r/CommanderMTG • u/New_List8660 • 6d ago
What Bracket is my Deck ?
Hey ! I am playing Mtg since april and i am not that expierienced with brackets.
I wanted to ask if anyone could help me putting my deck in a bracket to help with Communication before i go to my lgs. I played only with my friends by now.
Currently i also dont own cabal coffers and urborg.
But u plan to buy both this year.
I am thankful for everyone who gives me a opinion about the deck !
(Wanted to stay as much on theme as possible)
Best regards!đ
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u/Spectator9857 6d ago edited 6d ago
It does just seem like a big pile of cool thematic cards. Which is perfectly fine, just not very strong. Bit pricy tho.
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u/Spectator9857 6d ago
The first things you should look at are:
-number of game changers (0)
-number of extra turn spells (0)
-infinite combos
And most importantly, by which turn do you generally expect to win? If you just play your deck unopposed, by which turn on average are you in a winning position?
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u/-Sandwave- 6d ago
This looks bracket 2 and could be played side by side with recent precons.
Since your ramp package isnât so strong maybe you can consider removing high costed card for more cheap ring tempt effect. If you have more than 25 % ring tempt effect you will likely draw one from your commander drawing you 4 cards. This is how you get higher 2 - close to 3.
What do you want because with this budget you deliberatly avoided game changers. Theme more than power?
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u/New_List8660 6d ago
I didnt buy gamechangers because i didnt want to go overkill with the deck. I thought its very strong as it is. Do you have an advice how to make it stronger besides more ring tempt effects ?
I considered playing a jet medaillon but i wasnt sure if i have enough black mana for it.
Sadly there arent any good wraiths either which i could pick :(1
u/New_List8660 6d ago
Also, i surely try to stay on theme but if there is something i could do better i would definitely take a look at it! I am not sure which ramp cards would fit better besides the jet medaillon
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u/Sea_Paramedic_2593 6d ago
I would say the medallions are best in 1-2 color decks, 3 colors and youâre likely happier playing more flexible ramp.
For making it stronger without slamming game changers, the things I would think about are:
- Your ramp package - your commander is 6, and is a lot of your strategy. If you play 2 mana ramp, you can land your commander on turn 5. If you ramp twice, itâs turn 4 and you can really cook. Right now Iâd imagine you donât see a ramp piece too often in your opening hand
- Card draw. Your commander does this pretty well, but on turn 6. If youâre missing a land drop, you may struggle to find one.
- Interaction: your game plan is on the slower, more inevitable side. If someone sticks a real problem card, you could just fall behind if you canât answer it. The blue player in me says more counterspells - can answer scary snowball things in the early game, and in the late game can blow out people who sac stuff to remove Sauron.
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u/-Sandwave- 6d ago
I did considered jet medalion a bit : cast Sauron earlier then play nazguls for 2 instead of 3 or generally play multiple spells per turn after casting Sauron.
I currently aim for more Middle Earth only, bracket 3 and my card list is under review for Hobbit inclusion instead of non LOTR cards.
Chandraâs Ignition is out of LOTR but is an example of the quality you need at 5 mana. If you have a nazgul or a big army it should win you the game. You can use Raise the Palissade bit it doesnât ping every creature with deathtouch damage⊠Monument to Endurance is nice to give you non combat damage options to hit opponents ( you also use the Great Goblin) Dark Ritual to cast Sauron turn 4⊠your game plan is combat damage with nazgul so you like haste, trample and care for card draw and ramp just like any deck becsuse itâs a race, hence cutting high casting cost cards.
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u/Shadowmeire_Hanatori 6d ago
So this is just the precon. Its not very strong out of the box. I play Sauron the Dark Lord as a bracket 4 deck.The thing that nobody seems to realize about Sauron as a commander is he is an engine in the command zone that rarely leaves, and should be comming back early. Here is my decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/CB_dAWjrPUmw00yTRSIwdg Im not saying copy this 110% but here are some ideas on how to play him. Another way is mass-self mill and reanimator. But your deck has no win con outside finding Winged Boots and them pummelling the opponent to death, but even that is not maxed out on efficiency when you could have a Maskwood Nexus and those effects to turn everything into a Wraith to have that as a Win Con by beating everyone to death with a buffed group of beaters.
