Merry Christmas everyone. I got a lovely pair of socks again. Wizards have done it again as they do every quarter. Just as my Magic addiction mellows they preview something that puts a bump in my pants. On Christmas day they gave us a sneak peak of a new planeswalker that strikes home.
Kiaora, the Crashing Wave
I’m half Maori, but I don’t speak it, much. For those of you in the ‘not know’, Maori are the semi native people of New Zealand and Kiaora is the greeting, like ‘Hello’ or ‘Good day to you, sir’. As a kid, after playing a mini game in Final Fantasy VIII called Triple Triads, I was addicted. I drew up cards of the old stories of Maori Gods and wished that a company would produce something of that type. Ranginui – The Sky Father, Papatuanuku – The Earthen Mother, Maui – The Half God, Hinenuitepo – Gatekeeper of the Underworld all peaked my imagination. The stories were as great as any mythology in this world and although Kiora is not from myth or legend, she is of Maori origin, full name being Kiora Atua. The designer took the meaning of the word Kiora or ‘well being’ and ‘Atua meaning ‘god’, put them together and gave that name to her. Unfortunately for New Zealanders, when you put those two words together (Kiora Atua), it means “Hello, God” in a kind of casual way; like “Yo, God”.
Either way, it’s good to see some Maori in Magic. Come to think of it, there was a card way back in Mirage that has Maori decent. Taniwha, the river dragon. I think in those days, Magic was still in its infancy. They designed the set, then decided to give it an African theme, thus giving birth to Teferi and other cool ideas. In doing so, the poor little Taniwha from New Zealand must have lost its bearings and wound up in African waters. They released the card anyway.
Without further ado, I wish you all the very best for the rest of the year and an enlightening start to a merry 2014. Here’s a little something Mr. Scott M. Fischer left for everyone.
MTG Zoo 