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As someone who was in the room where it happened with Sagas (and still has Richard's original playtest cards at the office!) this was great history recap. (Not to mention had spiffy production values!) Great work. :)

The art on sagas would be incredible in a return to Kamigawa.

“Bands with other Homarids” is probably the best ability I can think of.

Modal Double-Faced Sagas for return to Tarkir, front for the original timeline the back for the alternate.

This video should be called “The saga of sagas.”

$20 says someone somewhere is already getting a Bloodsky Massacre tattoo.

Sagas really are the best damn idea they've come up with in years. I love them, glad they're used more often now!

Oh my gosh, in a future Return to Tarkir we could get the saga "Surrak Punches the Bear"!

Professor: one of the most fun, engaging, and flavorful mechanics in years Vorinclex: *evil laughs*

One of my favorite mechanics that hasn’t been given a keyword is “tap creature it doesn’t un tap during next untap” I feel like it should be like “freeze target creature”

I want to see a Saga that Transforms into a Planeswalker. Like a literal living legend. Or the reverse could work if it was a Gideon.

I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoy Sagas as a mechanic. I agree that seeing more of them and less planeswalkers for a few sets would be perfectly fine.

As a primarily commander player, I want to see some sort of storyteller commander where sagas are his whole schtick. Whether it's someone who makes it so you don't sacrifice the saga after the final chapter or someone who can lock a saga on a particular chapter or something like that.

Great video prof! I think one thing to note is that Yugioh actually used to have a pretty active line of transparency thanks to Pojo Forums. Kevin Tewart, who was a pretty big name in the yugioh department of Konami America, was very active on Pojo forums and would frequently comment on certain cards and how they were designed/translated etc.

"I'm sick of planewalkers" *me looking at my atraxa superfriends deck* "yeah man, same here. Duh."

I love sagas and I like the idea of putting them in more sets in place of planeswalkers. When you said "we haven't talked about the best part yet: The art" I said the last part in unison with you. The art is just so wonderful on these and adds so much flavor. They did a great job on the new Kaldheim ones.

I love Sagas. Honestly, if Planeswalkers had been designed with exclusively 'minus' abilities that put them on a clock just like Sagas, I think they would be a great part of the game as well.

"Time of Ice" is still my absolute favorite saga - the art is just so incredible!

Ah, yes, _flavour_

This is probably my fav video you've ever done. I'd love to see more history of MTG videos!

Here's an idea: Instead of the yearly Planeswalker Decks, at least once Wizards can make Saga Decks. Have a few theme decks with limited edition Saga cards that retell the many events of the Multiverse (E.G. The Kami War and The Conflux of Alara's Shards ).

I love your vids Professor! The Sagas have beautiful art, the wood craving one is awesome!

The sole reason I got back into Magic after 15 years was Sagas and the Historic mechanic in Dominaria. I play MtG solely for flavor, and I was hooked on the idea of playing a deck that told a story. I know the Prof hates Planeswalkers, but Planeswalkers and Sagas are THE embodiment of Magic The Gathering's soul and I wouldn't have become an active player if it weren't for those two card types.

Exactly! I've deep-dived into a lot of behind-the-scenes for games, but I don't think any other game in the world has been so transparent with it's design process as Magic has, thanks to the articles and podcasts and videos over what has been decades. It honestly took me by surprise when I started playing Magic. In some games you'd be hard-pressed to find the reasoning why a certain game element is a certain way, in Magic you'd get a whole article explaining why a card is like so, chronicling the multiple versions it went through and how it got it's effects, art, flavor text, etc. The accumulated know-how they've built over the years is such a fantastic resource for anyone looking into game design, and I don't think everyone realizes just how incredibly valuable it is that they've chosen to make it all accessible for free to their player base. I can't think of any other long-running global piece of media that consistently shares all their "secrets" like that.

Don't think I didn't notice the whole video is actually a 3 part saga

So when we finally get to New Phyrexia, I want there to be Sagas there. The history of Phyrexia, the conquest of Mirridon, and most importantly: Their conquest of other planes.

I really love this type of video. Showcasing the history and design while also talking about implementation and the future. I’d love this to be a more common video type. Maybe highlighting various tribes or fun card abilities and looking at the ‘why’ behind them.

"I would like to see a reduction in planeswalkers and an increase in sagas" And the monkey's paw curled a finger.

More planeswalkers should died in War of the Spark

Man it's almost as if this richard garfield is a good game designer or something...

