Do you remember your first encounter with Magic? I remember mine, however vague: It was fourth grade and I was out in the school yard and saw classmates playing the game. That was it- the game had its hooks in me. I remember going to the local comic shop where I had bought Marvel Trading Cards- Comic's Plus- and buying packs upon packs of Revised, the Dark, and Fallen Empires. I recall learning the rules, poorly, and making my first decks. I still remember that extremely evocative feeling of enchanting a Craw Wurm with Firebreathing. It was no longer simple cardboard, but an entire battlefield that played out in my imagination. I was a great and powerful wizard and I was making something better.

Fast forward a few years- I am now in high school, spending money at a different collectible shop and spending time at the legendary Neutral Ground. I get wind of a tournament on the first day of Urza's Saga legality in Standard (then known as Type II) and I was stoked. I had the sickest deck, thanks to me busting tons of packs: UR Echo with Fiery Mantle- the Firebreathing that never died- and Wayward Soul. How could I lose? I had all these Auras (back then we called them Enchant Creatures) and a creature that would not die as long as I kept a single Blue mana open. I was impervious...and I proved it in round one.

I sat down and shuffled up against my opponent, a man much older than myself who had a well tuned and tested deck, utilizing the mana generation of Priest of Titiana to generate a lethal Stroke of Genius. It was a combo-machine, and I was playing a draft deck.

To this day, I do not know how I won, but I did. My opponent had a website and wrote a log of the tournament, titled “Happy Birthday, Alex Ullman,” as the event was close to that celebration. My next jaunt to Neutral Ground, I was greeted by Brian David-Marshall with the surviving nickname Happy Birthday Alex Ullman.

My history is tied to Auras.

And these were not even good Auras. The first of the new Auras came out in the next set, and that was Rancor. Rancor was great because it gave a boost to power and a form of evasion in trample, all while costing a measly G and coming back if the creature died. Before this time, Auras were seen as poor investments as one spell could potentially take out two of your turns. Why waste your time on a spell that was contingent on a permanent when you could just cast another creature and beat down? The fact that Rancor came back was the impetus of a change in the way people thought about Auras.

Before this there was Empyrial Armor, which was so good that it mitigated the cost of running it in a deck. The ability to load it up on an evasive Shadow creature, alongside Spirit Link was good enough to win US Nationals in 1996 and perfectly set up to take down the dominant Red, combo, and control decks of the day.

Wizards caught on- they realized that people enjoyed the idea of building their own monsters and slowly made Auras better and better. We have gone from Unholy Strength to Rancor to Armadillo Cloak to Clout of the Dominus and beyond, Auras have gotten increasingly more enticing as a payoff for running the risky investment. In fact, in Pauper, Aura Aggro occupies its very own niche of the metagame, operating on a slightly different set of principles than its Enchatmentless counterpart.

Why Auras, though? Simply put, Pauper is at a relatively flat power level. Commons, by nature, are not very swingy and need to be balanced for draft formats. This means we end up with a wide variety of Gray Ogres and Grizzly Bears with different block abilities and synergies tacked on- even the all powerful Mulldrifter can be seen as a Grizzle Bear with on-block themes coursing through its vein (and also the theme of Blue being stupidly good). Being able to enhance your bear, no matter how special it may be, will go a long way towards winning attrition fights during combat and hopefully deal more damage to the opponent.

The ability to build a better monster is just one reason why Aura aggro strategies work. The Aura used has to be potent enough to actually matter alone. Early in my work on this site, I got into a protracted argument regarding a popular PDC deck known as Nightwalker- the goal of this deck was to load up a Silhana Ledgewalker with as many Black Auras, such as Unholy Strength and Vampiric Link as possible and go to town. This would often result in one Elf wearing three pairs of pants. Compare that to something as simple as a Clout of the Dominus, which can give the same power boost and other relevant abilities for a greatly reduced mana cost. If you are going to build an aggressive deck using Auras, you should pick Auras that are good enough on their own, without having to be hooked up with other fragile Auras.

