What Was The Elder Dragon War? A Comprehensive History | Magic: The Gathering Lore

Elder Dragons are by far some of the most powerful creatures in Magic: The Gathering. These ancient beings of size and power date back to the earliest known lore in the game. But why are there so few? What happened to all the Elder Dragons in MTG?
Today we take a look at an event known as the Elder Dragon War. An epic conflict from the earliest recordings of MTG lore. This massive event spanned thousands of years, and resulted in the near destruction of the Elder Dragon race.
What was the Elder Dragon war exactly?
Previous Video:
• What Are Elder Dragons...
This Video Has Been Brought To You By ABU Games:
abugames.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Support on Patreon!
● / aetherhub​​​​. .
Subscribe to my channel!
● / aetherhub​​​​. .
Follow me on Twitter!
● / seibenlore​​​​​​​. .
● / aetherhub​​​​​​​​. .
This video is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC
#mtg #lore #mtga

[@billwallace1177]

You are BY FAR the BEST MTG history/lore content creator. Period.

[@AetherHub]

That’s high praise. Thank you so much 🙏

[@Sephirothstrife-yk8en]

I second this

[@jonathanbenitez6772]

Agreed!

[@dragonballtalk8527]

I like it when the narrator stays behind the slideshow we are here for info and images not people talking into a camera

[@Biggestofoofs]

Palladia: I won the Elder Dragon war. Planeswalker: How? Palladia: I slept through it.

[@KnightsofGaming2016]

For someone who is new to Magic the gathering, your videos are a blessing for me to catch up with the lore

[@AetherHub]

Thank you! It feels good knowing newer players can learn from my videos 😎

[@AetherHub]

If you could share this video, it would be greatly appreciated! I’m loving these longer essay videos so far!

[@SenryW]

Me too! Keep it up!

[@edoferd95]

Ah yes Daddy Nicol's past lol. I always wanted to know about this event in mtg. Love the video!

[@AetherHub]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@rashakor]

Missing mention of the Elder land wurms and the missing 4 shard elders (Piru is the fifth). The land wurms are the Elders that were stripped of their powers à la Vae Victis, maybe still surviving to these days.

[@TacticsTom54]

Keep it up Arther Hub . Your videos have caught me up on all the magic lore I have missed throughout the years as I have only been playing since 2017 precons and yes the Ur Dragon was my first deck . I want to thank you on behalf of all of us newbies out there . Keep it going my dude .

[@derpyachoque]

Ah yes, my favourite elder dragon, Traxos, Scourge of Kroog

[@SchwabGames2014]

Out of all the elder dragons, having their own unique appearance, Nicol Bolas and Palladia-Mors actually look like they're brother and sister. Yeah, Nicol and Ugin are twins, but Ugin has his own unique appearance when compared to Nicol and Palladia. I guess Nicol can't best up against his big sister. They even have the same fire breath color too.

[@cop154]

I like this format a lot. You seem more relaxed and comfortable. Glad you are at least looking well. Also you seem to be on the Elder Dragon roll.

[@AetherHub]

I wanted to cover them in a few specific topics before I moved on to some more older topics :) and thanks for the compliments. Not trying to toot a horn here but I’ve lost a lot of weight 😇

[@SasoriAkutski]

Really like to see this done again but with the Gods of Nyx

[@AetherHub]

Sure I can look into it :)

[@thevenomous1954]

Love the revised version of this lore. I watched both this one and your older one. I like how this one kind of goes into more detail in the beginning of the war, and then ties into the older lore story. Great video.

[@tmarch351]

love the set up! the recording looks so much better !

[@AetherHub]

🙏 thank you. I’m constantly tinkering with it and I think I’ve found a really really good set up

[@lautarodesimone54]

Palladia-Mors design is so remarkably similar to Nicol and Ugin. I love it.

[@Flugzeugdreger]

Just imagine: If Ugin never came back to basically tell Bolas "Yeah that empire of yours is nice and all but look what I can do!", Bolas would today just be ruling Dominaria, blissfully ignorant to the rest of the Multiverse

[@WandererNamedGuy]

You’ve been covering some pretty cool stuff lately glad you’re tackling some of those ideas you’ve been mulling over for a while.

[@AetherHub]

Yup it’s been a lot of fun tackling bigger topics, especially in the down time between sets :)

[@teresarunions5594]

Love the dragon lore. Though I know there is not a lot of information out there I would love to learn more about Niv-Mizzet.

[@fifthcanuck1128]

“Unless he escapes” 20$ says during the Gatewatch v Phyrexian conflict Jace or Chandra free Bolas to aid them in their fight and then Sarkhan attacks Bolas and the Elder Dragon escapes

[@bluedog4248]

Better yet, Bolas thinks this is a good time to attempt his revenge, and attempts to side with the phyrexians for the promise of power, but he ends up compleat

[@Datttsnake]

@@bluedog4248 that would be cool but I feel it would be a diservice to his character arc.

[@AnimeProfilePicture]

Chandra doesn't know he's alive

[@heliomaciel]

Really cool video! Keep up with the good vorthos work!

