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Commander Brackets
Cheat Sheet
The whole bracket system on one page — what each table expects of a deck, what is off the menu, and every card on the Game Changers list. Handy for sorting out what everyone brought before the first shuffle.
Current to Wizards' February 9, 2026 bracket update. Definitions here are paraphrased, so each links to the article that defines it — full source list below.
1
Exhibition
2
Core
3
Upgraded
4
Optimized
5
cEDH
Player Expectations
9+ turns
Decks to prioritize a goal, theme, or idea over power.
Rules around card or commander legality to be flexible, if all players agree.
Win conditions to be highly thematic or substandard.
Gameplay to be an opportunity to show off their creations.
Player Expectations
8+ turns
Decks to be mechanically focused with some cards chosen to maximize creativity and/or entertainment.
Win conditions to be incremental, telegraphed on the board, and disrupt-able.
Gameplay to be low pressure, proactive, and considerate, letting each deck showcase its plan.
Player Expectations
6+ turns
Decks to be powered up with strong synergy and high card quality. They can effectively disrupt opponents.
Win conditions that can be played from hand in one turn, usually because of steadily accrued resources.
Gameplay to feature many proactive and reactive plays.
Player Expectations
4+ turns
but can win at any time
Decks to be lethal, consistent, and fast, designed to take people down as fast as possible.
They do not adhere to the cEDH metagame.
Win conditions to vary from archetype to archetype, but can end a game quickly and suddenly.
Gameplay to be explosive and powerful, featuring huge threats and efficient disruption to match.
Player Expectations
Wins at any time
Decks that are meticulously designed to battle in the cEDH metagame, with the ability to win quickly or generate overwhelming resources; often built using existing cEDH knowledge, tools, and/or decklists.
Win conditions to be optimized for efficiency and consistency.
Gameplay to be intricate and advanced, with razor-thin margins for error; players prioritize victory over all else.
Restrictions
Up to 3 Game Changers
- No mass land denial
- No chaining extra turns
- No 2-card combos before turn 6
Restrictions
Any # of Game Changers
- No restrictions other than the banned list
Restrictions
Any # of Game Changers
- No restrictions other than the banned list
Bracket
12345
Socially FocusedMeta Game Focused
1
Exhibition
Player Expectations
9+ turns
Decks to prioritize a goal, theme, or idea over power.
Rules around card or commander legality to be flexible, if all players agree.
Win conditions to be highly thematic or substandard.
Gameplay to be an opportunity to show off their creations.
1 Exhibition → 2 Core
the difference is Thematic
2
Core
Player Expectations
8+ turns
Decks to be mechanically focused with some cards chosen to maximize creativity and/or entertainment.
Win conditions to be incremental, telegraphed on the board, and disrupt-able.
Gameplay to be low pressure, proactive, and considerate, letting each deck showcase its plan.
2 Core → 3 Upgraded
the difference is Staples
3
Upgraded
Player Expectations
6+ turns
Decks to be powered up with strong synergy and high card quality. They can effectively disrupt opponents.
Win conditions that can be played from hand in one turn, usually because of steadily accrued resources.
Gameplay to feature many proactive and reactive plays.
Restrictions
Up to 3 Game Changers
- No mass land denial
- No chaining extra turns
- No 2-card combos before turn 6
3 Upgraded → 4 Optimized
the difference is SPEED
4
Optimized
Player Expectations
4+ turns
but can win at any time
Decks to be lethal, consistent, and fast, designed to take people down as fast as possible.
They do not adhere to the cEDH metagame.
Win conditions to vary from archetype to archetype, but can end a game quickly and suddenly.
Gameplay to be explosive and powerful, featuring huge threats and efficient disruption to match.
Restrictions
Any # of Game Changers
- No restrictions other than the banned list
4 Optimized → 5 cEDH
the difference is Metagame
5
cEDH
Player Expectations
Wins at any time
Decks that are meticulously designed to battle in the cEDH metagame, with the ability to win quickly or generate overwhelming resources; often built using existing cEDH knowledge, tools, and/or decklists.
Win conditions to be optimized for efficiency and consistency.
Gameplay to be intricate and advanced, with razor-thin margins for error; players prioritize victory over all else.