Aura aggro also shines in formats where spot removal is at a nadir. Even the premier Black deck currently runs no more than eight maindeck spot removal spells, and one of them costs a whopping four mana! When removal is at a low point, the ability to load up a creature becomes enticing as the chances of your investment going the way of Madoff are at an all time low. The lack of flexible sweepers in Pauper also lends itself to making Auras a more palatable option: losing an Aura'd up creature and a small army to a Wrath of God stings just a little more than just losing an army. Topdecking an Aura in a format such as this is also less likely to result in the subsequent throwing of the deck across the room, as you are more likely to have a target than in a format with a true Wrath.

This, in turn, leads to the problems with Aura strategies: when poorly constructed they become decks that seek to optimize the Aura rather than have the Aura optimize the rest of the deck. For the slower decks, such as Cloak with Guardian of the Guildpact, this is more acceptable (especially the no longer played Evu Cloak, which could run out a Guardian on turn three thanks to mana elves). These decks degenerate often into combo decks that attack for the win. If you draw the cards in the right order, you have put yourself in a wonderful position to win if unmolested. However, creatures are the most fragile card type in Pauper and nearly every deck has a way to make combat steps swing in their favor. This is one reason why I favor the decks presented later in the article, as they can win without an Aura, yet the fragile investments present a dominating end game plan rather than an “all in” like the aforementioned Nightwalker. When decks adapt and run more targeted removal, Auras take a huge hit, as hitting a creature in response to the targeting can often be a fatal blow from both a tempo and card advantage perspective. This is one reason why I ran Seal of Fire in my Red Husk list- I was wary of Cloak decks running Safehold Elite and wanted some more outs. If Aura aggro becomes big, expect to see more versatile bounce cards, as Repeal and Echoing Truth are both maindeckable cards even without Auras running wild.

Finally, Auras themselves are not threats, only threat-enhancers. If these steroids run into the Magic version of Bud Selig, the damage might have already been done, but then they'll get an “intestinal parasite” and end up back in Oakland. Okay...that is an incredibly obscure and New York, and by proxy American, centered comment...but by gosh, it is my article and I I love baseball too much to let this over thought analogy go to waste. Oh, where was I? Yeah, um, Disenchant effects really take the wind out of your sails, and with Qasali Pridemage likely to make it into multiple maindecks, running Aura's as your main strategy right now may not be so hot.

With all that out of the way, let us take a look at two evolutions of the first Aura Aggro deck- Armadillo Cloak:

Naya Cloak

3rd Place by PojotheChicekn in Pauper PE 3

Creatures 4 Armadillo Cloak 4 Basking Rootwalla 4 Guardian of the Guildpact 4 River Boa 4 Silhana Ledgewalker 4 Wild Mongrel 4 Wild Nacatl 28 cards Other Spells 1 Firebolt 4 Incinerate 4 Lightning Bolt 9 cards

Lands 8 Forest 6 Mountain 5 Plains 4 Terramorphic Expanse 23 cards Sideboard 3 Ancient Grudge 2 Coalition Honor Guard 2 Llanowar Knight 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Thrill of the Hunt 4 Valeron Outlander 15 cards

GW Hate

3rd Place by YouJustGotStrunked in Pauper PE 2

Creatures 4 Armadillo Cloak 4 Basking Rootwalla 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 4 Llanowar Knight 4 Safehold Elite 3 Steward of Valeron 4 Valeron Outlander 3 Wild Mongrel 30 cards Other Spells 4 Oblivion Ring 4 Shield of the Oversoul 8 cards

Lands 9 Forest 9 Plains 4 Terramorphic Expanse 22 cards Sideboard 3 Aven Riftwatcher 4 Circle of Protection: Red 4 Hallow 3 Naturalize 1 Ray of Revelation 15 cards

