What’s a Power Level? - A First Look into the Commander Brackets
If you have played the Commander format or Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) in Magic: The Gathering, you may have quickly realised that decks will vary in strength relatively often. What’s more is that local playgroups will frequently have their own concept of what is a fair deck and what constitutes something beyond what they find okay to bring to the table. In the end we have the “my deck is a 7” joke across EDH communities around the world.
With the ever popular EDH format being another mainstay feature at the upcoming MTG Spotlight Series – Utrecht, we want to dive in and have a first look at the “beta-test” of the new Commander matchmaking system.
Alex Kivitz
From 1 to 5 - What Are The Commander Brackets?
With the new Commander Brackets we see a slight shift in arbitrarily measuring power levels and a move towards intended gameplay experiences. Levels 1, 2, and 3 are geared more towards your casual low to decently strong decks. We then see a shift to level 4 and 5 where 4 is ‘everything is allowed’ and 5 is a shift to a competitive mindset and a focus on competitive metagame.
In the graphic shared by Wizards of the Coast, we see each bracket has a small breakdown of what defines a deck to be within that bracket. The main points of differentiation between the brackets are the use of certain gameplay strategies, the level and strength of infinite-combos, the inclusion of a new classification of cards called “Game Changers”, and the amount of Tutors in the deck.
Alex Kivitz
Bracket 1: Exhibition
This is the baseline, the most casual bracket we have. These decks are all about your crazy cooks, the weirdest brews, and just doing something niche you came up with on the spur of the moment. Let’s say you want a Chair Tribal deck, where every card needs to have a chair in the artwork. Or you want to play using every mechanic in the game, from Seizing the Initiative, to Opening Attractions, to tracking Day and Night for no good reason.
The main constraints here are as follows: No mass land denial or extra turns, no two card infinite combos, no cards from the Game Changers list, and only a few cards that search your deck for other specific cards (Tutors).
Here you just want to kick back, have fun, and revel in the decks that everyone brought to the table.
Bracket 2: Core
While being a bracket above Exhibition, this bracket is actually more common than Bracket 1. The main difference is that most people will have to go out of their way to build decks in bracket 1, whereas bracket 2 is more aligned to the average preconstructed deck you see released today.
You’ll find decks with solid game plans and the pieces to execute those plans. You won’t see many of the game ending bombs like Craterhoof Behemoth, or Torment of Hellfire, but you might come across their younger siblings in the form of Ezuri, Renegade Leader in elf decks, or Exsanguinate. These are still fairly strong cards, but not as “game changing”.
Games here can take some time, and there will be some big swings, but it is unlikely for games to simply end out of nowhere in this bracket. The main deck building constraints are still no inclusions of mass land denial, no cards from the Game Changers list, no two card infinite combos, and still only a few Tutors. The decks may contain extra-turn spells but cannot chain them back to back.
Bracket 3: Upgraded
This is where we see some of the heavy hitters come out to play in upgraded preconstructed decks. These decks are filled with a curated list of cards to make the decks quicker and more efficient. Additionally, they allow the use of up to three Game Changers.
We still are restricting mass land denial here, and extra turns still can’t be chained back to back. However, we are now allowed late game two-card infinite combos. While these should still be relatively harder to pull off and mostly only possible late in the game, they are very much a reality in this bracket.
Bracket 4: Optimised
This is it, the no-holds-barred chaos that many love about the Commander format. You can bring out your strongest decks, highest value engines, and powerful game enders for some very exciting games. Nothing is off-limits here! You can play board wipe tribal and blow up everyone’s lands, phase out of the game for a million turns, take a million turns back to back…
In Bracket 4, players can focus on doing what they want to do as efficiently as possible. There is an understanding here that games can end quickly by turn 3 or 4, and in some crazy scenarios a turn 1 or 2 win is not unheard of. No strategy is off-limits, and you can have any number of Game Changers in your deck. There are no restrictions except, of course, cards on the ban list.
Bracket 5: Competitive Elder Dragon Highlander (CEDH)
Bracket 5 is almost exactly the same as Bracket 4 except the difference in mindset. Players here are allowed to build whatever they like, but should keep in mind that there is a more competitive mindset. This affects not only how you play but also how you would build your decks.
Where in Bracket 4 you may choose to go all in on your most powerful game plan and focus solely on what you play, in CEDH there are a lot more considerations. Players should pay heed to the metagame and player etiquette as players are all there to win.
Cards are included because they are answers to prevalent threats in the format. Plays are made to further your game plan or bring down the winner, not purely out of spite because an opponent killed you yesterday at a different event.
What Are Game Changers In Commander?
We have referenced Game Changers quite a bit so far but what exactly are they? Game Changers are cards that are a new introduction to help guide players into creating decks of similar strength.
Wizards of the Coast define Game Changers as cards that “dramatically warp Commander games, allowing players to run away with resources, shift games in ways that many players dislike, block people from play, efficiently search for their strongest cards, or have Commanders that tend to take away from more casual games”.
Cards on this list are on a watch list, and if there are any future bans, it’s likely to come from cards on this list. However, that’s not to say these cards will get banned, but rather this lists functions as a way for players to self-regulate and keep an eye on cards to be mindful about. The list functions as a sort of a middle ground or watchlist, a way to recognise powerful cards in the format.
Disclaimer
As stated by Gavin Verhey in his announcement of the Bracket System, he expects that for many people, nothing will change. Many groups of friends will continue to play together in much the same way they always have, and that’s perfectly fine. These brackets are a way to set a baseline experience for new players at local game stores, or players competing at an event for the first time. Many people will sit down at a table and talk about what they’ve brought and this system is a great way to initiate that “Rule Zero” conversation.
Additionally, this is a beta test of the system, and based on feedback the parameters may change. But for the time being, we feel this is a great way to really smooth out the introduction of new players and get the conversation going. So, whether or not you’re going to your local game store for some games, or are headed to play at the Command Zone at the MTG Spotlight Series – Utrecht in March, we look forward to seeing how players will interact with this new bracket system for Commander.
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