock like skin
Human like facial feature__________Very alien face
Human like hands________________Claws
Uniform grayness________________Odd blue glowing bits
Body is a single piece____________Some parts are floating nearby
Demon Horns___________________Nothing
So what are the similarities that people are jumping on saying its obvious they are the same because from where I stand its painfully obvious they are different.
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OT: Signs point to "yes". The design similarities are too glaring to be accidental. As others have pointed out, Ashiok has some slight differences too. My guess is that they made some sort of demonic deal (hence the horns) in return for extended/eternal life.
But they represent very different things as far as I can tell.
Gonti's effect seems to represent piracy while Ashiok makes peoples nightmares become manifest.
Do you think chandra has some ætherborn somewhere in her ancestry? Her hair is always litt with red mana.
Aetherborn are in black. They are a new race exclusive to black according to the show at PAX.
I'm sure they can be multicolored though like Ashiok being Dimir in color.
Red also got an exclusive new creature type called Gremlins and they eat artifacts by breaking them down with acid.
White is bringing back Dwarves.
I'm still watching it live. (Technically I'm behind because I started watching late and drug the Youtube slider back to the start so I'm like way behind)
It was the opening of the World Championships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFvJyR97Mic
Here is the link to the live event. I don't know if it is still live though.
If it is live, just drag the slider back to the start to watch the PAX presentation.
If it is not, it should be up on their Youtube page sometime tonight or tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/user/wizardsmtg/videos
Looks they have already broke the PAX show into sections and uploaded it. Lucky You!
Wizards tumblr says that Aetherborn don't use gendered pronouns. Ashiok doesn't either. Looks like pretty strong evidence to me
I don't know if it's technically "prehistoric", but yes, the original five Elder Dragons all came from ancient Dominaria. Nicol Bolas is from Dominaria.
Also, pretty sure Ugin is from Tarkir. First, he's been referred to as the soul of the plane of Tarkir, and Tarkir was slowly dying after he died (in the original Khans timeline). Second, planeswalkers pre-mending were pretty protective of their home plane, as Ugin was back in some of those older stories. Ugin's from Tarkir.
Uh, sure, that's definitely what's going on with that.
On some of the forums there are those who thinks that Chandra swings both ways, if you know what I mean. I would think æthersword would have a bigger tendensy to do that. (This is purly speculation on my part. They might prefer one or the other.) So it might be in her bloodline.
And Ashiok being on Kaladesh right now doesn't necessarily mean Ashiok is in the set.
It's really hard to write about a person without using either sounding stupid or using a pronoun.
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Given that they are beings made of Aether and Aether byproducts, with incredibly short lifespans, and no gender, they probably can't interact with humans in that way. And likewise, humans as the one race explicitly stated to not be affected by aether biologically, probably couldn't reproduce even if they could interact with the Aethersworn in that way.
As for the finger thing that people keep mentioning: Ashiok has really long fingernails, and they are very distinctly fingernails. The Aetherborn have claws. There is no discernible difference between the tip of the finger and tip of the nail on them.
Its not even supposed to be ambiguous
Given the Aetherborn don't have ears, fingernails, humanoid lips, or horns, and that Ashiok doesn't have skin like broken marble, and glowing segments of Aetherial energy (the blue bits) maybe it's not as unambiguous as you think?
The Elder Dragons predate Dominaria. Dominaria is just their favorite stomping grounds. We don't actually know where they're from.
Oh, good, you're using fanon to support your theories. That's not a bad idea or anything...
UWRWorking on: Pyromancer AscensionUR
Because beings that are created, such as angels and demons, cannot naturally possess a planeswalker spark. They would need to obtain a spark through other means, such as Karn using the Mightstone and Weakstone.
Furthermore, Ætherborn have very short lifespans that only last a few years at most. A spark no longer keeps a planeswalker alive indefinitely, nor does it greatly extend a planeswalker's lifespan, so Ashiok would need to find a way to circumvent this as well.
Nope, go to Bolas wiki page, lists his home plane as unknown as says he fought with a demon leviathan in a "still young" Dominaria and that it was t he first planeswalkers battlefield on said plane. Points to Bolas and his kinds pre-dating Dominaria.
This is competely...coreect. From the Tarkir planeswalker guild;
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/planeswalkers-guide-khans-tarkir-part-2-2014-09-10
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Well, he feasts on the dreams of the living to live himself Wouldn't that be nice? The tragedy of the existence being aetherborn?
//edit: But I actually don't think he is an aetherborn.
UWRWorking on: Pyromancer AscensionUR
From the races segment of the story/planes page for Kaladesh:
So they seem to be artificially created, though by accident.
Personally, I don't see how Ashiok resembles an Aetherborn in more than vague appearance. As soon as you take a look at the face, all similarities end - the well defined mouth and ears look nothing like the protoss-like, featureless aetherborn.
W(W/U)U Ephara - Flash & Taxes W(W/U)U || B(B/G)G Meren - Circle of Life B(B/G)G
RGW Marath - Ever shifting Wilds RGW || (U/R)C(W/B) Breya - Artificial Dominion (U/R)C(W/B)
UBR Becket Brass - take what you can, give nothing back UBR
Ashiok_________________________Aetherborn
Smooth skin____________________Rough rock like skin
Human like facial feature__________Very alien face
Human like hands________________Claws
Uniform grayness________________Odd blue glowing bits
Body is a single piece____________Some parts are floating nearby
Demon Horns___________________Nothing
So what are the similarities that people are jumping on saying its obvious they are the same because from where I stand its painfully obvious they are different.