That tattoo is my favorite art from the new set. Replacing planes walkers with sagas would be awesome. Give planeswalkers a break ever now and again

As a dedicated Two-Headed Giant Player my favorite mechanic is „Partner With“ from Battlebond. You can play as teams where you play one partner and your team member plays the other one. The mechanic is also a bit open so that you can use both partners all by yourself in your own (EDH) deck or even play a Two-Headed Giant Commander game helping each other decks out. I built an Orzhov Sylvia Brightspear Deck with Knight Tribal and my friend built a Rakdos Khorvath Brightflame Deck with Dragon Tribal. Both Decks are built to have strong graveyard mechanics to fish and/or revive for one Partner card to pro-actively help out each other. This is not just sharing life total and blocking for each other - It has so much more depth to the gameplay. I also put Crux of Fate into my deck, to help out my friend. To this day I do neither know why so few people play Two-Headed Giant nor why the partner with mechanic was not so well received. As a future development and regarding the evolution of the playerbase towards multiplayer and EDH, I wish for more team based mechanics which have a Backdoor like partner with, to be still playable in matchups without teams. My dream would be a combination of partner with and the melds with mechanic.

Solemnity says, "I said hey. Baby, I got your money."

I'm so glad sagas became a popular card type. Toms of flavor, tons of design space. I love how some require build around while others fit in multiple archetypes. Excellent card design

I always come back to your channel when I get that magic itch, and I've been watching since the beginning. Your content's still amazing [even better!] and I'm just happy to see you happy talking cards. Thanks as always!

I love saga’s, I think it is good that they brought it back for Kaldheim. Would be kind of silly if they did not.

I love planeswalkers, but you are surely right on that they are printed way too often. War of spark went way too far!

This was a great watch! Really good compilation of the history of the mechanic's development and the interesting design space it opens up for future sets.

Great content. You have me looking a little closer at the art of my cards now! Also, I had no idea about the wood carved art! That's awesome!

We NEED the Spellplague, The Sundering, and The Sundering 2: Deity Boogaloo as Sagas for the D&D set!

Right on time to class!

I liked this video Professor. It was clean and told a bit of a story. If you ever run short on content short little stories like this (not directly about the Magic storyline but more the story of magic's creation of the game) really are relaxing and enjoyable.

Neon Dynasty hit those “Deciduous” types hard! Vehicles and Sagas for everyone, its like a car dealership and a library had a baby

Huh, didn't know that Planeswalker cards could've ended up looking like Saga cards.

Damn, last time I was this early White still had unique abilities and its own portion of the color pie!

I must say, this is one the finest videos I've seen for Vorthos audiences, (and every player is bit of a Vorthos inside) especially how it intertwines flavor, lore, design process, game mechanics and history, great for new and established players. It helped appreciate the cards beyond their commercial value or competitiveness...and yes, those other videos are fun and useful to watch, too.

Rage Werewolf the Apocalypse TCG did it first back in 1995. At least the card frame and type, still love that game

Just like I wish that Planeswalkers would NOT accompany every set, I hope that Sagas do not either. They’re so cool but I feel like they’re most flavorful when they’re in a set that relies on deep history being a part of the immediate narrative. I don’t know if they would have felt right in Ikoria for instance.

Double faced sagas for Innistrad: Werewolves

PROF i really love the video essay style thing you got goin with this, please do more!

One of my favorite videos on this channel. Relevant and balanced! Thanks professor!!

I personally like Sagas being a "once in a while" mechanic. I love them, but I'd hate to see them become stale or overused like Planeswalkers.

Sagas are basically "super sayan" archetipe for magic, something that "if i can charge it up to max ohhh boy you are in trouble"

Awesome video Prof. , love your story telling and details on topic.

Great video, love when the talented artist of magic get the spot light.

Man, Sagas aged well. Lore Counters? Aging? This is the part where you laugh.

Anyone else want a saga called “A Song of Ice and Fire”?

love seeing a video that's primarily optimistic. nice change of pace.

Proft the editing is amazing in this one!

I would want to see a reduction in "boring" planeswalkers. They are all basically the same with a card advantage/loyalty ability, a protection/board impact ability and a game ending ultimate ability.

"it's not an actual tattoo" Give it time. It's in Rakdos, one off them will DEFINATELY do it. Edit. Return to Return to Theros with a bunch of sagas would be cool.

What an amazing video, i never really took a look at saga cards until now and they are indeed awesome!

I love the way a single card design combines story, gameplay, and flavor. Awesome video, Professor!

I agree, less Planeswalkers and replace them with Sagas. Make a Planeswalker and Saga set and there is a backbone for the pre-construction decks of any new set. I really think Sagas are a great way to point out the importance of the story being told to a wider audience.

This mechanic is so great, I've yet to see anyone in my EDH playgroup ever cast a Saga, they might be just a tiny bit too slow.

Awesome video! You definitely made me appreciate sagas more. Thank you

I knew I loved them the second I saw them. But I would like them to continue to capture important stories, not every possible story out there.

I’m conflicted by sagas. despite their competently handled nature in Kaldheim and Theros, I don’t think they were as impactful like they were in Dominaria. That set was able to tell a tale about mtg itself and it had the means to do so. Ever since Dominaria, the newer sagas just feel more shallow, especially when they’re used to parody real world myths and events (the Olympics Saga, ragnorok).

