Thoughts on the 2025 Commander Bracket System Beta

Ever since the implosion of the Commander Rules Committee, following the controversial 2024 September bannings, the future of the format has been in flux. There were rumours of a bracket system being in the works, but it wasn't until February that the concept was officially unveiled (announcement).

I've given the announcement some time to digest and I'm pretty sure I don't like the idea. While I concede that this concept is still in the beta stages, with plenty of room for tweaks and changes, I'm not overly enthused with adding more complexity to Magic's most daunting format.

The 5 brackets are differentiated in the following ways:

1. Exhibition
   • No mass land denial or extra turns
   • No 2-card infinite combos
   • No game changers
   • Few tutors
2. Core
   • No mass land denial
   • No chaining infinite turns
   • No 2-card infinite combos
   • No game changers
   • Few tutors
3. Upgraded
   • No mass land denial
   • No chaining infinite turns
   • Late game 2-card infinite combos
   • 3 game changers
4. Optimized
   • No restrictions other than the banned list
5. CEDH
   • No restrictions other than the banned list

Right away, we can eliminate the first 2 brackets as no one is playing a deck worse than a pre-con, nor are most people playing out-of-the-box preconstructed decks for any length of time. My estimation of the average Commander player is that decks range from 3-4, with the try-hards in CEDH representing a large but still fringe group comparatively. There is also no clear distinction between an Optimized deck and CEDH deck, with the key difference being how much meta-gaming players are indulging in.

The concept of "game changers" is one I don't necessarily dislike, but we're adding another special list to the game — and the propensity for arguments about omissions and inclusions — for potentially minimal benefit. I see the utility in being able to have a clear list of absolutely banned cards along with the option to flag certain cards as extremely powerful while still allowing some of them to be played. That said, the list is very small and has already been updated with another 18 cards (announcement), with more changes surely to follow. There is also the possibility that the official banned list gets a lot more lax, with Game Changers serving as a moderating force. That potential outcome is the most concerning to me.

What I see this bracket system attempting to do is codify what has, until now, been handled via the honour system. Ideally you are playing against people who aren't misrepresenting what they are playing, nor are they oblivious as to the power level of their decks. The bracket system does give you a sort of shorthand for these discussions, provided everyone understands this additional layer. That said, there is still room for pedants to build extremely powerful decks that technically qualify for bracket 2. Nothing is perfect, but whether the additional overhead of this system helps or hinders remains to be seen.

As of right now, my play group has not adopted this system and there are no plans to. We have a wide range of decks that see play in our weekly games, with disparate power levels and strategies. Because we are a seasoned group, we are all on the same page when it comes to what is and is not acceptable — ultimately boiling down to: no infinite combos or solitaire strategies.

The best case scenario for these brackets is they will be a useful shorthand for finding new players for my group. The worst case is the banned list becomes extremely permissive, with Game Changers adding additional rules overhead and serving as a poor replacement for bans in a pool of tens of thousands of cards.

—by Derek

Published: April 23rd, 2024.