The Department of Defense
Commander / EDH*
SCORE: 7 | 7 COMMENTS | 557 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
Update #1 The Redundancy Debate —July 13, 2018
The first major update centers around the current debate about whether cards like Rolling Stones or Wakestone Gargolye should be in the Arcades deck. Yes redundancy in EDH is essential, but the debate postures that Animate Wall type cards which don't also allow your walls to deal damage with their butts are trap cards. You could pair the animate cards with Belligerent Brontodon, but after some play testing with this list I have found that I would rather just recast Arcades or go find/return Assault Formation than try to cobble together a Plan C. In place of the cards which I have removed from the list (Rolling Stones, Wakestone Gargoyle, Belligerent Brontodon) I have added more protection in Lightning Greaves and Momentary Blink and an additional cheap defender Steel Wall.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #2
Thanks for the suggestions Megalomania! Both Intruder Alarm and Birthing Pod seem like interesting inclusions though I would have to tinker with the mana curve a bit to really harness the power of the latter. I'll have to give them a spin.
As far as Dragon Throne of Tarkir goes, if trample is the main pay off then there are better options which provide trample (i.e. Brawn, Craterhoof Behemoth, Akroma's Memorial, etc). Trample is great and all but I'd rather make my creatures unblockable or give them flying.
June 30, 2018 11:10 p.m.
manticoreknight says... #3
Ghostway and Eerie Interlude works wonders protecting your creatures and drawing you cards with Arcades's ability.
July 9, 2018 6:51 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #4
manticoreknight Those are great suggestions that I completely overlooked. Thanks!
July 11, 2018 1:32 p.m.
This is actually a deck I really want to build, and know nothing about making a commander deck, so I'm keeping a very close eye on this deck! Some card suggestions/ideas I personally have would be:
Amaranthine Wall, I played this wall in a draft game a few weeks ago and the indestructible ability pretty much won the game for me by itself, and is what inspired me to think about this kind of deck. Manor Gargoyle is another good choice for this.
Champion's Helm, Good equipment to keep our commander safe
Doorkeeper, the mill potential is pretty high here
Ezuri, Claw of Progress, since so many walls have 0 power,
Wave of Reckoning, as another board wipe
Woolly Razorback, doesn't have defender, but is cheap, becomes a 7/7, and can block literally any amount of damage 3 times
Fog Bank, Guard Gomazoa, Hover Barrier, Monastery Flock, Plumeveil, Soulbound Guardians, Wall of Air, Spidersilk Armor Tower Defense as flying blockers, as this deck seems really open to flying
Shield Bearer, Wall of Caltrops, Wall of Shields, Fortified Area, Baton of Morale, Helm of Chatzuk, Formation, Remember banding? I used to love banding! I think banding would compliment a wall deck very well. Being able to dictate where your opponents damage goes is a big plus I think
Hornet Nest, Living Wall,Mindbender Spores, are other good additions.
What do you think of these suggestions? I really want to buy the cards for a deck like this soon, and your deck is a huge inspiration to me.
Megalomania says... #1
Have you considered adding Intruder Alarm in the deck? It seems like a good way to keep your creatures untapped. With Axebane Guardian and Wall of Kelp in play, it will allow you to get infinite mana, walls and draw.
Another card you might also want to consider is Birthing Pod. Use it to get Sun Titan so you can keep using the Pod and the Titan to increase your board presence.
I the hype over Dragon Throne is due to its ability to give all your creatures trample. This is very useful considering the amount of damage your creatures are capable of dealing with Arcades in play.
June 30, 2018 9:48 p.m.