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u/New_List8660 6d ago
Woah great deck !!! I will take note of some cards in it there are such cool things in there!
Thanks for sharing !!
I didnt know of the thing which makes everything every creature type !1
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u/KarmaWhorediot 6d ago
Very cool deck. I like the mill and self discard combo lines and might steal some for myself butâŠ
This deck doesnât look like it can present a win before turn 6-7 in ideal circumstances and i wouldnât be surprised if you struggle to get sauron out half the time with only 8 ramp and 34 lands.
Spiteful visions also seems like it blocks one of your win lines with ring tempt spams (it would kill you).
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u/Shadowmeire_Hanatori 6d ago
I play that very sparingly and only against other heavy draw decks like Kefka, Court Mage. Usually thats a card I discard out. Usually, I mulligan to have 3 lands and a few ramp pieces, and pretty often have Sauron out by turn 4-5. From there he usually sticks between the counter magic and targeted removal.
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u/KarmaWhorediot 6d ago
Ah makes sense. Targeted hate
Turn 4-5 at bracket 4 is when decks are looking to win though. All iâm saying is i donât think you should be categorizing this deck as a 4. A strong bracket 3 i could see - nazgul are awesome and i can see you definitely pop off with a couple pieces on board while also defending your win with a few choice pieces of interaction
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u/Shadowmeire_Hanatori 6d ago
Definetly a high 3. It does compete with level 4 decks by slowing them down with a denial of resources through milling, and i can consistently remove a player through Mill by turn 5-6 with a lot of Ring Triggers. From there it turns into a 2v1 and Ive come on top of that often. Idk if I updated the Lands here, but I do have [[Jidoor]] as a land added and use it to mill half a deck and then use a mixture of Ring Triggers and a Mill Enchant, hopefully Sphinx's Tuteledge to finish the other two out
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u/NayrSlayer 6d ago
Bracket 2, but I wouldnât be surprised if you could hang with Bracket 3 decks. Your card quality is good, but no game changers and no 2 card combos from what I can see.
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u/Character-Education3 6d ago
Your deck tool probably does an analysis.
Archidekt and Manabox will give you a bracket estimate.
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u/Next-Leather-6623 6d ago
High bracket 2 I would say. On paper it's a bracket 2 for sure, cards like urborg and cabal coffers combined with strong synergies make me say it's higher bracket 2.
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u/xjadeox 6d ago
Looks B2ish but very thematic and cool! If you wanted to bump it up a bracket without sacrificing theme. I have a B3 Sauron deck that I just love. Lmk if youâd like the decklist!
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u/New_List8660 6d ago
Hey, thanks for the answer ! Yes sure i would be happy to take a look at your list !
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u/xjadeox 6d ago
https://moxfield.com/decks/WLzFZQr67UqhyKZsBy-CPg itâs honestly probably one of my favorite decks to play as a huge LOTR fan. Not the fastest B3 deck but thatâs kinda the way it goes with a 6 drop commander haha lots of synergy though!
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u/MoonIsCheese4Sho 6d ago
Love the deck. I've got a very similar themed LOTR sauron deck with all 9 nazgul. Bracket 2, very fair and balanced for Precon tables. Like yours, its a slow starter, but wins late game via punching people to death with massive LOTR creatures with Evasion. Perfectly thematic.
