{"id":1544,"date":"2026-08-14T12:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-hexproof\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T07:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T07:00:58","slug":"mtg-hexproof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/mtg-hexproof\/","title":{"rendered":"Hexproof in MTG: Rules, All 95 Cards, and Why Green Owns It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hexproof means one thing: your opponents can’t target it. You still can.<\/strong> That single asymmetry is what separates hexproof from shroud, and it is the reason hexproof went from a niche Portal Three Kingdoms curiosity to one of Magic’s evergreen keywords while shroud was quietly retired.<\/p>\n\n

But the interesting part of hexproof isn’t the rule \u2014 it’s what the card pool actually looks like once you count it. 95 paper cards have the hexproof keyword. 179 more give hexproof to something else without having it.<\/strong> Hexproof is overwhelmingly a thing you hand out, not a thing you print on a creature \u2014 which is the exact opposite of how ward<\/a> works. This guide covers the rules, every corner of the card pool, the cards that beat it, and a budget package that costs less than a booster pack.<\/p>\n\n

\"A
Hexproof doesn’t stop the spell. It stops your opponent from choosing you as the target in the first place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

What hexproof does, exactly<\/h2>\n\n

Hexproof is a static ability<\/strong>. It is always on, it doesn’t use the stack, and it doesn’t trigger. It changes what your opponents are legally allowed to choose when they put a spell or ability on the stack.<\/p>\n\n

The Comprehensive Rules give hexproof seven sub-rules<\/strong> \u2014 more than any other protection keyword in the game. Here is the whole of rule 702.11:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rule<\/th>What it says<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
702.11a<\/td>Hexproof is a static ability.<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11b<\/td>“Hexproof” on a permanent means “This permanent can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.”<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11c<\/td>“Hexproof” on a player means “You can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.”<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11d<\/td>“Hexproof from [quality]” means it can’t be the target of [quality] spells your opponents control, or abilities your opponents control from [quality] sources.<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11e<\/td>Any effect that causes an object to lose hexproof also strips all its “hexproof from [quality]” abilities.<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11f<\/td>“Hexproof from A and from B” is shorthand for two separate abilities \u2014 losing one leaves the other intact.<\/td><\/tr>\n
702.11g<\/td>Multiple instances of the same hexproof ability are redundant.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Two of those are worth pausing on. 702.11c is the one most players never read<\/strong> \u2014 hexproof can sit on a player<\/em>, not just a permanent, and that is a completely different card (more on those below). And 702.11g is the clause ward does not have.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Why the redundancy clause matters<\/h3>\n\n

Hexproof (702.11g) and shroud (702.18b) both say multiple instances are redundant. Ward has no such clause, because each instance of ward triggers separately<\/a> \u2014 two wards mean two taxes. Stacking hexproof effects on one creature does nothing at all; stacking ward does. That is a real deckbuilding difference hiding in a rules footnote.<\/p>\n\n

The one-sided rule: hexproof vs shroud<\/h2>\n\n

This is the distinction the keyword exists for. Compare the two rules side by side:<\/p>\n\n