CommanderTestLabor DE
Price
€351.55of €500.00
Overall win rate
27%61 wins in 222 scored games
Games
260 (38)played in 26 tournaments, 38 not scored (time limit)
Rank
22in the rankings up to €500 · Elo 1567 (start 1500)
Cards
100incl. commander · 34 lands, 12 of them basic
Game Changer
3of at most 3 allowed
Combos
1complete in the deck
Rules check
Passed100 cards, colors, banlist

At most €500 including the commander. If prices rise above that, the shopping list is rebuilt automatically.

grey: role in the deckGame Changer counts for the bracketCombo part of a comboAI can't play replaced in tournamentsAI limited played weakly by the AI

Commander (1)

Creatures (38)

Instants (10)

Sorceries (6)

Artifacts (5)

Enchantments (6)

Arcades, the Strategist
Card image: © Wizards of the Coast, via Scryfall

Combos in the deck (1)

Detected from the decklist (Commander Spellbook): theoretically possible, see Spellbook for requirements. Whether a combo actually came together in games is shown above under “What the games show”.

  • Axebane Guardian + High Alert → Infinite colored mana, Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite untap of creatures you control

Adjusted for the Forge AI

The list above is the best tested version, the way you would play it in real games. The Forge AI can't play a few cards – they were replaced in the tournament (the deck builder also rearranges other slots within the budget). The win rate comes from games with these replacements; the original cards themselves were not tested by the AI.

In the list (original cards)
  • Beast Within: AI can't play it
  • Ghalta the Immovable: not in Forge
  • Slaughter the Strong: AI can't play it
  • Tower Defense: AI can't play it
Played instead in the tournament
  • Expel the Interlopers: replacement
  • Fog Bank: replacement
  • Mana Drain: replacement
  • Plagon, Lord of the Beach: replacement

What the games show

From 222 analysed games in 26 tournaments (tournament lists as played by Forge). Games that hit the time limit don't count, just like in the rankings. Values in brackets: average of all decks in the same price class. “logged”: recorded in the game log. “indication”: recurring pattern, but no proof of cause and effect.

Play style: wins through combat – 100% of the damage to opponents is combat damage

Strengths

  • Applies a lot of pressure: avg 42 damage to opponents per game (all-deck avg: 29) logged (222 games)
  • Clears the table: eliminates 0.80 opponents per game on average (all-deck avg: 0.62) logged (222 games)

Weaknesses

  • Slow to win: wins on average only on its 13th own turn (all-deck avg: 11th) logged (61 wins)

Damage per game all games

Total damage to opponents ÷ all 222 games – what the card contributes over the whole test

  1. Arcades, the Strategist avg 9.2hit in 166 of 222 games
  2. Wall of Denial avg 3.3hit in 37 of 222 games
  3. Shield Sphere avg 1.9hit in 32 of 222 games

Damage when used when it hits

Total damage ÷ games in which the card dealt damage – its strength when used

  1. Tree of Redemption avg 22.2hit in 18 of 222 games
  2. The Pride of Hull Clade avg 21.5hit in 16 of 222 games
  3. Wall of Denial avg 20.0hit in 37 of 222 games

Top finishers eliminates opponents

Cards that most often knocked an opposing commander out of the game

  1. Arcades, the Strategist 28×222 games in deck
  2. Wall of Denial 25×222 games in deck
  3. Hover Barrier 13×222 games in deck

Best interaction answers threats

Opposing cards destroyed, exiled, bounced or countered when this card resolved (tokens excluded)

  1. Fell the Mighty 172×avg 0.8 per game · 222 games in deck
  2. Dusk 116×avg 0.5 per game · 222 games in deck
  3. Aura Shards 73×avg 0.3 per game · 222 games in deck

Biggest walls blocks the most

Opposing cards that blocked this deck's attackers most often – 18% of 3039 attackers blocked in total, 17% of those by flyers or reach

  1. Shapeshifter Token 14×blocked in 5 games
  2. Goblin Token 12×blocked in 5 games
  3. Plant Token 12×blocked in 4 games

Rarely cast candidates to cut

Cards in this list that were cast least often in their games – often too expensive or too slow (lands excluded)

  1. Corrupted Shapeshifter 0%cast in 0 of 222 games
  2. Dusk // Dawn 0%cast in 0 of 222 games
  3. Meekstone 0%cast in 0 of 222 games

Wins by turn speed

On which own turn the 61 wins came

  • by turn 70%
  • turns 8–95%
  • turns 10–1131%
  • turns 12–1330%
  • turn 14+34%

Combos in play logged Axebane Guardian + High Alert: all pieces cast in 7 games, 2 won

Mana curve without lands

Average 2.85

1
0
7
1
30
2
14
3
7
4
1
5
1
6
4
7+

Roles in the deck

Ramp
10 / 10
Card draw
7 / 6
Removal
7 / 7
Board wipe
3 / 3
Protection
5 / 5
Strategy
33 cards no target

Count / target from the EDHREC average deck (the line), red means clearly below. Strategy: the remaining cards without one of these roles, such as the creatures and effects the deck is built around. 65 non-land cards in total.

Card types

Creatures
38
Instants
10
Sorceries
6
Artifacts
5
Enchantments
6
Lands
34

Most expensive cards

Boseiju, Who Endures
€43.71
Rhystic Study
€36.66
Misty Rainforest
€25.10
Cyclonic Rift
€23.77
Sea of Clouds
€19.68
The Walls of Ba Sing Se
€19.44
Akroma's Will
€14.94
Flooded Strand
€14.94

What the program has learned

Each tournament the deck tests one card. A verdict needs at least 40 games with and without the card. Since the deck is rebuilt every tournament with current prices and data, tested cards can drop out again later.

No swap has enough games for a verdict yet.

4 more tested cards are still collecting games.

Shopping list for Cardmarket

Copy the list, create a new list under “Wants” on Cardmarket and paste it.

Total €351.55 Cardmarket average as of Oct 27, 2026

Open Cardmarket Wants

Prices without shipping. Individual cards may have become cheaper or more expensive on Cardmarket.

Placement in every tournament

Oldest on the left. Green: top 3, blue: top 10.

3543482831222951123327915413211164320462045164328

Best place 1 · average place 29.0 · 2× top 3 · 3× top 10 out of 26 tournaments

Played by the Forge AI, four players per game. An average deck wins 25%. How are decks tested?