[Fun Deck] Where Did Thalia Go? Standard Abzan Mounts Build

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

The deck used in this article is a Fun Deck build. Its power level is below top-tier decks and it is provided for readers’ reference only.

Before we start

While the New Phyrexian army invaded the multiverse, a brave and fearless soldier wielding an angel-blessed lance, riding the most fearsome The Gitrog Monster, charged among the mechanical army of Elesh Norn invading the plane of Innistrad, fighting for Innistrad’s inhabitants! Even though her homeland had already been destroyed in the chaos of Eldritch Moon, with the Eldrazi and horrors running rampant, she still walked on steadfastly with her beliefs. She is our eternal Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.

After the war, Thalia and the Gitrog Monster both vanished from Innistrad, whereabouts unknown…

Treasure, Racing, Thunder Junction!

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Gitrog Monster, Gitrog Monster, Number One!

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride is without doubt the most powerful Mount in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. If you can cast it by ramping, it will be a huge nightmare for the opponent! And the turn-2 Intrepid Stablemaster gives you a chance to land the Gitrog on turn three! Attacking right away with a 6/5 trampler on turn three is a nightmare for nearly every midrange deck (OK, if the opponent has a Glissa Sunslayer still standing, pretend I didn’t say anything).

Other Mounts and Core Components

Now let’s talk about the other Mounts used in the deck. Of course, because the Gitrog is so dazzling, the other Mounts look much weaker. There’s one problem: their bodies were all too small when they came out, and the vast majority die to a single Cut Down, which is very annoying. But there’s no helping it; it seems Mount body design can basically never escape this fate. Here is a brief introduction to the Mounts used in this deck:

• Ornery Tumblewagg, as a beefed-up, fattened version of Luminarch Aspirant, is basically the second-best Mount after the Gitrog. We have no better options, so it’s definitely a full four;
• Caustic Bronco, as the Mount version of Dark Confidant, although as a creature deck based on white-green it can’t necessarily be played on time on turn two, is still worth trying as a source of card advantage when attacking;
• Stubborn Burrowfiend can instantly become a huge attacking threat once you have some creatures in your graveyard, but without a rider it’s just a 2/2 vanilla, which is not very satisfying;
• And finally, Seraphic Steed is itself a very good source of growth, and its ability reminds me of the former Modern powerhouse Geist of Saint Traft. Although the Saddle 4 requirement is a bit strict, it can fight and gain life by itself, and its colors match the deck’s main colors, so I still put in 3 copies.

Now to the deck’s core members. These three are important cards that must be played as full four-ofs in a Mounts build:

• Miriam, Herd Whisperer is the core of the core. After she enters, your Mounts and Vehicles have hexproof during your turn, and they keep growing after attacking!
• Intrepid Stablemaster, besides giving the deck a ceiling of the Gitrog on turn three, is itself a very good ramp source for Mounts. After he comes down on turn two, even without the Gitrog you have a chance to cast two Mounts in a row to take over the board. He’s an indispensable accelerant.
• Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero, a three-mana 4/2 with vigilance, looks ordinary, but he’s an important way to earn resources in the deck. If you use him to crew the Gitrog, you can sacrifice him after combat, and including his own tapping, you draw five and gain five in total!

Land Choices

On a close look, this deck has only two core creature types: Mounts and Humans! In that case, putting in Cavern of Souls is a very natural choice, and the Mount-specific tribal land Bucolic Ranch can pair with this deck’s total of 14 Mounts, and in the mid-to-late game it also works as a source of refilling your hand. And by “benefiting” from having no one-mana Mounts, we can simply give up the one-drop curve to bring in the powerful white-green and black-green manlands as extra ways to win in the mid-to-late game.

However, since we brought two tribal lands, three copies each, when your opening hand has only tribal lands while you hold creatures of both the Mount and Human types, think carefully so you don’t get yourself stuck!

The Soul of the Deck, Thalia

Since our deck really hates being disrupted, the two-mana Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a very important way for us to resist disruption. Of course, Grand Abolisher’s effect would be even better, but two white mana requirement is simply too heavy, and our white-green splashing black deck just can’t support it.

Then, since we’re already playing the three colors of Abzan, why not try the long unemployed Thalia and the Gitrog Monster! First strike and deathtouch basically force the opponent to trade a removal spell for it, or else she can single-handedly hold down the opponent’s ground forces. The other two abilities also always come in handy at some point. But honestly, thematically this slot should be a fourth The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride, but I really wanted to give this Thalia a job, so let’s leave it at that!

The Deck’s Weaknesses

Obviously, this is a creature deck, and in terms of their own stats the creatures don’t even reach the “aggro” level of current Standard. The Mounts and the core card Miriam, Herd Whisperer both rely heavily on attacking to gain an advantage, which means that if they can’t get to attack, then excluding the Gitrog, this is basically a bears deck. If some effect could give the whole team haste, it might make the deck more aggressive, but that basically means going into red, and then a Mounts theme would make little sense , maybe tearing the whole deck apart would be faster XD

This is also a deck that gets ahead if it lands the Gitrog on turn three on the play, and even if the Gitrog is killed you have a chance to follow up by laying out a big array of threatening Mounts to organize a second wave of attacks. But conversely, it’s also a deck where, on the draw without a turn-two Thalia, everything you cast might get killed, leaving you with very little sense of control. In an environment where black-based decks are still strong, white-green Mounts may be safer staying at home XD

Aftermath: Where is Thalia?

The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride came alone to rampage in Thunder Junction, and the new version isn’t just the opponent’s nightmare; every pilot who wants to ride it has to think carefully, to avoid becoming a meal for the Gitrog, who is ravenous after attacking.

But, where is Thalia!??