Sagas are back in Magic: The Gathering’s latest Universes Beyond release Doctor Who (WHO), which sees the British sci-fi show brought to life in MTG in a similar vein to The Lord of the Rings earlier this year.
During a live Twitch stream on Oct. 3, Gavin Verhey and colleagues spoiled all the Sagas lining release date of Oct. 13. Doctor Who spoilers have slowly been leaking over recent months. Back in May, players got the news that the set would only be legal in eternal formats, namely Commander, Vintage, and Legacy.
We also know the set will be released with a variety of products, such as four new commander decks, each with a different Doctor. The new set will also be available in collector boosters with alternative full art foils, and most importantly, it will bring back Planechase cards.
A total of 18 sagas were spoiled during the livestream on Twitch. For the fans of Doctor Who, these sagas are a total flavor win, as each saga represents a core episode of the long-standing BBC series.
The top 10 Saga cards from the Doctor Who MTG set
10. The Flux
- Mana Cost: 2RR
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: The Flux deals 4 damage to target creature an opponent controls. Lore Counter 2 to 5: Exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn. Lore Counter 6: Add 6 red mana to your mana pool.
Starting off our list is The Flux. A four-mana enchantment that right off the bat blows an enemy creature away. After that initial explosiveness, it adds fuel by exiling the top card of your library, allowing you to cast it this turn.
Finally, it adds six red mana to your mana pool. This Saga offers everything a red player wants, from explosions and fuel to massive amounts of mana to continue blowing things up.
9. An Unearthly Child
- Cost: 1UU
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counters 1 to 3: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a Doctor card, a card with doctor’s companion, or a Vehicle card. Put that card into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
This Saga digs through your deck for only three mana until it finds a Doctor, a doctor companion, or a vehicle. The best part is it does the same effect for each of its lore counters.
An Unearthly Child is perfect for decks searching for powerful vehicles like Smuggler’s Copter, Heart of Kiran, or Skysovereign, Consul Flagship.
8. Blink
- Cost: 2UB
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1 and 3: Choose target creature. Its owner shuffles it into their library, then investigates. Lore Counters 2 and 4: Create a 2/2 black Angel artifact creature token with first strike, vigilance, and “Whenever an opponent casts a creature spell, this permanent isn’t a creature until end of turn.”
As most players know, removal is king in any MTG format. Blink gets rid of two creatures, even if they are indestructible. Those familiar with Chaos Warp will know how efficient such an effect can be. To top it off, Blink also gives the players two chump blockers.
7. The Caves of Androzani
- Mana Cost: 3W
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: Put two stun counters on each up to two target tapped creatures. Lore Counter 2 and 3: For each non-Saga permanent, choose a counter on it. You may put an additional counter of that kind on that permanent. Lore Counter 4: Search your library for a Doctor card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
The Caves of Androzani puts two stun counters on two tapped creatures. Therefore, this white Saga needs to be timed perfectly. After this little hurdle, the card is excellent at keeping opponent creatures at bay by continuously putting stun counters on them for several turns.
Alternatively, players can add counters to their permanents, such as Planeswalkers or creatures with +1/+1 counters. Finally, the Saga tutors for a Doctor for its fourth and final lore counter. Overall, it’s a solid white card.
6. The Night of the Doctor
- Mana Cost: 4WW
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: Destroy all creatures. Lore Counter 2: Return target legendary creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Put your choice of a first strike, vigilance, or lifeline counter on it.
This saga has an immediate impact on the board by completely wiping out all creatures. However, many white spells do the same just as efficiently, if not better. What makes The Night of the Doctor special is that it brings your best creature back from the graveyard for free.
The second lore counter does not require the legendary creature to have died due to the board wipe. Thus opening a doorway for any legendary creature casually lying in the player’s graveyard to return from the dead with a small power-up.
5. The Eleventh Hour
- Mana Cost: 3U
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: Search your library for a Doctor card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Lore Counter 2: Create a Food token and a 1/1 white Human token with “Doctor spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.” Lore Counter 3: Create a token that’s a copy of target creature, except it’s a legendary Alien named Prisoner Zero.
