Overview:

This Arcades, the Strategist deck leverages high-toughness defender creatures as its core strategy. Arcades enables defenders to attack using toughness for damage and draws cards upon their entry, transforming walls into card advantage engines and threats. The deck wins primarily through combat damage amplified by toughness-matters payoffs like Assault Formation and High Alert, supported by infinite mana combos using Axebane Guardian/Overgrown Battlement + Intruder Alarm/Displacer Kitten + mana dorks, culminating in Walking Ballista or card draw loops. Arcades is the linchpin, enabling both the card draw and attack functionality; its removal cripples the strategy, demanding protection like Swiftfoot Boots and Heroic Intervention. Seedborn Muse and Thassa, Deep-Dwelling act as potent "hidden commanders" for value generation.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana dorks (Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch), ramp (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet), and low-cost defenders that draw cards (Wall of Omens, Sylvan Caryatid, Wall of Blossoms). Prioritize fixing for Bant colors.
2. Commander & Board Development (Turns 4-5): Cast Arcades, the Strategist ideally with protection (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots). Deploy high-toughness walls (Wall of Denial, Hover Barrier) to draw cards and build a formidable board. Use Sterling Grove to protect key enchantments.
3. Value & Combo Setup (Turns 5-7): Leverage Seedborn Muse/Tidal Barracuda for untap synergy. Blink defenders with Thassa, Deep-Dwelling/Eerie Interlude for repeated card draw. Assemble infinite mana via:
   • Axebane Guardian/Overgrown Battlement + 2 other defenders + Intruder Alarm (untap on creature cast)
   • Axebane Guardian + Displacer Kitten + noncreature spell (blink Guardian for infinite mana)
4. Win Condition Execution:
   • Combat: Swing with massive-toughness defenders enabled by Arcades/Assault Formation/High Alert. Use Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive/Akroma's Will for evasion and Tower Defense for survival. Delney doubles ETB triggers and enables evasion.
   • Combo: Infinite mana fuels Walking Ballista or draws the deck via Staff of Domination + a creature (using Staff's draw ability). Last March of the Ents can dump walls onto the battlefield post-draw.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands including color sources (prioritize green for early dorks).
• Essential: Early ramp (dork/signet) OR a 1-3 CMC defender that draws (e.g., Wall of Omens).
• Strong Includes: Arcades + protection, Seedborn Muse, or a combo piece (Intruder Alarm/Axebane).
• Avoid hands lacking early plays, color fixing, or reliant solely on high-CMC cards.

Key Tips:

• Protect Arcades: Cast him only with boots/greaves or countermagic backup. Ghostway/Eerie Interlude protect your board while re-triggering ETBs.
• Maximize Card Draw: Prioritize defenders with ETB draw. Thassa, Deep-Dwelling blinks key creatures every turn. Crashing Drawbridge grants haste post-combo/board rebuild.
• Combo Efficiently: Drift of Phantasms transmutes for Intruder Alarm (3 MV). Staff of Domination provides infinite draw/mana/life with infinite mana.
• Interaction Timing: Use counterspells (Dovin's Veto, Swan Song) to protect combos or stop game-ending threats. Cyclonic Rift is a panic button.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Commander Dependency: Arcades removal cripples the deck's combat damage and card draw. Recovery is slow without him.
• Board Wipes: Mass removal (e.g., Damnation) devastates the creature-based strategy, despite some protection/recursion.
• Anti-Activated Ability Stax: Cursed Totem/Linvala shut down mana dorks, Axebane/Overgrown Battlement, Walking Ballista, and Staff of Domination.

Moderate

• Graveyard Hate: Rest in Peace/Leyline of the Void disrupt Raise the Past, Return to the Ranks, and Eternal Witness effects.
• Rule of Law Effects: Archon of Emeria/Deafening Silence hinder combo assembly and multiple defender casts per turn.
• Enchantment Removal: Targets key pieces like Assault Formation, High Alert, Intruder Alarm, and Sterling Grove.

Minor

• Evasive Threats: Flyers can pressure life total if blockers lack reach/flying.
• Land Destruction: Nonbasic-heavy mana base is vulnerable to Blood Moon/Back to Basics, though basics are present.

Most Important Cards:

• Arcades, the Strategist (Core enabler: card draw and attack)
• Seedborn Muse (Untap engine for mana, blockers, abilities)
• Intruder Alarm (Combo piece enabling infinite mana)
• Axebane Guardian (Primary infinite mana generator)
• Thassa, Deep-Dwelling (Value engine: repeat ETB blinks)
• Walking Ballista (Primary combo finisher)
• Staff of Domination (Infinite mana outlet: draw/win)
• Assault Formation (Redundancy for Arcades' attack ability)
• Sterling Grove (Protects key enchantments, tutors)
• Cyclonic Rift (Mass bounce for recovery/win setup)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Capable of T7-8 wins via combat with a developed board or T6-7 infinite mana combos with optimal draws. Faster than casual but lacks cEDH speed.

Resilience: 5/10

• Features protection (boots, Heroic Intervention), blinks for recovery, and counterspells. However, heavy reliance on Arcades and creatures makes it vulnerable to targeted removal/wipes.

Consistency: 6/10

• Strong card draw from defender ETBs and engines like Thassa/Seedborn provides filtering. Limited tutors (Drift of Phantasms, Sterling Grove) hinder combo assembly reliability.

Interaction: 7/10

• Robust suite: Efficient removal (Swords to Plowshares, Beast Within), counterspells (Counterspell, Dovin's Veto, Negate), and board control (Slaughter the Strong, Cyclonic Rift). Lacks stack interaction beyond counters.

Rating Justification:

The deck demonstrates focused speed (T6-8 wins) through combat and combos, supported by strong interaction and card draw, placing it above casual tiers. However, commander dependency and vulnerability to stax/wipes limit resilience, preventing higher optimization. Its performance aligns with the "Focused" tier (T7-8 wins).

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5