Kiora
Kiora is a blue and green-aligned merfolk planeswalker who made her debut in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 [1]. Kiora was born on Zendikar but left when the Eldrazi menace became too great.[2]
History
Kiora venerates the huge monsters of the sea, such as the leviathans, krakens and other denizens of the inky depths. For her these creatures embody the ability to withstand any persistent force: time, water, predation and darkness. She seems calm and wise, but her dreams are as bizarre and alien as the depths from which her creatures rise. [3]
After the Eldrazi began to roam free on Zendikar, Kiora fled, seeking some way to raise enough power to defeat them, believing once more that the masters of the depths are the only creatures strong enough to repel the aetheric parasites. She has traveled from world to world, harnessing the powers of the oceans and gathering as many of its inhabitants to her as possible. In her travels, she made landfall on the shores of Theros and immediately called a gigantic tsunami to her, hoping to attract the attentions of the deep dwellers. It struck the polis of Meletis and caused untold destruction, but she had little concern, only caring if her beacon had been answered. In some ways, it was successful, but it also attracted the Tritons, Theros's native merfolk. They believed Kiora to be an avatar of Thassa and she did little to dissuade them of that opinion, secretly enjoying the attention. However, it is yet to be seen how this ruse shall hold up if Thassa becomes aware of her presence.
In-game references
Represented in:
Quoted or Referred to:
Trivia
- Kiora was originally named "Kiora Atua." Parallels were drawn with the Maori, because in Maori, "Kia ora" is a greeting (meaning "be well") and Atua is the Maori word for "god" or other similar terms such as "ancestor" or "spirit". However, this connection between the planeswalker and the Maori was not intentional. In January 2014, it was announced that "Atua" would be dropped from her name as it was considered inappropriate and offensive by Wizards, as it disrespectfully treads on sincere beliefs. As it stands, Kiora has no official last name.[4] [5]
- The artwork on Kiora, the Crashing Wave references the classic woodcut The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai.
References
- ↑ Doug Beyer (May 25, 2011). "The Grand Mana Tour". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ The Magic Creative Team (January 08, 2014). "Planeswalker's Guide to Born of the Gods". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mike McArtor (March 12, 2014). "Kiora Package". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Error on call to {{WebRef}}: Parameters url and title must be specifiedDoug Beyer (January 15, 2014). "". Tumblr.
- ↑ Error on call to {{WebRef}}: Parameters url and title must be specifiedMark Rosewater (January 22, 2014). "". Tumblr.