[@christopherb501]

Just a reminder for the trivia buffs: either in chronology or in publication, the Kenriths were _not_ the first twin set to be planeswalkers.

[@Flugzeugdreger]

They were the first to share a spark though, since Bolas just sat there crying untill he got his own

[@fatbabyjake]

I love MTG lore and dig your videos a lot. I am a huge Elder Dragon fan and own all but 3 of them as it stands right now. My favorite commander deck that I've built is a 5 colored Elder Dragon tribal deck and I've been told it's really nasty haha. Keep pumping out these awesome lore filled vids man!

[@hollow7776]

Great video man, I’ve always loved your lore videos and I’m glad to see things turning around for you!

[@AetherHub]

Thanks for always being an amazing supporter of the content !

[@Eckendenker]

I like the hardcore lore videos. They inspire me for worldbuilding my DnD campaign

[@cukierkot7256]

Have you ever considered making a video about fan theories about Magic lore?

[@khorchinpuang]

Now the question is, who made the Ur Dragon?

[@danielbretado7660]

The Ur-Dragon must be just like Arahbo, Roar of the World. Arahbo was also a primeval force that supposed to have created all catkind.

[@AetherHub]

Gonna agree with Dan here. Think of it as a concept given form.

[@elliottreadings8029]

I have a theory that Chromium is still alive, and had a latent planeswalker spark. The ignition of his new spark savin Domiaria, and Chromium planeswalking somewhere. We could have seen him as a character already, disguised as a human or other creature. Unlikely I know, but ever since I learned about his character he has become my favourite character in the Magic multiverse. I just hope he comes back. My boy got robbed!

[@cop154]

As a person who owns every single dragon card that ever came out from MTG this is a really good video. Almost as good as the one you made about feather xD

[@AetherHub]

Hey I’m glad I can reach that high standard :)

[@jaysonbassett8417]

Sick video, love your content

[@ryusei4k621]

YESS FINALLY YESS. Sorry for bugging all these years for this video.

[@AetherHub]

You’re not a bother at all! I’m happy to take suggestions

[@ryusei4k621]

@@AetherHub I really enjoyed the video and learned more about this enigma of mtg history.

[@socalxninja259]

Amazing work as always seiben thank you for all the hard work you do for is in the vorthos community! I would love for them to give us more on the khans and dragon lords of Tarkir

[@octopunch9300]

Hey! Its my man Aether! Hows it going dood, Ive missed you on here.

[@jellyproxy]

Hey, this is really cool thanks for the effort you put into these

[@brunopereira6789]

Did Arcades Sabboth only rule humans? What abut all the other sentient peoples of Dominaria? Great video! The story of Bolas and Ugin as told in the Chronicle of Bolas is one of the best lore pieces ever put forward by Wizards, imo

[@grimtopia4804]

This has been since its existed been my favorite section of magic, the elder dragons and all of the plains involving in the Elder Dragon aka the Ur-Dragon Spirit.

[@obadijahparks]

They were twins?! Nice!

[@MackAttack-vh1vz]

Great video!

[@carebeardoesnotcare244]

Chromium the Mutable is my favorite Elder Dragon (and possibly my favorite MtG character) and I like the fact that he is almost a “philosopher” (in my own words at least). It’s too bad he was killed off though, because I could only imagine what he would think of the other planes and all the discoveries he could make, if he would have found his spark. I think a hypothetical card name/title of Chromium-if he would have become a planeswalker-would be “Chromium the Philosopher.”

[@tommcd5943]

I think you mean great wyrms, since they're the highest cr in dnd for dragon kind, including ethereal and prismatic dragons, elder yes would be powerful, but they'd have to have gate or planeshift to leave their plane making "elder dragons" would be irrelevant and would be based off their dragon types

[@tommcd5943]

I waould love to see a vid on the comapanions please

[@despair2291]

That def buttoned up holes I had in that story, thank you

[@Snaglbeest]

Sees an Elder Dragon in a wedge color combination. Me: COMPLETE THE CYCLE, WOTC!

[@AetherHub]

😫

[@MegaBekem]

The two things every elder dragon fears: Authority of the Consuls and a Meekstone!

[@gavinkecan6202]

I want to play a long, drawn out game of commander against you, where you regale stories of every card you play.

[@jochemberends3438]

If Ugin is with Bolos in de meditation real, what will happen to the dragon storms of Tarkir?

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

So we know that the Elder Dragons on Tarkir are direct descendants of Ugin, what about the ones on Strixhaven?

[@TacticsTom54]

The Strixhaven ones were formed when the planes collided on Archavios and the mixed of the energies formed the snarls . From the energy of the snarls the Strixhaven Dragons were born .

[@houstonhall9209]

Commenting for the almighty algorithm 🙌🏼

[@AetherHub]

Always appreciated my friend !

[@eitanbleiberg2342]

whatever happened to the ur dragons? why don't we hear from them at all? how did they fade away? thanks

[@goobearboy1017]

love ur glasses!

[@Kishimyu]

I'm just waiting for them to return to Kamigawa.

[@27mizukage]

Why does Chromium, in the comic, look like Red Eyes B. Dragon??

