The Commander Brackets (1–5) System, Explained

Commander has always had a power-level problem. Two decks can cost the same, share a color identity, and read like the same strategy — but if one runs Demonic Tutor and the other doesn’t, they’re playing different games. The old “1–10 scale” that everyone used didn’t help: it had no shared definitions and nobody agreed what a 7 looked like.

In late 2024 Wizards of the Coast launched a five-bracket replacement. Here’s how it works.

The brackets at a glance

Bracket 1 — Exhibition. Casual, rule-of-thumb precon-level decks. No Game Changers, no mass land destruction, no infinite combos, no extra-turn spells. Games run long and deciding who wins is not the point. This is the bracket where “ah, looks like you’ve got it” is the norm.

Bracket 2 — Core. Upgraded precons, first builds. Up to 3 Game Changers allowed. No two-card infinite combos before turn 9. No mass land destruction. You can still run tutors, but not the ban-adjacent ones.

Bracket 3 — Upgraded. Focused casual. Up to 3 Game Changers. Two-card combos allowed after turn 7. This is where most “my friends and I have been playing for 5 years” decks live.

Bracket 4 — Optimized. High-power casual. No Game Changer limit. Infinite combos on any turn. Mass land destruction is on the table (but uncommon — it’s still socially punishing). This is the bracket where “I played Ad Nauseam on turn 3” is a story, not a crime.

Bracket 5 — Competitive EDH (cEDH). Tournament-legal Commander. Every card is optimal or nearly so. Win on turn 3–4 or lose. The entire pod is playing to win.

The Game Changers list

The heart of the new system is the Game Changers list — 40-ish cards that Wizards decided are power-level indicators. Running a Game Changer isn’t automatically bad, but the count determines your bracket.

Examples from the current list: Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Cyclonic Rift, Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, Mana Drain, Ancient Tomb, Gaea’s Cradle, Grim Monolith, Mana Vault, Jeweled Lotus, The One Ring, Dockside Extortionist (pre-ban), Thassa’s Oracle, Underworld Breach.

The list is maintained by Wizards and shifts with each Commander set. Check the current official list before locking in your bracket assessment.

How to self-assess your deck

Five questions, in order:

1. Does my deck aim to win before turn 7? If yes → Bracket 4 or 5.
2. Do I run more than 3 Game Changers? If yes → Bracket 4 or 5.
3. Do I run any two-card infinite combo? If before turn 7 → Bracket 4+; after turn 7 → Bracket 3.
4. Do I run mass land destruction (Armageddon, Ruination, Jokulhaups)? If yes → Bracket 4 or 5.
5. Is my deck an upgraded precon? If yes and previous answers were all no → Bracket 2.

If you answered no to all five, you’re at Bracket 1.

Common misconceptions

“Bracket 4 = best cards in every slot.” No. Bracket 4 is “no restrictions, but the deck can still be janky.” A deck can be Bracket 4 because it runs Jeweled Lotus and Ad Nauseam, even if half the other cards are flavor picks.

“Bracket 5 = expensive.” Price isn’t part of the criteria. Some of the most expensive cards in Magic (Gaea’s Cradle, Underground Sea) appear in Bracket 3 decks all the time. A Bracket 5 deck costs what it costs to win — sometimes that’s $2,000, sometimes $800.

“The bracket system replaces the ban list.” It doesn’t. Cards that are banned in Commander (all 55 of them) are still banned in every bracket. The bracket system is about what’s allowed; the ban list is about what isn’t.

“Brackets are tiered by deck cost.” Price and power correlate, but not perfectly. A Bracket 2 deck can easily cost $400 (buying a good precon and upgrading smartly). A Bracket 4 deck can cost $200 if you’re playing a budget combo strategy.

Why the system matters

The bracket system exists because “rule 0” — “just talk to your pod before the game” — breaks down at large events. Commander’s player base is now big enough that conventions, LGS nights, and Discord queues need a shared vocabulary. “Bracket 3 Atraxa” is a more useful search phrase than “somewhere between a 7 and an 8.”

If you’re new to Commander: tell your playgroup your bracket when you sit down. If they’re Bracket 2 and you’re Bracket 4, you’ll play a better game by switching decks than by trying to pull your punches.

Working with bracket mismatches

• Your deck is higher than the table’s. Either sandbag (hold key cards in hand an extra turn) or swap decks. Don’t tutor, don’t combo, don’t Cyclonic Rift on turn 5. The goal is to win when it’s interesting, not when it’s possible.
• Your deck is lower than the table’s. Play your deck honestly and expect to lose a lot. Or — the better option — keep a Bracket 4 deck built for exactly this situation.
• Bracket 1 vs Bracket 1. Games run long. Lean into it. The player who wins is often the one nobody was focused on.

The bracket system doesn’t eliminate pod mismatches — it surfaces them before the game starts. That’s the whole point.