Sagas felt really weird when they were first released in 2018’s Dominaria, but in the time since then they’ve become familiar and comfortable, a very normal part of Magic. Plenty of new Sagas joined us in both Kaldheim and Neon Dynasty, to the point that building a two-color sagas deck with Satsuki, the Living Lore as a commander is not just doable, but pretty sweet.
EDH fan Stunningpram put together a list that looks to make the most of Satsuki’s ability to power through the chapters of your Sagas, in addition to having plenty of ways to recur Sagas after they’ve been sacrificed or removed. With enchantress card draw effects, plenty of graveyard recursion and more or less every single green and white Saga ever printed, there’s a lot to get across in this list!
GW Satsuki Sagas by Stunningpram
Commander
Creature (25)
Sorcery (8)
Instant (6)
Enchantment (26)
Land (31)
This is an enchantment-based deck, of course, and so there are no surprises to see all the usual suspects that overperform in enchantment lists. It’s not just the enchantresses, with everything from Mesa Enchantress to Sythis, Harvest’s Hand, but other classics like Sterling Grove and the more recent Sanctum Weaver. These cards are all more or less mandatory in any self-respecting enchantment-based EDH deck, and it’s no surprise to see them here.
The ramp suite is minor but still important, with Cultivate and Kodama’s Reach being joined by four one-drop mana dorks (as well as a handful of Signets). The mana dorks are of particular significance, given how many Sagas – such as Fall of the Impostor or Triumph of Gerrard – need a creature on the battlefield in order to offer full value.
More broadly, however, the Saga suite is pretty definitive – there are 22 green and/or white Sagas, and this list plays all of them. Some are pretty unexciting, like The Binding of the Titans or Befriending the Moths, but others are much more powerful, like Elspeth Conquers Death and The Restoration of Eiganjo. My all-time favorite Saga, The Birth of Meletis, is of course right in there – it’s basically Wall of Omens, and I won’t hear a word said against it!
The problem with Sagas, however, is that they don’t stick around. This deck is ready for that, however, with a ton of enchantment recursion effects. Eternal Witness and Auramancer can both regrow sacrificed enchantments to your hand, while Renegade Rallier can come down the turn you hit chapter three on a Saga to return a cheaper one right back to the field. There are quite a few cards that put the Sagas straight back into play, actually – like Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle and Sun Titan – while Norika Yamazaki, the Poet lets you cast them from the bin. Don’t forget about Brilliant Restoration as well, which brings back all your Sagas in one go.
Finally, while there isn’t much interaction in this deck, I do really like seeing enchantment-based removal like Darksteel Mutation and Kenrith’s Transformation. There aren’t many ways to properly remove opposing commanders from the equation, and these are amongst the best options!
This deck isn’t overly powerful by any means, but it can do some ridiculous things with triggering multiple chapters of multiple Sagas across huge turns with Satsuki, and plays a nice, mostly-fair midrange game as it does so. If you’re a fan of Sagas, perhaps you should give this deck a try – particularly as if you take out the Teferi’s Protection, it won’t break the bank.
