Arcades by Erique_Zaite

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 52

Deck overview

Arcades, the Strategist leads an explosive Bant deck that turns defensive walls into hyper-efficient combat threats and steady card-draw engines. The game plan centers on deploying low-cost defender creatures on early turns, then casting Arcades to draw cards whenever a defender enters while allowing them to attack using their toughness. This transforms cheap 0/4 and 0/8 walls into massive, low-mana beaters that replace themselves in hand. The deck accelerates mana using defender dorks like Overgrown Battlement and Axebane Guardian, creating substantial mana advantage. It pushes lethal combat damage through evasion tools such as Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive and flying walls. To defend its board, the deck packs an exceptional suite of free and low-cost interaction, including Force of Will, Fierce Guardianship, Flawless Maneuver, and Teferi's Protection. Asymmetric board control from Meekstone and selective wraths like Expel the Interlopers keep opponents off balance while your high-toughness wall army overruns the table.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Arcades, the Strategist
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Assault Formation
  • 1 Axebane Guardian
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
  • 1 Bountiful Promenade
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Chulane, Teller of Tales
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Eerie Interlude
  • 1 Emerald Medallion
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Expel the Interlopers
  • 1 Fell the Mighty
  • 1 Fierce Guardianship
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Force of Negation
  • 1 Force of Vigor
  • 1 Force of Will
  • 1 Forest
  • 1 Generous Gift
  • 1 Glacial Fortress
  • 1 Guardian Project
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Heliod's Intervention
  • 1 Heroic Intervention
  • 1 High Alert
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Hover Barrier
  • 2 Island
  • 1 Jeskai Barricade
  • 1 Kodama's Reach
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Meekstone
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Orator of Ojutai
  • 1 Otawara, Soaring City
  • 1 Overgrown Battlement
  • 1 Overgrown Farmland
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Pearl Medallion
  • 1 Plagon, Lord of the Beach
  • 11 Plains
  • 1 Pongify
  • 1 Prismatic Vista
  • 1 Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
  • 1 Rejuvenating Springs
  • 1 Resolute Watchdog
  • 1 Saruli Caretaker
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Shield-Wall Sentinel
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spara's Headquarters
  • 1 Stalwart Shield-Bearers
  • 1 Stoneskin
  • 1 Sunpetal Grove
  • 1 Sunscape Familiar
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Sylvan Caryatid
  • 1 Teferi's Protection
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
  • 1 The Pride of Hull Clade
  • 1 The Walls of Ba Sing Se
  • 1 Tree of Redemption
  • 1 Vine Trellis
  • 1 Walking Bulwark
  • 1 Wall of Blossoms
  • 1 Wall of Denial
  • 1 Wall of Frost
  • 1 Wall of Omens
  • 1 Wall of Roots
  • 1 Wall of Shards
  • 1 Wall of Stolen Identity
  • 1 Weathered Sentinels
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wingmantle Chaplain
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth