A beta version of Magic: The Gathering’s new Commander Brackets has been unveiled, and it already seems like it will have many of the same issues as the old “Power Level” rankings. If anything, Wizards of the Coast’s more formal approach to each bracket may open the door for certain practices that go against the entire ethos of making them in the first place. While some good faith is required when playing any game, it seems more than likely the new Commander Brackets will be used as a justification for bad behavior more than anything else.

The idea of making brackets for the different levels of Commander decks was first announced last October, shortly after Wizards took over Magic: The Gathering’s Commander format. Previously, the rules for the fan-created format were decided by an independent Rules Committee. However, an extreme backlash to bans made by the Committee caused many of its to step down, and Wizards to step in and take over, since the company was more equipped to deal with large-scale controversy and harassment. Now that the Commander Brackets have been previewed, it’s hard to believe they will do their job.

The What And Why Of Magic's New Commander Brackets

Commander Brackets Are Meant To Establish Levels Of Competitiveness In Commander

The reasoning behind Magic’s Commander Brackets was that players needed a more formal way to discern the relative strength of their decks. Previously, these players had relied on a ten-point Power Level scale. However, with no formal rules and many differing opinions on how to judge a deck, this resulted in people having different ideas of what decks belonged at what number. The joke among Magic fans became that every deck was a seven on the scale, as many players simply defaulted to giving that number regardless of how powerful their deck actually was.

On February 11, Magic’s Principal Game Designer Gavin Verhey released an article on the game’s official website with beta versions of the new Commander Brackets. Alongside the bracket was a list of “Game Changer” cards restricted from certain power level brackets. For example, brackets one and two allow no Game Changers, whereas bracket three only allows three in a single deck. Brackets also outline other deck-building restrictions like no mass land destruction in lower power levels. Although the intention here is to create a more formal deck-ranking system, some apparent flaws might make it even worse than Power Levels.

Wizards Of The Coast Seems Aware These Won't Work For Everyone

Wizards’ Article Introducing The Brackets Comes With Some Disclaimers

It’s worth noting that even Wizards of the Coast isn’t pretending that the new Commander Brackets will be a perfect solution. In the same article that introduces the brackets, Verhey himself gives a disclaimer that they likely won’t be adopted by all players. Many players have already made do without the previous Power Level system, opting to speak in more qualitative like “competitive” or “casual.” Playgroups at local events sometimes set specific guidelines like “no infinite combos," whereas smaller playgroups tend to know each other’s decks and can work out what level they’re playing at without a formal system.

Additionally, Verhey wisely notes that the system cannot for bad actors who will simply lie about how strong their deck is. It will be pretty clear if someone who claims to have a bracket-one deck pulls a Game Changer card that they were being dishonest. However, certain other aspects of the current bracket layout are up for interpretation. This is where bad actors could look for loopholes or intentionally misinterpret certain rules to get a leg up in the game.

Going forward, it’s also important to that this is just a beta version of the Commander Brackets. Magic’s new Commander can still for some of the current issues in future versions of the brackets, and the article announcing them even makes it clear that they will be considering player . So, with that in mind, here is some .

MTG Fans Will Likely Find Exploits To Lower Their Deck's Power Level

Current Rules Need To Be Fleshed Out To Work As Intended

Trying to create a formal set of rules for each level of play isn’t inherently a bad idea. However, Magic is a game with a lot of possibilities. If Wizards really wants to create a working set of formal rules, it will need to be a lot more comprehensive than this beta version of the Commander Brackets. Otherwise, players will find ways to sneak powerful decks into the lower brackets, knowing they have a better chance of winning while still technically following the rules.

Magic players are nothing if not creative, and many will likely try to push the boundaries of each Commander Bracket as far as they can while staying within the rules.

For example, while not violating any of the rules laid out in the current Commander Brackets, players could build a deck around Magda, Brazen Outlaw that allows them to generate infinite treasure tokens using Clock of Omens and Liquimetal Torque (or other cards with similar effects). None of those cards are game changers, and some tutors are allowed in bracket one. While this isn’t exactly the most powerful combo in the game, having access to infinite mana or being able to tutor every artifact or dragon card in a deck feels too powerful for the lowest possible level of play.

Magic players are nothing if not creative, and many will likely try to push the boundaries of each Commander Bracket as far as they can while staying within the rules. That isn’t to say it’s out of malice, many would likely see it as a challenge, like creating a powerful Pauper deck. However, with the current brackets, there is too much room for powerful builds that probably shouldn’t be allowed in the most casual bracket so new players can have a place to learn the game without getting smoked by an infinite combo that squeaked by the Game Changer list.

Wording Like "Few Tutors" Is Left Up To Interpretation

This Defeats The Purpose Of Having A Formal Ranking System

Another issue with the current Commander Brackets is that too much of the wording is left up to interpretation. For example, these decks allow for a “few tutors.” Not a specific number, just a “few.” This type of rule is exactly something fans can - and likely will - exploit to their benefit and lead to conflicts. Maybe a player who is used to filling their deck with tutors thinks four tutors is a few, whereas others might think it should be limited to one or two, which could lead to arguments or at least some saltiness during games.

Perhaps the most egregious example of the current Commander Brackets’ open-ended nature is that there is no formal distinction between brackets four and five. Instead, the article describes the difference as the “mindset” players bring into a game. One’s mindset is hard to quantify and perspectives on it will differ from person to person. Leaving the distinction between two of the five brackets completely up to something as nebulous as “mindset” defeats the purpose of trying to establish a more formal system of power ranking.

Magic: The Gathering’s Commander has an unenviable task at hand with Commander Brackets. Trying to create a universal standard to rank Commander decks with is difficult and requires a lot of work. However, if this is the task that they are committing to, they need to make a lot of changes to the current version if they want it to work better than the previous Power Level system.

Source: Magic: The Gathering