Did Commander Just Get Way Better?! | Game Changers List Update Apr 22
2This week Nathan gives his thoughts on the additions and subtractions to the Game Changers list that was announced by Gavin Verhey on behalf of Wizards of the Coast on April 22, 2025.
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00:00:00 Intro
00:00:33 Delisted Cards
00:04:32 Newly Listed Game Changers
00:18:29 Unchanged Cards
00:23:03 Conclusion
Gavin Verhey, on behalf of the Commander Format Panel (CFP), offers a significant update regarding the evolving bracket system—a tool meant to categorize deck power levels for improved gameplay experiences—and the Game Changers list, which identifies cards that dramatically shift a game's dynamic and are therefore restricted in lower power brackets.
This update reflects two months of community feedback, a major expansion of the Game Changers list, clarification around how brackets should be selected, and the delisting of certain cards that were deemed incorrectly included.
Intent Over Everything: Clarifying Bracket Use
A key theme in this update is a renewed focus on "intent" when assigning your deck to a bracket. Previously, emphasis was placed on card-based rules (e.g., "no Game Changers in Bracket 2"), but Gavin now asserts that the player’s intent is the single most important factor.
He urges players to evaluate their deck honestly—if it technically qualifies for a lower bracket but plays at a higher power level, it should be bracketed higher. Tools like Moxfield and Archidekt can provide estimates, but they are not definitive. Decks designed to manipulate the system while remaining “legal” but overpowering are considered bad faith plays.
Expansion of the Game Changers List
Responding to strong community demand, the CFP has significantly expanded the Game Changers list. The goal is to better differentiate power levels and help players more accurately bracket their decks. Eighteen new cards were added, while two were removed.
Newly Added Game Changers
These additions fall into several broad categories:
Powerful Protection or Utility Spells:
Teferi’s Protection — grants near-total protection and enables explosive plays.
Deflecting Swat — free interaction that warps expectations.
Cards That Stifle or Warp Gameplay:
Humility, Narset, Parter of Veils, Orcish Bowmasters, Notion Thief — create frustrating or oppressive board states.
Top-tier Tutors and Draw Engines:
Intuition, Necropotence, Consecrated Sphinx, Worldly Tutor, Crop Rotation, Gamble — offer extreme efficiency or advantage in card selection.
Combo or Board Control Enablers:
Food Chain, Natural Order, Aura Shards, Field of the Dead, Seedborn Muse — these provide snowball potential or require disproportionate answers.
Mana Acceleration:
Mishra’s Workshop — deemed too efficient in fast mana setups, even if it's rare due to price.
Delisted Cards
Trouble in Pairs — While strong, it didn't meet the threshold of other Game Changers.
Trinisphere — Often unfair in high power, but manageable at lower levels, especially alone. Not considered worse than other Stax pieces not on the list.
Cards Considered But Not Changed
Several high-powered or controversial cards were discussed but ultimately not altered. Reasons varied:
Too situational or manageable: Farewell, Mana Drain, Mystic Remora, Alms Collector.
Powerful but within acceptable bounds: The Great Henge, Craterhoof Behemoth, Green Sun’s Zenith, Tooth and Nail, Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos.
Fun when not abused: Timetwister and Wheel of Fortune — left untouched due to their general use being acceptable, assuming fewer oppressive synergies.
Philosophy on Commanders as Game Changers
Though many suggested powerful commanders be added (e.g., Atraxa, Ur-Dragon), the CFP is holding off for now. Their current philosophy is that a commander should only be considered a Game Changer if:
It imposes extreme constraints or unfun play patterns, or
It meets the same disruptive criteria as cards in the 99.
Cards like Tergrid and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV are examples of commanders that currently meet that bar and remain on the list. Others, like Yuriko or Urza, may eventually be removed for not warping games in the same way.