Commander Brackets are the five power levels Wizards of the Coast and the Commander Format Panel use to describe a Commander deck before a game, running from Bracket 1, Exhibition, to Bracket 5, cEDH. The Game Changers list has 53 cards as of the update on Monday, February 9, 2026, which added Farewell and Biorhythm.
Last updated: Saturday, October 24, 2026.
What are Commander Brackets?
Commander Brackets are an optional system from Wizards of the Coast and the Commander Format Panel, introduced on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 and still in beta. Each bracket describes a kind of game experience, so a short pregame conversation can match decks of similar intent. Wizards said in the February 9, 2026 update that the brackets are meant as a tool to guide pregame conversations, not an ultimate arbiter of who can play against whom.
| Bracket | Name | What players expect | Expect to play at least | Game Changers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exhibition | Decks prioritize a goal, theme or idea over power, with highly thematic or substandard win conditions | 9 turns | None, with thematic exceptions agreed in the pregame conversation |
| 2 | Core | Unoptimized, straightforward decks, with incremental win conditions that are telegraphed on the board and disruptable | 8 turns | None |
| 3 | Upgraded | Powered up decks with strong synergy and high card quality that can effectively disrupt opponents | 6 turns | Up to 3 |
| 4 | Optimized | Lethal, consistent and fast decks designed to take people down as fast as possible, outside the cEDH metagame | 4 turns | Unlimited |
| 5 | cEDH | Decks meticulously designed for the competitive Commander metagame, built to win quickly and prioritize victory over all else | Any turn | Unlimited |
The turn column comes from the October 21, 2025 update, where Wizards set expectations for how many turns players should generally be able to play before they win or lose. Wizards also decoupled preconstructed decks from Bracket 2 in that update, because precons vary in power, and removed the tutor restrictions from every bracket, relying on the Game Changers list to catch the most efficient tutors instead.
What bracket is my Commander deck?
Start by counting the Game Changers in your deck using the full list below: one Game Changer already puts a deck at Bracket 3 or higher, and four or more put it at Bracket 4 or higher. Then check your deck against the turn expectations and the intent of each bracket in the table above. Intent matters most: Wizards has said a deck that technically fits the restrictions of a lower bracket but plays at a higher power level belongs in the higher bracket, so bracket honestly and confirm it in the pregame conversation.
What are Game Changers in Commander?
Game Changers are legal Commander cards that Wizards of the Coast says can dramatically warp Commander games, by letting players run away with resources, shift games in ways many players dislike, block people from playing, or efficiently search for their strongest cards. They are not banned. Bracket 1 and 2 decks exclude them, Bracket 3 allows up to three, and Brackets 4 and 5 allow unlimited Game Changers. Here is the full list of 53, grouped by color the same way as the official graphic above.
| Color | Game Changers |
|---|---|
| White (7) | Drannith Magistrate, Enlightened Tutor, Farewell, Humility, Serra’s Sanctum, Smothering Tithe, Teferi’s Protection |
| Blue (10) | Consecrated Sphinx, Cyclonic Rift, Fierce Guardianship, Force of Will, Gifts Ungiven, Intuition, Mystical Tutor, Narset, Parter of Veils, Rhystic Study, Thassa’s Oracle |
| Black (10) | Ad Nauseam, Bolas’s Citadel, Braids, Cabal Minion, Demonic Tutor, Imperial Seal, Necropotence, Opposition Agent, Orcish Bowmasters, Tergrid, God of Fright, Vampiric Tutor |
| Red (3) | Gamble, Jeska’s Will, Underworld Breach |
| Green (7) | Biorhythm, Crop Rotation, Gaea’s Cradle, Natural Order, Seedborn Muse, Survival of the Fittest, Worldly Tutor |
| Multicolor (4) | Aura Shards, Coalition Victory, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Notion Thief |
| Colorless (12) | Ancient Tomb, Chrome Mox, Field of the Dead, Glacial Chasm, Grim Monolith, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Mana Vault, Mishra’s Workshop, Mox Diamond, Panoptic Mirror, The One Ring, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale |
When did the Game Changers list last change?
The list last changed on Monday, February 9, 2026. Wizards of the Coast added Farewell, saying it is a large reset that many players would want to know about before a game, and added Biorhythm on the same day it came off the Commander banned list. Lutri, the Spellchaser was also unbanned that day but was deliberately not added to the Game Changers list, because it was not banned for its inherent power; it remains banned as a companion only. The February update made no bracket level changes.
| Date | Change | Game Changers total |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, February 11, 2025 | Commander Brackets beta introduced with the first Game Changers list | 40 |
| Tuesday, April 22, 2025 | Cards added, including five cards that came off the banned list, and Trouble in Pairs and Trinisphere removed | 61 |
| Tuesday, October 21, 2025 | 10 cards removed, including Expropriate, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, Urza, Lord High Artificer, Winota, Joiner of Forces, Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow, Deflecting Swat and Food Chain | 51 |
| Monday, February 9, 2026 | Farewell added, and Biorhythm unbanned and added | 53 |
How do Commander Brackets relate to the banned list?
They are separate tools. The Commander banned list names cards that cannot be played at all, while Game Changers are legal cards that only set bracket expectations. Wizards has used the Game Changers list as the landing spot for cards coming off the banned list, as it did with Biorhythm in February 2026. For announcement dates and the other formats, see our MTG Banned and Restricted announcement tracker, our MTG Standard rotation page and our Magic: The Gathering release calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Are Game Changers banned in Commander?
No. Game Changers are legal to play. The list only limits how many a deck can run at each bracket: none in Brackets 1 and 2, up to three in Bracket 3, and no limit in Brackets 4 and 5.
Is Sol Ring a Game Changer?
No. Sol Ring is not one of the 53 cards on the official Game Changers list above, so it does not change a deck’s bracket count by itself.
Is every precon a Bracket 2 deck?
No. Wizards of the Coast removed the link between preconstructed decks and Bracket 2 in the October 21, 2025 update, because precons cover a range of power levels. Check a precon against the bracket expectations like any other deck.
Are tutors limited in Commander Brackets?
No. The October 21, 2025 update removed tutor restrictions from every bracket. The most efficient tutors, such as Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor and Mystical Tutor, are controlled through the Game Changers list instead.
Source: Wizards of the Coast, Commander Brackets Beta Update, February 9, 2026, Wizards of the Coast, Commander Brackets Beta Update, October 21, 2025, and the Wizards of the Coast Commander format page.
Changelog: Saturday, October 24, 2026: page created with the five bracket expectations and turn guide from the October 21, 2025 update, and the full 53 card Game Changers list as of the February 9, 2026 update.