Defender by Tyruleion

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 44

Deck overview

This deck is an aggressive Bant 'toughness matters' strategy helmed by Arcades, the Strategist. The game plan revolves around deploying low-cost, high-toughness defender creatures that double as massive offensive threats and cantrips under Arcades's static and triggered abilities. The deck ramps on Turns 1-2 into a Turn 3-4 Arcades, quickly chaining walls like Wall of Blossoms, Wall of Denial, and Shield Sphere to generate immense card velocity while constructing an overwhelming combat force. Backup enablers such as High Alert, Assault Formation, and Bedrock Tortoise ensure the combat engine remains lethal even if Arcades is answered. Evasion from Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive and raw stat disparity from The Pride of Hull Clade allow the deck to push through lethal damage across Turns 5-7. A dense suite of efficient counterspells and targeted removal protects the board and disrupts opposing win attempts.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
  • 1 Arcades, the Strategist
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Assault Formation
  • 1 Axebane Guardian
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Bedrock Tortoise
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Canopy Vista
  • 1 Carven Caryatid
  • 1 Charix, the Raging Isle
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Corrupted Shapeshifter
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Darksteel Mutation
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Drift of Phantasms
  • 1 Eternal Witness
  • 1 Faithbound Judge // Sinner's Judgment
  • 1 Farseek
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Flusterstorm
  • 10 Forest
  • 1 Frantic Search
  • 1 Generous Gift
  • 1 Gleaming Barrier
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Harrow
  • 1 High Alert
  • 10 Island
  • 1 Mind Stone
  • 1 Nature's Lore
  • 1 Overgrown Battlement
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 1 Perimeter Captain
  • 10 Plains
  • 1 Ponder
  • 1 Pongify
  • 1 Prairie Stream
  • 1 Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
  • 1 Rampant Growth
  • 1 Render Silent
  • 1 Resolute Watchdog
  • 1 Return to Nature
  • 1 Shield Sphere
  • 1 Shield-Wall Sentinel
  • 1 Sodden Verdure
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Stalwart Shield-Bearers
  • 1 Sunscape Familiar
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Sylvan Caryatid
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
  • 1 The Pride of Hull Clade
  • 1 The Walls of Ba Sing Se
  • 1 Traproot Kami
  • 1 Tree of Redemption
  • 1 Ultimate Magic: Holy
  • 1 Wall of Blossoms
  • 1 Wall of Denial
  • 1 Wall of Frost
  • 1 Wall of Junk
  • 1 Wall of Mulch
  • 1 Wall of Omens
  • 1 Wall of Shards
  • 1 Wall of Tanglecord
  • 1 Weathered Sentinels