Instant (3)
Enchantment (24)
Creature (13)
Land (20)
Sideboard
Instant (1)
Enchantment (12)
Creature (2)
We will play hide and seek, OK? I will hide and you will seek me. If you find me, you win! ... and this basically is how this deck works.
This is a competitive tournament-level modern deck. It is designed to close the game as early as possible and to use its resources with maximum efficiency.
This deck is built around the hexproof creatures and a high number of synergistic enchantments which help build the needed pressure.
G/W Auras were played by Reid Duke at the World Championship at 2013 where he got to the finals with it and most recently by Daniel Ward at the Grand Prix Vancouver 2015 where did TOP 8 with it.
Overview:
I chose // for multiple reasons. provides the best creatures for this strategy, i.e. the hexproof creatures, while has the best and most efficient enchantments from the colour pie. also has access to some of the best sideboard cards in modern. is here in minority as the sideboard option against multiple problematic cards which a cannot solve.
This decks primary strength is speed. It can have explosive starts and is able to kill the opponent by turn 4. The auras add powerful effects and buffs to the enchanted creature and make from it a threat that the opponent is usually unable to deal with.
This deck performs great against most of the aggro and control based decks, as abilities such as first strike, lifelink, vigilance or totem armor and the overall number of +1/+1 stats are often deadly for these decks.
This decks primary weakness is its reliance on Slippery Bogle and Gladecover Scout . Turn 1 targeted discard can often be deadly for this deck. Another problem is represented by sacrifice effects as abilities gained from the auras cannot save the enchanted creature. The last problem is represented by cards that destroy all enchantments in play, such as Back to Nature . All of these problems are covered in the sideboard.
This deck also has problems against quick combo decks such as Amulet Bloom.
The Strategy:
The strategy of G/W Auras is fairly simple. You do want to land a turn one creature with hexproof which is then followed by the enchantments that make from it a hard-to-remove threat. As Bogles is a non-interactive deck, you do want to make your creature as big as possible in the shortest period of time to finish your opponent before he or she has the time to defeat you.
Keep in mind one rule: fetch as often as possible. You never need more than three lands in play, so you want to thin your deck as much as possible. Top decking lands with three or more in play is just bad for this deck and it can cost you the victory.
Aggro in general is our favoured match-up. That is because Bogles deck is a fast deck that can easily race aggro decks such as Zoo. Aggro decks are even more favoured as there are 6 enchantments that grant lifelink to the enchanted creature and it is easy to nullify their clock thanks to it.
Control is a favored match-up in general speaking as well. Control is just too slow for the Bogles deck and conventional board wipes such as Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods or Supreme Verdict are ineffective against this deck due to the access to enchantments with Totem Armor effects.
Midrange decks are less favoured than a dedicated aggro deck. A midrange deck often has access to discard spells. A turn one Inquisition of Kozilek removing our only hexproof creature may sometimes mean the end of our hopes. Therefore in games against midrange decks depends a lot on the fact who is on the play. Generally, games against midrange decks are a gamble.
Combo decks cannot be categorized. It depends a lot on how fast is the combo we are facing. Bogles is a deck that is not interactive before sideboarding, thus it has almost no possibility how to stop the combo. The game plan corresponds with this fact as our main chances on winning are to race them as quickly as possible.
If your only creature got killed or your enchantment world was destroyed, there are not many ways to come back. If your only creature got killed and you still have some enchantments in your hand, you may try to beat them with the Dryad Arbor, which might work.
Yet the best way is to prevent that from happening. While its game plan is simple, this deck requires a lot of thinking and patience, you have to know what you can afford to do against certain decks and when you can fully go off. You do have to play around certain cards you fear. This requires a lot of practice, though once you get the feeling for these situations, you will find yourself winning quite often.
The first rule of this deck is that you must not be afraid of taking aggressive mulligans. You never want to keep a hand without a hexproof creature. Hands that contain four or more lands are basically very bad as you will probably lack enough action and will not be able to make your attacker big enough.
Basically, you want to see a hexproof creature, from one to three lands and the rest should be auras.
Do not hesitate to mulligan. This deck is very explosive and can easily win the game from a mulligan down to four cards.
A good hand would look like this: Gladecover Scout , Windswept Heath, Razorverge Thicket, Ethereal Armor, Rancor and Spider Umbra. A hand like this you will always keep. The list of actions goes like this:
T1: Windswept Heath, fetch the Temple Garden, play the Gladecover Scout .
T2: Razorverge Thicket, play Rancor(Spider Umbra) and Ethereal Armor, attack for 5 (4).
