Stunning Marble Pets

     It’s been more than three years since the Marble Paint Brush was released in Y19, its description being: This Paint Brush will make your pet look sleek and shiny just like Marble! No more specifics or explanation, with the Marble Neopets mostly shaped after the spherical toys we played with, but with the release of the marvellous Marble Draik that took a totally different direction into actual marble slabs, I decided to take another look at all the Marbles, and despite all nineteen of them being great looking, I will talk about my top fifteen, in order of their release:

     1. Elephante

     Released: February 23, 2017

     Being the first Marble Neopet ever revealed, it has more of a “solid’ colour and less transparent look but still looking glassy, the Marble Elephant’s humongous body allows more space for decoration. Multiple greenish yellow stripes run across the face and body of the Elephante, with several notches that indicate multiple usages, as if it’s been actually played with. The head piece (also called hat) looks separate from the rest of the Elephante though. The Neopets that followed started looking a bit different as the colour evolved and changed over time.

     2. Shoyru

     Released: Shoyru Day - April 03, 2017

     A rather realistic toy marble look-alike. Since Shoyru is an air-borne Neopet, the blue colour is perfect for blending in while soaring in the skies, and the orange stripes mimic the flying nature of the Shoyru, looking like sleek, flowing, streamlined lines.

     3. Ixi

     Released: Ixi Day - July 11, 2017

     The Marble Ixi stands out by being the only one with this greenish-brownish colour that’s closer to being golden, with unique yellow, orange spots instead of the usual stripes or swirls. It almost looks like a prize that came out of a cereal box or a gumball machine.

     4. Koi

     Released: Koi Day - May 25, 2017

     Another one that’s very close to real marble toys, mainly because of its roundish body shape, and is actually the closest in shape and colour to the Shoyru. Its premium colour is aqua-blue, which goes well with its marine nature in case a quick camouflage is needed, adorned with three stripes of red, yellow and blue which go in a circle around its body until they become fine strands on its tail.

     5. Techo

     Released: Techo Day - September 13, 2017

     Techos are amphibians, thus green was an obvious choice for Marble. It’s almost all green, with subtle different green hues and a lighter shade of stripes that it almost looks camouflage.

     6. Gnorbu

     Released: Gnorbu Day - January 08, 2018

     The Marble Gnorbu is definitely one of a kind. Its unique monotonous purple colour (even the mane) is only highlighted by floating blobs or globules that are a lighter shade of the same colour, found mainly inside its body and limbs. This gives it the appearance of a “lava lamp”, without being luminescent.

     7. Chia

     Released: February 19, 2018

     Hues of green and orange swirls make up this marvellous Marble Chia, which may be a standard colour for marbles. But what really distinguishes it from the rest, are the tufts of hair that look like glass bulbs or lamps on top of its head.

     8. Grundo

     Released: Grundo Independence Day - August 24, 2018

     The only red one, the Marble Grundo is very sleek-looking. The colour is solid, with ever so slight variations, mostly seen in the lighter-hued stripes, and their naturally red eyes blend it with the rest of the body. Overall, the look is futuristic and very fitting for the alien Grundos, who come from Outer Space.

     9. Skeith

     Released: Skeith Day - September 26, 2018

     Back to the classic marble toy, but with darker tones. You might not notice it at first glance, but the blue round body of the navy blue Skeith contains lighter-hued swirls of blue-green, thus giving it a somehow aquatic vibe. Nonetheless, it’s very distinct from its Water and Maraquan counterparts.

     10. Mynci

     Released: Mynci Day - February 23, 2019

     Yet another classic. Similar to the Chia and Techo, the Mynci looks like a typical Marble spherical toy, especially with its round head, body and small limbs.

     11. Meerca

     Released on Meerca Day - August 20, 2019

     The closest to a real marble toy, whether in shape, texture or colours. Round, shiny, mostly purple with different coloured streaks. It looks like it’s made of glass, but still retain the beady eyes. Be careful as the tail looks really fragile. It may be not the easiest to customize, but it holds its own very well against a darker background.

     12. Zafara

     Released: Zafara Day - February 04, 2020

     Taking after the “glassy” look again, the Marble Zafara leans towards a bolder colour, pink. Dark blue stripes complement the look without clashing much, due to the fact they’re adorned with purplish and lighter pink stripes as well. The hair and end-tail of the Marble Zafara are delicate and should be handled with care.

     13. Lupe

     Released: Lupe Day - May 05, 2020

     One of a few Neopets that don’t look like an actual marble toy, and it’s a huge step forward for this colour. Blue body with purple stripes all over and yellow-orange eyes that stand out, it is modelled after the Cheshire cat, the Marble Lupe is a wonderful addition to Marble Pets. One can’t but notice that the Lupe hair tufts are smoothed out.

      14. Draik

     Released: Draik Day - September 10, 2020

     Finally! The one Neopet that inspired me to write this article. It was such a pleasant surprise to see Marble pets make this transition, and with none other than one of the most popular species, the Draik. The Marble Draik is modelled after Portoro: a high-end black crystalline marble. The intense jet colour of its base contains a large number of dynamic golden veins and white effervescences that seem to be in motion.

     This exclusive natural stone is the most expensive black marble in the world.

     It simply makes the Draik look like it’s just out of a molten golden lake, and it doesn’t need much customization to look marvellous!!

     15. Nimmo

     Released: Nimmo Day - June 16, 2021

     The latest addition to Marble pets. Taking after the Draik, the Marble Nimmo is less extravagant and exorbitant with its grey colour, but still shiny as it resembles Pacific Grey Marble which captures light, making it a good unmuted stone-based colour.

     This doesn’t mean that the other four colours aren’t good (Bori, Kougra, Lutari and Shoyru,) they just didn’t take my breath away. Other pets I would love to see painted Marble are Blumaroo, Kacheek, Eyrie and Hissi, to name a few.

      *** BONUS***

     16. Grarrl

     Released: Grarrl Day - October 4, 2021

     This colour was released while I was literally ending this article, so I opted to include it, especially that it’s really unique and different. It doesn’t follow the above mentioned patterns (marble sphere toys and marble slates) even though it leans a bit towards the latter.

     The first glance reveals a purple Grarrl that looks a little bit like Oil Paint or Dimensional, with little spirals that look like constellations. But upon further examination, these are actually FOSSILS. Brilliant idea! Grarrls come from Tyrannia, which is a pre-historic land. It makes sense that the Marble Grarrl is an ancient stone that contains fossilized ammonites! And it’s just been unearthed for the whole world to see.

      If you enjoyed my overlook on Marble pets, I’ll try to review more colours in upcoming Neopian Times issues!