Bracket 3 · Our Arcades decklist · Defenders
Our Arcades list turns a wall of defenders into an army. Arcades lets every defender attack and deal damage equal to its toughness, so a 0/8 wall hits for 8.
The deck is packed with walls that draw cards and make mana, power-based board wipes that leave 0-power walls standing, and toughness pumps that turn one attack into lethal.
- Strategy
- Defenders
- Bracket
- 3
- Avg. mana value
- 2.75
- Lands
- 35
01The Commander
Arcades, the Strategist draws you a card whenever a creature with defender enters. It also lets every defender you control attack and deal combat damage equal to its toughness.
In this list that means Wall of Denial swings for 8, Tree of Redemption for 13 and The Walls of Ba Sing Se for 30. Toughness pumps like Bar the Door and Tower Defense become huge attack spells.
Arcades is the key to the deck, so Huatli, the Sun's Heart, High Alert and Assault Formation are backups. They also let walls deal toughness damage, which matters if Arcades is removed.
02How This Deck Wins
- 1
Wall up and draw
Cheap walls like Wall of Omens, Wall of Blossoms and Carven Caryatid block early and draw cards, and Arcades draws you another for each.
- 2
Ramp off your walls
Axebane Guardian and Overgrown Battlement tap for one mana per defender, so the mana grows as your board does.
- 3
Attack with toughness
Once your walls can attack, Unnatural Growth, Bar the Door and Stoneskin turn them into lethal damage.
03Deck at a Glance
Bracket 3 · Defenders · 100 cards
Composition
- Commander1
- Creatures33
- Instants & sorceries17
- Artifacts & enchantments13
- Planeswalkers1
- Lands35
- Tokens8
Mana Curve
Color Split
symbols
- White 46%
- Blue 18%
- Green 35%
By the Numbers
Cards by Role
04Big Walls
With Arcades out, toughness is power. These are your heaviest hitters.
Also in this role
05Walls That Draw and Ramp
Each of these is a blocker, a card from Arcades and value of its own.
Also in this role
06Toughness Pumps
Your damage is your toughness, so these are attack spells.
Also in this role
07One-Sided Wipes
Your walls have little or no power, so wipes that care about power hit only your opponents.
Also in this role
08Interaction
Answers for the threats your walls can't block, and protection for Arcades.
Also in this role
09Combos and Key Interactions
Arcades, the Strategist + The Walls of Ba Sing Se
A 30-damage attacker, and every other permanent you control is indestructible, including Arcades.
Arcades, the Strategist + Unnatural Growth
Each combat your walls double their toughness and attack for that much. A 0/8 swings for 16.
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive + Arcades, the Strategist
Your 0-power walls can't be blocked and hit for their toughness, so every attack connects.
10How to Play
Opening hand
Keep hands with a mana wall like Axebane Guardian, Overgrown Battlement or Sylvan Caryatid and two or three lands. The deck wants Arcades on turn three or four with walls ready to draw. Hands with no cheap walls are a mulligan.
Early gameturns 1-3
Play cheap walls like Wall of Omens, Overgrown Battlement and Sylvan Caryatid. They block early aggression and ramp you into Arcades.
Mid gameturns 4-7
Cast Arcades and keep playing walls to draw a card each time. Start attacking with your biggest walls once the table's attackers are handled.
Late gameturn 8+
Pump the team with Unnatural Growth, Bar the Door or Tower Defense and attack with everything. Use Dusk or Expel the Interlopers first to clear any big blockers.
Tips
- Arcades has vigilance, and attacking walls keep defending if you have Brave the Sands.
- Choose 1 for Expel the Interlopers to keep every 0-power wall.
- Put Lightning Greaves on Arcades. If Arcades dies, your walls can't attack without High Alert, Assault Formation or Huatli.
- Wall of Stolen Identity can copy an opponent's best creature and lock theirs down at the same time.
Common mistakes
- Attacking with every wall and leaving nothing to block.
- Casting Dusk while Arcades is your only way to attack.
