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Where Sagas came from
What this set is
Dominaria is the return to Magic's original plane, and it is the set that gave the game Sagas. A Saga is an enchantment that tells a story a chapter at a time: it gets a lore counter as it enters and another at the start of each of your precombat main phases, doing something at each chapter and then leaving when the last one resolves.
That is a new card type rather than a keyword, which is rarer than a new mechanic and is why Sagas turn up in almost every set since. Theros Beyond Death, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Dominaria United have all leaned on them.
Historic is the keyword that holds the set together. It means artifact, legendary or Saga, which sounds arbitrary until you notice that it lets one word ask about three things a Dominaria deck is doing anyway. Legendary creatures are everywhere here, and legendary sorceries, which you can only cast if you control a legendary creature or planeswalker, are the one card type that only exists because of it.
Themes
Every mechanic in Dominaria
Sagas
A new enchantment type that advances a chapter on each of your precombat main phases and sacrifices itself after the last one. Each chapter does something on its own, so a Saga is several spells stapled together on a timer rather than a permanent you protect.
Historic
Means artifact, legendary or Saga. One word covering three things, chosen because a Dominaria deck is doing all three anyway. It is the set's connective tissue rather than a mechanic you build around on its own.
Legendary sorceries
A sorcery you can only cast while you control a legendary creature or planeswalker. Powerful for the cost, gated behind a board state you have to build first, and a card type that exists only because this set made legends common enough to rely on.
Kicker
Pay an extra cost as you cast the spell for an extra effect. It is Dominaria's own mechanic historically, back from Invasion, and it does the same job here: a card that is fine early and better late.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Dominaria shipped under a single code and has left Standard, which is the only format it left.
Not Standard-legal. Standard only ever holds the last few years of sets, so everything this old has long since left it. These cards are still playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
Ten draft archetypes
A full ten-pair format, and one that plays longer than most. Sagas take three turns to pay off and historic rewards a deck that keeps permanents around, so aggression has to get there before the enchantments do.
All ten two-colour pairs
Full ten-pair format
Historic and artifacts anchor the blue and white end, Sagas turn up in every colour, and the legendary creatures are the cards that decide games. Kicker gives most decks something to do with a late-game mana surplus.
Boosters, precons and singles from Dominaria are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Dominaria still Standard legal?
No. Standard only holds the last few years of sets, so a 2018 release left it long ago. DOM cards are still legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
How do Sagas work?
A Saga is an enchantment that gets a lore counter as it enters and another at the start of each of your precombat main phases. Each chapter does something when its counter is reached, and after the final chapter resolves the Saga is sacrificed. It is several spells on a timer rather than a permanent you protect.
Did Sagas start in Dominaria?
Yes. Dominaria introduced them as a new enchantment type, and they have appeared in most sets since, including Theros Beyond Death, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Dominaria United.
What does historic mean in Magic?
Historic means artifact, legendary or Saga. One word covering three card types, chosen because a Dominaria deck is doing all three anyway. A card that cares about historic permanents counts all of them together.
What is a legendary sorcery?
A sorcery you can only cast while you control a legendary creature or planeswalker. They are powerful for their cost and gated behind a board state you have to build first, and the card type exists only because Dominaria made legends common enough to rely on.
Did Dominaria have Commander decks?
No. It shipped Planeswalker Decks rather than Commander precons.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Dominaria released on Apr 27, 2018; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
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