Arcades Defender Deck by Serein

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 35

Deck overview

This deck is a Bant 'Toughness Matters' aggro-control deck commanded by Arcades, the Strategist. The strategy revolves around deploying inexpensive creatures with defender that boast disproportionately high toughness for their mana costs, such as Wall of Denial, Glacial Wall, and Wall of Ice. Once Arcades enters the battlefield, these defensive walls become aggressive beatsticks that deal combat damage using toughness while cantripping on entry to maintain a full hand. The deck supports this aggressive swarm with asymmetric board wipes like Slaughter the Strong, Fell the Mighty, and Solar Tide, which eliminate large opposing threats while sparing 0-power defenders. Continuous stax pieces like Meekstone and Marble Titan keep large enemy attackers tapped down indefinitely. The deck steadily overwhelms the table through relentless combat pressure, high life totals, and strong card flow.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Aegis of the Heavens
• 1 Amaranthine Wall
• 1 Angelic Chorus
• 1 Arcades, the Strategist
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Axebane Guardian
• 1 Azorius Guildgate
• 1 Bar the Door
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Blossoming Sands
• 1 Brave the Sands
• 1 Builder's Blessing
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Decanter of Endless Water
• 1 Doorkeeper
• 1 Dusk // Dawn
• 1 Faithbound Judge // Sinner's Judgment
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Fell the Mighty
• 7 Forest
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Glacial Wall
• 1 Grappling Sundew
• 1 Growth Spiral
• 1 Guard Gomazoa
• 1 High Alert
• 1 Huatli, the Sun's Heart
• 1 Intruder Alarm
• 8 Island
• 1 Jaddi Offshoot
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Manor Gate
• 1 Marble Titan
• 1 Mask of Avacyn
• 1 Meekstone
• 1 Monastery Flock
• 1 Naturalize
• 1 Overgrown Battlement
• 1 Perimeter Captain
• 8 Plains
• 1 Primal Clay
• 1 Primal Rage
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Return to Dust
• 1 Return to Nature
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Selesnya Guildgate
• 1 Serra's Blessing
• 1 Simic Guildgate
• 1 Slagwurm Armor
• 1 Slaughter the Strong
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Solar Tide
• 1 Solidarity
• 1 Stalwart Shield-Bearers
• 1 Stoneskin
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
• 1 Thornwood Falls
• 1 Thriving Grove
• 1 Thriving Isle
• 1 Towering Titan
• 1 Tranquil Cove
• 1 Traproot Kami
• 1 Treefolk Umbra
• 1 True Conviction
• 1 Unnatural Growth
• 1 Wakestone Gargoyle
• 1 Wall of Denial
• 1 Wall of Frost
• 1 Wall of Ice
• 1 Wall of Kelp
• 1 Wall of Reverence
• 1 Wall of Stolen Identity
• 1 Wall of Tanglecord
• 1 Weathered Sentinels
• 1 Woodland Stream