The Commander Format Panel has announced updates to the Commander Brackets system, refining how players match power levels and reigniting discussion around hybrid mana in Commander.
The brackets, designed to help players find games that align with their decks’ tone and intent, are getting clearer definitions, better balance, and fewer gray areas. The Panel says the goal is to make it easier for players to sit down at a table knowing exactly what kind of experience to expect.
According to feedback gathered since the system’s debut, the brackets have already helped players connect more easily and avoid mismatched games. This update aims to sharpen that even further - while opening the door to one of the format’s most debated topics.
Clearer Brackets, Defined Intent
Each bracket now has a defined turn-length expectation, replacing vague “no early-game combo” rules with something measurable.
- Exhibition: Highly thematic, slower decks; games run ~9 turns.
- Core: Creative and social play; ~8 turns.
- Upgraded: Synergistic and strong; ~6 turns.
- Optimized: Tuned and explosive; ~4 turns.
- cEDH: Fully competitive, can win any turn.
The focus has shifted from raw power to intent - in other words, what kind of experience the deck is designed to create.
Game Changers Trimmed Down
Wizards has tightened up the Game Changers list, paring down the cards that tend to take over casual Commander games and defining more clearly what belongs on it .Expensive finishers like Expropriate and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger are being removed, while value-heavy staples like Rhystic Study and Consecrated Sphinx remain in place, at least for now.
This latest adjustment shifts the focus away from punishing big, late-game spells and toward curbing cards that disrupt balance early. Wizards wants the list to highlight effects that snowball quickly - fast mana, free interaction, and efficient resource engines - rather than the high-cost haymakers that most decks don’t cast until the endgame.
That said, Rhystic Study is officially under review. It’s one of the most recognizable cards in Commander - “Do you pay the one?” might be the most-quoted phrase in the format - but it also has a reputation for slowing games and creating lopsided card advantage. Wizards hasn’t made a decision yet, but they’re actively gathering feedback from players on whether it deserves to stay, shift categories, or even be banned outright.
For now, Rhystic Study stays where it is. The overall goal of this update is clarity: to make it easier for players to predict what kind of cards - and what kind of gameplay - belong in each bracket.
The Hybrid Mana Debate
Of all the updates, the possible hybrid mana update is what is turning heads. Wizards of the Coast is officially asking for community feedback on a topic Commander players have argued about for more than a decade: should hybrid mana cards count as either color when building a deck?
In most Magic formats, hybrid cards work exactly as they were designed; flexible options that can be cast using either color of mana. A card like Kitchen Finks can go in a mono-green deck, a mono-white deck, or anywhere in between. But in Commander, the color identity rule has always been stricter: if a card shows both white and green in its cost, your commander must also include both colors, even if you only ever plan to pay one.
That quirk has long frustrated players who view hybrid cards as elegant design tools that encourage creativity. Under the proposed change, hybrid symbols would be treated as either color for deck-building purposes, meaning Rhys the Redeemed could lead a mono-white or mono-green deck instead of being locked into Selesnya. Cards with “twobrid” mana costs, like Beseech the Queen, could also become legal in any deck.
It might sound small, but this could be one of the most impactful structural shifts in Commander’s history. It would immediately expand monocolor card pools, especially for colors that traditionally struggle with certain mechanics, like white getting access to efficient recursion or red picking up broader draw tools. More importantly, this change would reflect hybrid’s original design intent: cards that embody flexibility, not restriction.
Of course, not everyone in the Magic community agrees. Critics worry that blurring color lines could weaken Commander’s core identity system, or make monocolor decks feel less distinct. But for many players, it’s a long-overdue modernization - one that could breathe new life into hundreds of underplayed cards and make brewing single-color decks feel fresh again.
Wizards hasn’t confirmed whether this rule change will happen, but the fact that it’s even on the table signals a shift toward re-examining Commander’s long-standing rule set. For a format built on creativity and player expression, that’s a conversation worth having.
What’s Next
Overall, this update feels like a maturation of the bracket system rather than a reinvention. The format now has clearer expectations, cleaner balance, and a bold new question for players to weigh in on - one that could reshape deck-building for years to come.
