How the Commander Bracket Checker Scores a Deck

A Commander bracket checker reads a decklist and tells you the lowest bracket its cards point to. Paste a list into the Mana Grove bracket checker and it counts the Game Changers, looks for mass land denial, extra-turn cards and known two-card combos, then answers Bracket 2, 3 or 4 with the cards that set it. The checker is published by Mana Grove, a free MTG deck builder for Commander, and it costs nothing to use. Brackets 1 and 5 depend on intent that no list can show, so those two are yours to declare. No account is needed.

This page sits next to our two bracket guides: Commander brackets explained covers all five brackets and the pre-game conversation, and the Game Changers list, card by card covers every card the checker counts. Below: the three checks that tell you a deck's bracket by hand, how to paste a list, what the checker reads and why, the five example lists you can load, what any bracket calculator cannot tell you, and a short FAQ.

How to tell your deck's bracket in three checks

You can read a deck's bracket by hand, in this order. The first two checks come from published policy, and the third is the conversation the brackets exist for.

1. Count the Game Changers. The official format page puts it in three sentences: "Bracket 1 and 2 decks exclude Game Changers. Bracket 3 allows for up to three Game Changers. Brackets 4 and 5 allow for unlimited Game Changers." So a list with none fits Brackets 1 and 2, one to three different Game Changers means Bracket 3 or higher, and four or more means Bracket 4 or 5. The Game Changers list, card by card has every card that counts.
2. Look for mass land denial, chained extra turns and early two-card combos. The launch article for the brackets says not to expect mass land denial anywhere in Brackets 1 to 3, says extra-turn cards in Brackets 2 and 3 "are not intended to be chained in succession or looped", and asks Bracket 3 decks for no two-card infinite combos that "can happen cheaply and in about the first six or so turns of the game". Any one of the three points to Bracket 4 or higher.
3. Agree intent and speed with your pod. Brackets 1 and 5 are defined by what a deck is for rather than by its cards, and no list shows how fast a deck means to win. Tell the table what your deck does and how quickly, and settle the number together.

The first two checks give you a floor to start that conversation from, not a verdict. The checker runs both of them for you, and the rest of this page explains how it reads a list.

Or paste the list into the checker

1. Copy your decklist. Put one card per line with its quantity in front, such as 1 Sol Ring or 1x Sol Ring. A printing in parentheses, such as 1 Sol Ring (C21) 263, is fine, and a CSV export from a deck site, a collection app or Mana Grove pastes in as it is.
2. Keep your commander under a Commander heading. The checker recognises the usual section headings, Commander, Deck, Sideboard, Companion, Maybeboard and Considering, with or without a colon, a card count or // in front. Lines that start with # or // are treated as comments.
3. Paste the list into the box on the bracket checker and press Check the bracket. It reads up to 500 lines, which is plenty for a 100-card deck.
4. Read the result. You get the bracket number and its name, the rows that set it with the cards behind each one, and a separate block of signals that are shown for context only.

Every card the checker can read counts toward the result, whichever section it sits in, with one exception: cards under a Maybeboard or Considering heading are read but left out, so the cards you are still deciding on cannot push the reading up.

What the checker reads

The checker starts at Bracket 2 and only ever moves up. Every row under "What set this bracket" carries one of two tags: Published policy when the row follows the Commander Format Panel's own wording, and Mana Grove's reading when the policy gives no number, or no way to judge from a list, and the checker has to make a call.

Why each row sits where it does:

• Game Changers. The official Commander format page puts it in three sentences: "Bracket 1 and 2 decks exclude Game Changers. Bracket 3 allows for up to three Game Changers. Brackets 4 and 5 allow for unlimited Game Changers." So the first Game Changer lifts a list to Bracket 3, and the fourth lifts it to Bracket 4. A Commander deck holds one copy of each card other than basic lands (Comprehensive Rules 903.5b), so "up to three" means three different cards, and the checker counts a card once even if you paste two printings of it.
• Mass land denial. The launch article for the brackets says not to expect mass land denial anywhere in Brackets 1 to 3, so a single card of that kind, Armageddon for example, is enough for Bracket 4.
• Two-card combos. The same article asks Bracket 1 and Bracket 2 decks for no intentional two-card infinite combos, and Bracket 3 decks for none that "can happen cheaply and in about the first six or so turns of the game". A decklist does not show how fast a combo comes together, so when both halves of a combo on our curated list are present, the checker reports Bracket 4 and tags the row as its own reading. The curated list is not every combo in the game, and the result says so: a combo it does not know adds nothing.
• Extra turns. For Brackets 2 and 3 the policy says extra-turn cards "should only appear in low quantities and are not intended to be chained in succession or looped", and it names no number. The checker treats three or more different extra-turn cards as an extra-turns plan and reports Bracket 4; one or two do not move the reading. That threshold is ours, and the row says so.
• Nothing found. No published rule says that a list without these signals is Bracket 2. The checker reports Bracket 2 because nothing it reads lifts the list higher, and it tags that row as its own reading too.