Although the creatures have changed, the concept is the same: Stick an Armadillo Cloak on a hard to solve creature and go to town. This only works because Cloak is such a swingy card. In a format defined by creature, +2/+2, lifelink, and trample...well, that is about as close to the bees-knees in Green-White as you can get. Naya Cloak is far more control-combo than aggro, wanting to stick that hard to solve threat and then clear the path with burn, only occasionally using it to deal those final few points. GW Hate is just that- a hate deck targeted at Swamps. It also wants to create its very own monster with Shield of the Oversoul. The God Auras from Shadowmoor and Eventide gave Pauper access to a whole slew of potent Auras that opened up more options in the pants department. Here, however, they serve as a way to supplement the Cloak strategy and hate out MBC. While Naya Cloak is more potent, GW Hate is more consistent and can play out as a bad beatdown deck with greater ease than Cloak, as it has a greater potential to hit a curve and just smash face. I have been working on my own version of this deck, and here it goes:

GW

A proposed list by Alex UIlman

Creatures 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 4 Silhana Ledgewalker 4 Wild Mongrel 4 Basking Rootwalla 4 Naya Hushblade 2 Bant Sureblade 4 Armadillo Cloak 4 Qasali Pridemage 30 cards Other Spells 2 Oblivion Ring 4 Thrill of the HUnt 2 Shield of the Oversoul 4 Wildfield Borderpost 12 cards

Lands 1 Secluded Steppe 9 Forest 8 Plains 18 cards Sideboard 4 Llanowar Knight 4 Tel-Jilad Chosen 3 Prismatic Strands 2 Oblivion Ring 2 Naturalize 15 cards

Granted, quite a few of these cards are more experimental, as I really like the gifts Reborn has given Pauper. From experience, let me tell you there is little better than swinging with a 5/5 flying, indestructible cat on turn three. In fact, if you do this and don't yell “Dragons!” at the top of your lungs...chances are you have no soul. This is, however, just a beatdown deck with Auras. The goal is to curve out with better beasties and win in combat thanks to cards like Benevolent Bodyguard (Son of Runes) and Thrill of the Hunt. However, conceding to the power of Cloak the deck also runs Ledgewalker. The evasive 1/1 itself is sub-par...but any pair of pants makes him a true beast. Here, the Auras help to supplement to potential beats and provide game breakers both early and late, but the deck can win without them. This last part, to me, is the most important part of any Aura deck. If you are cold to a Naturalize then you might want to rethink some choices.

As with other decks of this nature, this version is vulnerable to spot removal, even with Son of Runes, and is mostly bears. You have to play out your creatures wisely so as to not be blown out by a Crypt Rats, but also protect yourself from Edict effects. All that being said, however, if you get into a protracted creature standoff, you should eventually win since you will often go all Darksteel Pridemage on them and just win.

I spoke before of the God Auras, and the great work they do in providing other color combinations with their very own Cloak. That being said, the Auras that cost four or more are not as strong as those costing three and under. This tends to be because you want to suit up your beater the turn after you cast it (normally turn three, sometimes turn two), and having to wait a full two turns means you are far more likely to get wrecked by a Terror or the like. Aside from Shield, the Shadowmoor Auras have been mostly absent from competitive Pauper, but not their Eventide brethren. Take a look at these decks:

Clout

17th place by ghweiss in Pauper PE 2

Creatures 2 Izzet Chronarch 4 Mulldrifter 3 Razorfin Hunter 4 Riverfall Mimic 2 Steamcore Weird 4 Wee Dragonauts 19 cards Other Spells 3 Clout of the Dominus 4 Compulsive Research 2 Jilt 1 Kaervek's Torch 3 Lava Dart 4 Lightning Bolt 17 cards

Lands 4 Izzet Boilerworks 8 Snow-Covered Island 8 Snow-Covered Mountain 4 Terramorphic Expanse 24 cards Sideboard 4 Hydroblast 4 Martyr of Ashes 1 Negate 4 Pyroblast 2 Repeal 15 cards

