Bird is the Word

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Here in Central Ontario, Canada, the weather is absolutely lovely and as we head into the weekend, more unseasonably warm weather is on tap.  This Saturday at OMG! Games in Barrie is a Modern tournament for cash and credit and the doors will likely be wide open to take advantage of the nice weather.  Also of interest is that a lot of the migratory birds are postponing their trek south for the time being until winter closes in.

Speaking of birds, we want to yatter about birds, or quite specifically Aven for today's article on MTG Realm.  Why?  In our recent article covering the key art for the upcoming Amonkhet set, among the ancient Egyptian themed therianthropic characters there appeared to be an Angel, or an Aven or perhaps an altogether different creature.  Our betting money is on an Aven.

In Magic: the Gathering, Aven are sentient, anthropomorphic bird creatures found on a number of different Planes of existence.  There was quite a strong showing of Aven on the Dominarian southern continent of Otaria.  Otarian Aven resemble humanoid eagles, possessing  arms, legs, and powerful flight wings and in most cases to be part of a military order.  Some of the Otaria Aven appeared more Owl-like in nature, similar to some habitating the (Bant) Shard of Alara and other Planes.  

Other Aven don't appear as majestic, and in some cases, just kinda scary.  The vulture-like Aven scavengers of Kathari fit quite nicely in the Shard of Grixis, and share some characteristics of the crookclaw Aven on Otaria.

On Tarkir, each Aven being takes on characteristics associated with the Clan they belong to.  The wizard-like Jeskai Aven, the brave and noble houses of the Abzan or the darker most sinister Aven with the Sultai Brood.  

It seems for the most part, the Terran idiom 'birds of a feather flock together' do not hold true with the greater Multiverse.

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