T3: play any other auras you might have top decked. If you have top decked the Kor Spiritdancer, wait until you have at least one another aura in hand and then play it, followed by the aura for maximum efficiency.
As already stated at the beginning, the best match-ups are against control (chances to win are almost 70%) and aggro (around 71% chance to win). This deck is weak against certain combo decks, namely Amulet of Bloom (chances to win are only around 40%) and it has big problems with Infect (chances to win are around 50%).
If your meta consists mainly of control and aggro decks, this deck is the right choice.
Sideboards of G/W Auras differ from one version to another. For example, I chose to run blue cards in my sideboard because my meta requires this move, yet you most probably will not find these blue card in other sideboards. I also play Seal of Primordium as there are Chalice of the Void in the sideboards. If there are no Chalices in your meta, run Nature's Claim instead. Here is how I sideboard:
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U/R Twin - fair matchup
They are relying on the combo against bogles. We have to be quick and hopefully have a Path to Exile or Qasali Pridemage response ready. Our situation gets better after sideboarding as we have a plenty of hate cards against them.
In: 1x Suppression Field , 2x Seal of Primordium, 2x Swan Song, 2x Gaddock Teeg
Out: 2x Spirit Mantle, 2x Unflinching Courage, 2x Spirit Mantle, 1x Keen Sense
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Abzan - bad matchup
Game one is a gamble and it matters a lot on who is on the play. If bogles are on the draw and opponent plays turn one Thoughtseize, life gets miserable for bogles. Liliana of the Veil is something that can easily disrupt bogles as well. Life gets better after sideboarding as Leyline of Sanctity stops both Lili and the discard spells.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 1x Suppression Field , 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 1x Qasali Pridemage, 1x Keen Sense, 3x Spider Umbra, 1x Path to Exile
(If they are likely to play Back to Nature in the sideboard, side in 2x Swan Song).
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Affinity - good matchup
Affinity as an aggro deck is our favourable match up. Lifelink, first strike and Path to Exile are the paths to the victory.
In: 2x Seal of Primordium, 1x Stony Silence, 1x Suppression Field
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 1x Unflinching Courage, 1x Spider Umbra, 1x Spirit Mantle
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Amulet Bloom - bad matchup
They can combo quickly and there is almost no way how to interact with them. The main hope is to race them as quickly as possible and send any Primeval Titans that would show up on the Path to Exile.
In: 1x Suppression Field , 2x Swan Song, 1x Spell Pierce, 2x Seal of Primordium
Out: 2x Unflinching Courage, 1x Keen Sense, 3x Spider Umbra
(If you feel that they might bring in the Spellskite, you may side in Stony Silence. If you think that they keep in the Hive Mind combo (which they are likely not), you may side in the Gaddock Teeg.)
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Burn - good matchup
We are quick for them. Especially if they are on the creature plan, it will be hard for them to stay in the game for long or even win the game. Lifelink and speed are both very important here.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Swan Song, 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 3x Spider Umbra, 1x Keen Sense, 1x Path to Exile, 2x Spirit Mantle
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G/W Hatebears - fair matchup
They have a hard time dealing with our creatures. Look for Path to Exile and play your fetches as early as you can as they become really bad with Aven Mindcensor. If your sideboard contains more removal side it in. Otherwise do not side anything.
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Infect - fair matchup
It is 50/50 chance on winning for both sides. Infect is quicker, though if you manage to kill their first few attackers, you can race them. Be as quick as possible.
In: 2x Swan Song, 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 2x Unflinching Courage
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Merfolk - fair matchup
They will soon make themselves unblockable, yet we are fast enough and we have lifelink and targeted removal. They might race the bogles, though.
In: 1x Suppression Field , 2x Seal of Primordium
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 2x Spider Umbra
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B/W Tokens - good matchup
Their only weapon against bogles is discard. If you manage to stick a hexproof creature against them, you are safe.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Seal of Primordium
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 3x Path to Exile, 2x Spider Umbra
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Zoo - good matchup
You only have to stick an early bogle and be fast enough. Path to Exile will be handy as well as auras that grant lifelink, vigilance or first strike. Their burn spells are very unpleasant though.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity
Out: 1x Qasali Pridemage, 1x Keen Sense, 2x Kor Spiritdancer
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Scapeshift - good matchup
Their early game is weak against us, so try to use it in your advance. Be aware of the Cryptic Command lock, though.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Gaddock Teeg, 2x Swan Song
Out: 1x Qasali Pridemage, 1x Keen Sense, 3x Path to Exile, 2x Spirit Mantle, 1x Spider Umbra.
(If you think they have Chalice of the Void in their sideboard, keep in the Qasali Pridemage and side in the two Seal of Primordium. Side out 2x Unflinching Courage and 1x Spider Umbra.)
