Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist | Art by Even Amundsen

What did one wall say to the other? I'll meet you in the corner!

Welcome once again to Fire and Ice, the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article! But I might need to brush up on my dad jokes...

In this series, we draw conclusions from EDHREC's data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we'll be focusing our analysis on a commander that lets defenders become attackers: Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist! This Elder Dragon ranks as the #36 commander on our site, with nearly 22,000 decks to his name. Let's see what's gaining steam and what's falling out of favor with Arcades pilots!

Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist

What's hot and what's not for Arcades, the Strategist?

First, though, let's take a moment to understand the typical Arcades deck. This commander lets all of our creatures with defender attack as normal, removing the restrictions that are typically placed upon Walls. He also lets them assign damage equal to their toughness instead of their power.

So, we want to play lots of creatures with big butts in order to draw cards and hit our opponents for big chunks of damage each combat step.

Arcades turns Wall of DenialWall of Denial (in 93% of decks) into a huge, three-mana flying 8/8. He also lets cards like Overgrown BattlementOvergrown Battlement (94% of decks) flourish into huge mana production engines. Finally, cards like Tetsuko Umezawa, FugitiveTetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive provide us with the evasion we'll need to punch through for victory.

What's Fiery for Arcades Decks?

The Walls of Ba Sing SeThe Walls of Ba Sing Se - Fire Score of 4.82

The instant that I saw this card get spoiled during Avatar preview season, I knew it would become a staple for Arcades decks. I was right! This card is already in 3,398 lists and that number is sure to grow. Arcades turns this creature into a 30/30 that inherently makes all of our creatures indestructible.

Yes, is a high price to pay for any creature in Commander. But, a game-endingly large creature that protects our whole board is a great way to invest our mana, if we've got it.

Sylvan CaryatidSylvan Caryatid - Fire Score of 4.06

A classic mana dork, this Plant's surging popularity may be due to its reprinting in the semi-recently released Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander deck that focused on creatures with high toughness stats.

Putting that aside, Sylvan Caryatid is a virtual 3/3 with hexproof that both ramps us and fixes our mana. It even lets us curve into our commander on turn three, assuming we cast Sylvan Caryatid on turn two. While one-mana dorks may be more powerful, they're just not as thematic.

Restricted Office // Lecture HallRestricted Office // Lecture Hall - Fire Score of 2.61

Both halves of this enchantment are relevant in this deck. Restricted Office is a one-sided board wipe for just . The average Arcades deck has no creatures with power three or greater, meaning we can obliterate our opponents' board states while leaving ours intact.

And, while Lecture Hall does cost a lot of mana, it can be a great way to seal a game. If our opponents can't interact with our scary creatures, they likely can't stop us from winning either.

Growth SpiralGrowth Spiral, FarseekFarseek, and Rampant GrowthRampant Growth- Fire Scores of 2.75, 2.54, and 2.46

All three of these cards let us get extra lands onto the battlefield. While they do it in slightly different ways, the end result is largely the same.

Ramping on turn two, with a four-mana commander helming our deck, is extremely important. If we get Arcades on the board a turn sooner, we can start making impactful plays earlier. This deck revolves heavily around its commander, so we really want to maximize its uptime.

Efficient two-mana ramp spells like these are vital for this strategy.

What's Icy for Arcades Decks?

Wave of ReckoningWave of Reckoning and Expel the InterlopersExpel the Interlopers - Ice Scores of -2.62 and -2.16

The average Arcades list has no creatures with power greater than or equal to their toughness (if we choose to ignore Wall of Stolen IdentityWall of Stolen Identity). In fact, most of this deck's creatures have zero power. That makes Wave of Reckoning and Expel the Interlopers into wraths with the ability to wipe out our opponents' creatures while ignoring ours.

But, notably, these sorceries can be high variance. If an opponent just so happens to have creatures with high toughness stats or low power stats, this spell loses a lot of its potency. Arcades pilots may be looking towards other wipes, like Dusk // DawnDusk // Dawn, that have some other redeeming qualities to fall back upon.

Wall of EssenceWall of Essence - Ice Score of -2.27

Typically, we can't attack with Walls. That limits the effectiveness of a combat-focused defender like Wall of Essence. But when Arcades turns it into a 4/4 that can attack, our opponents suddenly have a reason not to block it.

Despite how interesting it is to attack with this creature, it is quite easy to block and kill. This Wall has no relevant combat abilities, and can be dealt with easily by any opponent willing to let us gain a few extra life points.

StoneskinStoneskin - Ice Score of -2.24

This is a neat combat trick, essentially providing +10/+10 to a creature of our choosing at instant speed. But for the same amount of mana, we can give all of our creatures +4/+4 with Bar the DoorBar the Door. We can even give all of our creatures a virtual +5/+5 for one mana less with Tower DefenseTower Defense.

This deck likes to go wide, and there's only so many slots for combat tricks in a Commander deck. We can spread more damage around with other spells, so Stoneskin is crumbling.

Sidar Kondo of JamuraaSidar Kondo of Jamuraa - Ice Score of -2.19

Most every creature in the average Arcades list has power two or less, so Sidar Kondo provides some fantastic evasion to our whole board. This Human Knight even has two power and five toughness himself, meaning he'll benefit from Assault FormationAssault Formation, still untap while the board is under the effects of a MeekstoneMeekstone, and even let us gain a chunk of life with Angelic ChorusAngelic Chorus.

Sadly, Sidar Kondo does not have defender. Many of the synergy pieces that Arcades pilots put in their 99 are geared specifically towards that keyword, like Wingmantle ChaplainWingmantle Chaplain, Shield-Wall SentinelShield-Wall Sentinel, and Axebane GuardianAxebane Guardian. While Sidar does provide evasion to our board, he doesn't directly fit the theme we're building around.

Jeskai BarricadeJeskai Barricade - Ice Score of -2.10

I am puzzled by this creature's declining popularity. With Arcades on the board, Jeskai Barricade is a two-mana 4/4 that lets us save another creature from danger at instant speed. We also get to recast whatever creature we choose to protect, drawing another card with Arcades and triggering other valuable enter the battlefield (ETB) abilities.

Jeskai Barricade seems comparable to Wall of OmensWall of Omens and Wall of BlossomsWall of Blossoms, which are staples of this list. It seems like a great include to me, but other Arcades pilots appear to disagree. If you're seeing a downside to this card that I'm not, please do let me know in the comments.

What's in a Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist Deck?

Here's an Arcades list with all of his Fiery cards included and all of his Icy cards excluded:

Conclusion

I'm always shocked to see Arcades so high on EDHREC's rankings. But we keep seeing powerful new Walls get printed! From Crystal BarricadeCrystal Barricade in Foundations to Escarpment FortressEscarpment Fortress in Assassin's Creed, and it feels like we see a great card for this deck pop up every other set or so.

I love seeing powerful commanders breathe new life into niche cards! What other commanders do you know of that revitalize neglected cards? I'm reminded of Orvar, the All-FormOrvar, the All-Form. Let me know what commanders come to mind for you in the comments below!