Fight as One: Standard Selesnya Mounts

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

Before We Start

Mounts are one of the signature abilities of Outlaws of Thunder Junction. In Limited they’re a real force with the boost from Miriam, Herd Whisperer, but looking at the Mounts alone their bodies aren’t especially outstanding and they need to attack to trigger their abilities. Can a Standard tribal deck really work?

Deck Introduction

Take the White-Green rare Mount Seraphic Steed as an example. A two-mana 2/2 with first strike and lifelink that makes a 3/3 Angel when it attacks saddled looks pretty good, but its body is really not outstanding, it doesn’t gain stats when saddled, and unless you find a way to fatten it up or give it evasion, it can easily go out and never come back. Although the Mount system has ways to put +1/+1 counters like Miriam, Herd Whisperer and Ornery Tumblewagg, the growth is rather slow, and against medium and large creatures you can only stare helplessly. In addition, Saddle 4 is no small restriction, and saddling with Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero alone is really not enough. So how do we meet that requirement? See the following example:

Decklist

The answer that patches Seraphic Steed’s flaws is the Backup ability from March of the Machine. Doomskar Warrior and Boon-Bringer Valkyrie simultaneously satisfy power 4, add counters, and grant evasion, and come with effects that gain resources and lots of life, making them a wonderful pairing. I also picked Archangel Elspeth for the planeswalker slot. Her [-2], putting counters and making Angels, lets Seraphic Steed truly grow wings and fly over the opponent’s ground defenses, her [+1] making lifelink Soldiers can stall the opponent’s offense, and if she survives to her [-6] ultimate she can rebuild the board immediately.

Besides Seraphic Steed, this deck’s Mounts additionally include Ornery Tumblewagg and Stubborn Burrowfiend, two Mounts that can grow themselves, plus the Mount-specific Vehicle Mobile Homestead. Ornery Tumblewagg’s counter doubling and counter pumping interact well with the Backup creatures above and Archangel Elspeth, producing quite brutal output, and it’s not unheard of to finish the opponent in two swings. Mobile Homestead has the advantage of being a two-mana Vehicle that rarely gets removed, and when attacking it can put a land from the top of your library onto the battlefield, accelerating you all the way up if things go smoothly. Stubborn Burrowfiend is a curve-filling choice, but since it grows based on the number of creatures in your graveyard, it can still deliver amazing hitting power in the mid to late game.

For removal I chose March of Otherworldly Light and Get Lost. Get Lost removes creatures, enchantments or planeswalkers at instant speed, and its high versatility is probably well known, so I won’t go into it here. March of Otherworldly Light is also a highly versatile card. Although the X cost restriction makes it very hard to use against expensive cards like Leyline Binding, it’s quite handy against prowess-style small aggro decks or convoke, especially when you spend one mana at instant speed to pop the opponent’s Clue or Blood and make Gleeful Demolition fizzle, which will certainly leave the opponent stunned. I also included two Skrelv, Defector Mite to provide protection and evasion.

Gameplay Demo

The first opponent was Jeskai Artifacts, built around the Gundam factory Simulacrum Synthesizer. The opponent smoothly went Simulacrum Synthesizer on turn three and Skitterbeam Battalion on turn four, and the board was instantly filled with three prototype Skitterbeam Battalions and three 8/8 Constructs. Although I had Skrelv, Defector Mite, Seraphic Steed, Mobile Homestead and Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero, I could only stare helplessly at this board… so Archangel Elspeth gracefully descended. Archangel Elspeth gave Seraphic Steed a pair of wings, flying over the opponent’s defenses to gain life and make Angel tokens to stall the offense. Although the opponent later slammed the reach creature Twinshot Sniper to try to stop Seraphic Steed’s attack, the Doomskar Warrior I had dug up gave Seraphic Steed trample, and in the end it trampled over Twinshot Sniper for a successful comeback.

The second game was against everyone’s old friend, Selesnya Toxic. For the first three turns both sides built their boards. The opponent went Jawbone Duelist on turn two, then Slaughter Singer and Venerated Rotpriest on turn three, while I went Skrelv, Defector Mite on turn two and Ornery Tumblewagg on turn three. What looked like an even board tilted sharply my way with the arrival of Doomskar Warrior on turn four. After Doomskar Warrior saddled Ornery Tumblewagg, the first swing grew it to an 8/8 trampler, and the opponent gave up blocking and took 8, which let me pull another Doomskar Warrior into hand. Realizing the situation was against him, the opponent went all in on the counterattack, but it was no use. The second Doomskar Warrior entered and rode Ornery Tumblewagg again, letting this swing grow it to an 18/18 trampler, and before its doubling ability resolved, the opponent decisively chose to concede.

Conclusion

Besides Selesnya, the Mount tribal theme can also be tried in Abzan colors. In this site’s recent article Where Did Thalia Go? Standard Abzan Mounts Build, you can see that this color combination has quality Mounts such as Caustic Bronco and The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride to use, and bringing black removal and hand disruption can also raise overall stability. However, the previous article’s version didn’t address the Mounts’ flaws, and easily turned into a plan that relies on The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride to force through, which is awkward if the opponent’s removal catches it or if it comes down too late to break through the opponent’s defenses. I believe this article has provided an apt answer for improvements, and interested readers might try blending the two versions to build something.