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By: AndyB, Andy Burden
Jul 23 2013 1:25pm
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A few weeks ago after Bant Hexproof top 8ed Grand Prix Miami I decided to put the deck together and I haven't regretted it since. Turn 2 Invisible Stalker or Geist of Saint Traft just feels bonkers when backed up by an army of auras. Attacking with a 9/9 hexproof creature while your opponent holds 3 removal spells in their hand is a great feeling. The only problem I have with the deck is how mad my opponents get when they lose to it! 

I've been grinding Magic Online pretty hard the last few weeks, and I'm very pleased with my tournament results with hexproof. I split the finals of a PE on top of a handful of 4-0s in dailies. The deck can be a little inconsistent, but overall I'm happy with my win percentage. I'm not going to tell you my deck list is optimal and you should copy my entire 75. I think there are a few slots that a lot of cards could be played in, but I'm happy with how my version has performed.   


As you can see my list is heavily influenced by the Hexproof deck in the top 8 of GP Miami. There aren't very many slots you can play around with in the main. I've seen some people running 21-22 lands with abundant growths, but I'm not a huge fan of that. Shocking yourself on one for mana fixing is rough and it's bad every other turn. I would just rather have 23 lands.

 

Geist_of_Saint_Traft.jpg

 

With the mana base and the core deck (all of the 4 ofs) you are only left with 5 slots you can alter. Simic Charm feels like an average card but it serves a lot of purposes, which is why most lists play multiples of them. I think Silverblade Paladin and Fencing Ace are both good at times, and 1 of each helps balance out your curve. This gives you 18 creatures instead of 16, which is a solid number I think. Spell Rupture is often a blowout in game one because no one ever plays around it.

 

Playing 3 one ofs in an aggro deck may seem weird, but I think the diversity is really good. You don't see them that often, but every once in a while they'll win you a game. You don't want to get flooded with cards like that, so by only playing one you ensure you won't draw multiples in a game. 

 

 

Matchups and Sideboarding

 

Spell_Rupture.jpg

 

 

I love the sideboard for this deck, I feel like it's one of the best sideboards I've ever played with. With the power level of the deck you are able to swing for large amounts each turn. This makes cards like Fog, Spell Rupture, and Mending Touch much better. Stopping your opponent from doing something for one turn is usually enough to win the game. I've cast Mending Touch in response to Supreme Verdict to win the following turn countless times. Advent of the Wurm and Strangleroot Geist help you transform your strategy and add an entire new dimension to the deck. You could adjust the numbers of these cards slightly, but I think they are all a must in any hexproof sideboard.

 

Keep in mind these sideboarding plans are more of suggestions and are most certainly not written in stone. Everything can vary based on your opponents deck list. I never assume I'm sideboarding correctly and I'm always trying new things. These are just general guidelines and a good starting place if you don't have a lot of experience with the deck. 

 

RG Aggro/Naya Humans/Fast Aggressive decks. 

 

In: 4x Strangleroot Geist 3x Fog

 

Out: 4x Avacyn's Pilgrim 1x Spell Rupture 1x Fencing Ace 1x Spectral Flight

 

 Fog.jpg

 

Against aggro decks without Hellrider/Falkenrath/Thundermaw etc Detention Sphere is likely better than Simic charm. Taking out 4 mana guys may seem weird, but you don't want to shock yourself on turn 1 and that's the only turn Pilgrim is any good. Aggro decks are generally your worst matchup, but having 4 Voice and 4 Strangleroot helps you get card advantage via multiple blockers. Generally one Fog or one Unflinching Courage is enough tempo to race. Even though I'm not happy to be playing against aggro I don't feel like the matchup is nearly as bad as people think it is. 

 

Junk Rites 

 

In: 2x Spell Rupture

 

Out: 2x Simic Charm 

 

I have lost to this deck a few times, but most of time the games feel like byes. They don't really do anything for the first few turns, and their later turns aren't powerful enough to catch back up. If you have a hexproof creature backed up with a few enchantments their draws are generally too slow to win. Spell Rupture makes this matchup even better, especially on the play. Countering Gaze of Granite or Thragtusk can be game changing. 

