Overview:

This Naya (RGW) deck leverages Sagas as its core engine, utilizing Sigurd's boast ability to manipulate lore counters for value generation and +1/+1 counter distribution. The primary strategy involves accelerating Saga chapters to rapidly trigger their effects, creating tokens (Knights, Soldiers, Insects), generating card advantage, removing threats, and ultimately overwhelming opponents through combat with amplified creatures. Secondary themes include +1/+1 counter synergy and historic spell payoffs. Sigurd acts as a crucial enabler, providing vigilance/trample/lifelink for survivability and enabling targeted Saga advancement. While powerful when active, the strategy heavily relies on Sigurd connecting and is vulnerable to commander removal disrupting the engine.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-4): Prioritize ramping (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Farseek) and deploying Saga accelerators (Keldon Warcaller, Satsuki, the Living Lore, Barbara Wright). Cast low-cost Sagas (Arni Slays the Troll, Fall of Gil-galad) or value enchantments (Starfield Mystic, Jukai Naturalist). Protect Sigurd with Swiftfoot Boots or Reconnaissance.
2. Engine Activation & Board Development (Turns 3-6): Cast Sigurd and attack to activate boast, targeting key Sagas. Deploy critical engines: Setessan Champion, Eidolon of Blossoms, Historian's Boon, Branching Evolution. Advance Sagas like History of Benalia, Showdown of the Skalds, The First Iroan Games to generate tokens, draw cards, and place counters. Use Halana and Alena, Partners or Fall of the Impostor to amplify creatures.
3. Win Condition Execution (Turns 5-8+):
   • Combat: Overrun opponents with a wide board of tokens boosted by finishers like Overwhelming Stampede or Champion of Lambholt (making creatures unblockable). Leverage large creatures enhanced by counters (e.g., Wildsear, Scouring Maw, Eivor, Wolf-Kissed).
   • Value/Saga Lock: Recur multiple Sagas simultaneously with Resurgent Belief or Evolution Witness to generate overwhelming value and removal (e.g., recurring Elspeth Conquers Death, Battle at the Helvault). Utilize The Aesir Escape Valhalla for recursion loops.
   • Combo Potential: Resurgent Belief recurring multiple impactful Sagas can effectively lock out opponents or create an unstoppable board.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands (including at least one green source) and early ramp (Sol Ring, mana dork equivalent via land fetch, Arcane Signet).
• Prioritize hands containing Sigurd accelerators (Keldon Warcaller, Satsuki, the Living Lore, Barbara Wright) or a low-cost Saga/value enchantment (Starfield Mystic, Jukai Naturalist, Arni Slays the Troll).
• Hands with card draw engines (Setessan Champion, Eidolon of Blossoms) or protection (Swiftfoot Boots, Reconnaissance) are strong.
• Avoid hands lacking early plays, ramp, or Sigurd enablers, or those overloaded with high-cost Sagas without setup.

Key Tips:

• Saga Sequencing: Prioritize Sagas with early chapters that enable later plays (e.g., The First Iroan Games for counters/draw before Overwhelming Stampede). Use Sigurd's boast strategically to skip to final chapters (e.g., instantly creating Smaug with There and Back Again III) or repeat valuable mid-chapters.
• Protect the Engine: Sigurd and key enchantments (Setessan Champion, Branching Evolution, Historian's Boon) are vital. Use Reconnaissance proactively to protect attackers/blockers. Return to Nature and Stroke of Midnight can handle key hate pieces.
• Maximize Triggers: Historian's Boon creates tokens on Saga entry and Angels on final chapter. Setessan Champion/Eidolon of Blossoms draw on any enchantment ETB. Surtr, Fiery Jötun pings on any historic cast. Chain Saga casts/recursion for massive value.
• Leverage Counters: Use Branching Evolution to double counters from Sagas/Sigurd. Dusk Legion Duelist provides incremental draw. Champion of Lambholt makes your board unblockable as counters accumulate.
• Recursion is Key: Resurgent Belief is a potential game-ender. Evolution Witness retrieves key permanents. The Aesir Escape Valhalla offers targeted recursion. Satsuki, the Living Lore retrieves Sagas from the graveyard.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Enchantment Removal: Mass enchantment removal (Farewell, Cleansing Meditation) cripples the deck, destroying its engine, win conditions, and value. Targeted removal hitting key pieces like Setessan Champion or Branching Evolution is also devastating.
• Commander Reliance: Sigurd is essential for targeted Saga advancement. Repeated removal or tax effects significantly slow down the deck's core plan and +1/+1 counter distribution.
• Slow Mana Base: Heavy reliance on tapped dual lands (Blossoming Sands, Rugged Highlands, Selesnya Sanctuary, Boros Garrison) severely hinders early tempo and consistency.

Moderate

• Board Wipes: While the deck can rebuild with Saga recursion/value, wipes like Blasphemous Act or Austere Command reset token/counter progress and delay wins significantly.
• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void shuts off crucial recursion from Resurgent Belief, Evolution Witness, The Aesir Escape Valhalla, and flashback Sagas.
• Counterspell Density: The deck has limited ways to protect its key spells from stack interaction, making critical Sagas or engines vulnerable when cast.

Minor

• Artifact Hate: Hurts ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet) and specific cards like Swiftfoot Boots, but less critical than enchantment removal.
• Flying Threats: Can be problematic if the deck lacks sufficient reach/flyers, though tokens + Overwhelming Stampede often mitigate this.

Most Important Cards:

• Sigurd, Jarl of Ravensthorpe (Commander, Saga accelerator, counter source)
• Setessan Champion (Primary card draw engine, scales with enchantments)
• Resurgent Belief (Game-winning recursion for multiple Sagas)
• Historian's Boon (Token generation on enchantment/Saga ETB, Angel on Saga finish)
• Satsuki, the Living Lore (Saga accelerator, recursion on death)
• Branching Evolution (Doubles +1/+1 counters, critical for scaling threats)
• Overwhelming Stampede (Primary combat finisher)
• Eidolon of Blossoms (Major card draw engine)
• Halana and Alena, Partners (Key +1/+1 counter distributor, enables haste)
• Showdown of the Skalds (Card advantage, counter distribution)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

• Capable of establishing a threatening board/engine by turns 5-7 and winning via combat or Saga value shortly after, but slow mana and setup prevent faster wins. Fastest wins rely on perfect Sigurd/acceleration draws.

Resilience: 5/10

• Features some recursion (Resurgent Belief, Evolution Witness, Satsuki) and protection (Reconnaissance, Swiftfoot Boots), but core strategy is highly vulnerable to enchantment removal and commander disruption. Recovery from wipes is possible but slow.

Consistency: 6/10

• High enchantment/Saga density and multiple draw engines (Setessan Champion, Eidolon, Showdown) provide good access to the game plan. Lack of efficient tutors beyond green land fetch limits finding specific silver bullets.

Interaction: 5/10

• Offers solid targeted removal (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Beast Within, Return to Dust, Stroke of Midnight) and board wipes (Austere Command, Blasphemous Act). Lacks stack interaction (counterspells) and has limited instant-speed answers outside removal.

Rating Justification:

This deck demonstrates a focused Casual power level, leveraging Sagas for consistent value generation and win attempts typically around turns 7-9 via combat or recurring Saga effects. Its speed is hampered by a slow mana base and reliance on commander combat, while resilience suffers from critical vulnerability to enchantment removal. The rating reflects its ability to execute its unique plan effectively in casual pods but not compete with faster, more resilient strategies.

Power level: 4.5 - 5.0