While yesterday’s Aetherdrift stream didn’t feature any new preview cards, it was packed to the gills in other ways. Aetherdrift Worldbuilding Set Lead Miguel Lopez dropped a ton of interesting info on the new set and its worlds. Muraganda was finally confirmed as the third plane, and the stage was very much set for the events of the main story.
As if that wasn’t enough the first part of the set’s Planeswalker Guide also released yesterday, layering even more lore on top. There are tidbits here with big implications for Aetherdrift, including the formal naming of the MTG Shark People. Whether you’re a Vorthos or not, there’s something interesting in here for you.
The Shark People Of MTG Aetherdrift
Yup, you heard that right. Starting with Aetherdrift, MTG officially has a race of humanoid Shark People. Identified in the Planeswalker’s Guide as Chordatans, they will now be a creature that Magic can dip into in the future. For Aetherdrift specifically, they’ll mainly be racing for The Keelhaulers, one of the set’s 10 teams. This is a “rowdy,” “highly-developed” team out of Avishkar.
Interestingly, Chordatans are not actually native to the plane. The Planeswalker’s Guide notes that they “arrived via an instanced Omenpath,” before becoming endemic to the plane’s coastal regions. Thanks to their “strong affinity for aether,” they’ve been able to thrive on the plane. Chordatans reportedly make use of aether both as part of their rituals and as fuel for their vehicles. We can expect a few Energy cards among the new Chordatans in the set, then.
While this is the first time this race has been formally mentioned in MTG lore, we have seen Chordatans before. Two cards, both of which were printed this year, featured humanoid Sharks that clearly fit the bill. These cards are Loan Shark from Outlaws of Thunder Junction and Bigfin Bouncer from Foundations. There are no real mechanical ties between these creatures, but their visual designs do reveal some information about Chordatans.
Both appear to be modeled on different species’ of real-world sharks. Loan Shark resembles a Blue or Great White, while Bigfin Bouncer is more like a Tiger Shark. Factor in the Hammerhead Chordatan pictured in the Planeswalker’s Guide, and it’s clear this new race will be drawing inspiration from all corners of the Shark world.
10 Two-Color Race Teams
The addition of Shark People isn’t the only juicy lore in the MTG Aetherdrift Planeswalker’s Guide. We also got our first look at all 10 Grand Prix teams for the set. While Mark Rosewater has already noted that Aetherdrift isn’t a ‘Faction Set’ in the traditional sense, these teams will all represent two-color groups within it. Here are the 10 teams, and my predictions for which colors they’ll be:
- The Aether Rangers – Avishkar’s representative team. Co-led by Pia Nalaar. Given the Avishkar link, most likely blue/red.
- The Champions of Amonkhet – Amonkhet’s representative team. Co-led by an undead leonin called Zahur and planeswalker Basri Ket. Considering the undead element and Basri’s presence, likely black/white.
- Cloudspire Racing Team – A team from Kylem, winners of the previous year’s Ghirapur Grand Prix. Co-led by Chandra Nalaar. Most likely red/white.
- The Guidelight Voyagers – A fully mechanical team led by a hive mind called the Mendicant Core. Most likely the blue/white team.
- The Speed Demons – A team led by Duskmourn’s Winter and the titular Speed Demon itself, with Loot in tow. Both have been allowed to enter the race by Valgavoth, in hopes of retrieving the Aetherspark to further his plans. Most likely blue/black.
- The Goblin Rocketeers – A team largely made up of speed-obsessed Goblins, co-led by Daretti. Most likely red/green.
- The Alacrian Quickbeasts – A team from the plane of Alacria that races on beasts, not vehicles. Likely green/white.
- The Speedbrood – A team from an untranslatable plane that pilots sentient, insect-like vehicles. Likely green/black.
- The Keelhaulers – The team mentioned above, featuring Chordatans, fishfolk, and humans. Likely green/blue.
- The Endriders – A team from the apocalyptic plane of Gastal, with a serious Mad Max vibe to their visual design. Likely red/black.
New Amonkhet Gods?!
On top of the racing teams and the Shark People, the MTG Aetherdrift Planeswalker’s Guide also threw out one other very spicy little info nugget. In addition to three returning Gods in Hazoret, The Scarab God, and The Locust God, Amonkhet will be getting two brand-new Gods in this set.
These have been named as Sab-Sunen and Ketramose. You can see both in the images above and below. Sab-Sunen is a God of renewal, summoned during the celebrations when the Luxa flooded post-Phyrexia Invasion. She takes the form of a human woman with a frog’s head. Based on her visual design and lore, I’d expect her to be a blue/green hybrid God, possibly with a tie to flood counters. Would be nice for Eluge to have some company in Standard, after all.
Ketramose came into being just after Sab-Sunen, and represents the determination of the Amonkheti people. He carries a bow, and sports a muscular physique and a golden lion’s head. Both of these elements are clear callbacks to Oketra, the now-deceased mono-white God of Amonkhet. For that reason, I’d expect Ketramose to be mono-white too, and to have abilities that care about small creatures getting into combat.
That’s a ton of lore to digest, and a lot to get excited about for Aetherdrift. These are just the juiciest morsels, too: the two halves of the Planeswalker’s Guide have many more tidbits tucked away inside. Have a look for yourself to tide you over until previews start next year.