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Soul Sisters - good matchup
Their gameplan is weak against boggles and they have almost no way how to react with the hexproof guy.
In: 2x Swan Song, 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 3x Path to Exile
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R/G Tron - fair matchup
They are slightly in favour. If they are on the play and play Pyroclasm on turn two, it might be deadly for us. Also Ugin kills us pretty badly.
In: 1x Stony Silence, 2x Gaddock Teeg, 1x Suppression Field , 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 2x Spirit Mantle, 2x Unflinching Courage
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Mono-U Tron - good matchup
Mono-U Tron is slower than R/G Tron and lacks Pyroclasm. The only problem is Chalice of the Void that is often played in the main board. Though bogles should be able to close the game earlier than the Tron is able to do something problematic.
In: 2x Gaddock Teeg, 2x Seal of Primordium, 1x Suppression Field
Out: 2x Unflinching Courage, 1x Keen Sense, 1x Spider Umbra, 2x Hyena Umbra
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8-Rack - bad matchup
First game is heavily in their favour. There is plenty of targeted discard and we quickly run out of cards. A single Smallpox can completely kill us. The same it is about Ensnaring Bridge (until we have Qasali Pridemage, but that is only one-of). After sideboarding, our chances should be much higher.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Seal of Primordium
Out: 2x Spirit Mantle, 1-2x Hyena Umbra , 2x Spider Umbra, 1-2x Path to Exile (depends on the version of 8-Rack).
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Storm - good matchup
Game one is a gamble. The chances on winning are approximately 50/50. After sideboarding our chances increase.
In: 4x Leyline of Sanctity, 2x Rest in Peace
Out: 1x Keen Sense, 3x Spider Umbra, 2x Spirit Mantle
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U/W/R & U/W control - good matchup
They are too slow and lack responses. Their board wipes are ineffective and the targeted removal as well. They are likely to bring Spellskites and Engineered Explosives. Our only sideboard is against their sideboard. If they are likely to play enchantment board wipes, side against these.
In: 2x Seal of Primordium, 1x Suppression Field , 1x Stony Silence
Out: 2x Unflinching Courage, 1x Spirit Mantle, 1x Hyena Umbra
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Living End - bad matchup
The matchup is good until they cascade into Living End by which the Bogles are killed and the entire board state is lost.
In: 2x Swan Song, 1x Spell Pierce
Out: 1x Qasali Pridemage, 2x Unflinching Courage
One can be asking now: Why the heck no Rest in Peace? The reason is simple. If the Living End gets countered, the Bogles will win. If not, there is the Kor Spiritdancer. After Living End resolves, if we had a Rancor on the bogle, it will now return to hand (there is no RIP). Now it is possible to rebuild quickly with the Kor Spiritdancer and the Rancor. If you do not like this plan, just side in the Rest in Peace, yet it would not be possible to rebuild.
a) Dryad Arbor - you shall never forget that it is in your deck. If you know that your opponent is running a Liliana of the Veil, for example, always keep an uncracked fetch land for as long as you control only one creature on the field. If your opponent plays the Liliana choosing to make you sacrifice a creature, in response crack your fetch land fetching the Dryad and sacrificing it instead of the hexproof creature.
b) Daybreak Coronet - if your opponent controls a Spellskite and you control a creature with at least one aura on it, go and cast the Coronet. The first line of text on it makes from the Spellskite and invalid target, thus it cannot make you to target it with the Coronet.
c) Ethereal Armor - after sideboarding, you will usually sideboard in many non-aura enchantments. Keep in mind that the Armor counts these enchantments as well.
d) Kor Spiritdancer - when you play it, you should ideally have at least one another aura in your hand. When you successfully cast the Spiritdancer, you do not pass the priority and your opponent cannot immediately kill it which means you can cast an aura putting the Kor's ability on the stack and draw at least one card with it.
Card Choices Explained:
Due to the fact that this is an aggressive deck, you may not afford to have lands that come into play tapped. At the same time, you need your lands to be able to give you both the white and the green mana, which is why the deck might get a little bit expensive.
4 Windswept Heath + 3 Misty Rainforest - as stated above, you want to fetch a lot. Additionally, these lands can fetch you the Dryad Arbor, thus giving you some protection from sacrifice effects.
3 Temple Garden - ideal target for the first one or two fetches.
1 Hallowed Fountain - can be fetched by any of the fetches, included because of the sideboard cards. Chose the Fountain over Breeding Pool as most of the enchantments are white and Daybreak Coronet requires to cast, which might be tough to do with the Breeding Pool .
