Saddle of the Cavalier: Standard Selesnya Sunmare

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

Before We Start

After Outlaws of Thunder Junction introduced the Mount theme, Aetherdrift, a set built around racing, added one-mana Mounts and a quality big white Mount, Guardian Sunmare. The lists using one-mana Mounts were already shown in this series’ Standard Preliminary, and among big Mounts, Calamity, Galloping Inferno from Outlaws of Thunder Junction has huge one-hit-kill potential. So how can Guardian Sunmare be played?

Card Analysis

Creature | Horse / Mount
Ward {2}
Whenever this creature attacks while saddled, search your library for a nonland permanent card with mana value 3 or less,
put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Saddle 4

Guardian Sunmare is not only a solid 5/5 with built-in ward; when saddled and attacking, it can search for a nonland permanent with mana value 3 or less and put it straight onto the battlefield, which means every attack further expands your board advantage and finds the best answer for the situation. However, the five-mana cost and Saddle 4 requirement are the problems we need to solve. The decklist is as follows:

Decklist

First, we need to get Guardian Sunmare out quickly, so mana acceleration is crucial. Llanowar Elves, which returned to Standard with Foundations, Intrepid Stablemaster, the mana dork from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that specifically supports Mounts and Vehicles, and this set’s green Vehicle bigwig Lumbering Worldwagon, which can fetch a basic land onto the battlefield when it enters or attacks, set the tempo at one-three-five mana or two-five mana, aiming to land Guardian Sunmare on turn three.

For crew, the main job falls to Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero, who draws cards when tapped; the rest depends on creatures and Pilot tokens working together, including the Mount and Vehicle themed legend Miriam, Herd Whisperer, Defend the Rider, which can double as a protection spell, and, when needed, the manland Restless Prairie to fill the gap.

Removal consists of the main piece Get Lost, Unidentified Hovership, which can be fetched by Guardian Sunmare and exiles a creature with toughness 5 or less, and Detention Chariot, an answer to artifacts or creatures that has a chance to land on turn three, for ten pieces in total.

For lands, besides the dual lands Restless Prairie, Brushland, Razorverge Thicket and Hushwood Verge, I also threw in one Drannith Ruins to bulk up the Pilot tokens and Llanowar Elves, letting them crew Guardian Sunmare and Lumbering Worldwagon smoothly.

Gameplay Demo

Unlike traditional Vehicle and Mount decks, in this one the main early and mid-game beaters are the crew members themselves. In game one against Dimir, the two green-white legends dealt plenty of damage, Defend the Rider successfully fended off several removal attempts, and once Guardian Sunmare came down and got going the game became one-sided; two Unidentified Hovership exiled the Dimir Gearhulk Oildeep Gearhulk to decide the match. In the second game, the acceleration went smoothly and Guardian Sunmare landed on turn three; although the opponent interfered, it did not matter overall, and the indestructible black-white god Ketramose, the New Dawn meant little in front of Unidentified Hovership, and a final-draw Detention Chariot cleared the way and ended the game.

Conclusion

Among big Mounts, compared with the all-or-nothing Calamity, Galloping Inferno, Guardian Sunmare, with its library search, has considerable room for development. Like Zur the Enchanter, it can find the best answer for the situation when it attacks, and as long as you can meet the Saddle requirement, whether you splash a third color to widen the search range or pull out the matching hate cards in sideboard games, it works great. That is all for today’s sharing, see you next time!