I remember a time when a player said: a saga, an enchantment that doesn't permanently stay on the battlefield. That kind of card sucks ngl. . . . . Boy was he so wrong

Beautiful production on this video!

Great video Professor! One of your best in quite a while! Loved the history lesson regarding Saga's...and...I really would them even more if they had the 'Go back to 'Chapter 1' mechanic like the original Planeswalker idea...that would be really be something. 👍👍

In in a parallel world planes walkers were rejected and Magic is perfect.

Sagas are an excellent piece of game design, in a time when there's been a lot of really good game design, some terrible game design(companions), and some absolutely terrible business choices. Magic is really going through some of the highest highs, and lowest lows all at once right now.

This was a fantastic episode! Great job!

I LOVE hearing behind the scenes design stories like this. Always happy to see these wonderful videos go up!

Many Magic: the Gathering players ask the question: Will Wizards ever steal a gameplay mechanic idea made by a fan?

I’d be happy to see more sagas and less planeswalkers. Heck, I’d be happy to see more basic lands and less planeswalkers.

This video was incredible. I loved the format of this and it was really interesting.

The idea of Sagas replacing Planeswalkers as auto includes in every set is interesting. What would also be great is that when a set is about new plane, they create planeswalker cards, and when it's about revisiting an old one, they create sagas. So both mechanics would still be represented frequently, but we would get more sagas and less planeswalkers

Did COVID kill anyone else’s enthusiasm for this game?

this is probably my favorite prof video ever--down to the editing, it just felt so good and fun and fluid and story-like

This was an really elegant video. And some well earned praise for magic on one of their best mechanics in recent years. Well done to the both of you 😊

Fantastic video, Prof! It would be awesome if you made more historical vids like this

Returning Magic player here (played in 95, 2002, 2015, and now) Foretell, Sagas, Runes, - AWESOME new mechanics! Really creates a lot of depth and alleviates some of the inherent issues within MTG game design (for example, Foretell allows Magic to function more like Hearthstone in many ways and mitigates some of the issues with land draw). And wow, the art and flavor of the Sagas is just beautiful. I love it!

Please release more content on commander deck techs. I have had a lot of fun playing decks that you have created. Thanks :)

Funny that Garfield's design for Sagas almost resembles what they'd go on to do with Dungeons

Last year I started playing Magic again after 20 or 25 years off. It's been such a joy to rediscover again. And a lot of that joy has come not only from uncovering the cards again and all the memories they hold, but also from watching your videos, and knowing that there are people like you who play and care about this game too. You bring so much warmth, humour, and humanity to the world of this game. Thank you!

Excellent video! Glad we can still find positive things in the game to talk about.

The video was so nice! Thank you professor and equip! Also, saga mechanics are fun :D one of the things that made me and my wife stick with the game

Really cool video prof! I love stuff that digs into design when it's actually successful. The art on these cards is also far more interesting than I originally thought. And I don't think people give wizards enough credit for just how transparent they are and have always been with their design decisions.

Thanks Brian. Love these type of videos. Great job!

This was another well done discussion. awhile back you made a video called koria bests a sea god, it was the insperationj for my wifes first deck. she loved the video production so much that she just had to have a sea creature deck built around the saga. the deck we created together stays on theme and is still powerful, all thanks to your great redidtion of the card. ty, for your terrific contant brain keep up the good work.

That was a particularly on-point narration!

There are actually _two_ physical art pieces in this set - the wood carving you mentioned, but also the carving in "The Three Seasons" is also a photo of a physical piece. This actually brings the total count of physical art pieces in MTG history to six. The other four being from Urza's Saga - Cathodion, Claws of Gix, Voltaic Key, and Worn Powerstone, all by Henry G. Higginbotham who also did the classic cover art for the D&D manuals of 3rd edition, all also in the same physical style.

Muy creativo! Love how you broke this topic down saga-style. Great writing!

Your content is always amazing! You are entertaining and charming. Keep up the amazing work, Professor!!

Now this was full of stuff I had no idea about! Pretty cool! I for one would like to get see Sagas. They're definitely on the more unique side of MTG cards and I love the art and story in them (which is especially important since I'm a collector over a player when it comes to paper Magic).

Part of what makes sagas so engaging is that they're powerful ticking time bombs, but they still give an opponent the opportunity to defuse them before time is up. It adds a feeling of pressure or inevitability, while being versatile to many play types. By contrast, Planeswalker cards have very little wiggle room in terms of balance, and can end up being extremely unfun to play against. War of the Spark opened up a can of worms in the design space, with innate abilities on planeswalkers that made them feel even more constricting than usual. I've always thought that Planeswalkers should be temporary - cards that aid you in key moments, then planeswalk away. But I suppose it's much too late for that. Another great video, Prof!

What a wonderful video prof, definitely sagas are my favorite type of card in the game. I'd love so much if there were a couple sagas in each set and no planeswalkers.