Tutors and fast mana appear in a separate block headed "Informational, does not change the bracket". The October 21, 2025 update chose to "remove the tutor restrictions from Commander Brackets entirely and rely on Game Changers to catch the most efficient tutors", and fast mana has never been one of the bracket barometers. A list of seven tutors with no Game Changers among them still reads as Bracket 2.

Why the checker never says Bracket 1 or Bracket 5

Brackets 1 and 5 are defined by what a deck is for. Bracket 1 (Exhibition) is about theme over power, and the October 2025 update is blunt about it: "A deck is not Bracket 1 based on power level alone." Bracket 5 (cEDH) is for decks "meticulously designed to battle in the cEDH metagame". Neither shows up in a card count, so the checker reads the range it can see, Bracket 2 to Bracket 4, and leaves 1 and 5 to you and your pod.

What a bracket calculator cannot tell you

Plenty of players search for a bracket calculator, and the Panel answered that idea directly in its April 22, 2025 update: the bracket system "is emphatically not just 'put your deck into a calculator, get assigned a rank, and be ready to play.'" The same update adds that "any estimate is just an estimate. It's on you to use what you know to label your deck correctly."

So treat the result as a floor, not a verdict. The cards in a list can push a deck up a bracket, but nothing in a list can prove that a deck belongs lower. The October 2025 update makes the same point from the other side: "I can easily build a deck which technically fits the restrictions of Bracket 2 but can play at a very high power level." Intent, how fast the deck wins and how it plays at the table are part of every bracket, and the checker sees none of them.

Two more limits apply to every result:

• It is not a legality check. Deck size, the one-copy rule, colour identity and the rest of the Commander rules are never verified. A card on the Commander banned list is named in a separate note, the bracket stays as it was, and the note says plainly that it is a ban-list flag, not a legality check.
• It only counts what it can read. A card name it cannot identify is listed with its line number and left out, and a line it cannot read at all is listed and skipped. Fix those lines and check again before you trust the number.

Reading your result

A result comes in four parts:

1. The verdict, such as "This list assesses to Bracket 3, Upgraded."
2. What set this bracket: one row per reason, tagged Published policy or Mana Grove's reading, with the cards behind it as links to their card pages.
3. Informational, does not change the bracket: the tutors and fast mana in the list, if there are any.
4. The dates: "Bracket criteria as of October 21, 2025. Game Changers list as of February 9, 2026.", with links to the official update, the Game Changers list and the brackets guide.

The result also says whether it found a Commander heading. If it did not, nothing was read as your command zone, so a commander you left out of the paste cannot be counted. A commander that is in the paste counts either way, because the checker scores every readable card wherever it sits.

Try the five example lists

Under the paste box, five buttons load example lists. Each one is a trimmed sample of about 35 cards, not a legal 100-card deck, and each shows a different kind of result:

The combo example is the one worth a second look. Neither Heliod nor Walking Ballista is a Game Changer, and neither counts for anything alone; together they make a combo on the curated list, so the checker answers Bracket 4 and labels the call as its own. Published policy asks a Bracket 3 deck to avoid two-card infinite combos that come together cheaply in the early turns, and the October 2025 update adds: "If a combo could frequently come up, it's not the best fit for that bracket." So if you want to keep a combo like this in a Bracket 3 deck, settle it with your pod in the pre-game conversation. That conversation is what the brackets are for.

Moving a deck down a bracket

If the checker reads higher than the bracket you built for, the rows show what to change:

• Count your Game Changers. Keep three at most for Bracket 3, and cut them all for Bracket 2.
• Take out mass land denial for anything below Bracket 4.
• Break up a combo the checker found by cutting one of its two cards, or talk it through with your pod.
• Keep extra-turn cards few and never chain them. The checker flags three or more different ones.

Then check the list again. A lower number is still only a floor: the deck's intent and speed decide the rest, and Commander brackets explained covers how to describe both to your pod.

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell what bracket my Commander deck is?

