Introduction
This deck is part of the Pauper Decks, which are made from only common cards. The great thing about Pauper is the majority of the cards are cheap to buy, and are still strong as there are quite a lot of good common cards over Magic's history.
Key Strategy
Aura Hexproof is a deck designed to quickly create an untargetable, massive creature by stacking powerful auras on creatures with hexproof. The main goal is to put your opponent on a fast clock with an unstoppable, ever-growing threat.
Key Cards
Slippery Bogle and Gladecover Scout are your primary early-game plays. Each costs just one mana and comes with hexproof, ensuring that your opponent can't target them with removal. Silhana Ledgewalker costs a bit more but has the added bonus of being unblockable except by creatures with flying, making it even harder to deal with.
Rancor is a staple aura, costing just one green mana while giving +2/+0 and trample. The best part about Rancor is its recursion; if the creature it’s attached to dies, Rancor returns to your hand, ready to be cast again.
Ethereal Armor and Ancestral Mask are your primary buffing auras. Ethereal Armor gives +1/+1 for each enchantment you control and grants first strike, which makes it a powerful early and late-game card. Ancestral Mask provides a massive boost by giving +2/+2 for each enchantment on the battlefield, not just your own. This card is a game-ender when your opponent has also invested in enchantments.
Armadillo Cloak is another powerful aura that gives +2/+2, trample, and lifelink, providing both offensive power and life gain, which can put you far out of reach of your opponent.
Cartouche of Solidarity and Sentinel's Eyes provide cheap, useful effects like vigilance and an additional body to help against sacrifice effects. Spirit Link can provide life gain that can keep you in the game against more aggressive decks.
Commune with Spirits and Utopia Sprawl help you smooth out your draws and ramp into your key spells, while Abundant Growth provides both mana fixing and card draw.
Strategy
Your primary strategy is to play a hexproof creature early, then start stacking auras on it to create an unstoppable threat. Your key creatures—Slippery Bogle, Gladecover Scout, and Silhana Ledgewalker—are all designed to avoid removal and become large enough to end the game in just a few turns.
Start with Rancor or Ethereal Armor to give your creatures an immediate power boost. As the game progresses, Ancestral Mask and Armadillo Cloak will push your creature's power level over the top, often swinging the game in your favor in one hit. Armadillo Cloak and Spirit Link ensure you stay healthy while doing so.
One of the deck's strengths is its resilience to removal, thanks to the hexproof ability on your creatures. However, you need to be cautious of board wipes and edict effects (which force you to sacrifice a creature). To mitigate this, consider spreading your auras across multiple creatures or using Cartouche of Solidarity to create an additional body.
With Aura Hexproof, you aim to present a threat that’s too big, too fast, and too difficult for your opponent to deal with, ultimately overwhelming them with a single, massive creature that’s impossible to stop.
When deciding on your opening hand, prioritize having a hexproof creature like Slippery Bogle or Gladecover Scout in your starting seven. Without one of these creatures, your deck struggles to execute its primary game plan, so it's often correct to mulligan a hand that doesn't include one.
If you have a hexproof creature, look for at least one enchantment to start building your threat. A hand with a creature, Rancor, and a mana source is usually worth keeping. If your hand has multiple enchantments but no mana acceleration or only one land, consider a mulligan to avoid being stuck without the necessary resources.
Lands should typically be kept at two to three in the opening hand. With Utopia Sprawl and Abundant Growth available to fix colors and provide acceleration, you can afford to keep a hand with only one land, especially if you have one of these mana-fixing enchantments.
In summary, aim for hands that allow you to establish an early, untouchable threat and start stacking enchantments as soon as possible. Don’t be afraid to mulligan aggressively to find a hexproof creature and the mana needed to cast your spells.
Key Cards
Cards to look for in the opening hand