Card
Arcades, the Strategist
Mana cost {1}{G}{W}{U}
Legendary Creature — Elder Dragon 3/5
Flying, vigilance Whenever a creature you control with defender enters, draw a card. Each creature you control with defender assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power and can attack as though it didn't have defender.
No bracket restriction: playable from bracket 1. Part of 1 known combo. 2 official rulings.
- Commander
- Legal
- Printing
- Mythic · M19 · #212
- Cheapest printing
- €2.06
- EDHREC salt
- 0.82
- Color identity
- Green, Blue, White
- Keywords
- Flying, Vigilance
Bracket
- B1 Exhibition — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B2 Core — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B3 Upgraded — allowed: No restriction at this bracket
- B4 Optimized — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
- B5 cEDH — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
Why
- No Game Changer, mass land denial, extra turn, tutor or two-card combo
How Lotus Vault estimates a bracket
Bracket: Lotus Vault analysis, with Commander Spellbook flags
Combos
1 known combo.
- Arcades, the Strategist + Shield Sphere + Tangleroot + Words of Wind
Produces: Infinite artifact ETB, Infinite artifact LTB, Infinite creature LTB
View on Commander Spellbook
Combos: Commander Spellbook
Rulings
- 2021-03-19 · Wizards of the Coast
Arcades's last ability doesn't actually change any creature's power. It changes only the amount of combat damage it assigns. All other rules and effects that check power or toughness use the real values. For example, Rabid Bite won't cause a creature with defender to deal damage equal to its toughness. - 2021-03-19 · Wizards of the Coast
If Arcades leaves the battlefield after a creature with defender has attacked, that creature remains an attacking creature, although it will assign damage equal to its power.
Rulings: Scryfall · Wizards of the Coast