How the Saga Rules Change Affects Modern

Hello folks! Happy Wednesday. Things have been relatively quiet in the Modern meta space, but there are some specific cards moving more than others due to a recent rules change pertaining to Saga enchantments. 

Let’s talk about this rule change, and the financial implications that have resulted thereafter.

Urza's Saga

While Urza’s Saga has always been a powerhouse staple of the Modern format since its release, it’s recent uptick in price has little to do with changes in the composition of the meta itself, but rather changes to a quirky rules interaction that make its value in-game significantly higher (or, rather, it makes one of its core weaknesses considerably less potent). 

$73.90 $69.99

$3.31 $15.99

Prior to Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy, if someone were to, say, play a Blood Moon effect, Urza’s Saga would lose its abilities and become a generic Mountain. If a Blood Moon were in play, and an Urza’s Saga were to be played from anywhere, it would previously enter with no lore counters and immediately die to state-based actions. Now, a very simple rules update has dramatically improved the utility of this card:

If a Saga has no chapter abilities, it won't be subject to the state-based action that would cause it to be sacrificed due to how many lore counters it has. Similarly, it won't be subject to the turn-based action that adds a lore counter to each Saga you control at the beginning of your first main phase each turn…

Effectively, Urza’s Saga (or any Saga) that is put into play with a Blood Moon effect out will no longer die to state-based actions. Beyond this, if Urza’s Saga has any lore counters on it prior to the Blood Moon hitting the board, it will maintain the abilities those lore counters grant it, despite Blood Moon existing. In essence, Blood Moon effects simply stop Urza’s Saga from getting additional lore counters, but don’t take away from the abilities existing lore counters grant it. 

Why is this relevant? Well, a key breaking point in decks like Affinity and Amulet is the dissolution of their landbase, usually due to cards like Blood Moon or Harbinger of the Seas. The fact that these cards could effectively land and cause Urza’s Saga to die to state-based actions was a really potent play pattern that was at times backbreaking. 

Now these Blood Moon effects simply keep Urza’s Saga from ticking up. What’s more, if Urza’s Saga has two lore counters when a Blood Moon effect hits, it will have the ability to make Constructs in perpetuity, so long as the Blood Moon effect is in play, which presents huge upside, and immediately presents a valid pivot strategy when being staxed out by Blood Moon or Harbinger. 

So where does this leave us today? 

 

Wildly enough, the implications of this rules change in the meta have had significant financial ramifications as well, with Saga climbing back up $50 a pop for the first time in about a year. Is this sustainable? It’s possible; this rules change is not trivial, and gives significant resiliency to Affinity and Amulet Titan decks post-board when one would see Blood Moon effects more often in tournament settings. 

How much resiliency this provides or how meaningful on the margins this change will be on matchup percentages needs more time to be appropriately assessed, but it’s certainly a favorable outcome for decks most hurt by Blood Moon effects in the meta that also lean into Urza’s Saga.

Emry, Lurker of the Loch

Emry was a staple of Grinding Breach prior to its swift end as arguably the most oppressive deck in the meta since Bant Nadu. Having said that, aside from Underworld Breach, most staples from Grinding Breach shells have significant overlap with other archetypes in the meta, most notably Affinity or other artifact shells. 

 

Now, to be clear, Emry’s recent price appreciation is like a buck or two at most; however, its price appreciation is a direct result from the rules change to Sagas with Blood Moon effects out as we discussed. 

Now that Affinity has a bit more resiliency and Urza’s Saga on two lore counters with a Blood Moon can pump out Constructs even under a Moon or Harbinger, Emry also sees itself with a bit more utility than it would under the same Moon scenarios. 

To keep things simple, Emry hasn’t gotten “better” because of this rule change, per se, but rather Affinity as a whole is now slightly better positioned as a whole. Emry as a centerpiece of Affinity will naturally see a price rise as a result of this. 

Not unrelated, Thopter-Sword Combo decks also use Emry as an advantage engine, and while this niche combo deck may not be well-represented in the current meta, it’s an off-meta deck that also gets significantly better in a world with the Saga rules change, so Emry’s utility in that deck should also be taken into consideration when evaluating its recent price rise. 

Amulet of Vigor

As mentioned, if there was one deck out of all decks in the Modern meta that got hosed by Blood Moon and Harbinger of the Seas more than any other build, Amulet Titan would take the cake. Given that Amulet Titan runs a set of Urza’s Saga, which functionally represent Amulet of Vigor, the recent rules change greatly benefits Titan decks. 

Not only will Blood Moon effects no longer kill your Saga, now if the Blood Moon effect would be removed, you can resume upticking the lore counters on your Saga to get closer to searching for your Amulet of Vigor. 

Amulet Titan still continues to boost a relatively high win rate in the format (52% overall according to recent matchup matrices), so the relatively high asking price of $36 and upward trend in recent weeks isn’t too much to be surprised by. But make no mistake, this rule change makes Blood Moon effects a little less of a silver bullet out of the sideboard against a deck that otherwise folds very easily to them. 

Perhaps some of the uptick over the past week especially is reflective of this reality, and the optimism that pilots of this deck have going into a tournament scene that will now be reflecting this updated rules change for Sagas. 

Rounding Things Out

Today’s article is relatively short, as it’s been all quiet on the front of the Modern meta, save this rules change. Nevertheless, it’s incredibly interesting to evaluate the small financial opportunities that can come about simply through revisions and erratas of existing rules, rather than through new cards hitting the market or changes to the banned list.

Most of the changes discussed herein are likely going to have permanent effects on the levels of the prices of these cards, as their floor in terms of functionality have improved considerably irrespective of the meta itself. 

It goes without saying that Urza’s Saga (the single most-impacted Saga under this revision) is most beneficially affected by this change, so keep that in mind when speculating in the future, and recognize that it will be difficult for Saga to regress back to the price point it was at prior to this rules change. 

Further Reading

Cards to Watch From Final Fantasy

Checking In With Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

Potential Modern Playables in Final Fantasy