Dragon's Maze (Baseless Speculation and Spoilers)

[Dudecore]

Complete spoilers Monday, if I am correct.

As for {Ætherling}, I kinda think it misses slightly. You can pump it, but it sorta walks into burn spells - it is awfully expensive to lose value on him. It could be good in Simic paired with {Simic Charm} for either beefing him up more, or dodging removal. It triggers Evolve too. Overall it's the type of creature you'd like to see at that power level, but I wonder if {Prime Speaker Zegana} is a better card for decks that want to curve into something like {Ætherling} - and the more mid-range decks near the end of their curve.

[Silent1236]

You have reminded me that {Gyre Sage} is a real card, DC.  I am starting to like {Ætherling} in a Simic ramp deck.  But that also just reminds me that they printed the easy {Llanowar Elves}-esque dork in Gruul. 

[Falcon182]

Complete spoilers Monday, if I am correct.

As for {Ætherling}, I kinda think it misses slightly. You can pump it, but it sorta walks into burn spells - it is awfully expensive to lose value on him. It could be good in Simic paired with {Simic Charm} for either beefing him up more, or dodging removal. It triggers Evolve too. Overall it's the type of creature you'd like to see at that power level, but I wonder if {Prime Speaker Zegana} is a better card for decks that want to curve into something like {Ætherling} - and the more mid-range decks near the end of their curve.

{Ætherling} should never die as long as you have up {U}... Or am I reading it wrong?

[Quisequise]

Blaze commando and  {Blasphemous Act}

http://mythicspoiler.com/dgm/cards/blazecommando.html

[Dudecore]

You have reminded me that {Gyre Sage} is a real card, DC.  I am starting to like {Ætherling} in a Simic ramp deck.  But that also just reminds me that they printed the easy {Llanowar Elves}-esque dork in Gruul.

The reason I mention it is, all things considered - you drop  {Prime Speaker Zegana}, draw cards and then someone kills it - you got value. You can even use {Simic Charm} to pump up a creature to draw more from Zegana.

Same scenario with {Ætherling}, except you didn't draw cards for it. I dunno. Both have benefits and drawbacks. I like Zegana more here at the 6 spot, because I love drawing cards - I get a profound sense of satisfaction.

[Quisequise]

And all the cards are spoiled as well as Dragon's Maze rulings. They are on the Magic website

[Dudecore]

Complete spoilers Monday, if I am correct.

As for {Ætherling}, I kinda think it misses slightly. You can pump it, but it sorta walks into burn spells - it is awfully expensive to lose value on him. It could be good in Simic paired with {Simic Charm} for either beefing him up more, or dodging removal. It triggers Evolve too. Overall it's the type of creature you'd like to see at that power level, but I wonder if {Prime Speaker Zegana} is a better card for decks that want to curve into something like {Ætherling} - and the more mid-range decks near the end of their curve.

{Ætherling} should never die as long as you have up {U}... Or am I reading it wrong?

You get the end of turn flicker effect. It's nice to dodge things, it's not great to gain tempo off it. If you're losing turns protecting it - it isn't doing that much. It's plus benefit is from flickering Evolve cheaply.

[FlickerYourOwnIdentity]

Plus it can be a sizable threat, imagining {Progenitor Slime}ing that (or at least that's what I think it's called).

Anyway, I love {AEtherling}, I also love some nice {Notion Theif} shenanigans.  {Sign in Blood} goes nice with it.  Put it in grixis with the Izzet champion, which by the way is EXTREMELY underrated, and double up the damage and drawing!

[Coffee Vampire]

The reason AEtherling is so powerful is that if you untap with it, you pretty much win.

***** IF *****

...you are smart. I'll explain. Some people assume it's bad because 8/1 unblockable is fragile, and you lose all of your 5 mana you spent on it and pay a 6th to save it. You just wasted a turn. However, a smart player will only pump it once, if even that, and make it unblockable. Getting in for 5 unblockable every turn is insane. You only have to spend one blue mana aand leave the rest to protect it. Your opponent has maybe 2 removal spells. Big whoop, you probably have over two blue mana sources open.

Let's look at the other things it can do, and compare it to other options.

- You can boardwipe and keep your wincon. Seriously. This is groundbreaking. No other creature lets you do that without help from another card. Untap. Pay {U}. What's your opponent going to do, waste a killspell while you have all the rest of your mana open? No. It will be exiled. Then boardwipe. Then get it back. Welcome to value city.

- Blocks {Thragtusk}, and lives. Just pump the toughness up, and you've got the magic number: 3/6. For a colorless. This is after blocks are declared, so if for some reason you have to exile it, you still blocked.

- Races Obzedat, and wins. Hardly any other playable creature does this. Not even {Thundermaw Hellkite} races obzedat and wins...even if you cast it first! However, AEtherling does. Pump it once, so it's a 5/4. Swing. Exile it. Pass turn.
Obzedat comes in. He swings life 4, by draining for 2. But you have a blocker. You can either pump it's toughness ONCE, and it lives, or just block and exile again.

- A few more things:
It can't be burned, because you can go into negative power to gain toughness.
Avoids sacrifice effects, boardwipes, and targeted removal.

It may effectively cost seven mana, but it wins you the game. And it's 5 bucks right now, I think. Time to get a playset.

Oh and one more thing I would like to touch on:

Creatures in this format are judged by their ETB effect, and that's a fact. AEtherling has none. However, it cannot be removed if you untap with it and don't take chances (pumping to an 8/1...). It can take a hit from any relevant creature in standard, and trades with any relevant creature in standard. So that's why you should not judge this like other cards.

[Silent1236]

The way you just changed my opinion was beautiful, CV.... 

[FlickerYourOwnIdentity]

Thank you for that.  And that is exactly the reason I love this card and, {Supreme Verdict}.  It's a good combo that clears the board, but you keep your creature.  This combo might be able to even race boros aggro (even though we know it won't)!

I'm so happy

[Silent1236]

The problem I'm still seeing is the mana.  6 is a pretty hefty cost. And there isn't much controlling going on for him to be a late game finisher. He doesn't fit that well in midrange due to his lack of ETB effects as well. I definitely like him a lot more now, but I still don't know that he'd be my first pick.

[whitedrake]

All cards spoiled... And I do not know why, but I feel a bit disappointed...

[Coffee Vampire]

Yeah people usually feel disappointed when a set is spoiled, but take heart! Often we confuse our disappointment that the excitement of spoilers is over for not liking the set. Take a good look at the cards and you might start noticing that you like some of what you see!

I just tested a control build on cockatrice. It was fun. I used 12 counters (7 more in the sideboard), 4 {AEtherling}s, {Deathrite Shaman}, and other stuff to build five-color-control. Basically bant splashing black for deathrite (and maybe {Unburial Rites} and {Slaughter Games}, and red for {Counterflux} and {Ral Zarek} and slaughta gamez. {Farseek} is in there too. Basically counter or boardwipe everything that moves until you drop aetherling! Besides lands, the deck is very cheap. Most expensive things are the plainswalkers. The deathrites can be exchanged for {Think Twice}, or whatever utility you need.

[whitedrake]

Of course Coffee you are right and I am not completely disappointed, only a bit... I returned to Magic with RtR after 10 yrs... And RtR seemed to me as a really wonderful set... It was balanced and really well designed... gatecrash did not impress me almost at all.. I know there is a lot of nice cards... But simply in comparison with RtR... (Talking about my personal feelings..)

I expected DGM more balanced than GTC but it simply failed my expectations... Not that the set would be bad... There is quite a lot nice cards... But I am worried that most of them will never see even standard playing...