Ajani Fells the Godsire
A Saga structured to play out a single combat narrative rather than a value engine. Chapter one opens with removal that answers a real threat (any opponent creature with power three or greater), the kind of preemptive strike that clears a blocker or a bomb before the buildup begins. Chapter two spends the interlude assembling the board: a Cat Warrior body and a vigilance counter that turns one of your creatures into an attacker who never leaves the ground undefended. Chapter three is the payoff, granting double strike for the swing the first two chapters set up. What makes the three-chapter arc coherent is the delay: a Saga's lore counters accrue one per turn, so the double strike does not arrive until two turns after the removal, and the vigilance counter from chapter two is the permanent residue that survives the sacrifice. That pacing is the whole design tension. The instantaneous version of this effect (kill something, make a token, pump a creature) would be an unremarkable pile of value; splitting it across three turns forces you to protect an investment and reap it on schedule, which is exactly what Sagas were built to model. The vigilance counter is the cleverest touch, since counters persist independent of the enchantment that grants them, leaving a lasting mark on the battlefield after the story concludes and the Saga leaves.
