SUMMARY
Overall, this is an enchantment heavy hexproof creature deck that uses cantrips and Kruphix's Insight to get to the meat of the deck faster and more consistently. While the current color combo is G/W/U, I can realistically play any color spells I want providing they don't cost more than one colored mana to cast. This provides a great deal of flexibility now and for the future. As new cards come into the format, this deck can adjust quickly without major needing major edits.
MANA BASE
Forest
The land portion of the mana base is strictly basic forests. The deck relies on land enchantments to provide non-green mana. Why play only forests? The hexproof creatures require green mana to be played and need to be played on the first turn to hopefully avoid one of their two key vulnerabilities: counterspell (the other is 'edict' effects). Playing any 'comes into play tapped' lands would increase the risk of having a hexproof creature counterspelled and also slow the deck as a whole. Basic = Fast.
Abundant Growth & Unbridled Growth
Since Abundant Growth cantrips and Unbridled Growth effectively cycles I am able to get any colored mana I need and shrink the deck to get myself to the core components quicker and more consistently. All the while drastically increasing the number of enchantments on the field of play and in the deck. In theory, I could get away with just two Unbridled Growth along with four Abundant Growth and four Utopia Sprawl, but I've come to like the greater mana consistency I get with the four Unbridled Growth that pushes the land enchantment count up to twelve.
Utopia Sprawl
While Utopia Sprawl doesn't draw me into anything, it does however drastically speed up my mana production and can help with the color I need most. Since it can only target forests, it's another reason to stick with only forests for lands.
CREATURES
Gladecover Scout & Slippery Bogle
These are the foundation and most irreplaceable elements of the deck. One green mana hexproof creatures. I don't feel like there is any other choice than to include a playset of each. They are why the deck exists.
Silhana Ledgewalker
You might think that four of these would be a no-brainer as well. Well, sometimes the unblockability helps and sometimes the two casting cost is crippling. If there was another one green mana hexproof creature, I'd probably put it in this slot. But as there isn't, this is the next best option. I have also kicked around only playing three of these to keep the casting costs down, but due to the probabilities of getting a creature in the opening hand the deck needs at least twelve hexproof creatures and couple possibly use one or two more if they existed. So four Ledgewalkers it is...
Aura Gnarlid
I love the Aura Gnarlid. When I started building this deck, I was convinced it was a permanent fixture that should never be taken out. But the reality is that playing four types of three mana cost spells including Armadillo Cloak, Ancestral Mask and Kruphix's Insight, will occasionally cause cripplingly slow hands that only start to get going on turn four. And if you haven't done anything by turn four, you've more or less lost. For me, Armadillo Cloak, Ancestral Mask and Kruphix's Insight are more vital to the deck than the Aura Gnarlid. And to get the deck fast, I had to cut it. There are just too many three casting costs cards. Your mileage may vary.
CARD DRAWING
Commune with the Gods vs. Heliod's Pilgrim vs. Kruphix's Insight
I feel every deck needs some kind of card drawing mechanism. So many other decks can obtain crippling card advantage, especially if you are drawing just one card a turn, that some degree of card drawing is necessary. Commune with the Gods would let me get an enchantment or a creature. And sometimes being able to get just what I need can make all the difference. But it really isn't gaining me any cards, it's just letting me choose. Heliod's Pilgrim, in essence, would give me an enchantment of my choice and a creature. However, I feel like the creature lacks any real impact because it's the only creature my opponent can target and focus their creature hate at, and they will. The choice of enchantment is nice, but largely I don't feel like this effect is back-breaking. But for me, Kruphix's Insight is brutal. When played, I search the top six cards of my library and keep three of the best enchantments. As long as I have a creature and the ability to play all of the enchantments I get really quickly, the game is typically over. Three mana for not just three cards, but for three of the best cards out of six? Brutal. I strive to keep the enchantment count over 25 and most of the enchantments relatively inexpensive. So when it hits Kruphix's Insight wins the game.
CREATURE ENCHANTMENTS
Rancor
I think Rancor is a good card, probably even a great card in the right context. But I struggle a bit with it in this deck. The return-ability just isn't much of a factor since very few hexproof creatures actually go to graveyard. +2/+0 is good if the creature has first strike, but honestly +1/+1 would be more useful. Toughness is a big factor as you can't afford for your hexproof creatures to die in combat or otherwise. The key here is the ability to add trample. And right now there just isn't a better option to add trample. Fists of Ironwood is probably the closest competitor and would work well in an edict heavy metagame. But its mana cost is too expensive and it doesn't pump up our creature in any other way than trample.
Blossoming Sands & Khalni Garden
Plains vs. Unbridled Growth
Utopia Sprawl & Abundant Growth
So obviously... many, many aura enchantments combined with Aura Gnarlid, Ethereal Armor and Ancestral Mask. These three cards form the back bone of the deck, but the lynch pin of the deck is Armadillo Cloak. Trample, +2/+2 and life gain generally puts the deck over the top.
I have no idea why so many other Hexproof/Bogles-style decks don't play Kruphix's Insight. If you're playing 25 or more enchantments there is no reason not to play this card. You should average gaining 2.5 cards. And not just a random 2.5 cards, the best 2.5 creature enchantments in the next 6 cards. It's more card advantage and more synergistic than Heliod's Pilgrim or Kor Skyfisher / Abundant Growth, which seem to be other common hexproof/bogle draw mechanics.
Also, a lot of hexproof/bogles decks I've seen play Blossoming Sands and Khalni Garden. These lands come into play tapped. And since your best chance of winning is to quickly beat down your opponent before they have an opportunity to establish control, early mana is vital and these lands make the deck too slow. I highly recommend basic lands only. Also, the speed advantage to playing Utopia Sprawl is huge. Allowing you to drop more auras sooner than land alone. Abundant Growth does three things for us as it replaces itself, counts as an aura and fixes our mana. There is a good case to be made with Khalni Garden vs. edict effects, and frankly if your metagame is heavy with edicts and speed is less of a concern, I could see these being useful. But, really, avoid Blossoming Sands.
Also, why wouldn't you play with Aura Gnarlid? It's not uncommon for this deck to drop a third turn Aura Gnarlid for three mana that is 7/7 and essentially unblockable. I know it's not hexproof, but that also means your opponent won't be able to sideboard out all of their relatively useless creature removal. And if they don't have an answer for it, well then, they just lost.
SIDEBOARD
I'm still working on tuning the sideboard. So what is here is kind of preliminary.
MAYBEBOARD
My Maybeboard is pretty big, but that's on purpose. Since Pauper is an evolving format, I want to keep some of the better cards I've thought about close at hand, just in case a new common can suddenly make these other cards relevant.
Thoughts? Comments are welcome.
INSPIRING DECKS
JessNES's No Plains Variant
Wahrghoul84's No Utopia Sprawl Variant deck:15-06-16-gw-hexproof
