The Pod Companion

Bracket guide · The official list

MTG Game Changers list

All 53 cards on the Commander Game Changers list, grouped by color identity, plus the bracket rules that actually apply to them.

Brackets 1 and 2Nonenot a single Game Changer Bracket 3Up to 3where most decks that run any land Brackets 4 and 5No limitrun as many as the deck wants

Read from live card data every week, so this list and the bracket checker always agree.

The One Ring · Art by Veli Nyström

Game Changers are individually powerful Commander cards that Wizards of the Coast maintains as an official list. They are not banned: every one of them is legal in every bracket. What they do is set a floor: the moment your deck runs one, it is a Bracket 3 deck or higher, no matter how modest the other 98 cards are.

Want the answer for your own deck? The free bracket checker reads a decklist, counts the Game Changers in it, and tells you the bracket floor it can honestly claim, and why. No account, nothing stored.

The bracket rules that apply

The list only means something in the context of the five brackets, and the rules are short:

So the number that matters is small: zero, one to three, or more than three. Counting past three only tells you that you are somewhere in Bracket 4 or 5, and at that point the rest of the deck is doing the talking.

In Bracket 3 those three slots are a budget, and the list makes several deck-building jobs compete for them. Fierce Guardianship, Force of Will and Teferi's Protection are interaction, Rhystic Study and The One Ring are card draw, and Cyclonic Rift and Farewell are removal. The interaction guide works through what that trade does to a deck's answer count at each bracket.

A floor, not a verdict. A deck with one Game Changer and no other concessions to power is a Bracket 3 deck on paper and a Bracket 2 deck in play. The brackets exist to start a pregame conversation, not to settle it. The list is a signal, and your pod is the referee.

Every Game Changer, by color

Grouped by color identity rather than alphabetically, because the question a reader almost always has is “which of these could even go in my deck?” and color identity is what answers it. Mana values are Scryfall's, and this list is refreshed automatically from the same card data the bracket checker reads, so the two can never disagree. Click any card for its prices, rulings and other printings.

White 7

Blue 10

Black 10

Red 3

Green 7

Multicolor 4

Colorless 12

How to use the list without arguing about it

The most common misuse of this list is treating a Game Changer count as a power level. It isn't one. A deck running three of them can be far weaker than a tuned deck running none, because the things that actually make a Commander deck fast (a low curve, efficient interaction, tutors, and a compact win condition) mostly are not on this list.

What the count is genuinely good for is honesty in a rule-zero conversation. “I'm running two Game Changers” is a concrete, checkable statement in a discussion that is otherwise all vibes. It is a much better opener than “my deck is a seven”, which means nothing that two strangers can agree on.

If you want the number for your own list rather than reading down this page, that is exactly what the bracket checker is for.

Related guides

FAQ

What is the Game Changers list in Commander?

It is an official list of individually powerful Commander cards, maintained by Wizards of the Coast, that the bracket system treats as a marker of deck power. The cards are not banned. Running one simply says something about which bracket your deck belongs in, which is why the list exists as a conversation tool rather than a restriction.

Does running one Game Changer really move my deck up a bracket?

Yes. A single Game Changer puts a deck at Bracket 3 or higher, because Brackets 1 and 2 allow none at all. That is a floor, not a verdict: the rest of your deck can still be far below what a typical Bracket 3 list looks like, and the bracket is meant to open a pregame conversation rather than end one.

Is the Game Changers list the same thing as the Commander ban list?

No, and mixing them up is the most common misunderstanding. Banned cards cannot be played in Commander at all. Game Changers are fully legal in every bracket. They only affect which bracket your deck can honestly claim, and above Bracket 3 there is no limit on how many you run.

How do I find out how many Game Changers are in my deck?

Paste your decklist into the free bracket checker on this site. It reads every card, counts the Game Changers among them, and reports the bracket floor your deck can claim along with the reason for it. Nothing is stored and no account is needed.