[@horrificbeauty1666]

I still refuse to believe the mtg lore revision on Ur Dragon. We need more cosmic entities like him and the Eldrazi

[@zairejordan4410]

If I remember correctly, isn't this how the elder wurms were formed?

[@AetherHub]

Correct. The losers either died or had their wings removed in shame

[@zairejordan4410]

I don't like the new Canon, it took away the true grandeur and epicness of the elder dragon wars that stand multiple planes

[@obadijahparks]

3:20 that one is so.. pretty.

[@Vidious808]

I didnt know they retconed the ur dragon :/

[@informedconsumer5293]

Another æther proponent! Huzzah

[@targetedandfiring4336]

Lore video on the tarkhir elders coming soon?

[@redemption101caleb]

Imagine getting so angry you ascend to godhood and break the bonds of reality. Bolas just built different.

[@paulbryan5632]

I have an interesting question. If wizards decided to print Ugin as an Elder Dragon card, what colors do you think he would be? Personally, I think he would be white, blue, and red. NO, he can Not be colorless.

[@justinpatrick9249]

Eventually.. ugin… kinda??

[@kingwildcat6192000]

Heres the thing I dont really understand about MTG lore. Nicol Bolas (and by extension Ugin) are said to be the youngest of the Elder dragons but how is he (they) the brother(s) of Arcades Sabboth, Chromium and Palladia-Mors yet cousins to Piru and Vaevictis Asmadi?

[@JacobBos1988]

Vaevictus and Piru where born from different wingbeats at a different location. Thus Chromium, Arcades, Palladia, Ugin and Bolas saw them as cousins.

[@alexriley38]

I wonder if nicol bolas would have had the gaul to go after the ur dragon had he achieved what he wanted i need that story would be awesome to see big daddy ur humble bolas.😅

[@jasongysbers5619]

Where is it stated that the Ur-Dragon was retconned to be only on Dominaria? In the Chronicle of Bolas: The Twins, it is still implied the Ur-Dragon lives in the Blind Eternities. "There is a shadow, a great shadow. It is not clouds, nor is it night. Ripples sweep through the vast airy gulf of the sky. The shadow is a magnificent creature, terrifying and dark and powerful, and it is blind, or maybe it was born in a place of blindness and does not know how to see. Its wings beat storms through the heavens. Out of the storms fall giant egg-stones in different colors. Some plummet without ever waking, but the ones who wake uncurl as they fall and shake themselves in the wide vast gulf of the sky. Their wings unfurl, for they are not eggs. They are the children of the great shadow that lives betwixt and between, in a place and in no place. They are newborn dragons curled up into a ball, and they fall tumbling out of the sky in a flurry of ice and wings."

[@Deathcat9023]

GRAHAM STARK is that you, i though you were in LRR

[@MRDLT00]

6:30 Wizards really retconned the start of the Elder Dragon war to be about Nicol Bolas feeling impendent about his fucking size?!??!?! Who the fuck is on the damn writing staff at MTG???? XD

[@SchwabGames2014]

His siblings and cousins: Look at you! You're so cute, and tiny! Young Nicol: And I took that personally.

[@jakeb6776]

nicholas bolas really like vegeta wanted to be a planeswalker so bad he got mad and became one just like vegeta

[@robertsimpson7424]

What of the Elder Dragons of Tarkir?

[@lichy7350]

I mean less we forget dragons of tarkir being elder dragons but it is what it is 😂

[@thatguy-yz8rj]

Ik that wotc need to do other stuff and this is probs a bumd idea bit maby nicol bolas breaks out of his prison and frees paladia mors mught be a good stroy line

[@dragonballtalk8527]

If u put yourself at end of video at instead of the beginning more people won't immediately click off the video

[@KrypptikkSoulslayer]

Ur dragons hmmm...One of them appeared in Morrowind...DAGOTH UR!!!

[@nilsholtfester4316]

😁

[@gothic22d]

This story makes me want to buy the original comics.

[@nickweems3793]

God damn naya-based shit. I WANT ME SOME MORE JUND!

[@haladmirknowsbest]

Something I don't understand about Ugin being his jailor is that Bolas shouldn't be able to survive the blind eternities anymore. so he can leave him in the meditation realm guilt free knowing he can't escape

[@Barianus]

While it is maybe not fully supported by canon, my take on it is that Ugin wants to avoid situation of some hapless Planeswalker stumbling in in his absence and getting manipulated by Bolas to somehow give up their Spark.

[@MRDLT00]

4:46 Yeah because originally there was NO UGIN! God I hate this stupid ass retcon to such basic and well known established lore. "Well lets just jam in this important character into these others' backstories and also bring down Nicol Bolas's importance in the process hur durrrrr" -_-

[@MRDLT00]

*starts erasing anything to do with Ugin being Bolas's twin because it was a stupid ass retcon that only detracted from Bolas' mystique and great backstory

[@MRDLT00]

8:59 *No that was Nicol Bolas originally until this stupid ass retcon took that away from him -_-

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

:)

[@dragonballtalk8527]

As a narrator please don't show yourself all we want is images and your voice sir

[@___ooobodybagooo___]

Now I'm a nicol bolas sympathizer.