Yes, he is able to block once and then die. Which is not a good use of six mana and leaves you in the same place you were before.
Are you making a point here besides gotcha-ing me on semantics? I know you know what I meant, so I'm confused about why you're hanging onto this with such a right grip. Is it furthering the discussion in some way I'm not seeing?
I don't think gotcha-ing you is the point here at all. It actually is about the blocking, because even though it may not be the best play ever to play a six mana blocker that just dies blocking, at least it can buy an additional turn in situations where AEtherling cannot do that. This is something to keep in mind when discussing the pros and cons of various blue finishers, because yes, AEtherling will get the job done faster in many cases and it can attack and block in the same turn sequence, but it simply can't block fliers and it is not a reliable blocker in a tight spot (because if you have to blink it in response to removal, it will not be around to block).
I think we have established that AEtherling is a good offensive creature with many nice interactions. It does have some shortcomings in stabilizing the board in a tight spot though.
I just had an epiphany how insane this card is in a dedicated control deck.
If you get a lot of mana and can effectivly control the board with your other cards, you basically can't lose.
Only takes a few turns to win the game.
This should be an auto include IMO
This is all true and the reason why many in this thread are excited to play with AEtherling. Others, like me for example, are a bit more skeptical. The reason is this:
Consider a game where you play dedicated control. You develop your mana and in the process you take a couple of hits. Say you play a wrath, your opponent plays a new threat and attacks you to 5. Now you play AEtherling and keep U open to save it from removal. You are now dead to Zealous Conscripts, Chandra's Phoenix + Reckless Charge, Thundermaw Hellkite, haste creature + removal spell or removal spell + burn spell.
In other words, the value of AEtherling vs. Sphinx of Jwar Isle for example depends on whether closing out games or staying alive long enough are the more pressing matter for your typical dedicated control deck. I know for us it often is the latter, and there AEtherling is not as good as other options.
I think I still value Sphinx of Jar-Jar higher. He is so thrustworhty. A lot of decks just cannot handle a big flying shroud creature.
To be as thrustworhty I would need to have 7 mana to play this guy.
Sure this guy can bash for 8, but he dodges removal by not dealing combat damage, which kind of sucks. I understand that he has the big upside of surviving Wraths but generally you are the one playing those anyway.
Or even worse, if you need it on defense, a removal spell gets rid of AEtherling for one turn and that might just be enough, considering it is a seven-drop. That is my main issue with the card actually, it will eventually win the game if they don't have Icy Manipulator or something, but can you actually stabilize with it?
Assuming that you mean the same round, that is also true for Aetherling, since you are able to exile it and bring it back untapped at the end of your turn.
Yea that is right, it can also attack and block if you bounce it post-combat main, I missed that. It is still not a reliable attacker/blocker when you need it to be. There are not that many effects that blank it permanently, so that is good, but when the game is tight it sucks that you cannot rely on it to stick around.
I must be a pessimist, but... you want 4UUU available to play and protect this, and even then, whenever you actually have to protect it it is gone for a turn, so when they need to stop it attacking or blocking for one turn, they just need any bounce or removal spell. This card is nowhere near Morphling, the way I see it. Morphling is good because it can attack and block on the same turn and because you can equip it but protect it against targeted removal. This card, on the other hand, is a finisher that will get the job of killing them done, eventually. It is a fragile ally in a race and if you really need a blocker.
It is, however, great with Upheaval, Wildfire and even Jokulhaups, so there is that. But playing this for six mana, leave U up to not have it killed, and then follow that up with another six mana spell better win you the game.
I think we have established that AEtherling is a good offensive creature with many nice interactions. It does have some shortcomings in stabilizing the board in a tight spot though.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
Consider a game where you play dedicated control. You develop your mana and in the process you take a couple of hits. Say you play a wrath, your opponent plays a new threat and attacks you to 5. Now you play AEtherling and keep U open to save it from removal. You are now dead to Zealous Conscripts, Chandra's Phoenix + Reckless Charge, Thundermaw Hellkite, haste creature + removal spell or removal spell + burn spell.
In other words, the value of AEtherling vs. Sphinx of Jwar Isle for example depends on whether closing out games or staying alive long enough are the more pressing matter for your typical dedicated control deck. I know for us it often is the latter, and there AEtherling is not as good as other options.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."
It is, however, great with Upheaval, Wildfire and even Jokulhaups, so there is that. But playing this for six mana, leave U up to not have it killed, and then follow that up with another six mana spell better win you the game.
"What am I looking at? Ashes, dead man."