The incredible story of Sagas

Sagas are fast becoming my favourite card type in Magic: the Gathering. They seem to hit the sweet spot between a card that can provide plenty of flavour and backstory, without dominating the game. Some Sagas are powerful, but they don’t take over the game the way Planeswalkers do.

It’s uncommon knowledge that the Saga card type emerged from a design that was initially rejected for planeswalkers. The other day I caught myself thinking how much better planeswalkers would be in the game if they worked like Sagas do. I clearly am not the only one, as seen in this informative video from Tolarian Community College.

I don’t think we will ever see planeswalkers take a back seat to Sagas. Though for a card type where we typically see 3 per set, planeswalkers have come to dominate the game in a way I would describe a problematic. Planeswalkers come down for a cost and then essentially provide free spell effects for the rest of the game. Unlike Sagas, planeswakers don’t have a built-in off switch and can make games dull and miserable.

Magic has had a lot of design problems over the past three years, but Sagas remain a rare ray of light in the darkness.