Arcades, the Strategist - Defender Tribal

Commander / EDH Defender Flying GWU (Bant) Wall

Caliberex

Creature (33)

• 1x Angelic Wall
• 1x Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
• 1x Axebane Guardian
• 1x Charix, the Raging Isle
• 1x Crashing Drawbridge
• 1x Crystal Barricade
• 1x Drift of Phantasms
• 1x Flumph
• 1x Gatecreeper Vine
• 1x Guard Gomazoa
• 1x Hover Barrier
• 1x Jungle Barrier
• 1x Mnemonic Wall
• 1x Monastery Flock
• 1x Orator of Ojutai
• 1x Perimeter Captain
• 1x Resolute Watchdog
• 1x Riptide Turtle
• 1x Secret Door
• 1x Shield Sphere
• 1x Sunscape Familiar
• 1x Suspicious Bookcase
• 1x Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
• 1x Vine Trellis
• 1x Wall of Blossoms
• 1x Wall of Denial
• 1x Wall of Hope
• 1x Wall of Mourning
• 1x Wall of Omens
• 1x Wall of Roots
• 1x Wall of Runes
• 1x Wall of Tanglecord
• 1x Weathered Sentinels

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Bond of Discipline
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Explore
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Slaughter the Strong
• 1x Sleep
• 1x Solar Tide

Land (32)

• 1x Blossoming Sands
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Fertile Thicket
• 1x Forest
• 1x Forest
• 1x Forest
• 1x Graypelt Refuge
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 1x Island
• 1x Island
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Plains
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Seaside Citadel
• 1x Secluded Steppe
• 1x Sejiri Refuge
• 1x Temple of Mystery
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Thriving Grove
• 1x Thriving Heath
• 1x Thriving Isle
• 1x Tranquil Cove
• 1x Tranquil Thicket

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Huatli, the Sun's Heart
• 1x Teyo, the Shieldmage

Commander (1)

Artifact (9)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Meekstone
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Simic Signet
• 1x Skeleton Key
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Assault Formation
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Brave the Sands
• 1x Builder's Blessing
• 1x Guardian Project
• 1x High Alert
• 1x Sky Tether
• 1x Unnatural Growth

Instant (8)

• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Expel
• 1x Fight as One
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Make a Stand
• 1x Semester's End
• 1x Tamiyo's Safekeeping
• 1x Tower Defense

---

Maybeboard

Creature (13)

• 1x Amaranthine Wall
• 1x Excavated Wall
• 1x Fog Bank
• 1x Fortified Rampart
• 1x Geist of the Archives
• 1x Glacial Wall
• 1x Guardians of Meletis
• 1x Junktroller
• 1x Portcullis Vine
• 1x Psychic Membrane
• 1x Steel Wall
• 1x Traproot Kami
• 1x Wall of Faith

Instant (2)

• 1x Exclude
• 1x Return to Dust

---

This is an Arcades Defenders deck. It's not min/max, especially when it comes to mana production, but it was put together without proxies - only using real cards available. It's got a couple goofy elements that are atypical to other decks of this type (refer to Outcasts section below).

I have played this deck a number of times. It is a very aggressive aggro. It does poorly against counterspell decks or decks with a lot of targeted removal since the deck doesn't run properly without Arcades. Aside from the obvious advantages in the deck, this also includes a surprisingly high number of flyers, all things considered. The focus of the deck is to cast cheap walls (or other defenders) and then draw a card using Arcades. Since the deck only works when Arcades in on the board, focused efforts were made to ensure he's kept safe.