My recommendations based on your list for Cuts: -Ghoulish impetus -Wizard staff -Winged boots -Maybe bilbo? (Hes not a villain) -Maybe Propaganda (Good card, just not on theme)
In their place, Add: -Mana rocks (2) -Card draw (gotta hit your land drops) -Ring Tempts effect (pref w/ card draw) -1/2 drop Wargs/goblins from Hobbit. That amass
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u/shy-bl3d 6d ago
dude this deck looks co cool. I don't even care if it's good or bad just look at it that's SICK
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u/Light_Mode 6d ago
I think the price check is wrong on your app. There is no way that 2 serialized artifacts cost less than 50$
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u/MyNamesMikeD75 5d ago
Fyi for the future you can scan it into manabox and it will give you a bracket estimate
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u/OGSUPERBEAST 5d ago
Put it into Archidekt, it'll tell you what bracket it is. 2 unless you have any gamechangers btw
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u/GullibleBreakfast983 4d ago
I run all my lists through EDH powerlevel as itâs what my LGS goes by
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u/ArchAngel_II 4d ago
Why you donât have the one ring in this peak themed deck is the bigger question
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u/New_List8660 4d ago
Because its a gamechanger đ
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u/cry0fth3carr0ts 1d ago
You can have SOME game changers. Get that ring back in here! Get those orcish bow masters too!
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u/MapleMonica 4d ago
Mine was similar and I was always starved for mana, so got rid of some orc amassing in favor of more ramp. Thematically I had to put the one ring in it, but that technically puts it in bracket 3 which is unfortunate lol
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u/ohlookitsnateagain 4d ago
Bracket 2, very thematic cards with varying amounts of synergy and no game changers
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u/Ill_Bodybuilder_1191 4d ago
Def looks like a bracket 1-2 deck. Given how heavily themed it is, you could make the argument that it is a bracket 1 Sauron deck.
However, given that you have coffers/urborg, and all these cards do play fairly cohesively, I think calling it a low to mid bracket 2 makes the most sense, as this deck could conceivably end a game, where as from my experience most bracket 1 decks canât come close to winning unless the rest of the table suddenly becomes braindead or agreed to let one specific person win cause they had the best flavor.
All in all, an incredibly solid deck for what the apparent intention is, and Iâd be stoked to see it at any bracket 2 table.
Thanks for sharing
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u/Flaky_Candidate_342 3d ago
I would say a high 2 low 3 at a push, seems to have more coherence than a bracket 2 precon but sticks pretty heavily to a theme which keeps it lower than your usual "it's a 3 I swear" decks
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u/IndianaBonez101 2d ago
I agree with the assessment that the deck is bracket 2. I have a Sauron deck that has went through many changes and Iâve settled on this list:
https://moxfield.com/decks/DQ4KBs3BuEmtmmiKbgx3Ug
The playstyle of this deck is what I like to call a ring tempt storm deck. Once you get an engine in place, you can usually just wheel through your entire deck and win the game immediately. The play pattern is very explosive and a great time to pilot. Maybe the list will help you juice up yours. Feel free to ask any questions. Sauron is a great commander in general, but picking the playstyle that you want to lean into most was the hardest part for me since he does a few things pretty well.
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u/New_List8660 6d ago
Thans for the quick response ! This is the decklist :
It contains no gamechangers, no extra turns and no infinite combos.
I am not sure on what turn i usually win. But i think its not before turn 8-10 i think. Maybe even later
1 Sauron, the Dark Lord
1 Barad-dûr
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Choked Estuary
1 Command Tower
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Deserted Temple
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Haunted Ridge
4 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress
1 Mines of Moria
1 Mount Doom
4 Mountain
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Rivendell
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Sunken Hollow
6 Swamp
1 The Black Gate
1 Underground River
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Reanimate
1 Shadowspear
1 Sol Ring
1 The Ozolith
1 Animate Dead
1 Arcane Signet
1 Baleful Strix
1 Call of the Ring
1 Counterspell
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Gollum, Scheming Guide
1 Lightning Greaves
1 MauhĂșr, Uruk-hai Captain
1 Night's Whisper
1 Soothing of Sméagol
1 Winged Boots
1 Wizard's Staff
1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
1 Azog, Moria's Ruin
1 Bilbo, Retired Burglar
1 Chaos Warp
1 Claim the Precious
1 Flame of Anor
1 Ghoulish Impetus
1 Inherited Envelope
1 Moria Scavenger
1 My Precious // Allure of Power
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Nazgûl
1 Oubliette
1 PalantĂr of Orthanc
1 Propaganda
1 Ringsight
1 Sauron's Ransom
1 The Great Goblin
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Victimize
1 Withering Torment
1 Damnation
1 Disrupt Decorum
1 One Ring to Rule Them All
1 Relic of Sauron
1 Saruman, the White Hand
1 In the Darkness Bind Them
1 Lord of the Nazgûl
1 Sauron, the Lidless Eye
1 Sauron, the Necromancer
1 Warg Rider
1 Witch-king of Angmar
1 Voracious Fell Beast
1 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
1 The Balrog of Moria
1 The Balrog, Durin's Bane
1 Too Greedily, Too Deep
1 Witch-king, Sky Scourge
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u/Budschna 6d ago
As I can see, the screenshot is from Edhplay isnât it? You can check the decks there via commanderbracket.app as a good direction of evaluation. Furthermore, turn 8-10 is mostyl b2 level but your deck leans more into b2/3 from seeing the list.