4 Razorverge Thicket - almost always comes into play untapped, giving us both of the needed colours, does not cost any life. An ideal land.
2 Plains + 1 Forest - I have one more basic than necessary, that is because Blood Moon is seeing a lot of play these days and with only one Plains, it would not be possible to cast the Daybreak Coronet with Blood Moon on the field.
Dryad Arbor - explained multiple times.
Horizon Canopy - ideal land for longer games. When we get to the top deck mode, its second ability makes it possible to transform it into another card, thus it is helping with top decking. There might be included more copies in the deck than just one.
4 Slippery Bogle + 4 Gladecover Scout - creatures that are hard to remove, they are resilient to any targeted removal which makes them perfect for this strategy.
4 Kor Spiritdancer - great in top decking mode, if it is not killed, it can become a ridiculously large creature very quickly.
1 Qasali Pridemage - an added possibility. This deck could simply be killed by Ensnaring Bridge or slowed down by Chalice of the Void and so on. Also can destroy a Splinter Twin. Qasali seems to be the right card capable of solving these problems.
4 Ethereal Armor - an all-star of this deck and the real reason to play this deck. Granted first strike makes it great against any aggro and the number of +1/+1 it gives in this deck is ridiculous.
4 Daybreak Coronet - this does everything we might possibly want. The only downside is that it falls off of the creature when it should be the only aura enchanting it.
4 Rancor - a perfect card to have in the opening hand. It gives the deck the needed evasion and at the same time it boosts the enchanted creature. It also helps us rebuild when our creature get killed.
4 Hyena Umbra + 3 Spider Umbra - great for one mana enchantments. The Totem armor effect makes the enchanted creature almost impossible to kill. At the same time, it boosts the enchanted creature and the first strike ability helps against aggro decks.
1 Keen Sense - good card against control. This deck can sometimes lose the steam against control and an additional constant card draw is the right thing to steal the game.
2 Spirit Mantle - more evasion. At the same time, great against aggro based decks.
2 Unflinching Courage - evasion and lifelink and boost on the same card makes this card almost perfect. The only downside is its cost, which is quite high for this deck, which is the reason why there are only two copies of it.
3 Path to Exile - helps against infect, aggro and combo decks like Splinter Twin, where they would have been able to combo off freely if it was not for this card.
Other Information:
If you like this deck and you are thinking of building it, please keep in mind that this is a competitive deck. It is not recommended for casual play. You will most probably win in the casual meta, but it will not be enjoyable for your opponents and it would not bring you the right experience from playing this deck.
Another thing to think of when considering this deck as your future modern deck is patience. You will often find yourself winning mainly because of your patience. Also be aware that this deck punishes you for some bad choices and sometimes tends to stop working properly against all logic in situations when you need some luck. Though bear in mind that when working properly it is more than able to beat absolutely any deck you face.
If you are on a budget and still want to build this deck, you may save some money by replacing the Misty Rainforest with Wooded Foothills and Hallowed Fountain with Breeding Pool . It is possible to leave out the fetches entirely, though you might find yourself a bit mana flooded and because of worse mana fixing it is possible you will not have access to the right mana. You may also run one more basic land instead of the Horizon Canopy.
You may replace the 4 Daybreak Coronet with one more Spider Umbra, 2-3 additional Keen Sense and another Unflinching Courage/Spirit Link/Spirit Mantle, all of this depending on your meta. But please do keep in mind that there is no equivalent replacement for the Coronet and the deck will perform worse.
In the sideboard, you may replace the 4 Leyline of Sanctity with a mix of Spirit Link, Suppression Field (it sort of protects you against Liliana of the Veil as her activation costs two more mana), more Stony Silence and so on. But please be aware that your match-up namely against Abzan gets much worse. If there are many Abzan decks in your meta and you cut the Leyline, definitely add another Dryad Arbor. Also your match-up against Burn gets worse, so you might want to add Spirit Link into your sideboard.
You may also cut the blue part of the deck completely, yet it would make you more than vulnerable to cards like Back to Nature .
Will be edited soon
Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, observations and ratings are all welcome!
When suggesting cards, please keep in mind that this deck is competitive and designed for tournament playing and must only contain the most efficient and powerful cards available for this strategy.
If you like the deck, please show up your support by giving it +1!
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| Date added | 9 years |
| Last updated | 8 years |
| Legality | This deck is Modern legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 0 - 2 Mythic Rares 24 - 7 Rares 17 - 4 Uncommons 16 - 2 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 1.38 |
| Folders | Story, Modern, Bant (Modern/Standard), modern, fun, Modern Decks I Like, Decks, G/W, Decks, Wills 60 card work shop |
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