Commander Power Brackets - Community Voted Top 100 Cards

After the drama surrounding the recent commander bans, the Commander Rules Committee is no more and Wizards of the Coast have taken the reins of EDH. Soon after taking over WOTC released an article (On The Future Of Commander) where they breifly discussed, well, the future of Commander. And they outlined a new "power bracket system" for determining the power level of a deck. In short, it breaks down as follows.

In this new power bracket system, decks are categorized into one of four brackets, ranging from preconstructed level decks to highly powerful decks. The classification is determined by comparing a deck's cards to predefined lists created with community input. A deck's overall power level is determined by its highest-ranked card. So, for example, if your deck has any bracket 4 cards, it's a bracket 4 deck. 

Wizards said the idea isn't quite ready yet but that they have some ideas of where certain cards would go. Swords to Plowshares, for example, would be bracket 1 and Vampiric Tutor would be bracket 4. They also said, as mentioned, that they'd take the community's input for the brackets. Well, over 200,000 people on Reddit voted on where to put the top 100 most played cards in EDH, and here is the consensus. Without further ado, let's get into it.

Commander Brackets - Top 100 Cards

Bracket 4 Cards

EDHRec Ranking	Card	Number of Votes
80		1349
55		1023
62		957
39		952
22		798
73		691
75		684

Bracket 3 Cards

This bracket seems to be more generally powerful, efficient cards, more value engines, limited tutors, and some powerful protection, reanimation, and board wipes.

EDHRec Ranking	Card	Number of Votes
21		814
31		772
49		771
77		729
60		721
59		705
63		695
88		695
78		648
50		579
97		588

Bracket 2 Cards

It is the same type of stuff as before - Strong cards, board wipes, protection spells, counterspells, and value engines, but not as powerful as in the previous two sections.

EDHRec Ranking	Card	Number of Votes
96		664
18		640
64		633
86		629
56		603
42		579
67		553

Bracket 1 Cards

Basically, everything else in the top 100 most played cards that wasn't covered above would be here. But obviously, there are some caveats that come along with that, which I will discuss below.

Other Considerations

So, dear reader, how do you feel about the rankings above? Some are a little off for where I would have put them, but in general, I see the logic. Now, obviously, this is just the 100 top played cards, and WOTC will have quite a bit more to address. Exactly how many cards they'll put into brackets is unknown, too. As for things outside of the top 100 that I'm curious about would be things like Gaea's Cradle, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and Otawara, Soaring City.

It's also up in the air as to if they'll be ranking commanders. I don't think so because it would be too rigid, but certain commanders, like Urza, Lord High Artificer, are certainly more potent than others. If you have an Urza deck with all two-tier cards, it's got to be considered a bracket 2 deck. But it's probably going to be way stronger than a bracket 2 Nihiloor deck, which could complicate things.

I'm also curious how they'll rank combos. If you run Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation, do they get a higher score when both are present? Or would both cards get a high enough rating on their own to ensure decks running them have a high enough score? You've also got to consider how much some of these devoted combos need tutors, which would increase the power ranking or diminish the combo potential.

 Conclusion

WOTC said they'd consider the community's opinion when making the power brackets, and now we know where the community stands. Overall, I don't disagree with too much. However, I find it interesting that cards like high tier cards like Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat, Cyclonic Rift, Jeska's Will, and Farewell have all been in precons. If WOTC ranks them as high as the player base, they may not put them in precons moving forward. And if they did, they'd be a tier 4 preconstructed deck. But at the same time, some of these cards have to be ranked highly.

Now, I want to hear from you. Comment below and let me know what you think about these rankings. Oh, and where would you like Sol Ring if WOTC hadn't said it was going to be "tier 0?"