How we rate decks
A bracket should never feel like a mystery. We follow Wizards' official Commander bracket system to the letter, and we show you exactly how your deck reaches its rating — every card and rule that matters, each one you can check for yourself. Here's the whole picture.
Last updated: 2026-06-18
The five brackets
Exhibition
Core
Upgraded
Optimized
cEDH
What sets a deck's minimum bracket
Some cards and combos lock in a guaranteed minimum bracket, no matter what else the deck is doing. These come straight from Wizards' rules — they're the non-negotiables.
At least one Game Changer
≥ Bracket 3Running one or more cards from the WotC Game Changers list puts the deck at Bracket 3 (Upgraded) or higher.
Source ↗More than three Game Changers
≥ Bracket 4Running four or more Game Changers puts the deck at Bracket 4 (Optimized) or higher.
Source ↗Mass land destruction
≥ Bracket 4Mass land destruction is not intended below Bracket 4. Any MLD card sets the floor to Bracket 4.
Source ↗Early two-card infinite combo
≥ Bracket 4A two-card infinite combo that can win before mid-game sets the floor to Bracket 4.
Source ↗Late two-card infinite combo
≥ Bracket 3A two-card infinite combo intended as a later-game finisher sets the floor to Bracket 3.
Source ↗Chainable extra turns
≥ Bracket 3The ability to chain extra-turn spells (e.g. via recursion or multiple copies) sets the floor to Bracket 3.
Source ↗What places it from there
Above that minimum, we weigh what truly drives a deck's power — fast mana, tutors, combos and the game's highest-impact cards. Everyday ramp, card draw and removal barely move it, because every deck runs those.
Fast mana
Max impact +2.0Sol Ring / Mana Crypt-class accelerants and rituals that warp the early game — a primary power marker.
Source ↗Ramp density
Max impact +0.8Total acceleration sources — dorks, rocks, rituals, AND search/extra-land ramp, not just lands. A light signal: every functional deck ramps, so it only nudges the score.
Source ↗Card advantage
Max impact +0.8Draw spells and repeatable draw engines. A light signal — card flow is present at every bracket.
Source ↗Tutor density
Max impact +2.0Search effects that fetch specific answers/threats (not land ramp). A primary consistency/power marker. (No longer a hard rule as of Oct 2025.)
Source ↗Interaction density
Max impact +0.5Share of nonland cards that answer threats. A light signal — healthy interaction is wanted at every bracket, so it barely moves the score.
Source ↗Instant-speed interaction
Max impact +0.5Share of interaction that is instant-speed. B3+ decks target >=60% of interaction at instant speed. A light signal.
Source ↗Card quality
Max impact +2.0Density of high-power (Game Changer) cards — a primary power marker. EDHREC popularity hook reserved for later.
Source ↗Combo density & speed
Max impact +2.0Number and speed of infinite/near-infinite combos — a primary power marker. Early/compact combos contribute more.
Source ↗How power lands on a bracket
The more of that power a deck packs, the higher it sits. Here's where each level falls.
| 0.0 – 2.0 | Bracket 1 · Exhibition |
| 2.0 – 4.0 | Bracket 2 · Core |
| 4.0 – 6.0 | Bracket 3 · Upgraded |
| 6.0 – 8.0 | Bracket 4 · Optimized |
| 8.0 – 10.0 | Bracket 5 · cEDH |
The lists we check against
Every deck is checked against the official Game Changers list and the Commander banlist.
53
Game Changers tracked
42
Commander banlist entries
Our Game Changers list and banlist mirror Wizards' official lists, checked against the source so your rating reflects the real rules.