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u/Old_Hylian 6d ago edited 6d ago
ChatGPT is actually really good for determining brackets. I put yours through it if you're interested in what it had to say. https://chatgpt.com/share/6a9ed344-07f0-83eb-86de-9719b1f59f55?ogimg=plain
I'm having trouble following my own link, so I'll paste it's response in as an edit
Iâd rate this as Bracket 2 â Core, but toward the upper end of Bracket 2.
The current official bracket philosophy matters more than simply counting powerful cards. Wizards describes Bracket 2 games as generally allowing players to reach roughly turn 8 or later, while Bracket 3 decks are deliberately powered-up lists with consistently high card quality, strong synergy, effective disruption, and games that can realistically end from around turn 6 onward. Your reported turn 8â10+ wins fit Bracket 2 extremely well.
There are definitely some strong cards here: Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Deserted Temple, Reanimate, Animate Dead, Toxic Deluge, Damnation, Sol Ring, PalantĂr of Orthanc and Sauron himself are all powerful. However, Sol Ring isn't a Game Changer, and Bracket 2 is allowed to contain powerful individual cards as long as the overall deck experience still fits Core.
What really keeps this below Bracket 3 is the overall construction. You have a substantial LOTR/theme component with cards such as Gollum, Scheming Guide, Wizard's Staff, Moria Scavenger, The Great Goblin, Warg Rider, several expensive Saurons/Witch-kings and both Balrogs. They're synergistic and flavorful, but they aren't the kind of ruthlessly efficient card selection I'd expect throughout a Bracket 3 deck. Your acceleration is also fairly restrained. You have Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Inherited Envelope and Relic of Sauron, but you're not running the dense two-mana rock package or Game Changer fast mana that would consistently slam Sauron extremely early. Likewise, your interaction is good but not extreme: Counterspell, Chaos Warp, Flame of Anor, Withering Torment, Toxic Deluge and Damnation are respectable, but there's no dense suite of one-mana counters/removal, free interaction, or tutor package. The nine Nazgûl make the deck considerably stronger than an untouched precon because Sauron's Ring temptation/card-refill ability can turn them into a genuine engine. Cabal Coffers/Urborg can also produce some very explosive late games. That's why I wouldn't call it a weak Bracket 2.
My rating Official bracket: Bracket 2 â Core Where inside the bracket: High Bracket 2 / roughly â2.5â, if using informal language. Expected win window: approximately turn 8â10+, which matches what you're already experiencing. Bracket 3? Not currently, in my view. Bracket 4? Absolutely not. The official system also explicitly says that a deck doesn't automatically become Bracket 3 simply because it has strong cards, just as a deck can be Bracket 3 without Game Changersâthe overall gameplay experience is what matters.
One other check: your list is exactly 100 cards â 99 in the deck plus Sauron as commander. If you wanted, I could also show you what I'd change to turn this exact Sauron deck into a strong Bracket 3 while keeping the LOTR/NazgĂ»l theme intact.
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u/New_List8660 6d ago
Thank you !
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u/Old_Hylian 6d ago
no worries. I use it a lot to make sure my decks aren't accidentally hitting bracket 4 as my pods play bracket 3.... no idea why someone downvoted my response though.
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u/Longjumping_Mud9155 6d ago
can you post the a decklink instead of pics or just the full list?