Arcades the Strategist

Duel Commander Defender GWU (Bant) Wall

jbgrv

Land (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Barkchannel Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1x Botanical Sanctum
• 1x Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Deserted Beach
• 1x Dreamroot Cascade
• 1x Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forest
• 1x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Overgrown Farmland
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Razorverge Thicket
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Seaside Citadel
• 1x Spara's Headquarters
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Teferi, Time Raveler

Creature (31)

• 1x Angelic Wall
• 1x Axebane Guardian
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Crashing Drawbridge
• 1x Drift of Phantasms
• 1x Faithbound Judge  ^Flip
• 1x Gatecreeper Vine
• 1x Hover Barrier
• 1x Jeskai Barricade
• 1x Monastery Flock
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Orator of Ojutai
• 1x Overgrown Battlement
• 1x Paradise Druid
• 1x Shield Sphere
• 1x Stalwart Shield-Bearers
• 1x Sunscape Familiar
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid
• 1x Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
• 1x Vine Trellis
• 1x Walking Bulwark
• 1x Wall of Blossoms
• 1x Wall of Denial
• 1x Wall of Glare
• 1x Wall of Junk
• 1x Wall of Mulch
• 1x Wall of Omens
• 1x Wall of Roots
• 1x Wall of Runes
• 1x Wall of Tanglecord
• 1x Weathered Sentinels

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Assault Formation
• 1x High Alert
• 1x Shapers' Sanctuary
• 1x Stoneskin
• 1x The Birth of Meletis
• 1x Witness Protection

Commander (1)

Instant (21)

• 1x Bar the Door
• 1x Blacksmith's Skill
• 1x Blossoming Defense
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Dive Down
• 1x Fading Hope
• 1x Force of Negation
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x March of Swirling Mist
• 1x Memory Lapse
• 1x Miscalculation
• 1x Simic Charm
• 1x Slip Out the Back
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tamiyo's Safekeeping
• 1x Tower Defense
• 1x Turn Aside
• 1x Vines of Vastwood
• 1x Wilt

Artifact (3)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Meekstone

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Slaughter the Strong

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Maybeboard

Instant (30)

• 1x Apostle's Blessing
• 1x Avoid Fate
• 1x Brought Back
• 1x Clairvoyance
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Daze
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Eerie Interlude
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Ephemerate
• 1x Faith's Shield
• 1x Fateful Absence
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Ghostway
• 1x Gods Willing
• 1x Jwari Disruption  ^Flip
• 1x Leadership Vacuum
• 1x Long Road Home
• 1x Mana Tithe
• 1x Negate
• 1x Oblation
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Savage Summoning
• 1x Solidarity
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Veil of Summer

Creature (21)

• 1x Consulate Skygate
• 1x Drannith Magistrate
• 1x Fortified Rampart
• 1x Jaddi Offshoot
• 1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Perimeter Captain
• 1x Plumeveil
• 1x Psychic Membrane
• 1x Resolute Watchdog
• 1x Riptide Turtle
• 1x Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
• 1x Soulsworn Jury
• 1x Tree of Redemption
• 1x Wall of Essence
• 1x Wall of Frost
• 1x Wall of Hope
• 1x Wall of Resistance
• 1x Wall of Shards
• 1x Wall of Stolen Identity
• 1x Wild-Field Scarecrow

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Angelic Shield
• 1x Brave the Sands
• 1x Guardian Zendikon
• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Kenrith's Transformation
• 1x Robe of Mirrors
• 1x Vanishing

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Search for Tomorrow
• 1x Supreme Verdict

Land (4)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Mystic Gate
• 1x Temple of Mystery

Artifact (3)

• 1x Ensnaring Bridge
• 1x Robe of Stars
• 1x Talisman of Curiosity

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Huatli, the Sun's Heart

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RETIRED DUEL COMMANDER DECK - CHANGED TO MULTIPLAYER CASUAL DECK in 2022

Arcades the Strategist is the true Elder Dragon and he commands walls that can attack. He is a magnet for removal so you need to protect him as best as you can.

This is not a top-tier deck for competitive duel commander, though it can win in turn 4 with luck on your side. It can surprise some opponents, and I even achieved two 2:0 wins in Prague 14th Duel Commander Tournament 2020. It was good result, since it was my first Duel Commander Tournament ever and this deck was just made and never optimized not much tested in duel combat at that time.

Update 1 - November 2020

MANA BASE

My mana base was weak and slow on the tournament, I used too many cheap tapped lands. I replaced those with Prismatic Vista, Windswept Heath and Flooded Strand to fix mana base options and also added Jwari Disruption   that can be played either as counterpell or as a blue land if needed.

Of course, adding Savannah, Tropical Island and Tundra would be great too.

TUTORS

Added Idyllic Tutor to be able to fetch High Alert to enable attack without commander present on board.

COUNTERSPELLS and OPPONENT's DISRUPTION

Apart from adding Jwari Disruption  , I am considering adding more counterspells such as Daze, Mystical Dispute, Negate and other blue control interactions such as Vapor Snag, Boomerang or Cyclonic Rift to disrupt opponent's strategies.

Added Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to make targeted removal and other unwanted targeting of my creatures by opponents harder.

More updates listed below

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Duel Commander legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 0 Rares 27 - 0 Uncommons 27 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	1.92
Tokens	Morph 2/2 C, Wall 0/4 C
Folders	Duel Commander (French) - Retired