Arcades, the Strategist

Jagermorder
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Post by Jagermorder » 2 years ago

Ok, trying to put the finishing touches on this deck, so I'm asking for some unbiased opinions.

Two major things I'm debating on:

1. Should I use Chulane as a commander and hide Arcades in the 99
2. Do I need more lands or more of something else
3. Other stuff that I may be missing in the deck.

Three, three major things. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I've got two combos in here:

Wall of Kelp +Axebane Guardian+Intruder Alarm

Decree of Silence+Solemnity

Arcadis, the Jerk Strategist

//Commander

Approximate Total Cost:

Last edited by Jagermorder 2 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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Outcryqq
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Post by Outcryqq » 2 years ago

Chulane, Teller of Tales

1) No, I'd run Arcades, the Strategist as your commander. I know a lot of people enjoy playing "secret" commanders, but the problem is that, to find them, you generally have to get lucky or use tutors. I see Summoner's Pact and Eladamri's Call in your list, so I'll presume you rely on the latter, then you're wasting time tutoring a card (Arcades) that you could have just used as your commander. Chulane would be great in the 99, and is great overall, but looking at your creature selection, you're going to want access to Arcades every time - Chulane is essentially a great draw spell. Taking out those tutors and replacing with two spells that are useful in every situation seems like a better choice to me.

2) Usually decklists have a number of lands included in the list. For those reading, it's currently 33 lands, and I see 3 mana rocks, three land search spells, and a few mana dorks. I'd definitely go higher on the land count, maybe aim for 37 assuming your other rocks/ramp/dorks stay the same?

3) I'd probably include Wave of Reckoning as a generally 1-sided boardwipe. Thwart seems way worse than a whole host of spells, Actually a few of your counterspells seem subpar in multiplayer EDH: Mystical Dispute, Tale's End, previously mentioned Thwart, I'd probably rather just use something like Heroic Intervention. Your deck wants to essentially flood the board with dudes, I'd include more board protection: I already mentioned Heroic Intervention, but Cosmic Intervention is also good. You have Solemnity plus Decree of Silence, cool combo, but with only one way to tutor Solemnity (Muddle the Mixture) and zero ways to tutor Decree, I'd probably just play cards that are better in every circumstance.

4) You didn't ask about this, but your title misspells your commander's name ("Arcadis"). I'm not sure if that's on purpose or not, but if not, then it's an eyesore and might otherwise not get people to look at your thread who might otherwise look at it. I'm thinking when people come to MTGNexus, search "Arcades, the Strategist", and then never find your list because you typed Arcadis.

Jagermorder
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Post by Jagermorder » 2 years ago

Good call! That was just an honest misspell.

Yeah when I play test it, it definitely feels pretty light on ramp, that's why I was thinking to use chulane. Sounds like I need those two slots for something else.

2 and 3 both great ideas, I like going that route.

Awesome advice, I will commence to implementing!

Jagermorder
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Post by Jagermorder » 2 years ago

Ok, made some changes. The sideboard has all the cards I took out. Should I leave in cards like High Alert [/card] as a back up or are they kind of redundant with the commander?
Arcades, the Strategist v2

//Commander

Approximate Total Cost:


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Outcryqq
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Post by Outcryqq » 2 years ago

First, I'd delete your other thread (the one you posted in the main forum, which as recently been moved to decklists).

Next, I would not cut Sol Ring. Unless it's for purist reasons, it's amazing.

You probably need a few of the same effect as your commander, like High Alert. Otherwise your opponents could just remove your commander a few times and make your deck mostly useless. Same reason I'd keep Assault Formation, probably one of the best alternatives to your commander. I'm good with most of your other cuts, though Cultivate seems like it would be hard to cut.

As far as further cuts: what does Dovin Baan do for you? I get the novelty of using a planewalker, but it multiplayer commander they're generally frail and need to be worth it for just one use. In this case, I don't think gaining 2 life and drawing a card for 4 mana is nearly enough, and the payoff isn't that great. Same issue I have with Tamiyo, Field Researcher.

Jagermorder
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Post by Jagermorder » 2 years ago

Its been responded to, so I'm having trouble deleting it. I think the mods might have to do it.

Yeah my cuts are getting tight, so I'm thinking about removing Dovin and Tamiyo as well. Initially, I added Dovin for his +1 to lock down problem creature cards and Tamiyo for her card draw. They both have nasty ults as well.

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