Commander Brackets & Game Changers Update

The Commander Brackets Beta received the latest update on October 21, 2025. Brackets have been updated, tutor restrictions have been removed, and 10 cards have been removed from the Game Changers list. Join us as we recap the changes.

COMMANDER BRACKETS UPDATE

The latest one-pager that details the Brackets has been released, so let’s break down the changes. Rachel Weeks kindly produced the above graphic after much iteration with the rest of the Panel. 

The first thing you’ll notice is that the link to Precons has been removed from Bracket 2. The Panel ultimately decided that this was proving more confusing than intended. Many of the oldest precons can’t keep up with the more modern ones, and some of the more modern ones fit better into Bracket 3 than anywhere else.

Next, you’ll notice that the wording and communication has received updates. The focus is on intent, and the focus is on what players expect. This is a greater emphasis on the players to come to each table with the right goals in mind and communicate them clearly. The expectations are just that – the expected average experience in each bracket.

So, while Bracket 3 says “Players expect to play at least 6 turns before anyone wins or loses”, that’s talking about the average expectation of a Bracket 3 game. Some of those games might involve a player being knocked out by an aggro or Voltron deck before turn 6, with that deck not closing the game out until turn 8 or 9. 

Notice how also in Bracket 3 it says “players expect… They can effectively disrupt opponents.” Some of those games might involve a Sol Ring start, which allows a deck that doesn’t get hit by removal to curve out a turn ahead. A lack of disruption can let some decks overperform. 

Finally, let’s look at those helpful arrows on the Casual to Competitive temperature bar. They’re a simple heuristic to determine the differences between each bracket, and can help you to figure out where you might end up. 

CHANGING THINGS UP

Bracket 1 has now got a stronger link to Rule 0, silver-bordered cards and generally changing the play experience using house rules and so on. It’s still a bracket that focuses on flavor above all else – which means a house rule to ban Sol Ring won’t make your deck Bracket 1, and nor will using one of the more broken silver-border Commanders. That said, it’s kind of the other side of the coin to cEDH, in that it’s more of a pre-game Rule 0 of what the format could be. 

The tutors restriction has been removed. It was a little too confusing, with expensive tutors like Diabolic Tutor being lumped in with the likes of two-mana options. Game Changers will catch the most egregiously powerful tutors, and otherwise the amount of streamlining and linear gameplay that is dictated by tutors can be neatly sorted by the existing Bracket structure. If you have some equipment tutors in your Boros deck, you’re not the same as playing a combo deck helmed by Sisay, Weatherlight Captain, are you?

UPDATE TO THE GAMECHANGERS LIST & PHILOSOPHY

Gamechangers should, as their name indicates, be cards that completely change the game. There are two types of card that the Panel wants to move away from categorizing in this way:

• High-mana value cards. If you’re spending tons of mana on something in Commander, it’s going to be strong. We want to keep the focus on cards that can change the game in the earlier turns, where it can be most frustrating to have somebody run away with the game before people have been able to develop. 
• Legends that are just powerful commanders. The easiest thing to opt out of is someone’s commander. If someone says, “I want to play Yuriko,” you know exactly what that means and it’s easy to prompt a conversation. If something is also wildly powerful in the 99, or simply unfun all around, we’re fine leaving it on the list, but power alone isn’t a reason to list it as a Game Changer.

Commander Brackets & Gamechangers Update Article by Gavin Verhey

The latter is one that I find particularly useful myself, and I’m sure we’ve all had pregame chats where we’ve said “I’m not in the mood to play against that deck tonight”. 

As for what was removed:

• Expropriate 
• Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
• Sway of the Stars
• Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger

• Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
• Urza, Lord High Artificer 
• Winota, Joiner of Forces 
• Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow

Additionally, Food Chain and Deflecting Swat were removed. Swat isn’t quite as powerful as free counterspells, and Food Chain is bound by being played in higher brackets by its very nature as a combo card.

You can view the Brackets System Beta page and the Game Changers on Wizards’ official site now, which cuts down on confusion for those wanting to look up the latest version to share with their playgroups.

END STEP

If you’d like to read the full article – and also hear from Gavin about future topics of discussion, like how people feel about Rhystic Study and Hybrid Mana – check out the official article by Gavin. 

Bracket Changes, Rhystic Study, Hybrid Mana, and More: A Commander Update! | Magic: The Gathering

For those who prefer video, check out Good Morning Magic, where Gavin covers the news.

What do you think of these changes? Do they make sense? Do you think Deflecting Swat should still be a Gamechanger? Sound off on Socials!