What Makes an Elder Dragon? | MTG Lore

[Music] hey lore lovers my name is eric with the librarians youtube channel with the release of the strix haven set we've been given five legendary elder dragons to complete the entire cycle of two color elder dragons that began with the dragons of tarkir set and increased the total number of dragons across the multiverse that have gained the title of elder to a staggering 15. but what exactly makes an elder dragon what powers do they have at their disposal and where did they come from i thought it'd be the perfect time to answer these questions and more as we explore the history and characteristics of some of the most powerful creatures in magic the gathering but before we begin if you're a fan of lore and storytelling or if magic is dear to you consider subscribing to the channel where lore videos are uploaded frequently the support is much appreciated alright time to consult lost tomes and step into the earliest days of the multiverse as we seek out knowledge of the elder dragons let's dive in the first stirrings of elder dragons began on the plane of dominaria in roughly negative 25 000 ar or nearly 30 000 years ago when the progenitor of dragon kind across the multiverse made its present felt throughout the plane the er dragon the er dragon is the essence of dragon kind a primordial force that is the embodiment of all aspects of the dragon and from which all dragons are spawned it's an avatar from the dawn of time that resides within and across the blind eternities and even within the very fabric of reality for its presence and its force can be felt across the plains the ur dragon's wings spread across eternity its presence stirs the cosmos its claws tear through ether and its eyes penetrate through the wells of the blind eternities to see the deepest truths of the multiverse truly an awesome force as the ur dragon descended upon dominaria the beat of its wings charged magical storms that rolled across the plain from them its children were born the first dragons of dominaria they would grow to become the elder dragons of the plane the elder dragons hatched fully formed and with a developed consciousness from cosmic eggs that fell from the earth dragon the elders of dominaria are the direct offspring of the ur dragon and as such have immeasurable physical and mental ability which separates them not only from other dragons but from the other elder dragons as well they have powers that rivaled pre-mending planeswalkers able to raise cities with a thought burn entire countries to the ground and craft ingenious magical spells though we won't get into the specific history in this video a conflict erupted between the offspring of the ur dragon known as the elder dragon war a four thousand year period that consumed all of dominaria and saw the death or exile of every elder dragon save seven the siblings palladia moores arcade's sabbath chromium rule nikol bolas ugin and their cousins vivikta sasmati and piru these would become the only elder dragons remembered throughout history two of the seven however have not received a printing with a creature-type elder dragon ugin ignited his spark and became a planeswalker with mastery over colorless mana while peeru was slain by dakkan blackblade the remaining five are represented as masters of three colors of mana highlighted in each of their mana costs the elder dragons of dominaria are known as the most powerful dragons to have ever existed due in large part to their deep connection to their dragon they're physically domineering possess a high level of intelligence and are skilled in all aspects of magic two of them in ugin and nicobolos have even been elevated to planeswalker status it's worth noting that in the current day these siblings are the last surviving elders of dominaria their siblings have all met horrible ends but in the aftermath of the war of the spark their fates are forever tied to another as bullas has been stripped of his titles and powers and he's being held prisoner until his death by ugin who has merged his being an essence with that of the meditation realm although their stories are for the most part over the elder dragons will be remembered through the ages the ferocity and machinations both created and destroyed the grandest kingdoms in dominarian mytho history every other dragon of dominaria powerful enough in their own right can trace their ancestry to one of the original elder dragons in fact some dragon broods on other planes can also trace their ancestry to one of the elders [Music] the harsh and unforgiving plane of tarkir where clans fight against one another for survival and where the landscape is enough to kill is deeply connected to the planeswalker ugin the spirit dragon who long ago made tarkir his home ugin's presence was enough to create violent storms that surged across tarkir's surface from which fully formed dragons emerged hungering for both food and power ugin imparted his knowledge of concealment magic and ghost fire on the nomadic clans of the plane to protect them from the dragon broods and tarkir reached a delicate equilibrium this equilibrium was thrown off 1 000 years ago when ugin's brother and fellow plans walker nicol bolas confronted the spirit dragon and killed him with ugin's death the dragon tempest ceased and no new dragons were born the khans of tarkir and their clans rose to power hunting the dragons to extinction this would have been the end of the story with no elder dragons alive on tarkir but sarkanval after having been led to ugin's nexus by the dead planeswalker's voice was transported one thousand years into the past at the pivotal fight between bolas and ugin highlighted in the card crux of fate sarcan preserved the spirit dragon in a healing stasis an action that would have tremendous repercussions for the plane and altered its timeline outright in this new tarkir the dragon storms continued dragon broods constantly emerged and their presence was enough to defeat the cons of old assimilating the clans into their own dragon broods and this is where we find the elder dragons of tarkir they lead their broods and clansmen in a dangerous dance with each other each elder dragon has mastery over two different colors of magic and each holds the title of dragonlord as clan leader they are the black and red aligned dragon lord culligan the red and green aligned dragon lord atarka the green and white aligned dragon lord dramoca the white and blue aligned dragon lord ojitai and the blue and black aligned dragon lord silumgar it's interesting to note that we first witnessed these powerful dragons in their first printings before they were given the title of elder this occurred during the fate reforged set which itself transpired more than 1 000 years ago so we know that they were not only instrumental in the con fall and rise of dragons but they are exceptionally long lived and in the centuries since have earned the claim to elder dragon the elders of tarkir may not be as powerful as