 

Control  

 

In: 2x Mending Touch 2x Spell Rupture 3x Advent of the Wurm 4x Strangleroot Geist

 

Out: 4x Unflinching Courage 2x Simic Charm 4x Spectral Flight 1x Fencing Ace 

 

This includes most variations on UWR, Esper, Bant or any other creature light versions. If the list has Jace, Archtiect of thought, Boros Reckoner or anything similar then I would bring in Detention Sphere.

 

Your matchup with control can vary a lot depending on their list. Any deck with a high number of sac effects and or wrath effects will be an issue game one. Fortunately a lot of the popular lists are only playing one or two supreme verdicts. I'm comfortable enough playing against control, and it gets a lot better when you replace your enchantments with Strangleroot and Advent. Spell Rupture gives you an answer to terminus while Mending Touch does a great job of countering Supreme Verdict. 

 

Jund 

 

On the Play

 

In: 2x Spell Rupture 4x Strangleroot Geist 2x Mending Touch

 

Out: 1x Silverblade Paladin 1x Fencing Ace 2x Simic Charm 4x Unflinching Courage

 

On the Draw

 

In: 4x Strangleroot 2x Mending Touch

 

Out: 1x Silverblade Paladin 1x Fencing Ace 2x Simic Charm 1x Spell Rupture 1x Unflinching Courage

 

 

Mending_Touch.jpg

 

 

Spell Rupture is very good on the play, but horrid on the draw when they farseek on turn 2. I think Unflinching Courage is good at keeping your creatures out of bonfire range and racing, but spell rupture actually does a better job on the play. 

 The key to this matchup is playing around Bonfire of the Damned. As long as you play smart with your hexproof creatures this matchup isn't hard at all. After game two they will generally have Liliana but with 4 Strangleroot Geist and 4 Voice of Resurgence it usually isn't a problem. Once you get a hexproof creature pumped out of bonfire range the game is very hard to lose.   

Junk/Classic Aristocrats  

 

In: 3x Advent of the Wurm 1x Detention Sphere

 

Out: 1x Fencing Ace 1x Spell Rupture 1x Silverblade Paladin 1x Spectral Flight

 

 

Advent_of_the_Wurm.jpg

 

 

Without any good answers to Skirsdag High Priest you can lose to some of the fast tempo draws backed by a sac outlet and blood artist. It's hard to beat some of the perfect draws, but the deck doesn't present that much of a challenge otherwise. Detention Sphere and Advent of the Wurm are both great against spirit tokens, plus Detention Sphere gives you a decent answer to Skirsdag. 

 

Bant Hexproof  

 

In: 3x Fog

 

Out: 1x Spell Rupture 2x Simic Charm 

 

The mirror always feels pretty silly. Fog is excellent here, but really just try to draw Unflinching Courage and more Geists than the other guy and you should be fine.

 

 

The Future of Hexproof. M14

 

Gladecover_Scout.jpg

 

 

With M14 now legal in paper and just around the corner for Magic Online Hexproof is looking a lot better thanks to Gladecover Scout. Having a turn one hexproof creature should give the needed tempo boost to beat the aggressive decks. Also just having twelve hexproof creatures as opposed to eight should make your draws a lot more consistent. Witchstalker is not good enough to make it in this deck, even in the sideboard. It's far too slow and its ability is practically useless.

 

There are a few cards you could possibly cram into the SB from M14, but nothing seems good enough to me at the moment. You only really have 5 slots in the deck that should be altered (Silverblade Paladin, Fencing Ace, Spell Rupture, and Simic Charm.) Since you are lowering your curve slightly you could cut a Glacial Fortress, but I wouldn't go below 22 lands. So once you cut four of those cards and add Gladecover Scout you should have one or two free slots. I think Simic Charm is the best option, but Silverblade Paladin has won me several games as well. Those slots are mostly a personal preference and could vary depending on the current meta.

 

In my opinion this is one of, if not the best deck in standard. It may be a little inconsistent, but what deck in standard isn't? I would recommend Bant Hexproof to anyone who wants to win at magic. Even if you don't like the deck it's extremely powerful and you can't argue with its results. I think if your goal is a high win percentage Bant Hexproof is a deck you should most definitely consider.

 

Thanks for reading my article and feel free to contact me on Magic Online if you have any questions.

 

MTGO: AndyBurden

1 Comments

This is nice. Good to read by TennieCamp at Tue, 07/30/2013 - 18:42
TennieCamp's picture

This is nice. Good to read this one. I learned a lot from this one. - Integrity Spas