You may be wondering which legendary creatures fit into each of Magic: The Gathering's categories. Decks in the third bracket are generally stronger than your average pre-constructed Commander deck, but not fully optimized for maximum performance.
While in theory any commander can fit into any group, some are clearly stronger than others and can push the boundaries of what is expected. If you're looking for some new inspiration for your decks, we've got you covered.
For a quick refresher, the Bracket 3 Commander deck can contain up to three Game Changer cards, has no endless two-card combos from the beginning of the game, a few extra cards, and no mass land destruction.
10
Queza, Harbinger of Agony
Sit back and win
One of the most natural things you can do in Magic is draw a card, so why not get rewarded for it? With Queza, Augur, or Agonies, you can gain life when you draw a card and one of your opponents loses life.
You don't need a lot of Game Changer cards to win with this deck, just a little protection for Queza, a lot of draw effects, and a few counterspells to keep the game in your favor. Not to mention, there are plenty of other effects in Magic that damage your opponents just for drawing cards, so you can double or even triple Quez's effect.
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9
Nahiri, Forged in Fury
Never leave home without a sword
There's an argument to be made that equipment-based decks are pretty much settled in Magic, with the core set of equipment being fairly ubiquitous. But that doesn't mean this deck archetype isn't good, especially with Nahiri, Forged in Fury leading the charge.
There are currently no pieces of gear on the Game Changers list, and red is the color with the fewest cards on the list, so there are plenty of other options when building your deck. The nice thing about this Nahiri is that even her command tax is affected by her equip ability affinity, so with enough equip you won't have to pay extra mana to recast her.
8
Arahbo, Roar of the World
PSPPSPPSP
Kindred decks are often a fun choice for players looking for something a little more casual, yet very effective and synergistic. Arahbo, Roar of the World is the perfect choice for players who want to play a fun Cat deck that can absolutely crush their opponent's face turn after turn.
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The nice thing about Arahbo is that his Eminence ability activates from the command zone, giving one of your kitties a pretty strong +3/+3 boost to her stats. There are no related Game Changer cards, allowing you to use the three slots available to you to put in cards like The One Ring for a bit of protection and card draw.
7
Zimone and Dina
So much potential
Another card-based commander, Zimone and Dina, are a bit slower than Queza, but come with a few extra abilities to make them more attractive. Drawing a second card each turn allows you to drain your opponent of two life.
A creature duo has a tap effect built into it that allows you to sacrifice a creature to draw a card and then put a land from your hand into play. Once you reach the eight country threshold, you can do it again. Picking game changers will be difficult, especially with the number of blue and black cards to choose from, but Rhystic Study and some tough teachers are good choices.
6
Jodah, the Unifier
A legendary king
The rare five-color Commander Jodah, the Unifier, is a bit of a bogeyman in Commander. It puts a big target on your back when you play it, but the nice thing about it is that you don't need a lot of Game Changers to make it good.
Since it effectively gives you a cascade of legendary spells, you can double every spell you cast, keeping your board full and ahead of your opponents in no time. Jodah is a very good commander whose deck practically builds itself once you start adding legendary cards to it.
5
Light Paws, Emperor's Voice
You can see their aura
Auras are the name of the game with Light-Paws, the Emperor's Voice, and this mono-white commander knows how to use them very well. Whenever an aura enters play under your control, if you cast it, you can search your deck for another aura and attach it to Light-Paws.
It takes very little effort to keep auras stocked on Light-Paws, and there are plenty of auras with totem armor or indestructible so you can keep them safe to start pumping commander damage right into your opponent's face.
4
Soldier, Jaws of the Conclave
A unique relative
The soldier, Jaws of the Conclave, not quite elf and not quite wolf, dominates the battlefield with a multitude of ways to deal tons of damage. Attacking with Troop allows you to place a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control equal to the number of Elves you control. You then draw a card for each wolf you control.
Even if Voja is your only wolf, you can draw a card in each combat step. And if you have even a few elves, you can still pump your team to great heights. While Soldier suffers from the same weakness that many creature-based decks have, over-committing to the board, the sheer amount of power you can amass in a few turns makes the risk worth it.
3
Baylen, Haymaker
Lots of tokens
There are many ways to use tokens in Magic, and Baylen, the Haymaker, does an exceptional job with them, no matter what type of tokens you're making. Baylen is loaded with three abilities: you can tap two tokens to gain one mana of any suit, tap three tokens to lick a card, or tap four to put three +1/+1 tokens on Baylen and give him tramples for a turn.
Since you can do all of this immediately, you can wait until your turn and tap all of your available tokens to either lick your deck or draw Baylen, leaving them all unused and ready to be used again on your turn.
2
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
A rarity among commanders
One of the few Commanders that are considered Game Changers in their own right, Kinnan Bonder Prodigy is a powerful card that can be somewhat easily crippled by many challenging effects that can make it somewhat weaker compared to other competing Commanders.
Additionally, if your opponents don't have any early-game removal, Kinnan can get out of control rather quickly, as it doubles all of your mana production and gives you a way to cheat early-game creatures.
1
First Sliver
All others are secondary
Slivers have long been a strong, if somewhat stagnant, related deck in Magic, but there's no denying how powerful these creatures are. With Magic's focus on creating great cards based on kinship, the deck continues to grow in strength and optimization year after year.
The first Sliver gives all your Sliver spells a cascade, which is incredibly important given your need to pump as many Slivers as fast as you can. While you have to be careful with your Game Changer picks, you often won't need them because the overwhelming power of the Sliver archetype can quickly overwhelm many decks.
- Franchise
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Magic: The Gathering
- Original release date
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August 5, 1993
- Number of players
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2+
- Age recommendation
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13+
- Length per game
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Variable
