I've been incredibly grateful for the existence of bracket 3, because it provides concrete instructions on what can and can't be included in a deck, while explicitly giving the green light to "go ahead and try to build something strong" within those constraints. Brackets 2 and 4, in contrast, are both too vague for me. 2 demands "suboptimal cards and strategies" but offers little guidance on how much nerfing is enough to keep a deck's synergies "fair". 4 imposes no explicit rules at all, leaving me in the dark to guess where everyone else's "cEDH" line is (because even though the canonical definition of bracket 5 is "built to compete in a specific tournament meta", people still interpret it as something that can be reached by power level alone – often including decks that would never in a million years make the playoffs in a cEDH tournament). The clear "this far and no farther" guidance that comes with bracket 3 lets me limit my power level while still letting me feel like I'm doing my best (a feeling that's more important for me to have a fun game night than whether I'm actually winning).
4 months ago (edited) | 5
I am trying it, that said I really get /understand the mid-high 3 and low 4. Also have seen high 4s. But I feel it’s hard to make a 2? I have various decks without game changers, but not sure if they are, or not “precon” level. Wish there was clearer explanations of what a 2 looks like. Also would love if more content creators declared the brackets of their decks in the games they play. Maybe next season of shuffle up and play commander games could feature games explicitly at each tier?
4 months ago | 6
I like the system, but I haven't had a lot of people really engage with using it. I am gradually trying to increase bracket-based verbiage for rule 0, but most people I see aren't picking it up yet.
4 months ago | 6
Bracket 1 and 5 are easy to understand. But the "gamechanger" list is ridiculous imo. There are far more cards than that, which actually heavily impact the table and can even define a deck as a tutor able wincon. And there are some on the list which really don't feel gamechanging at all. The inclusion of a few powerful cards should have no impact at all on the bracket of a deck. The pilot, with their experience is the most important component which people have to self reflect on. Then, you can offer up an idea of what you are trying to accomplish with your deck. Put the two together and you can give someone a number between "I like holding cards" to tryhard. Imo a numbered system will never work. If there needs to be a system to organize decks, it should be 1 to 2 word labels based on what you want it to accomplish (with the assumption that you believe it can do what you want it to). Tldr gamechangers list is arbitrary and either needs a redo taking into account WAY more cards, or should be axed entirely. Also do away with 2-4 as it doesn't give any meaningful info to others.
4 months ago | 2
To be honest I find the brackets to be their own problem. Decks that used to be considered a lower power level are now considered bracket 4 decks just because they have a few decent cards in them enabling the actual jank going on. Some decks that are extremely well tuned are now considered lower tier because they manage to do their job without traditional high powered cards. While the traditional power scale could sometimes get a bit muddy it was at least meant to be more about how well the deck interacts and functions in its game plan, rather than what cards it included. The bracket system reduced all that to a card list and missed the entire point of the conversation.
4 months ago | 2
Brackets are useful , although from what I can tell most people are confusing them with power level, and I don't think that's what they're meant to represent. But I find them a helpful frame of reference as a deck builder!
4 months ago | 0
I feel like some kind of alien when I say to people I enjoyed the old 1-10 power level, and not all my decks were 7 Most of my decks end up in B3 just because I don't play many staples, but they're clearly not of the same power. Me and my friends think there should be one more bracket because upgraded is kinda vast.
4 months ago | 3
I’ve only just recently taken out Dockside Extortionist from my Krenko deck, no way to flicker it or whatnot, punished for the sins of others. Oh never mind I had Kiki-Jiki to copy it.
4 months ago (edited) | 1
Ok, so I gotta say it. Commander is not the favorite form of mtg most players enjoy. In fact, the biggest group of mtg players HATE commander. Maybe give some tips on the game, not some bastardized version of it.
4 months ago | 0
Tolarian Community College
Our new video! Now that Brackets have been out...what do you think of them? Have you tried building with brackets? Do you like the system or feel it needs changes? Let me know and check out the new video below! #magicthegathering #mtgcommander #commander
4 months ago | [YT] | 173