Wizards of the Coast updated their Magic: The Gathering Commander Brackets, which revealed the expected power levels of the new five tiers of play.
After taking over the Commander format last year in a drama-filled divorce from the CRC (see “Fans Launch Petition to Fire Commander Rules Committee“, and “Community Leader Resigns“), WotC finally got around to fleshing out the power level bracket concept for the new Commander formats (see “New Commander Panel“). There will now be five levels of power level brackets for Commander as part of a beta test run for the format:
- Exhibition: There are no land denial spells, extra turn spells, 2-card infinite combos, and no Game Changers (see gallery) in this format. Also, “tutor” cards will be limited. This is an ultra-casual format.
- Core: There are no mass land denial spells, no chaining extra turns, 2-card infinite combos, and no Game Changers in this format. “Tutor” cards will be limited in the format, and these restrictions mimic the average pre-constructed deck.
- Upgraded: This format features no mass land denial spells and no chaining extra turns. Players can use late game two-card combos. Players can use three Game Changer cards.
- Optimized: There are no restrictions outside of the banned list in this format. This is a high-powered commander format.
- CEDH: It is the same as the Optimized bracket, except it is a competitive format with a metagame.
Game Changers are cards that tend to warp games of Commander. WotC designers picked a total of 40 cards that qualify under this designation (see gallery), and they are restricted in some fashion is three of the five new formats. These cards are also cards that are effectively on a watch list for future banning in the format. The full system roll out for the new Commander brackets will be revealed at the end of April, and may include some unbanned cards.
Click on Gallery below for full-size images!
Read more at this site