New article is up! I’m pretty proud of this one! www.coolstuffinc.com/a/cashinds-s... - ThreadSky

strixhavendropout.bsky.social • 1 day ago

New article is up! I’m pretty proud of this one!

https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/cashinds-seo-02252025-pros-and-cons-of-the-beta-commander-bracket

Comments

wildfire393.bsky.social•1 day ago

I like the brackets a fair bit, especially after playing 30+ games with them at MagicCon this past weekend. That said, I think there's some room for improvement. In particular, I don't love how both 1 and 5 are essentially only differentiated from their neighbors by "vibes", leaving 3 real brackets

wildfire393.bsky.social•1 day ago

Additionally, defining 2 as "Precon" and 4 as "Optimized" means that realistically, 90% of everything is a 3. And that's fine, I guess? But it feels like "2.5" and "3.5" are missing and would be helpful.

wildfire393.bsky.social•1 day ago

2.5 - Doesn't run gamechangers, extensive tutors, infinites, or chaining extra turns, would prefer not to play against that, but largely optimized within those confines. Definitely outclasses average precon and shouldn't be played against them. But let me opt out of playing against Study/Tithe/Rift

wildfire393.bsky.social•1 day ago

3.5 - Exceeds the 3's limits in some way (i.e. 1-3 MLD cards, 4-5 gamechangers, or can get a combo a little sooner than is comfy in 3), but it is still pretty far from "Optimized". Optimized feels super loaded and a far cry from a deck that's just barely not-a-3.

aalongi.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is a nice article. Thanks for sharing!

The presence of a bracket system is no awful thing. (Esp. in the grand scheme of current events.) But it does beg the question as to what problem we are truly trying to solve. We appear to have replaced “7s” with “3.5s”. What exactly have we gained? 1/2

aalongi.bsky.social•1 day ago

On top of that, I believe the gamechangers list is an unfortunate idea with a worse name. It acts effectively as a second banned/restricted list. No one I know wants to track all of this.

If we want a watch list, ok. It should have no format implications.

Thanks for reading. And for writing! 2/2

strixhavendropout.bsky.social•1 day ago

I think we already do this though. All the cards on the game changer lists are cards we all know without having to read. They come up a lot. They’re uniquely strong. We need a step down from banning. The list shouldn’t change deck building but help discuss decks post creation. It’s not a new format

strixhavendropout.bsky.social•1 day ago

I think this Bracket does solve something. It give a centralized language for problem points we have all informally discussed and made it formal. It lets newer players know to ask about two card combos before determining if their Jank deck stands a chance.

aalongi.bsky.social•1 day ago

I don’t have such a strong opinion that I must have the last word - feel free to close the loop after this. :)

In my experience (and we all have different experiences!), what existed prior was simpler and more useful to newer players at our LGS. If this helps others, great. Thanks again!

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