Wizards of the Coast has unveiled the first iteration of their proposed changes to Magic: The Gathering's popular Commander format.
While not yet finalized, the company showed off what they call the "beta" version of the upcoming changes. These include a tiered deck ranking system as well as a list of "Game Changer" cards that, presumably, will replace the format's ban list.
In the current iteration of the brackets, each of the five brackets range from the most basic, non-competitive of decks up to the competitive commander (CEDH) decks complete with what aspects make a deck which of the five brackets. The brackets, more or less, replace the current self evaluation "1 through 10" model with a "1" being the most casual deck and a "10" being the most competitive.
"Each one is meant to classify a different kind of game experience," says MTG Principle Designer, Gavin Verhey. "Brackets 1, 2, and 3 are different levels of socially focused play. Brackets 4 and 5 are focused on a higher power or even a competitive experience."
Response for the brackets has been mixed amongst players with some liking the concept (albeit sometimes with some tweaks) while others are skeptical.
"Brackets aren't perfect, but they're a lot more objective than the old scale," says Reddit user Hauptj2. "A reasonable player should be able to differentiate between brackets without too much difficulty."
Another Reddit user, Rizzo891, has a different take: "I have decks that will pubstomp the average player table that are considered 2s with this bracket system. The criteria they have set are inadequate at doing the job the bracket system is supposed to do. And it’s primarily because they decided to continue to make the brackets dependent on “vibes” instead of hard set rules to follow. Which was the same problem the old system faced."
To go along with these brackets, as can be seen in the image above, are "Game Changers." This is a list of cards that are considered to be extremely powerful and/or able to change the course of a game when used.
The 40-card list includes the likes of Demonic Tutor, Serra's Sanctum, Rhystic Study, and Gaea's Cradel, amongst others.
Like with the brackets, opinions are mixed with the most common feedback leaning towards the fact that the list simply isn't large enough.
"I think if WotC wants to really facilitate a casual gaming experience, going hard is not necessarily the wrong move," comments Reddit user Mono-Blue. "Anyone who wants to complain they can't use X card in a Bracket 2 deck...probably shouldn't be playing in Bracket 2 to begin with. If you think about what a Bracket 2 format should look like, it should be what casuals want, a Battlecruiser style meta. The Game Changers list, in essence, is a casual ban list and should be utilized as such."
Chris Aliano, a local game store owner in Northern California, agrees.
"If I take just two cards out of my tier four EDH deck, it qualifies as a tier three deck even though it really should still be a tier for because my deck could work just as well without them," he says.
Player and LGS owner opinions aside, the brackets and "Game Changer" list are still only in the planning phases as WotC dips their toes into these Commander format changes.
"The goal here, provided the system works, will be to come back with one big article in late April that both rolls out the full system and any unbans all together," explains Verhey. "And, as we said back in October, no bans will be happening at that time—just potentially some unbans. So, if you're eager to hear about unbans, late April is the date to circle on your calendar—and if anything changes in the timeline, we'll let you all know. This schedule is, of course, contingent on this system directionally working."
In other words, stay tuned.