Edge

19th place by Tyrjuk in Pauper PE 3

Creatures 4 Blind Hunter 4 Nightsky Mimic 4 Nip Gwyllion 4 Putrid Warrior 16 cards Other Spells 4 Castigate 4 Edge of the Divinity 4 Pillory of the Sleepless 2 Prismatic Strands 2 Raven's Crime 4 Unmake 20 cards

Lands 10 Plains 10 Swamp 4 Terramorphic Expanse 24 cards Sideboard 4 Beckon Apparition 4 Echoing Decay 4 Oblivion Ring 2 Prismatic Strands 1 Raven's Crime 15 cards

Alongside their corresponding Aura, these decks also run the proper Eventide Mimics. These creatures, the bane of triple Eventide draft and scourge of Finest Hour decks every where should be given a second look now thanks to the release of Alara Reborn and all its multicolored goodness, because remember, Jund Hackblade turns on Woodlurker Mimic too.

These decks work on a similar principle to Slivers- every spell after the first has the ability to improve upon previous investments. Casting an Edge of the Divinity on turn four will not only give you a 4/4 lifelinked mother-in-law, but also will likely give you a beater of angelic proportions for a turn. In decks like this, Castigate might as well read remove their best card from their game and then Flame Javelin their face. Now, with Reborn in the mix, other colors can catch up to both Izzet and Orzhov in the Aura game.

But how should one go about this? It seems that Armadillo Cloak is the dominant Aura strategy since it can give evasion and a significant life boost. In order to make running another Aura deck worth it, it needs to beat Cloak on some very important metrics. First, it must be a better deck without the namesake Aura. All things equal, if you are running your Aura deck against Cloak and neither of you find pants, you should win if you want to diverge from the Cloak path. Second, your Aura has to be at least as stupid good as Cloak, if not in the same way, than in one that is comparable. On that note, let me present Battlegate Boros:

Battlegate Boros

A proposed deck by Alex Ullman

Creatures 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 Battlegate Mimic 4 Skyknight Legionnaire 4 Goblin Legionnaire 4 Cerodon Yearling 24 cards Other Spells 3 Kaervek's Torch 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Firebolt 3 Scourge of the Nobilis 14 cards

Lands 4 Terramorphic Expanse 2 Boros Garrison 1 Secluded Steppe 1 Forgotten Cave 7 Plains 7 Mountain 22 cards Sideboard 4 Pyroblast 4 Martyr of Ashes 3 Prismatic Strands 3 Obsidian Acolyte 1 Fire at Will 15 cards

Those of you who are familiar with my work know of my love of the Boros Guild, and this deck is an extension of my previous RW decks. Scourge of the Nobilis may not grant evasion, but the pump ability means that if you get into an evasive race with Cloak, you can win since you can keep increasing the power for the measly investment of on tapped land. Since the vast majority of the creatures here are Boros, it will almost always be a Cloak sized bonus as well. Son of Runes makes another appearance, as he does his job so very well. Here, we also see another Mimic being put to use. In this deck, so many of the spells come with a free Shock attached thanks to Mimic. Mimic itself is a formidable creature, as it can totally dominate a combat phase thanks to first strike.

Battlegate Boros also packs a strong removal package. The ability to access burn gives this deck the possibility of “oops, Torch you for lethal.” They are looking for the jab across the eyes, and instead you give them the uppercut.

This deck can fight traditional Cloak on every level, and has strong sideboard options against the GW menace, ranging from Martyr of Ashes to Fire at Will to Orim's Thunder. IN testing, dedicated Blue control decks and MBC stand little chance (just stick a Scourge on a Goblin Legionnaire and you have no need to fear Tendrils), but Blue decks with significant access to removal are more troublesome. Additionally, your creatures are all small, so running into a deck like Esper-Blink can be a true pain, as Sanctum Gargoyles recurring Executioner's Capsule gets old after a while.

That being said, I like this deck. I love to play bears and beatdown, and the thought of my Skyknight wielding a fiery whip, well, it makes the little kid in me jump for joy and yell “Dragon!” Try it- it is a fantastic feeling.

Keep slingin' commons-

-Alex