- Forgetting that Unnatural Growth also doubles opponents' creatures.
- Wasting draws by playing walls before Arcades is out when you could wait a turn.
Watch out for
- Removal on Arcades, which turns your walls back into blockers.
- Exile-based wipes that ignore indestructible.
- Fliers and unblockable threats your walls can't stop.
- Effects that set power and toughness to a fixed value.
11Bracket and Rule 0
Our list runs 1 Game Changer (Aura Shards), within the Bracket 3 limit of three.
The deck wins through combat and has no two-card infinite combos.
12Full Decklist
Every card in our Arcades proxy deck (100 cards). Hover or tap a name to see the card.
Commander
- 1Arcades, the Strategist1GWU
Creatures (33)
- 1Shield Sphere0
- 1Perimeter CaptainW
- 1Walking Bulwark1
- 1Wall of RunesU
- 1Angelic Wall1W
- 1Crashing Drawbridge2
- 1Crystal Barricade1W
- 1Jeskai Barricade1W
- 1Overgrown Battlement1G
- 1Stalwart Shield-Bearers1W
- 1Sunscape Familiar1W
- 1Sylvan Caryatid1G
- 1Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive1U
- 1Vine Trellis1G
- 1Wall of Blossoms1G
- 1Wall of Glare1W
- 1Wall of Junk2
- 1Wall of Omens1W
- 1Wall of Roots1G
- 1Wall of Tanglecord2
- 1Axebane Guardian2G
- 1Carven Caryatid1GG
- 1Hover Barrier2U
- 1Wall of Denial1WU
- 1Wall of Frost1UU
- 1Weathered Sentinels3
- 1Corrupted Shapeshifter3U
- 1Shield-Wall Sentinel4
- 1Tree of Redemption3G
- 1Wall of Stolen Identity3U
- 1Wingmantle Chaplain3W
- 1The Walls of Ba Sing Se8
- 1The Pride of Hull Clade10G
Planeswalkers (1)
- 1Huatli, the Sun's Heart2G/W
Instants (10)
- 1Path to ExileW
- 1Swords to PlowsharesW
- 1CounterspellUU
- 1Heroic Intervention1G
- 1Negate1U
- 1Tower Defense1G
- 1Bar the Door2W
- 1Beast Within2G
- 1Eerie Interlude2W
- 1Generous Gift2W
Sorceries (7)
- 1Farseek1G
- 1Rampant Growth1G
- 1Cultivate2G
- 1Slaughter the Strong1WW
- 1Dusk2WW
- 1Expel the Interlopers3WW
- 1Fell the Mighty4W
Artifacts (6)
- 1Meekstone1
- 1Sol Ring1
- 1Arcane Signet2
- 1Lightning Greaves2
- 1Swiftfoot Boots2
- 1Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield3W
Enchantments (7)
- 1Assault Formation1G
- 1Brave the Sands1W
- 1Aura Shards1GW
- 1High Alert1WU
- 1Stoneskin2W
- 1Angelic Chorus3WW
- 1Unnatural Growth1GGGG
Lands (35)
- 1Access Tunnel
- 1Bountiful Promenade
- 1Breeding Pool
- 1Canopy Vista
- 1Command Tower
- 1Evolving Wilds
- 1Exotic Orchard
- 5Forest
- 1Glacial Fortress
- 1Hallowed Fountain
- 1Hinterland Harbor
- 5Island
- 7Plains
- 1Prairie Stream
- 1Rejuvenating Springs
- 1Reliquary Tower
- 1Sea of Clouds
- 1Seaside Citadel
- 1Spara's Headquarters
- 1Sunpetal Grove
- 1Temple Garden
Get the deck
Arcades Defenders proxy deck
Arcades turns a defensive deck into a heavy hitter. Build the wall, draw a card for every brick, and swing for their toughness.
Every card in this guide is shown exactly as it prints in the deck you get, sleeve-ready, with tokens.
Shop the deck · $45Every card named in this guide is in our deck, and every image is our own proxy card, rendered from the art in this deck.