Saddle

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Saddle
Keyword Ability
Type	Activated
Introduced	Outlaws of Thunder Junction
Last used	Aetherdrift
Reminder Text	Saddle N (Tap any number of other creatures you control with total power N or more: This Mount becomes saddled until end of turn. Saddle only as a sorcery.)
Statistics	31 cards 32.3% 3.2% 3.2% 19.4% 29% 9.7% 3.2% As of Aetherdrift
Scryfall Search
keyword:"Saddle"

Saddle is a keyword ability introduced in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. It only appears on cards with the Mount creature type.

Description

Saddle is an activated ability that is activated as a sorcery — meaning during your main phase while the stack is empty. Similar to the crew ability, Saddle is activated by tapping any number of creatures you control with total power equal to or greater than the saddle value N. Creatures with saddle, unlike Vehicles, can attack and block like a regular creature while unsaddled. Also unlike Vehicles, there's no mechanical connection between the saddle ability and the Mount type. If a Mount loses its creature types somehow, it retains its saddle ability.

As the saddle ability resolves, the Mount becomes saddled until end of turn. As Saddling is a sorcery-speed action, all Mounts lean towards attacking. Most Mounts have an attack trigger that only triggers while saddled; of those that are not, two are saboteur effects and one is an attack trigger that modifies its resolution if saddled. Stubborn Burrowfiend is unique in that its saddle effect is functional in the second main phase.

The flavor of Saddle is that the rider is now on the mount, and the combination makes them better.

Saddle and mount returned in Aetherdrift. Pilots in that set are compatible with Saddling and Mounts.

Design

Saddle was first designed for Aetherdrift as a way to represent the racing teams using non-vehicle modes of transport. It was originally a variant of crew called "crew steed".

Initially Outlaws of Thunder Junction had a different riding mechanic that was more complex. During the development cycle, R&D realized it was odd having two different mechanics hitting the same flavor so close to one another. As saddle was the simpler and more intuitive version, it replaced the mechanic in Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Saddle was then flavored to mirror the common practice of cowboys riding an animal (such as a horse), which is girthed with a padded and leather-covered seat. On Thunder Junction, the range of animals that can be saddled is much wider, with equine-adjacent things like unicorns or hippogriffs, stranger ones like bears or salamanders, and perhaps the oddest one of all in a porcupine.

Despite being in two sets relatively close together, Mount and Saddle are not going straight to evergreen, but R&D is exploring how often they want to use it.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Saddle

A keyword ability that lets you tap creatures to make another creature “saddled” until end of turn. See rule 702.171, “Saddle.”

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

Saddled

A designation given to a creature whose saddle ability has resolved. See rule 702.171, “Saddle.”

From the Comprehensive Rules (April 4, 2025—Tarkir: Dragonstorm)

• 702.171. Saddle
  • 702.171a Saddle is an activated ability. “Saddle N” means “Tap any number of other untapped creatures you control with total power N or greater: This permanent becomes saddled until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery.”
  • 702.171b Saddled is a designation that has no rules meaning other than to act as a marker that spells and abilities can identify. Only permanents can be or become saddled. Once a permanent has become saddled, it stays saddled until the end of the turn or it leaves the battlefield. Being saddled is not a part of the permanent’s copiable values.
  • 702.171c A creature “saddles” a permanent as it’s tapped to pay the cost to activate a permanent’s saddle ability.

Rulings

• "Saddle N" means "Tap any number of other untapped creatures you control with total power N or greater: This permanent becomes saddled until end of turn. Activate only as a sorcery."
• "Saddled" isn't an ability that a creature has. It's just something true about that creature. It won't stop being saddled until the turn ends or it leaves the battlefield.
• Creatures with saddle can attack or block as normal even if they aren't saddled.
• If a permanent becomes a copy of a saddled Mount, the copy won't be saddled.
• You may activate a permanent's saddle ability even if that permanent is already saddled.
• An ability that triggers when a creature "attacks while saddled" will trigger only if that creature was saddled when it was declared as an attacker.

Examples

Example

Drover Grizzly
Creature — Bear Mount
4/2
Whenever Drover Grizzly attacks while saddled, creatures you control gain trample until end of turn
Saddle 1 (Tap any number of other creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Mount becomes saddled until end of turn. Saddle only as a sorcery.)

See also

• Crew — A similar ability for Vehicles.

Trivia

• Horsemanship and Saddle are mechanically unrelated despite both being linked in flavor.