Essential cards that I consider absolutes: Aura Shards - this provides the deck with much-needed non-creature removal. There's not much beyond this. Resolute Watchdog - It's cheap, it's a defender, with Arcades out it will draw you a card, and it protects the Commander. A must have. Shield Sphere - Hard to get better than a 6/6 for zero mana that draws you a card. Worth the price! Sunscape Familiar - With all the card draw in the deck, this allows for more cards to go from hand to the battlefield. I swear by this guy! Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive - It almost feels like you're cheating... but you're not! Meekstone - for the haters. And so cheap! Mana-wise that is.. Crashing Drawbridge - Borderline essential, this card is good in typical aggro decks. It's even better in a defender/wall deck that attacks for obvious reasons. Slaughter the Strong - This and Solar tide are the deck's two board wipes. Slaugther the strong is extremely satisfying to play for just 3 mana (1 and 2W). Mnemonic Wall - I needed to mention this one here. the goal of the deck is to get cheap cards out with Defender, draw more cards, and build an army fast. Mnemonic Wall is your most expensive Defender costing 4 and 1U for a 0/4 that may likely be a 4/4 that draws you a card with Arcade's out. But here's the thing: the deck doesn't work without Arcade's or redundancies. You MUST protect Arcades. Mnemonic wall allows you to bring back any protection spell you have had to use up sitting in your graveyard. Getting back any of the instant or sorcery spells is quality for your gameplay, even in light of the cost of Mnemonic Wall. Keep it in the deck!

Win-Cons: -- Unnatural Growth is a big deal with this deck, but it's hard to get it out on the board due to the Bant colors in the deck (my favorite) and the card requiring 4 green and 1 colorless to cast. This is where your defender mana ramp come in: Vine Trellis, Wall of Roots, and most importantly, Axebane Guardian. -- Sleep is another win con. I usually play Bond of Discipline instead of Sleep if I'm in white, but this deck cares way more about getting damage in than any lifegain. Sleep also keeps the opponent's creatures tapped for a additional round. Another round isn't always needed with the amount of crushing this deck can do but it is an essential safeguard. -- Charix, the Raging Isle and Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle. These guys are NOT defenders. They are atypical but I threw them in there. Both have won me a game when combined with my Redundancies: Rogue's Passage, Assult Formation, High Alert, Huatli, the Sun's Heart. But wait, imagine an unblockable Charix, the Raging Isle due to Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, with Unnatural Growth on the board. Don't even need your commander for that if you have any of the other redundancies on the board. I'll tell you, what, I don't have to imagine. I've done it with sweet sweet satisfaction. -- Then there's the obvious win condition: Overwhelming your opponents with Defender's that should never be able to attack otherwise, using their defense and their offense.

The Outcasts - Skeleton Key: This one isn't in your typical Arcades deck. I put it in because I had one and I like the additional card draw. - Guard Duty: Admittedly, there are way better targeted removal out there. But the flavor! The delicious flavor! The other thing is that you can also use this on Charix if needed. Think about it. - No Official Tutors. I'm not a huge tutor fan. You have one card with Transmute, Drift of Phantasms, which is sort of a substitute teacher for Tutor. With it, you can tutor your deck for any of the other 17 cards in the deck with a converted mana cost of 3, including, you guessed it, Aura Shards! - Charix and Arixmethes - mentioned above.

Future revisions: - Panharmonicon: This hasn't done a ton for me. It's a good card, but it's not fast enough for this deck. All but one of my creatures cost the same or less so it's a matter of whether I want even more card draw or 2.6 more creatures on the battlefield for the same mana cost. May swap it out with something else when inspired. - Semester's End: This has saved me from a fancy board wipe and won me a game. However, I'm debating whether I wouldn't rather have Teferi's Protection which is cheaper and includes life total protection. Jury's out on this. - Non-basic Lands: Much room for improvement here, but am currently just using what I have available. - Teyo, the Shieldmage and Hautli, the Suns Heart: Not essential but easy throw-ins. I like the idea of having a couple planeswalkers in each of my decks, even if they are the super-rare, super-valuable ones. May re-evaluate if something better comes along.

Swapped out Guard Duty for Sky Tether on 12.26.22

Swapped out Carven Caryatid for Crystal Barrier on 12.05.24

Date added	3 years
Last updated	2 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	19 - 0 Rares 38 - 0 Uncommons 32 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.51
Tokens	Dungeon: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Dungeon: Lost Mine of Phandelver, Dungeon: Tomb of Annihilation, Goblin 1/1 R, Morph 2/2 C, Skeleton 1/1 B, The Atropal, Treasure, Wall 0/3 W
Folders	Decks I Like, Commander Ideas