Saga creature

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Saga Creatue
Mechanic
Introduced	Final Fantasy
Last used	Final Fantasy Commander
Scryfall Statistics
cards

Saga creatures are enchantment creatures with the Saga subtype which were first introduced in Final Fantasy.

Description

Summons are one of the most iconic recurring aspects of the Final Fantasy video game franchise: incredibly powerful mythical beings that only exist for a short period. To reflect this, the Final Fantasy set introduced the first Saga creatures to the game, and all that are sacrificed have their name prefixed with "Summon: " except for Braska's Final Aeon. In contrast, the Wardens and Esper Terra act like transformational power-ups, with humans infusing a large amount of mana to become powerful Eikons for a short period. As the game is an anthology series but with recurring elements, many summons return in name and theme across multiple games: Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut have two cards each.

When Saga Creatures are summoned, they enter with a single lore counter, granting you a chapter ability. After your draw step, you add a lore counter. The creature is sacrificed after the last chapter ability resolves. Thus, you have only a limited time to use the creature to attack.

As the Saga subtype comes with mechanical baggage, they resemble creatures with Vanishing X-1, where X is the highest chapter number. Relative to their cost, Saga creatures are not much larger, in contrast to Vanishing creatures, but their chapter abilities easily make up one card or more. There is also a new series of Legendary creatures with back-face Sagas that return to being creatures after the last chapter, like the Praetors of March of the Machine. One Saga is on the back of a Sorcery and another on the back of an Equipment.

They have a power and toughness as well as a text box that could fit abilities or flavor text, and the Saga reminder text is stretched across the top of the card to give it some vertical symmetry. Notably, the art is not given any special treatment, and the flavor has nothing to do with stories; rather, it uses the mechanics of Sagas to depict a temporary creature.

Rulings

• Saga creatures have two sections to their text boxes. The first section, above the type line, contains their chapter abilities, and the second section, below the type line, contains any other abilities (or italicized flavor text). Any abilities in the latter section aren't chapter abilities and apply no matter how many lore counters are on the creature.
• Due to a rules change that takes effect with the release of Final Fantasy, a Saga that somehow loses all of its chapter abilities will not be sacrificed as a state-based action. It will also not gain a lore counter at the beginning of each of its controller's first main phases.
• As a Saga enters, its controller puts a lore counter on it. As your first main phase begins (immediately after your draw step), you put another lore counter on each Saga you control. Putting a lore counter on a Saga in either of these ways doesn't use the stack.
• Each symbol on the left of a Saga's text box represents a chapter ability. A chapter ability is a triggered ability that triggers when a lore counter that is put on the Saga causes the number of lore counters on the Saga to become equal to or greater than the ability's chapter number. Chapter abilities are put onto the stack and may be responded to.
• A chapter ability doesn't trigger if a lore counter is put on a Saga that already had a number of lore counters greater than or equal to that chapter's number. For example, the third lore counter put on a Saga causes the chapter III ability to trigger, but chapters I and II won't trigger again.
• Once a chapter ability has triggered, the ability on the stack won't be affected if the Saga gains or loses counters, or if it leaves the battlefield.
• If multiple chapter abilities trigger at the same time, their controller puts them on the stack in any order. If any of them require targets, those targets are chosen as you put the abilities on the stack, before any of those abilities resolve.
• Removing lore counters won't cause a previous chapter ability to trigger. If lore counters are removed from a Saga, the appropriate chapter abilities will trigger again when the Saga receives more lore counters.
• Once the number of lore counters on a Saga is greater than or equal to the greatest number among its chapter abilities, the Saga's controller sacrifices it as soon as its chapter ability has left the stack, most likely by resolving or being countered. This state-based action doesn't use the stack.

Example

Example

Summon: Shiva
Enchantment Creature — Saga Elemental
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I, II Heavenly Strike — Tap target creature an opponent controls. Put a stun counter it. (If a permanent with a stun counter would become untapped, remove one from it instead.)
III Diamond Dust — Draw a card for each tapped creature your opponents control.
4/5