Saga is an Enchantment subtype that was originally introduced in 2018’s Dominaria. Flavorfully, they represent episodic stories that are told chapter-by-chapter. Mechanically, this means that Sagas stick around for a few turns granting you an effect every turn, until the story is complete, at which point they get sacrificed.
I have been thinking a lot about Sagas because in the upcoming Final Fantasy set, they’re giving us a brand new spin on them. That franchise’s famous summoning spells are designed as both creatures and Sagas. This is going to result in some pretty powerful cards, as this allows Sagas to add to the board immediately in addition to getting the chapter effects.
There are some sagas that are well-known as Commander powerhouses, like Urza’s Saga and Binding the Old Gods. And it’s well-known that Tom Bombadil is an incredibly powerful Commander for abusing Sagas. However, there are still many sagas out there that are being overlooked. In this article, I’m going to discuss 5 underrated Sagas for Commander.
TYMARET CALLS THE DEAD
Played in .10% of Black Decks on EDHRec
Tymaret Calls the Dead is kind of all over the place, and that’s definitely why it isn’t seeing as much play as it should. It’s good at loading your graveyard, getting value out of Enchantments, and giving you Zombie upside. To make the most of Tymaret Calls the Dead you have to be pretty good at setting up all of that stuff. In other words, it’s not a card you play in a deck that’s just about Enchantments, just about the graveyard, or just about Zombies.
However, if you can set things up properly, you spend only three mana to load up your graveyard, get two Zombie tokens, and gain some life and Scry. That’s a great deal – and fairly representative of Sagas. They give you way more than your mana’s worth, but that’s balanced by the fact that you have to wait around to get full value out of them.
If you’re playing a Commander who is both into Enchantments and the graveyard, Tymaret Calls the Dead is going to be a perfect fit for you. Anikthea, Hand of Erebos is perhaps the best home for this Saga.
She can give you token copies of Enchantments that are in your graveyard and they even come back as Zombies. This means that not only can she take advantage of the extra cards that Tymaret Calls the Dead mills, she can also make a token copy of Tymaret Calls the Dead to start the value train all over again.
THE HUNGER TIDE RISES
Played in .37% of Green Decks on EDHRec
The Hunger Tide Rises gives you three 1/1 tokens followed by a powerful effect that lets you cash in those insects (and your other creatures) to tutor up a creature and put it directly on the battlefield. While making tokens is really nice, it’s that Chapter IV that makes The Hunger Tide Rises into a very interesting Commander card.
For one thing, it’s one of only a handful of cards in Magic that says, “Sacrifice any number of creatures.” That effect itself can be quite powerful when you have Sacrifice payoffs in play, even if you don’t get anything else out of it. Imagine having Korvold or Ygra in play when you do it.
But it doesn’t even just give you that effect, you even get to turn your deck into a toolbox and search up the best creature for your situation. Sometimes if you have enough creatures on board, you can tutor up an absolute monster that is likely to win you the game if left unchecked. Other times, you can grab a hate-piece that nerfs your opponent’s deck.
If you’re playing a Commander who is into sacrificing stuff, you should seriously consider The Hunger Tide Rises.
THE AKROAN WAR
Played in .53% of Red Decks on EDHRec
The Akroan War is a pretty weird card. The strangest thing about it is that it’s a Red card that lets you steal a creature for more than a turn. Its other effects also seem super finicky on your first read, but it turns out this card is a powerhouse. One that has seen significant play in several 60-card formats. And it might be even better in Commander.
Here’s how things usually play out. First, you steal your opponent’s best creature, then on the next turn your opponents are forced to attack, this usually results in several of those creatures dying. Then, Chapter III can often finish things off by killing most of the creatures that survived that attack. Furthermore, you can make sure the creature you stole is tapped too, so it gets killed by Chapter III as well.
It’s a little bit messy to be sure, but The Akroan War often results in all of your opponents boards becoming significantly weaker, while you were minimally affected.
While The Akroan War is powerful in its own right, it gets even better in decks that can generate even more value out of it, other than what’s printed on the card. This means Commanders who are into the similar Goad mechanic, and good at taking advantage of forced attacks can really thrive with The Akroan War.
Firkraag, Cunning Instigator and Nelly Borca, Impulsive Accuser can both Goad opposing creatures and then pay you off for having those goaded creatures do combat damage to an opponent. If you’re using either of these Commanders, The Akroan War should be in your deck.
THREE BLIND MICE
Played in .62% of White Decks on EDHRec
Three Blind Mice is quite powerful in token decks. Despite the card’s name, it’s actually at it’s best when you don’t end up with Three Mice. Chapter II and III are far more powerful when you make copies of more powerful tokens. However, no matter what token you copy, Three Blind Mice is going to rapidly build out your board before giving you a strong mass pump effect.
Yenna, Redtooth Regent and Calix, Guided by Fate make for great Commanders for Three Blind Mice. Both of them are really into Enchantments, but they’re also capable of making powerful token copies of them. They can even copy Three Blind Mice itself, at which point things can get really silly. You’ll basically always have an active Three Blind Mice on the battlefield.
HARALD UNITES THE ELVES
Played in .38% of Golgari Decks
Harald Unites the Elves is admittedly a little clunky. The effect you get right away is super underwhelming for 4 mana. However, it quickly makes up for that with Chapter II and III, which pay you off in a big way for having a board filled with Elves.
Chapter II offers them a permanent buff, and that also makes it more likely they can be good attackers, allowing Chapter III to be even more potent. There are many games where Chapter III absolutely annihilates the opponent’s board, and that’s not good news for them when an Elf army is coming their way.
If you’re playing an Elf deck that is especially good at making Elf tokens, you’ll be pretty happy with how this Saga performs. Lathril, Blade of the Elves makes for a great Commander to take advantage of Harald Unites the Elves. Not only does Lathril have the ability to make lots of tokens, she can also tap them for a powerful life drain effect, and she can take advantage of being buffed by Chapter II, too.
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Those are my picks for underrated Sagas for Commander. What do you think? Are there any Sagas I left out? Let me know on BlueSky or X.
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.