Don't Be So Defensive

Commander / EDH* Budget GWU (Bant) Jank Theme/Gimmick

djewell

Creature (36)

• 1x Amaranthine Wall
• 1x Angelic Wall
• 1x Archetype of Courage
• 1x Bastion Protector
• 1x Colossus of Akros
• 1x Consulate Skygate
• 1x Drift of Phantasms
• 1x Edric, Spymaster of Trest
• 1x Fortified Rampart
• 1x Gatecreeper Vine
• 1x Grixis Illusionist
• 1x Guardians of Meletis
• 1x Hover Barrier
• 1x Jaddi Offshoot
• 1x Junktroller
• 1x Living Wall
• 1x Marble Titan
• 1x Monastery Flock
• 1x Orator of Ojutai
• 1x Perimeter Captain
• 1x Quicksilver Wall
• 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 1x Shield Sphere
• 1x Steel Wall
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid
• 1x Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
• 1x Thallid Shell-Dweller
• 1x Tideshaper Mystic
• 1x Tree of Redemption
• 1x Wall of Denial
• 1x Wall of Forgotten Pharaohs
• 1x Wall of Ice
• 1x Wall of Junk
• 1x Wall of Resurgence
• 1x Wall of Tanglecord
• 1x Wall of Vines

Land (33)

• 1x Azorius Chancery
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 6x Forest
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 7x Island
• 10x Plains
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1x Simic Growth Chamber
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Alexi's Cloak
• 1x Always Watching
• 1x Aspect of Mongoose
• 1x Brave the Sands
• 1x Diplomatic Immunity
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Primal Rage

Artifact (6)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Bident of Thassa
• 1x Library of Leng
• 1x Noetic Scales
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Slagwurm Armor

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Nissa, Steward of Elements

Commander (1)

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Fade into Antiquity
• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Index
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Retribution of the Meek
• 1x Revoke Existence
• 1x Slaughter the Strong
• 1x Sleep
• 1x Wave of Reckoning

Instant (6)

• 1x Bar the Door
• 1x Congregation at Dawn
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Solidarity
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tower Defense

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Collective Voyage
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Mana Severance
• 1x Time of Need

Artifact (1)

• 1x Meekstone

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Infinite Reflection
• 1x Wild Pair

Creature (1)

• 1x Minamo Sightbender

Instant (2)

• 1x Sapphire Charm
• 1x Vision Charm

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"DON'T BE SO DEFENSIVE!" That's what I imagine the girl is saying in Animate Wall .

It's like no one says... "The best offense is a good defense."

Arcades is just a ridiculously fun commander to build around and actually produces some scary results! Most deck builds I have seen to this point are simply defender drops where the deck is SUPER creature-heavy. I can see that people are excited about the mechanic, but honestly, dudes! To make an effective deck, you're going to need more than wall drops. You need answers!

Strengths of an Arcades Deck

The whole benefit of having an arcades deck is getting beaters out quick! I have played against some very stompy decks made with green ramp into large creatures but none has been able to put out creatures who do as much damage as the 2-4 mana drop walls we put down. Arcades and his affinity to replenish your hand as you drop creatures also gives you an advantage over most other decks who put out beaters as well. Your hand size will stay relatively large.

The mana ramp possibilities we have with green in the colors of our commander allows us to deal with removal of arcades.. while I have not seen much need as of yet, more play testing may result in my adding of more ramp or land retrieval to the deck.

Downside of Arcades

This deck heavily relies on the commander being on the field. too much removal will render the whole deck useless. Because the deck uses creatures with Defender and not just butt-heavy creatures, the enabling of the same effect through other creatures in the deck requires too many pieces to realistically procure mid-game. It is worth more effort to secure the commander which we have done through shroud enchantments. Arcades doesn't have to attack, but he must be able to exist on the battlefield.

Staying Relevant

While dropping hard hitters is nice and all, normal decks are built to scale up and be buffed towards an endgame. Arcades is just a smash face deck currently. No other win conditions.. so what we need is cards to slow others down and keep that advantage of dominating the battlefield with the largest creatures. the deck is filled with cards like Dawn , Fell the Mighty , Retribution of the Meek , Slaughter the Strong , Wave of Reckoning and Noetic Scales (which is just simply fantastic). Marble Titan also gives you a leg up on the threatening competition.

Some more fun things...

Why Bident of Thassa , you say??

What an amazing Red Rover, Red Rover effect!

What About Those Not Defender Things?

Yes, not all of the creatures are defenders.. HOWEVER...

Archetype of Courage to get around deathtouch and maintain upperhand against like-sized creatures.

Bastion Protector for obvious reasons... also although it boosts the commander's power so that more than just Dusk kills it, it also has indestructible now.. so it won't die to those spells. Well.. Dusk still kills it.. because it also kills Bastion Protector but.. meh..

Edric, Spymaster of Trest is your mandatory fun commander card to give the deck some longevity in pods against more than one opponent. Don't call too much attention to yourself and also draw cards for dealing damage. Good deal, yeah?

Marble Titan like mentioned earlier, is to assert dominance over other players who want to challenge your strength.

Shalai, Voice of Plenty Primarily for commander protection, but it's nice for the walls we put down, too.

Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive is ridiculous.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 0 Mythic Rares 18 - 0 Rares 29 - 0 Uncommons 27 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.70
Tokens	Morph 2/2 C, Saproling 1/1 G
Folders	Interesting Decks, AAWant to try, Scarecrow