Thopter
| Thopter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creature Type | |
| (Subtype for creature/kindred cards) | |
| Statistics |
19 cards
 5.3%  5.3%  10.5%  78.9% 46 Thopter creation cards
as of Murders at Karlov Manor 4.3% 37% 17.4% 4.3%  13%  2.2%  4.3% 15.2%  2.2% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| type:"Thopter" | |
Thopter is a creature type used for cards depicting small flying devices. All Thopters are artifact creatures.
The first creature to bear the type was Ornithopter in Antiquities (first printed with the type in Ninth Edition). Other examples include Roterothopter, Thopter Squadron, and Drill-Skimmer.[1]
Storyline
Dominaria
Thopters were among the first devices worked upon by the brothers Urza and Mishra. They started as Thran devices salvaged by Tocasia's team, then the brothers worked on them to make them more efficient and deadly. They were used as transport frequently in the earliest stages of the Brothers' War straight through to the end.
At the time of the Phyrexian Invasion, ornithopters were employed on the flagship Predator.[2]
Fiora
Ornithopters are a common form of clockwork artifact creature created by the Academy of Paliano. In particular, they are popular with young artificers attempting to grab the attention of Professor Muzzio.
Ixalan
The sole known thopter of Ixalan is a Mechanoquetzacama known as a Thopteryx. Its creator, Huatli, likely based it on Kaladeshi design principles learned from her partner Saheeli.
Kaladesh
Aether-fueled thopters are fabricated and used in large quantities on Kaladesh, the home plane of Chandra Nalaar.
Kamigawa
Butterfly-like electronic thopters have been developed by the Saiba Futurists of Kamigawa and are now common in the skies around Otawara.
Ravnica
As head of the Azorius Senate, the planeswalker Dovin Baan introduced thopters for surveillance in Ravnica. After New Phyrexia's invasion of the plane, they filtered down into use by the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations.
Zendikar
The kor of Zendikar are known to manufacture kite-based thopters known as Pilgrim's Eyes to scout the plane's unstable terrain.
Notable thopters
- Dominaria
- Kaladesh
Inspiration
Magic's ornithopters are based on real-world devices of the same name.[3]
Etymology
The word "ornithopter" comes from the French "ornithoptère",[4] itself constructed with the ancient Greek words "ornithos" (meaning "bird") and "pteron" (meaning "wing"). "Thopter" is shorthand for the same word, and it has the same etymology.
Originally, artifact creatures didn't have creature types; later, designers used it as a root word to graft epithet to. Only two fake words were created using the "thopter" basis (Roterothopter and Telethopter), before card names started referring to Thopters directly: Thopter Squadron was the first to solidify Thopter as the generic name for these devices.
| Word | Origin | Etymology | Literal translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ornithopter | Greek | Ornithos[5] + pteron[6] | Bird wing |
| Roterothopter | Latin | Rotarius (lat.[7]) + (orni)tho + pter | Wheel-like bird wing |
| Telethopter | Greek | Tele[8] + (orni)tho + pter | Long-distance bird wing |
Tokens
Tokens marked with 
are created by Acorn cards.
Gallery
-
Thopter concepts by Anthony Scott Waters.
-
Thopter concepts by Anthony Scott Waters.
References
- ↑ Monty Ashley (May 6, 2010). "Ornithopters!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Magic Arcana (October 28, 2008). "Build Your Own Airship!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wikipedia: Ornithopter
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: ornithopter
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: ornithos
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: pteron
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: rotary
- ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: tele
