Shit thinking about it not once have we see her use animal like shapeshifts...well scratch that there was that one time I recall with Clark and Lexi where she was kinda worm/snake like avoiding Lexi's attacks but beyond that never saw shit like that again.
So far with her shapeshifting she seems to have invested into metal and the like (which we see her use here and there)....holy fuck does she actually freeball her transformations to whatever she fuckin wants at a moment's notice to fit the situation? Just tossed on metal cause of da added defense/offense? God im too tired for this shit...
I can already sense the Loremasters awaking from their slumber to give us all their wisdom!
This Ella vs MC discussion is fairly fun but it repeats every now and then and the same things are said ^_^
1. Ella's problem:
Ella has to create the blueprints of her forms from scratch and it took years before she started getting serious with new forms and using science to setup the biological system correctly. If I had to guess, I'd say that up till then, her main abilities were the shapeshifter regeneration, hairs, tentacles, probably some lesser transmutation and perhaps some animal/human form that she made herself to avoid detection.
Since Ella didn't have any schematics to transform into new forms, she had to make her own. So she used science and observation to create schematics for her forms and practiced them enough to be able to transform in a moments notice. That's why her forms look so "eldritch".
MC can get the schematics of any special ability by directly copying it from the creature possessing it. He doesn't need the precise control and his forms are already optimized by nature. He can also mix and match forms and materials even without fully understanding the particulars. Since MC gets the schematics through reading genetic memory, his forms look very familiar.
2. Fine Control and differing talents:
Ella was a superhuman for years till the memory of her forcing her teacher to help her with her forms. By my count, she has already been a s/h for at least 2 years (Mid school 1, Mid school 2, High school 1), perhaps even more. So saying that she has "precise" control when compared to MC that had his powers for a few months isn't exactly a fair comparison.
Xanthe says that Ella had the fine control since her first evolution. Perhaps she has a talent for it, but we don't know for how long she stayed a level 1. MC stayed at level 1 for about 2 months, and he was thrust into intrigue, while attenting college and solving his friends' problems. He had a faster way to power and he made good use of it.
Both of them have the same potential to alter their shape so we have to assume that he can also achieve the fine control that Ella has. The question is if he should bother when he can just focus on becoming strong enough and take the memories from Ella. After all, he was already able to create metal, even before he copied Ella's knowledge. He just didn't know how and he barely practiced for an hour or so. Who's to say what would happen if he practiced for a week straight.
3. Freeballing and Metal:
The way I see it, Ella's transformations are very rigid. She can't freeball anything because she probably doesn't have the knowledge to do it on the fly. Anything she makes, she has to design and practice and perhaps with experience she may be able to do some alterations on the fly, at least between forms she has a good grasp on. I actually don't remember any fights where she used metal in a serious capacity. She uses the hair bits, she turned her hand into steel to choke Alexis and turned her arms into swords against Nico. MC has used more metal in any level 2 fight than Ella has used in all her scenes combined.
However Ella doesn't really use transformations to fight. She has augmented her default form as much as she can, and she mainly uses tentacles/hair and transmutation. She has only used her snake/goatthing forms for kiting and utility, and the huge blob of mass she created against Nico was used as a platform for tentacles and utility against Nico's power.
MC on the other hand fights mainly with his transformations. He turns his body into a weapon, he protects it with various armors, he uses tentacles and his tail. He has been forced many times to create something new on the fly. The enchanced crocodile armor against Kenny, the wrecking ball he turns into against Klaus, the eye tentacle he used against Danica, the new pair of eyes he used against Valravn, the steel armor he used against Tiffany.
