Arcades, The Defended by Odd_LMOE

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 42

Deck overview

This Bant deck transforms defensive Wall creatures into high-velocity card draw engines and hard-hitting attackers under Arcades, the Strategist. Early turns establish mana acceleration and inexpensive defenders. Once Arcades enters on Turn 4, every subsequent defender draws a card and attacks using its toughness for combat damage. The deck breaks parity through asymmetric board wipes like Slaughter the Strong and Fell the Mighty, which clear opposing threats while leaving your high-toughness, low-power defenders untouched. Protection spells like Ghostway and Eerie Interlude shield your board against removal while re-triggering Arcades's draw ability on re-entry. The game finishes through overwhelming combat damage assisted by evasion from Archetype of Imagination and stat doublers such as Unnatural Growth.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
  • 1 Arcades, the Strategist
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Archetype of Imagination
  • 1 Axebane Guardian
  • 1 Beast Whisperer
  • 1 Canopy Vista
  • 1 Chromatic Lantern
  • 1 Chulane, Teller of Tales
  • 1 Colfenor's Urn
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Corrupted Shapeshifter
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Cryptolith Rite
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Deep Freeze
  • 1 Dour Port-Mage
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Drift of Phantasms
  • 1 Dusk // Dawn
  • 1 Eerie Interlude
  • 1 Escarpment Fortress
  • 1 Evolving Wilds
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Faerie Mastermind
  • 1 Fecund Greenshell
  • 1 Fell the Mighty
  • 1 Fog Bank
  • 9 Forest
  • 1 Ghostway
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Guard Gomazoa
  • 1 High Alert
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Hover Barrier
  • 1 Inga and Esika
  • 9 Island
  • 1 Krosan Grip
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Nature's Claim
  • 1 Negate
  • 1 Overgrown Battlement
  • 1 Plagon, Lord of the Beach
  • 9 Plains
  • 1 Prairie Stream
  • 1 Quest for Renewal
  • 1 Rampart Architect
  • 1 Reflector Mage
  • 1 Restore the Peace
  • 1 Roon of the Hidden Realm
  • 1 Seaside Citadel
  • 1 Seek the Horizon
  • 1 Sight of the Scalelords
  • 1 Slaughter the Strong
  • 1 Spellbook
  • 1 Stroke of Midnight
  • 1 Sunpetal Grove
  • 1 Sunscape Familiar
  • 1 Supreme Verdict
  • 1 Suspicious Bookcase
  • 1 Sword of the Animist
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 The Pride of Hull Clade
  • 1 Towering Titan
  • 1 Unbreakable Formation
  • 1 Unnatural Growth
  • 1 Wall of Denial
  • 1 Wall of Frost
  • 1 Wall of Reverence
  • 1 Wall of Stolen Identity
  • 1 Weathered Sentinels
  • 1 Whispersilk Cloak
  • 1 Wilderness Reclamation
  • 1 Wingmantle Chaplain
  • 1 Wizard Class