In Eventide each colour pair had a hybrid Mimic creature with base stats of being 2/1 but got bigger whenever a spell that was both its colours was cast. This led to some interesting card choices to optimise the building of the decks.

Battlegate Mimic

Nightsky Mimic

Riverfall Mimic

Shorecrasher Mimic

Woodlurker Mimic

One of the most common ways to improve the base stats was to improve them with enchantments, now this can be a problem if they get removed as you effectively lose multiple cards. Each colour pair had their own hybrid enchantment that increased the recipient creatures’ stats depending on which colour or colours the recipient is.

Every time we have a multi coloured set the potential for Mimic strategies improve, however, Strixhaven: School of Mages is the first wholly enemy colour pairings set since Eventide so I feel now is a good time to look at the Mimics for each colour.

We need to consider the best way to build each deck, having two colour decks will give us a greater range of spells available but we could also play a mono-coloured mana base just utilising hybrid spells and spells of that colour.

Boros

Boros decks tend to be quite strong in Pauper but ironically Boros probably has the worst of the Mimics. Whilst 4/2 first strike is nice the problem tends to be it can be chump blocked with ease this is something we will need to address.

4 Battlegate Mimic
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Skyknight Legionnaire
4 Champion of the Flame

Champion of the Flame feels like a great option in the deck as we are putting in several enchantments. I must admit I have wanted to play with Champion ever since its downshift and this may be a fun home.

Skyknight Legionnaire is another fun option, a pumped-up flyer could be a thing indeed.

4 Scourge of the Nobilis
4 Squee’s Embrace
4 Benevolent Blessing
4 Ethereal Armour
4 Double Cleave
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Skred

Benevolent Blessing feels like the best choice to create a form of evasion by giving the creature protection. There are also a few ways in white to bestow flying which is an option.

This then allows us to use Ethereal Armour but that is also another number of single colour spells that do not maximise Battlegate Mimic but would still be powerful.

Double Cleave gets a slot, Temur Battle Rage may be marginally better but the hybrid nature of the spell just gives it the nudge.

4 Alpine Meadow
8 Snow-Covered Mountain
8 Snow-Covered Plains

My original idea was to go wide with creatures to trigger the Battlegate Mimic, ironically when I was showing my deck designs to a friend, he spun a few ideas and alternative cards, his deck was very similar to my original deck concept. So, as a bonus here is an alternative brew.

4 Battlegate Mimic
4 Boros Recruit
4 Skyknight Legionnaire
4 Goblin Legionnaire
4 Cerodon Yearling
4 Viashino Firstblade
4 Wojek Halberdiers

None of the creatures on their own are amazing but as a squad are quite fun. It may well be worth dropping a few creatures for something like Charge, Ramosian Rally or Prismatic Strands from the sideboard to absorb a Fiery Cannonade.

4 Squee’s Embrace
4 Gorilla Wardrums
4 Lightning Bolt

Viashino Firstblade with its come into play ability is quite spicy, this with a blink effect or say Kor Skyfisher would have some potential. However, it really plays well with Squee’s Embrace.

4 Alpine Meadow
8 Snow-Covered Mountain
8 Snow-Covered Plains

Golgari

So, many choices with Golgari Rock, I have made so many variants of Golgari decks from the impressive amount of quality cards. Woodlurker Mimic has seen a little bit of play recently and has a cult following. Here is a reasonable shell

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/woodlurker-mimic-2/good but

The first issue with this deck is that the core Eventide enchantment, Gift of the Deity, is poor and unplayable. Curiously we have no auras in both colours. This means we need to tackle this deck from another direction.

4 Woodlurker Mimic
4 Llanowar Dead
4 Shambling Shell
4 Erstwhile Trapper
4 Rhizome Lurcher
4 Sarulf’s Packmate
2 Entourage of Trest

This does look like a deck where Putrid Leech is an option but decided to give Llanowar dead a try out.

I also feel some degree of Dredge synergy would be great and may well be sideboard choice for the deck.

I considered Bayou Groff and whilst sacrificing creatures would be good for Rhizome Lurcher the best options are not dual coloured. Enabling Bayou Groff only has Odious Trow as a hybrid one drop.

4 Nights Whisper
2 Chainers Edict
2 Cast Down
2 Consume Strength
2 Snuff Out

Consume Strength has great potential to throw out combat math with your creature getting big and opponents getting significantly worse.

2 Bojuka Bog
4 Jungle Hollow
6 Swamp
6 Forest
4 Woodland Chasm

Izzet

Izzet is an interesting anomaly, they have a great deck in Izzet Snow which super ceded Izzet Blitz then design space becomes extremely difficult.

4 Riverfall Mimic
4 Frostburn Weird
4 Noggle Bandit
4 Steam Hopper
4 Faerie Seer
4 Spellstutter Sprite

I actually remember winning a local Eventide Pauper fun event, everyone was on Mimic style decks and a pumped up Noggle Bandit was awesome. However, as we have the Walls deck in Pauper full of defenders this strategy has not aged well.

There is an argument that this colour pair could ditch the enchantment strategy and load up on spells to work with Prismari Pledgemage or Nivix Cyclops. However, I would like to do something different from an Izzet Blitz archetype.

4 Clout of Dominus
4 Magefire Wings
4 Frantic Inventory
4 Skred

4 Volatile Fjord
8 Snow-Covered Mountain
8 Snow-Covered Island

Orzhov

I really enjoy the black white colour pair; this is an interesting pair and one have made decks in multiple formats. However, I was not the only person with this idea and we can see a few decks online recently. Here is one of the more successful builds

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/3850581#arena

4 Nightsky Mimic
4 Nip Gwyllion
4 Mourning Thrull
4 Kingpin’s Pet
4 Tithe Drinker

These creatures really do need the enhancement form the enchantments but we do have a significant amount of life gain.

4 Edge of Divinity
4 Gift of Orzhova
2 Defile
2 Unmake
4 Nights Whisper
2 Chainers Edict

I was going to replace Unmake with Snuff out but decided I needed to keep the multi coloured spell as it feels essential to the deck.

I considered Pestilence for the deck and it may yet be board wipe of choice from the sideboard.

4 Snowfield Sinkhole
4 Scoured Barrens
2 Bojuka Bog
9 Swamp
1 Witch’s Cottage

When I originally put this deck together, I was literally considering to build mono black Orzhov. I stopped short of doing so and utilise Scoured Barrens and Snowfield Sinkhole which is also a swamp.

Simic

Shorecrasher Mimic is an explosive card, so, that is how we need to build the deck.

4 Shorecrasher Mimic
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Drakewing Krasis
4 Winged Coatl
4 Needlethorn Drake

Winged Coatl and Needlethorn Drake are sneaky additions, we have four Rancor sat in the deck so they can have that sneaky deathtouch trample scenario where one damage kills the blocker and the balance tramples through.

4 Favor of the Overbeing
4 Square Up
4 Temporal Spring
2 Applied Biomancy
4 Rancor

Square Up looks brilliant here as most of the cards have low base stats and can suddenly create a blow-out. Imagine a 6/4 with Trample and Deathtouch 😊

4 Thornwood Falls
4 Rimewood Falls
7 Forest
7 Island

Ironically this is now the deck I am most excited to play as it came just come out of nowhere to win.

Conclusion

These decks looks like they can all be fun to play and in a gauntlet situation it would be great fun.

The best feeling was completing these decks having to allow for the multicoloured synergy finding the best version of a card for the deck and not necessarily the accepted best version in the format.

Any feedback on the builds would be gratefully received.