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Since their debut in Dominaria, Sagas have quickly become one of the Magic: The Gathering community's favourite new mechanics. More than just giving you a new effect each turn, Sagas tell stories about the game and its world that really resonated with players.

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Sagas are now fairly in the 'deciduous' category of mechanics - they're not used all the time, but frequently enough that knowing how they work is an essential skill for new MTG players. Here's everything you need to know about Sagas.

Update December 11, 2022 by Joe Parlock: From Kamigawa's transforming Sagas to the introduction of read ahead in Dominaria United, Sagas have gone through a lot of changes in 2022. This article has been updated to explore read ahead, and update the total count of Sagas in the game.

What Are Sagas?

Kardur's Vicious Return

Sagas are a subtype of enchantments that use lore counters to enable a new effect each turn. They can be identified by their unique frame, which runs the art vertically down one side of the card and the Saga's chapters on the other.

When a Saga enters the battlefield, you immediately put its first lore counter on it and trigger the first Chapter ability, which is the first of the triggered abilities running down the side of the card. Then, after your draw step every turn (not in your upkeep, as commonly believed), you put another counter on it and carry out the second chapter. Each turn, add another lore counter until you've done each chapter. Once you've done that last effect, the Saga sacrifices itself.

Sagas are considered "historic" spells, alongside Artifacts and Legendary spells. Any card that activates on casting a historic spell will trigger when you cast a Saga.

What Are Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty's Double-Faced Sagas?

Boseiju Reached Skyward

In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, we were introduced to loads of Sagas. All of these are different to any Saga we've seen before, as they're double-sided.

At first, all of these Sagas work in the exact same way as the older, single-faced ones. They enter the battlefield with a lore counter and progress through their chapters. However, their last chapter is always the same: "Exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control". This means instead of sacrificing itself after completing the final chapter as it normally would, you turn it around and put the enchantment creature on the other side onto the battlefield.

This side isn't a Saga, so it just stays on the battlefield for as long as any other creature can. It also no longer picks up additional lore counters. However, when it isn't on the battlefield, the card is still always seen as the Saga side, even if it has transformed. This makes them excellent flicker targets to keep the Saga benefits coming.

What Is Read Ahead?

The Phasing of Zhalfir

Introduced in Dominaria United, Sagas with read ahead allow you to skip to a later chapter by having it enter the battlefield with as many lore counters equal to the chapter you want to start on.

For instance, The Cruelty Of Gix can destroy your opponent's hand, search your library for a card, or return a creature from the battlefield, depending on how many counters you put on it. However, reading ahead won't trigger any chapters you skipped over, meaning the choice is between getting more value from a Saga, or giving your opponent multiple turns to get rid of it before the big, splashy final chapter.

You can only read ahead on Sagas that have the read ahead keyword on them. If they don't have it, you must start from the first chapter as usual.

How To Use Sagas

Founding the Third Path

It's tempting for newcomers to think Sagas are simply "do the next effect at the start of my next turn", but there are a few key ways in which this isn't quite true. First, the actual trigger for Chapter abilities is the act of putting a new lore counter on. The lore counters are only added after your draw step (so just before your first main phase), not in your upkeep.

Because Chapter abilities trigger whenever the requisite number of counters is put onto the Saga, you can repeat an effect more than once with some careful counter removing.

For instance, if you trigger a Saga's first Chapter ability, then remove the counter, the next time you put a new lore counter on it will be your first again, and you'll repeat the first effect instead of the second.

The Chapter ability won't trigger if you don't put a counter on the Saga. This makes cards like Solemnity or an opponent's Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider the worst enemy of a deck that runs a lot of Sagas.

Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider card and blur

If you put more than one lore counter on a Saga at once, each applicable Chapter ability will trigger at the same time. So if you have a card that doubles counters, the Saga will enter and have two counters put on it simultaneously, and both the first and second chapters will trigger. Note Sagas you read ahead on will skip any chapters, and they will not trigger.

Sagas will only sacrifice themselves when they have lore counters equal to or greater than the last Chapter ability. If a Saga has all of its Chapter abilities removed somehow, the Saga will immediately sacrifice itself.

Finally, don't forget that the effects of a Saga are triggered abilities, and so can be copied by things like Lithoform Engine Strionic Resonator. On the flipside, they can also be countered by spells like Stifle, Tale's End, and Disallow.

What Colour Are Sagas?

MTG Top Warhammer 40,000 Commander Enchantments Birth of the Imperium

As Sagas represent their settings' history and folk stories, they can be found in every colour. As of Dominaria United, there are 84 Saga cards.

Colour

Count

White

12

Blue

10

Black

13

Red

10

Green

12

White/Blue

2

Blue/Black

2

Black/Red

3

Red/Green

2

Green/White

2

White/Black

2

Blue/Red

2

Black/Green

2

Red/White

2

Green/Blue

2

White/Blue/Black

1

Blue/Black/Red

1

Green/Blue/Red

1

White/Blue/Black/Red/Green

1

Colourless

2

Total

84

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