20. The Great Wall

Format: Commander

Commander: Arcades, the Strategist

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 39

Deck overview

This deck is a Bant aggro-control deck centered on Arcades, the Strategist. It leverages low-cost defender creatures with high toughness to generate overwhelming early-game stats for minimal mana investment. Once Arcades enters the battlefield, every defender drawn replaces itself, creating a self-fueling card advantage engine that rapidly fills the board. The deck converts defensive walls into offensive threats that assign combat damage equal to their toughness. Asymmetric board wipes like Slaughter the Strong and Fell the Mighty clear opponent boards while leaving the defender army untouched. A deep package of instant-speed protection, including Teferi's Protection and Heroic Intervention, shields the commander and board from opposing interaction. The deck wins by overrunning opponents through wide combat attacks, unblockable buffs from Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, or an explosive poison finish via Triumph of the Hordes.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Adarkar Wastes
  • 1 Arcades, the Strategist
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Axebane Guardian
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Brenard, Ginger Sculptor
  • 1 Brushland
  • 1 Cathedral Membrane
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Charix, the Raging Isle
  • 1 Cloudshift
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Crashing Drawbridge
  • 1 Crystal Barricade
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Dawn's Truce
  • 1 Daydream
  • 1 Deserted Beach
  • 1 Dovin's Veto
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Dusk // Dawn
  • 1 Eagle Vision
  • 1 Ephemerate
  • 1 Essence Flux
  • 1 Fell the Mighty
  • 1 Flawless Maneuver
  • 1 Flooded Grove
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Floodfarm Verge
  • 3 Forest
  • 1 Gift of Immortality
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Heroic Intervention
  • 1 Hover Barrier
  • 1 Hushwood Verge
  • 3 Island
  • 1 Kodama's Reach
  • 1 Last March of the Ents
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Mana Drain
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Mystic Gate
  • 1 Overflowing Basin
  • 1 Overgrown Battlement
  • 1 Overgrown Farmland
  • 1 Path to Exile
  • 3 Plains
  • 1 Psychic Membrane
  • 1 Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Rhystic Study
  • 1 Rigo, Streetwise Mentor
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Seedborn Muse
  • 1 Shield-Wall Sentinel
  • 1 Skycloud Expanse
  • 1 Slaughter the Strong
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sungrass Prairie
  • 1 Sunscape Familiar
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Swords to Plowshares
  • 1 Teferi's Protection
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
  • 1 Teyo, Geometric Tactician
  • 1 Teyo, the Shieldmage
  • 1 The Pride of Hull Clade
  • 1 The Walls of Ba Sing Se
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Triumph of the Hordes
  • 1 Trouble in Pairs
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Vine Trellis
  • 1 Wall of Blossoms
  • 1 Wall of Denial
  • 1 Wall of Frost
  • 1 Wall of Hope
  • 1 Wall of Nets
  • 1 Wall of Omens
  • 1 Wall of Shards
  • 1 Wall of Tanglecord
  • 1 Wall of Tears
  • 1 Waxing Moon
  • 1 Weathered Sentinels
  • 1 Willowrush Verge
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wooded Bastion
  • 1 Yavimaya Coast