A four-mana tutor effect might look like a steep cost at first glance, but The Eleventh Hour makes up for it by helping the player cast the good Doctor for one less generic mana on the next turn. This saga sits comfortably in fifth place because of its third and final lore counter.
Cloning a creature but changing the name of the creature is a clever way to bypass the “legendary rule.” The Eleventh Hour does not only tutor and help players cast their favorite Doctor, but it also clones him or her.
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
- Mana Cost: 2W
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: Create a 1/1 white Human Noble token with vanishing 3 and “Prevent all damage that would be dealt to this creature.” Lore Counter 2: Create a 2/2 white Horse creature token with “Doctors you control have horsemanship.” Lore Counter 3: Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player this turn, time travel.
This card has a lot to unpack, besides the absolute flavor win. The Girl in the Fireplace creates the perfect chump blocker that cannot be killed through damage, granting the player more time. The second lore counter goes on the offense by giving all Doctor creatures that the player controls horsemanship.
For those who were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall, horsemanship is an ability that allows a creature only to be blocked by other creatures with horsemanship. It’s a pretty rare ability that few cards today possess.
The third and final lore counter allows players to time travel for each creature that dealt damage this turn. Time travel is a brand-new mechanic from this set, that allows players to add or remove time counters from permanents, such as suspended cards. The Girl in the Fireplace, if timed right, can be a game changer by removing or adding several time counters from a permanent.
3. Trial of a Time Lord
- Mana Cost: 1WW
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1 to 3: Exile target nontoken creature an opponent controls until Trial of a Time Lord leaves the battlefield. Lore Counter 4: Starting with you, each player votes for innocent or guilty. If guilty gets more votes, the owner of each card exiled with Trial of a Time Lord puts that cord on the bottom of their library.
Trial of a Time Lord is a fun political card that will have the table negotiating and seeking the lesser of two bad options by the time it reaches its fourth and final lore counter. This Saga exiles a creature card each turn for three turns.
At the fourth turn, players will have to use their best Jedi mind tricks to convince the rest of the table to get their creature back or agree to get rid of all creatures for the greater good. In the best-case scenario, the table gets rid of the biggest threats on the table, and the game can last a little longer. In the worst-case scenario, you’ve stalled your opponents long enough for your own strategy to unfold.
2. Fugitive of the Judoon
- Mana Cost: 4G
- Type: Enchantment – Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counter 1: Create a 1/1 white Human creature token with ward 2 and a 4/4 white Alien Rhino creature token. Lore Counter 2: Investigate. Lore Counter 3: You may exile a Human you control and an artifact you control. If you do, search your library for a Doctor card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
As soon as Fugitive of the Judoon enters the battlefield, it creates a bulky 4/4 alien rhino token and a human creature token with Ward. Its second lore counter generates a Clue token, which is not astonishing but helps activate the third lore counter.
This Saga truly shines with the third lore counter, which not only tutors for a Doctor card but also allows the player to put it directly onto the battlefield without paying its mana cost. For players looking to run a Doctor Who deck, which is sort of the point of this whole set, Fugitive of the Judoon is a must-have in any green-colored commander.
1. Death in Heaven
- Mana Cost: 3B
- Type: Enchantment — Saga
- Rarity: Rare
- Ability: Lore Counters 1 and 2: Target player mills two cards, then exiles their graveyard. Lore Counter 3: Put all creatures exiled with Death in Heaven onto the battlefield face down under your control. They’re 2/2 Cyberman artifact creatures.
In the right deck, Death in Heaven will push the player casting it so far ahead of everyone else that it will be nearly impossible for the rest of the table to catch up. This Saga will fit like a glove in wheels effect decks such as Nekusar, The Mindrazer, and Kess, Dissident Mage.
It also makes complete sense in Discard strategies such as Sheoldred, The Apocalypse, and Tinybones, The Trinket Thief. The idea would be to fill up the opponent’s graveyards and then steal all of their creatures with all of their juicy abilities.
Players can test all the Doctors and their companions on Oct. 13 with the release of the MTG Doctor Who Commander set.