Run the three checks at the top of this page. Count the Game Changers: none fits Brackets 1 and 2, one to three means Bracket 3 or higher, and four or more means Bracket 4 or 5. A Commander deck holds one copy of each card other than basic lands (Comprehensive Rules 903.5b), so that count is of different cards. Then look for mass land denial, chained extra turns and early two-card combos, any of which points to Bracket 4 or higher. Last, agree intent and speed with your pod. The bracket checker runs the first two checks for you, and its answer is a floor, never a verdict.

What counts as a Game Changer?

A card on the Commander Format Panel's Game Changers list, which the official format page describes as "cards that can dramatically warp Commander games". The checker uses the list as of February 9, 2026, 53 cards, and that list matched the official format page when we checked it on October 20, 2026. The Game Changers list, card by card explains why each card is on it.

How many Game Changers can each bracket run?

None in Bracket 1 or Bracket 2, up to three different cards in Bracket 3, and any number in Bracket 4 or Bracket 5.

For which bracket most decks land in, see Commander brackets explained.

Why can two decks with the same cards sit in different brackets?

Because a bracket describes how a deck plays, not only what is in it. The checker reads cards, so the same list always gets the same reading, but the bracket you declare also weighs intent and how quickly the deck means to win, which a list cannot show. The October 2025 update even says that a highly thematic Game Changer, such as Bolas's Citadel in a Bolas-themed deck, should be on the table in the pre-game discussion for Bracket 1 (Exhibition), while the checker, which only sees the card, reads it as Bracket 3. Use the reading as a floor and agree the rest with your pod.

Does my commander count?

Yes. Every readable card in the paste counts, so a commander that is on the Game Changers list counts like any other Game Changer. A Commander heading lets the result confirm that it read your command zone.

Is the checker a legality check?

No. It reads bracket signals only. It flags cards on the Commander banned list by name, but it never checks deck size, the one-copy rule or colour identity. The deck builder runs those checks as you build.

Do I need an account?

No. Anyone can paste a list. Signing in raises the number of lists you can check per minute.

How current is the checker?

Every result prints its dates: bracket criteria as of October 21, 2025, and the Game Changers list as of February 9, 2026. The official format page still calls the brackets a beta, so when the Panel publishes a change, compare those dates with the newest announcement.

Who publishes this guide?

Mana Grove is a free MTG deck builder for Commander, built in Canada. It comes with an AI deck assistant and card search by effect. No ads, ever. The company behind it is The Mana Grove Trading Cards Ltd. Founded by Patrick Goralski, 2026. The About page explains how our guides are made and checked.

Keep going

• Open the bracket checker and paste your list.
• Build a deck in your browser: search for cards in plain language and watch legality update as you add them, no account needed.
• Browse commanders for your next build.
• Read Commander brackets explained for the five brackets in full, and the Game Changers list for every card on it.
• For what a deck in each bracket actually contains, from the 2026 precons to a Bracket 4 list, see Commander decks by bracket.

Sources

• Commander format page, Brackets and Game Changers sections, magic.wizards.com: https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/commander. Read on October 20, 2026. The Game Changers allowance per bracket, the definition of a Game Changer, the three barometers, the beta label and the 53-card list. The page names the three barometers but does not say what each bracket allows for them, so the barometer wording above is quoted from the launch article.
• "Introducing Commander Brackets Beta", magic.wizards.com, published February 11, 2025: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/introducing-commander-brackets-beta. Read on October 20, 2026. The deck-building guidance per bracket on two-card infinite combos, extra turns, mass land denial and tutors.
• "Commander Brackets Beta Update, April 22, 2025", magic.wizards.com: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/commander-brackets-beta-update-april-22-2025. Read on October 20, 2026. The calculator and estimate statements.
• "Commander Brackets Beta Update, October 21, 2025", magic.wizards.com: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/commander-brackets-beta-update-october-21-2025. Read on October 20, 2026. The removal of the tutor restriction, the combo caveat, the Bracket 1 and Bracket 5 descriptions, the thematic Game Changers in Exhibition and the Bracket 2 power-level remark.
• "Commander Brackets Beta Update, February 9, 2026", magic.wizards.com: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/commander-brackets-beta-update-february-9-2026. Read on October 20, 2026. The last change to the Game Changers list.
• Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules, effective September 25, 2026, rule 903.5b: https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules. Read on October 20, 2026.
• The Mana Grove bracket checker, its result copy and its five example lists, run on October 13, 2026.

This article is updated when the Commander Format Panel publishes a change. The date at the top is the last revision.