Great game, there is really no substitute when it comes to games like these, they come very few and far between, so when lifelong fans of the genre like me come across a gem like this we are instantly hooked :)
It is essentially Battle Chess, only with pieces that all have their own special abilities, different health, movement, attack patterns and range. The MOBA aspect refers to the fact that you must win the game by destroying their base (the ship), and you can do that by killing the enemy champions or attacking the ship directly. There are also 3 shells that you can use per game, they are similar to summoner abilities in League of Legends, but more like ship abilities. Aether is basically mana, there is mana for champions and mana for ship, and you gain mana and expend it to use champion abilities (super and ultimate) or ship abilities (shells).
I have been playing turn-based tactics games for most of my life, and I played League of Legends for 4 years straight since its beginning, so to come across this game it is like my dream game :) Please try it out, it is free on Steam, Google play and coming to Android (cross-platform play btw!). GL HF