Storied and Enduring Stories in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Thorin Oakenshield | Illustration by Francisco Miyara

Tolkien’s books get their fair share of stories, myths, and legends, often told in the form of poems or songs, and The Hobbit itself is a compilation of Bilbo’s adventures while he lived with a company of notable dwarves.

The dwarves we know and love from The Hobbit, like Thorin Oakenshield, have a new mechanic called storied. Once you meet the requirements, you gain an enduring story. Today, we’ll see exactly how players can have an enduring story, not only in games, but for the years to come.

Let’s dive into the stuff legends and myths are made of!

How Does Storied Work?

Heirloom Epic | Illustration by Fiona Hsieh

Storied is a mechanic found on creatures, currently all legendary dwarves from The Hobbit. The reminder text reads: “If you control three artifacts, legendaries, or sagas, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.”

So, let’s say I have Thorin Oakenshield in play. It’s already a legendary card for the three I need. After that, I cast an artifact and a saga. At that point, the criteria for the storied mechanic are met, so I’ll have an enduring story for the rest of the game. They don’t have to be one of each; I’ll have an enduring story the moment I control any combination of three legendaries, sagas, or artifacts. You do have to control those permanents all at the same time, though.

This mechanic is a callback to two other MTG mechanics: Dominaria’s historic card type (artifacts, legendaries, and sagas are historic) and Rivals of Ixalan‘s ascend, which gives a player the city’s blessing once you have 10 or more permanents.

The History of Storied in MTG

Storied first appeared in 2026's The Hobbit. It features on a dozen or so red and white dwarf cards that represent the dwarves from The Hobbit’s story. We have this mechanic on Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli, among others. The mechanic only appears in the Standard-legal main set.

What Does Enduring Story Mean?

An enduring story is a designation you get in MTG, kind of like an emblem from a planeswalker. Having an enduring story doesn’t give you any direct benefits; you still need cards that work with it.

So, if you have Fíli the Pathfinder in play, your creatures will get +1/+1 thanks to the enduring story, while a lower-power card like Ori, Keeper of Songs only grants itself get +1/+0 and vigilance. Without any storied permanents in play, the enduring story doesn't do anything, but it will stick around for the next storied card that enters.

Can You Remove an Enduring Story?

No, you can’t. Once a player has an enduring story, it’s there for the rest of the game. One thing you can try is to remove the storied card (or the requisite card types) before the enduring story condition is met.

Do Enduring Stories Work for Other Storied Cards?

Yes, the enduring story carries over. Once a player has an enduring story, it’s there for the rest of the game, so the next storied cards will benefit from having an enduring story. The creature that gave you the enduring story doesn’t need to survive for you to enjoy the bonus.

When Does Storied Trigger?

The storied ability does not trigger at all. It doesn’t use the stack, and it doesn’t triggered use typical trigger words (when, whenever, at). It's a mechanic that checks the game state at all times, and once that condition is met, the player simply gains their enduring story and keeps it for the rest of the game.

What If a Permanent Has Multiple Historic Card Types?

If a permanent has multiple card types that matter for storied (example: The Arkenstone as a legendary artifact), it counts as only one permanent for storied. You need to have three qualifying cards in play, similar to how the party mechanic works: A changeling is all creature types, but it only counts as one party member.

Enduring Story vs. The City’s Blessing

Enduring story and the city’s blessing have similarities, but you gain them under different conditions. The major difference is that enduring story works with storied cards, while the city’s blessing works with ascend cards. All storied cards give you a benefit if you have an enduring story, while all ascend cards give you a benefit if you have the city’s blessing.

The main difference is that ascend wants you to have 10 permanents, while storied wants you to have three historic permanents (artifacts, legendaries, and sagas).

Gallery and List of Storied Cards

• Balin, Loremaster
• Bifur, Melodic Rider
• Bombur, Gentle Dreamer
• Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills
• Fíli the Pathfinder
• Kíli the Resourceful
• Óin the Brave
• Ori, Keeper of Songs
• Thorin Oakenshield

Best Storied Cards

#5. Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills

I see Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills as an interesting card for a saga-filled deck, where you’ll have Dáin’s static bonus to protect yourself from your opponents’ attacks. It’s fragile as a 2/2, so you’d better complement it with cards like Ghostly Prison and Propaganda.

#4. Bifur, Melodic Rider

Bifur, Melodic Rider is that kind of card that goes into any dwarf-based Commander deck, just because doubling triggers is so powerful.

#3. Fíli the Pathfinder

Just having Fíli the Pathfinder in play means that each dwarf you cast comes with another 2/2 creature, and once you have an enduring story, all creatures (not just dwarf ones) get +1/+1. The more, the merrier!

#2. Balin, Loremaster

Balin, Loremaster is a nice draw and discard engine in a deck with dwarves. Getting to discard your hand and draw X cards is powerful, and many red cards support this while opening graveyard synergies.

#1. Kíli the Resourceful

Kíli the Resourceful shows is where WotC likes to spend their points to push a card. You basically get Sram, Senior Edificer for dwarves, and some equipment will attach for free. It’s on a lower power level because it’s once per turn, but that’s ideal to avoid snowball combos. But think about the turn where you get to play a Colossus Hammer, draw a card, and equip it for free and swing? That’s what this card wants to do.

End of Storied

Chulane, Teller of Tales | Illustration by Victor Adame Minguez

Storied and enduring story are tailor-made mechanics that make sense for The Hobbit. They reflect the story aspect of Tolkien and the dwarves, and it’s a nice touch that all cards with this mechanic are legendary and are some of the main dwarves from The Hobbit’s story. We can also see that many designs have a Limited power level, with two or three cards that can make the jump into Constructed formats, and it gives the dwarven creature type a boost, most of which already run equipment and artifacts.

What do you think of storied, guys? Are you looking forward to having an enduring story for the rest of the game? Let me know in the comments section below. Join the conversation in the Draftsim Discord, and check out our YouTube Channel, The Daily Upkeep.

Until next time, stay safe!