Is Hexproof Immune to Board Wipes? A Comprehensive Guide

No, hexproof does not protect a creature from board wipes. Hexproof only prevents a permanent from being the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. Board wipes, by their very nature, typically affect all creatures on the battlefield without targeting specific ones. This is a crucial distinction to understand when building and playing Magic: The Gathering (MTG). Let’s delve deeper into why this is the case and explore related concepts in the world of MTG.

Understanding Hexproof and Targeting

Hexproof is a keyword ability that grants a permanent—most often a creature—a significant level of protection. Specifically, it means “This permanent can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.” This makes hexproof creatures resilient against targeted removal spells like Murder or Lightning Bolt controlled by your opponents. However, the critical word here is “target.”

Spells and abilities that target single out a specific permanent or player. Board wipes, on the other hand, generally affect all permanents of a certain type on the battlefield. Think of spells like Wrath of God, Damnation, or Supreme Verdict. These cards simply say, “Destroy all creatures.” Because they don’t single out individual creatures, hexproof provides no protection against their effects.

Board Wipes: The Great Equalizers

Board wipes, also known as board sweepers, are spells designed to reset the battlefield. They are essential tools in many MTG decks, particularly control decks, as they provide a way to deal with overwhelming threats without requiring specific answers to each individual card. They affect multiple permanents at once, often destroying all creatures, artifacts, or even lands.

Since board wipes generally do not target, hexproof is irrelevant against them. This is because hexproof specifically guards against spells or abilities controlled by your opponents that target the hexproof permanent. A board wipe does not target any specific creatures and therefore bypasses this protection.

Strategies for Protecting Your Creatures

While hexproof doesn’t shield against board wipes, there are other ways to protect your valuable creatures from mass removal. Here are some common strategies:

• Indestructibility: Giving your creatures indestructibility makes them immune to destruction effects. Cards like Boros Charm or Darksteel Plate can provide this protection.

• Regeneration: This ability allows a creature to avoid being destroyed by an effect that would destroy it.

• Shield Counters: Shield counters prevent a creature from being destroyed.

• Leaving Creatures in Hand: The simplest way to avoid board wipes is to not overcommit to the board. Holding back some creatures in your hand allows you to rebuild after a board wipe.

• Teferi’s Protection: This card provides protection from everything, shielding you and your permanents from nearly all threats, including board wipes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some frequently asked questions about hexproof, board wipes, and related concepts in MTG:

1. What exactly does hexproof protect against?

Hexproof protects a permanent from being targeted by spells or abilities controlled by your opponents. This includes targeted removal, damage spells, and any other effect that requires selecting the hexproof permanent as a target.

2. What are some examples of board wipes that ignore hexproof?

Common examples include Wrath of God, Damnation, Supreme Verdict, Farewell, and Day of Judgment. These cards affect all creatures without targeting.

3. Does shroud offer better protection than hexproof?

Shroud prevents a permanent from being targeted by any spell or ability, including your own. This can be a drawback, as you can’t target your own shroud creatures to buff them. Hexproof only prevents your opponents from targeting the permanent, allowing you to still buff or otherwise affect it.

4. How does protection from a color interact with board wipes?

Protection from a color prevents damage, enchanting/equipping, blocking, and targeting by sources of that color. If a board wipe deals damage, a creature with protection from that color is protected. However, most board wipes don’t deal damage and instead destroy all creatures, rendering protection from color ineffective.

5. Can indestructible creatures be affected by board wipes?

It depends on the type of board wipe. If the board wipe destroys creatures (e.g., Wrath of God), indestructible creatures survive. However, if the board wipe exiles creatures (e.g., Farewell) or gives -X/-X until end of turn (e.g., Toxic Deluge), indestructible creatures are affected.

6. Do shield counters prevent board wipes?

Shield counters prevent the next instance of destruction. Many board wipes will be stopped by Shield counters but that counter is removed after preventing the destruction effect.

7. How can I protect my commander from board wipes in Commander format?

Besides indestructible effects like Boros Charm, you can use spells that phase out your commander (like Teferi’s Protection) or return it to your hand before the board wipe resolves. Additionally, playing fewer creatures will minimize the impact of a board wipe.

8. How do I counter board wipes in MTG?

Counterspells can directly counter a board wipe spell. Alternatively, you can give your creatures indestructible or regenerate them in response to the board wipe. Holding back creatures in your hand is also a good strategy.

9. Does hexproof stop deathtouch?

No. Deathtouch means that any amount of damage dealt by the source is lethal damage. Deathtouch doesn’t target, so hexproof doesn’t prevent it.

10. Does indestructible prevent deathtouch?

Yes. An indestructible creature cannot be destroyed by damage, even if that damage comes from a source with deathtouch.

11. Which is better, hexproof or indestructible?

Both hexproof and indestructible are powerful abilities, but each has its weaknesses. Hexproof is vulnerable to non-targeting removal like board wipes, while indestructible is vulnerable to exile effects. The “better” ability depends on the specific threats in your meta.

12. What are the rules for hexproof?

The primary rule for hexproof is that a permanent with hexproof cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control. You can still target it with your own spells and abilities.

13. What’s a one-sided board wipe?

A one-sided board wipe is a spell that destroys or exiles your opponents’ permanents while leaving your own untouched. Ruinous Ultimatum can function as a one-sided board wipe.

14. Does Lightning Greaves protect against board wipes?

No, Lightning Greaves grants shroud, not hexproof. While shroud prevents targeting, it does not prevent board wipes, which do not target.

15. Where can I learn more about MTG strategy and game design?

You can find valuable insights and resources on game design and learning through games at the Games Learning Society, accessible at GamesLearningSociety.org.

In conclusion, while hexproof provides excellent protection against targeted removal, it is ineffective against the indiscriminate destruction of board wipes. Understanding this distinction is crucial for strategic gameplay in MTG.