Over the years, many classic Modern archetypes have fallen by the wayside due to power creep. From traditional mono-green Tron shells with Karn Liberated to nostalgic Jund decks utilizing Liliana of the Veil, some of Modern’s most famous strategies have taken a huge hit.
In some instances, though, new printings and unique innovations can help resurrect old archetypes from the dead. Just recently, a sweet take on an old-school Bogles deck made a surprise appearance in a Magic Online Modern Challenge.
Bogles has been nearly nonexistent for quite some time, so seeing it pop up in the format is cool. One Duskmourn aura in particular really helps give the deck a chance in this MH3-dominated world. Bogles is a fan favorite, so let’s take a look at what makes this version of the deck unique.
A Classic Strategy
- Mana Value: G
- Rarity: Common
- Stats: 1/1
- Card Type: Creature- Elf Scout
- MTG Sets: Magic 2012, Magic 2014, Pioneer Masters
- Card Text: Hexproof.
Bogles is a style of deck that has been around for a long time and heavily revolves around the use of Hexproof creatures. The name “Bogles” comes from one of the main threats in the deck: Slippery Bogle. Joined by Gladecover Scout which is functionally identical outside of the mana cost, the goal is to land one of these bad boys and suit them up with powerful auras.
By themselves, these puny 1/1s aren’t that scary. However, because they can’t be targeted by typical removal spells, if you can enhance their stats in any meaningful way, they can take over the game. Fortunately, this deck makes use of a high volume of auras from throughout Magic’s past.
The best aura available at strictly buffing your creature is Ethereal Armor. Ethereal Armor was recently reprinted in Duskmourn, but has been a staple of Modern and Pauper Bogles decks alike for over a decade.
In conjunction with other auras, Ethereal Armor can make any of these threats massive. To help fuel Ethereal Armor and protect your 1/1s from Wraths, both Hyena Umbra and Spider Umbra make an appearance. To prevent your opponent from being able to chump block out of your attacks, Rancor lets you pile on damage.
New Hope
- Mana Value: 1W
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Card Type: Enchantment- Aura
- MTG Sets: Duskmourn
- Card Text: Enchant creature you control. When Sheltered by Ghosts enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until Sheltered by Ghosts leaves the battlefield. Enchanted creature gets +1/+0 and lifelink and ward 2.
Unfortunately, with multiple Modern Horizons sets in the mix, Bogles just hasn’t had the tools to compete. Bogles has historically suffered from having a lack of interaction and being vulnerable to hate cards. Any meaningful disruption usually comes at the cost of consistency. After all, the more effort you spend to mess with the opponent, the less focused you are on executing your main gameplan.
Luckily, one specific Duskmourn enchantment has done a bit to change that narrative. We are, of course, talking about Sheltered by Ghosts.
Sheltered by Ghosts does everything you want out of an aura. It provides a buff to your creature. It gives your creature lifelink, which is particularly important when it comes to racing super fast decks like Boros Energy.
Most importantly, Sheltered by Ghosts does all of this while simultaneously clearing away any problematic nonland permanent the opponent has at the ready. Huge copies of Psychic Frog? Gone. Combo pieces like Ruby Medallion? Gone. So long as you have a creature in play to target, Sheltered by Ghosts is a powerhouse.
With this in mind, the inclusion of blue mana for Invisible Stalker actually seems quite useful. While there are other two-drop options like Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice you could use in this slot, maximizing on Hexproof creatures to make it more likely you can jam Sheltered by Ghosts without getting blown out is essential.
Concerns and Improvements
- Mana Value: XWW
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Sorcery
- MTG Sets: Modern Horizons 3
- Card Text: You get X energy counters, then you may pay any amount of energy. Destroy each artifact, creature, and enchantment with mana value less than or equal to the amount of energy spent this way.
The bad news is that, even with Sheltered by Ghosts, Bogles is still a way away from being a top tier deck. Sheltered by Ghosts is a nice step in the right direction, but there are a number of matchups that are going to be problematic regardless.
First and foremost, there are a surprising number of strong answers to these Hexproof creatures that see a lot of play. Wrath of the Skies is a common example. We mentioned that the Totem Armor enchantments are good against Wraths. Well, Wrath of the Skies is an exception. See, Wrath of the Skies can deal with every aura attached to your threat at once.
The next problem is that Bogles is a very one-dimensional strategy. There are a number of decks, such as Belcher combo, that can just ignore your gameplan altogether.
Ultimately, if you want to try to play Bogles in Modern, you have to accept that some of your matchups, including Belcher combo and Jeskai control, are going to be a bit tough. Your best bet is likely to try to win against creature-heavy decks and decks with lots of spot removal.
With this in mind, it’s quite surprising to see zero copies of Daybreak Coronet in this decklist. Daybreak Coronet seems like one of the best cards possible in the Boros Energy matchup. With access to both Daybreak Coronet and Sheltered by Ghosts, you can much more easily break open a board stall.
Bogles is certainly prone to polarizing matchups, but perhaps the upcoming ban announcement could give this deck new life. It’s exciting to see the archetype make a splash in any capacity, despite the not so glamorous result. Hopefully this is a sign that the deck will draw more attention in the future.