Restrictions
Any # of Game Changers
- No restrictions other than the banned list
Game Changers
53
White
7
Blue
10
Black
10
Red
3
Green
6
Multi
4
Banned in Commander
42Not legal at any bracket — brackets 4 and 5 are “no restrictions other than the banned list,” and this is that list.
Blue
10- 25 cards with the Card Type "Conspiracy."
- 9 cards that reference "playing for ante."
- Cards whose art, text, name, or combination thereof that are racially or culturally offensive are banned in all formats. This list is a work in progress.
- Lutri, the Spellchaser - only banned as a companion.
Terms & Topics
- Mass Land Denial
- An effect that removes, incapacitates, or significantly hinders four or more lands per player without replacing them. Brackets Beta↗
- 2 Card Combo
- A combination of two cards that, when together, create a loop or a game-ending effect, producing infinite resources like mana, damage, or creatures. Oct 2025 update↗
- Extra Turns
- A turn that a player takes in addition to the normal turn order. Brackets 2 and 3 rule out chaining them rather than playing one. Brackets Beta↗
- Game Changers
- The list the brackets reference: cards that warp games by running away with resources, locking players out, or efficiently finding a deck's best cards. It doubles as a watch-list — future bans tend to come from it, and unbanned cards tend to land on it. Brackets Beta↗
- Tutors
- No longer a bracket restriction. Wizards dropped the guidance in October 2025 as too vague to enforce, and now relies on the Game Changers list to catch the most efficient ones. Oct 2025 update↗
- Rule Zero
- The pregame conversation that overrides all of this. Brackets are a shorthand for it, not a replacement — asking the table about one card outside your bracket is still the point. Brackets Beta↗
- Turn Expectations
- The turn counts are about when a game ending would feel satisfying, not a deadline. "At least six turns" means you would be happy if it ended on someone's seventh. Oct 2025 update↗
- Banned List
- The format's own ban list, which applies at every bracket. It is the only restriction brackets 4 and 5 keep. Banned list↗
- Precons
- Preconstructed decks. Bracket 2 was originally pegged to their average power level; that link was cut in October 2025 so a precon is no longer automatically a 2. Oct 2025 update↗
Made by
PlayIRL.gg
playirl.gg/brackets
Where this comes from
The bracket system is Wizards of the Coast's, and it is still in beta — it has been revised a few times since launch, and Wizards has said the beta tag may come off later this year. This page is a snapshot; the announcements below are the source of truth.
- Commander Brackets Beta UpdateFebruary 9, 2026
Farewell and Biorhythm join the Game Changers list; no bracket-level changes.
- Commander Banned and Restricted AnnouncementFebruary 9, 2026
Companion announcement — the unbans behind Biorhythm joining the list.
- Commander Format Panel UpdateDecember 11, 2025
- Commander Brackets Beta UpdateOctober 21, 2025
The update the printed chart documents — precons decoupled from Bracket 2, Game Changers trimmed.
- Commander Brackets Beta UpdateApril 22, 2025
- Introducing Commander Brackets Beta
The original announcement.
- Introducing the Commander Format Panel
- On the Future of Commander
- Commander format hub
The living reference for the brackets and the Game Changers list.
Resources
Tools that pair well with the chart. None are affiliated with Wizards or with PlayIRL.
- Scryfall — the Game Changers list as a search
Scryfall tags the list natively: is:gamechanger returns all 53, which is the quickest way to check this page against the live list.
- EDHREC — Guide to Commander Brackets
Long-form walkthrough of what each bracket feels like to play and build, kept up to date alongside the official changes.
- Game Knights decklists
Where the show posts its lists. Archidekt decks carry a bracket label, so these double as worked examples of what a given bracket looks like in practice.
- Commander Spellbook
Search engine for Commander combos — the practical way to find out whether two cards in your deck make the two-card combo the lower brackets rule out.
- Archidekt
Deck builder that surfaces a deck's bracket and flags Game Changers as you build.
- Moxfield
Deck builder — most bracket estimators take a Moxfield link as their input.
- EDHREC
Commander deck statistics and card recommendations, useful for seeing what a bracket actually plays.