those of dominaria but they are peerless within their own dragon broods after all there is a reason why these five lead the clans that hold their namesake each of the elders of tarkir has a unique style of combat and a unique magical breath that is mirrored by other dragons of their broods culligan dragons shoot sparks of lightning ojitai dragons freeze their foes with ice dramoka dragons sear with white hot light cylimguard dragons breathe out acid and toxic fumes and atarka dragons engulf whole fields in wildfire the latest dragons to claim the title of elder and those that complete the cycle of two colored dragons come to us from the mystical plain of arcavios these dragons are the white and black shadrick silver quill the black and green belladrose wither bloom the green and blue tanazir quandricks the blue and red galazath prismari and the red and white villamakus floorhold unlike the other dragons we've discussed thus far the elders of arcavious were neither born directly from the ur dragon nor from its planeswalker progeny rather their eggs were formed in the dawning age of archavios when two separate planes overlapped another in their course across the blind eternities and crashed together in a violent maelstrom of mana that birthed the plane the elder eggs were formed around particularly powerful confluences of ley lines that contained opposing colors of mana and each elder is a representation of this contrasting dichotomy a unique trait of the elders of archavios is their predilection towards the mystic arts and even among other elder dragons they are masters of magic in fact the elders of archavias use their knowledge of magic and mana to end the period of violence and ignorance known as the blood age and beckoned forth the mystic age of the plane to pass down their skills and insight they founded a university where people could practice learn and advance their cultures safely the university became known as strix haven and the elder dragons became known as the founder dragons the founders are aloof and independent they prefer to explore the mysteries of arcadios and seek out their own agendas rather than interact with their university or the races of the plane one point of interest is that the plane seems devoid of dragons outside of the founders this makes it difficult to determine their power in relation to others of their kind perhaps they were born from a rare interaction between the two planes as they merged to form archaeos and that the same conditions can no longer be met or perhaps other dragons did exist in archavios's past but they were hunted to extinction by the founders or other races regardless the elders of stricthaven are powerful and wise many mages seek them out in hopes of answering questions for the ages unfortunately they have little patience for the other races now that we've been introduced to the elder dragons of the multiverse we need to answer the question what exactly is an elder dragon there are several characteristics that separate elder dragons from other lesser dragons and several criteria to be met before one can claim the title of the elder the first being age as the name implies there can be no young elder dragons and although a specific age hasn't been stated the elder dragons are all well over 1 000 years old the original elders of dominaria were at least 20 000 years old the dragonlords of tarkir have survived since before the con fall which occurred a thousand years ago and the founder dragons of arcabios have lived since shortly after the birth of the plane itself at least 3 500 years suffice it to say each of the elders has seen a great deal more days than most other beings the second characteristic of an elder dragon is an innate sense of self and intellect that surpasses many other creatures especially their non-elder counterparts the dragons of several planes know little besides heat rage and hunger roaming swaths of land they carved out as their own territory a trait that disparages them from the elders while it's true some elder dragons are wiser than others all possess a level of insight and reason that exceeds or is on par with other intelligent races they strategize scheme plot and communicate using foresight to prepare for more than just the next meal another trait that sets the elder dragons apart is their mystical prowess and mastery over the colors of mana they represent the elders of dominaria have perhaps the greatest magical ability and are able to tap into three different colors of mana to bring forth powerful spells on their enemies while also bathing them in dragon fire the founders of arcadios may have the most mystical finesse of the elders they were born with an innate sense for magic and have wielded powerful spells their whole lives they've imparted these spells to other races of archavios which are on display in mystical feats of the students attending strix haven university the elders of tarkir can be seen performing counter magic sending out blasts of dark corrosive magic and bolstering the ranks of their allies the final characteristic that makes an elder is the sheer amount of power they possess these magnificent and deadly creatures are the stuff of legend their physical strength magical skill and mental acumen combined to devastating effect and even alone they've been known to match the potential of planeswalkers of old they are leaps and bounds above other dragons of the multiverse and contend with the greatest creatures the planes have to offer they meet their foes with tooth claw and flame making piecemeal of anything that stands in their way although it can be argued that the elders of dominaria are the strongest the power of every elder dragon is immeasurable and only a fool would stand against them from the first stirrings of life on dominaria to the violent dragon tempest of tarkir to the mystical age of arcavios we've looked at the elder dragons of the multiverse what similarities they share and what differences set them apart perhaps we will be witness to more dragons that possess the awe-inspiring power of an elder in the future but for now only a select few have the will and strength required to claim the title of elder dragon thanks for watching this video on the elder dragons of magic the gathering leave a thumbs up if you liked the video and be sure to subscribe to the channel for more lore content and now i want to hear from you let me know your favorite elder dragon as well as suggestions for future videos in the comments below shout out to alex joaquin for the intro and outro music references used can be found in the description until next time go forth and explore the lore foreign

Channel: The Lorebrarians

Views: 19,126

Keywords: Lorebrarians, Dominaria, Strixhaven

Id: xMVGLGqa5X0

Length: 15min 13sec (913 seconds)

Published: Fri May 21 2021

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[u/bluelarios13]

Presentation?

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Their fathers stank of Elderberries! ?