John — We got big Butts by Necromogg

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 39

Deck overview

This deck is a Bant toughness-matters aggressive engine helmed by Arcades, the Strategist. The core strategy deploys low-mana defender creatures during early turns, turning inexpensive walls with massive toughness stats into undercosted, lethal attackers as soon as Arcades resolves. Arcades converts every subsequent wall into card draw, creating self-replenishing turns where the board continuously widens. The deck breaks parity on board wipes by running asymmetric options like Slaughter the Strong, Wave of Reckoning, and Dusk // Dawn, which destroy opponents' high-power threats while leaving zero-power walls completely intact. Table lethality is reached through concentrated combat steps amplified by mass toughness pumps like Tower Defense or evasion from Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive. The deck maintains steady recovery through redundant toughness-combat enablers, though it remains vulnerable to targeted removal aimed directly at Arcades.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aethertow
  • 1 Ajani, the Greathearted
  • 1 Amaranthine Wall
  • 1 Angelic Chorus
  • 1 Arboreal Grazer
  • 1 Arcades, the Strategist
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Assault Formation
  • 1 Austere Command
  • 1 Azorius Chancery
  • 1 Azorius Charm
  • 1 Bant Charm
  • 1 Bountiful Promenade
  • 1 Brave the Sands
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Canopy Vista
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Detection Tower
  • 1 Displacement Wave
  • 1 Dragon's Eye Savants
  • 1 Dusk // Dawn
  • 1 Eerie Interlude
  • 1 Expedition Map
  • 1 Explosive Vegetation
  • 1 Fog Bank
  • 7 Forest
  • 1 Gilded Lotus
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 High Alert
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Huatli, the Sun's Heart
  • 1 Infested Roothold
  • 4 Island
  • 1 Jaddi Offshoot
  • 1 Jelenn Sphinx
  • 1 Jeskai Barricade
  • 1 Junktroller
  • 1 Ludevic's Test Subject // Ludevic's Abomination
  • 1 Meteor Crater
  • 1 Mnemonic Wall
  • 1 Molder Slug
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Oblivion Sower
  • 1 Overgrown Battlement
  • 1 Pattern of Rebirth
  • 6 Plains
  • 1 Polymorphist's Jest
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Resolute Watchdog
  • 1 Return to Dust
  • 1 Sea of Clouds
  • 1 Seaside Citadel
  • 1 Selesnya Sanctuary
  • 1 Sight of the Scalelords
  • 1 Silklash Spider
  • 1 Simic Growth Chamber
  • 1 Slaughter the Strong
  • 1 Smothering Tithe
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sprouting Vines
  • 1 Steel Wall
  • 1 Suncleanser
  • 1 Sunscape Familiar
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Sylvan Caryatid
  • 1 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
  • 1 Teyo, the Shieldmage
  • 1 Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror
  • 1 Tower Defense
  • 1 Tree of Redemption
  • 1 Treva's Charm
  • 1 Vine Trellis
  • 1 Wall of Blossoms
  • 1 Wall of Denial
  • 1 Wall of Lost Thoughts
  • 1 Wall of One Thousand Cuts
  • 1 Wall of Roots
  • 1 Wall of Runes
  • 1 Wall of Tanglecord
  • 1 Wave of Reckoning
  • 1 Windreaver
  • 1 World Breaker