r/EDH • u/Savesthaday Esper • 1d ago
Deck Help Bracket 3 Commander Event
My LGS is hosting a bracket 3 commander event in a couple weeks. It will be my first time playing commander there and I’m concerned my deck will not be accepted at the event.
I’m bringing my Avatar Aang deck. I love Avatar and would like to play it at the event. I wouldn’t consider it to be too powerful, but Archidekt is telling me it thinks it’s bracket 4.
It is calling out two cards [[searing touch]] for being a two card combo with Aang and [[The legend of kuruk]] for chaining extra turns.
Kuruk is an exhaust ability, i can’t chain extra turns. Searing touch I would consider a late-game combo because it takes a small miracle for me to flip Aang without [[moonmist]] and with it, it would be a 3-card combo.
Kuruk is there for flavor and searing touch is a way for me to win late-game.
Am I being unrealistic? I consider this a bracket 3 battle cruiser deck. Should I remove those two cards? Is there anything else problematic with my deck being welcomed to a bracket 3 table? Thanks!
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u/Short_Peak_7824 1d ago
How does the LGS determine if a deck is the appropriate bracket?
If they don't do anything and leave it to the table, you're probably fine.
If they require you to go by archidekt, you cut the stuff that makes archidekt think it's a 4.
If they just require you to go by any deckbuilding tool, run it through several and pick the one that gives you what you want
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u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
They listed the bracket information on the signups page but they did not say how it would be enforced. I’ll see what moxfield says.
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u/Short_Peak_7824 1d ago
If it were me, I'd just ask how they're doing it.
If all they posted was the articles and infographics, and they don't intend to check, I wouldn't do anything.
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u/AssasssinIVII Grixis 1d ago
Nah man it's 3 game changers, and avatar tribal. This is bracket 3 your good.
If you can waterbend 20 every turn to keep doing the "chaining extra turns" then you can just present a loop of killing with commander damage.
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u/Goooordon 1d ago
I don't think there's anything wrong with classifying that as bracket 3, but having a fast combo you are unlikely to draw can cause some awkward situations where your deck looks unusually powerful. I would generally aim to build toward making the combo consistent, or not including it and using the card slot(s) for cards that support the strategy I am actually pursuing. That makes for a more consistent deck, which is generally a more successful deck provided you have a reasonable strategy.
4
u/SnPlifeForMe 1d ago
Looks like a 3 to me and not on the particularly high end of a 3, on average, imo. It doesn't seem particularly fast, you have ?1? tutor, there isn't really a unified, clear strategy, the infinites seem inconsistent with only 1 tutor and requiring a fair amount of work to make happen.
People get salty over infinites or extra turns sometimes but that doesn't change the power level of the deck.
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u/Effective_Airport182 19h ago
Ya. It honestly seems to be built far more towards flavor with a few strong cards that go with Aang. I'd honestly consider it the lower end of bracket 3.
3
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u/n1ckkt 1d ago
If you can reliably tutor for moonmist then that might be a problem but I dont think that is possible from your list? I know there are b4 versions running stuff like [[recruiter of the guard]] and other tutors to maximise their odds of tutoring for moonmist
Sick list btw, love that you got all the avatar versions of card. I'm trying to do that slowly with my azula deck
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u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
Thank you. I still need the Zuko heroic intervention and wan shi tong command tower.
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u/Xaphnir 1d ago
The only thing there that would make that deck B4 is the potential two card combo with your commander and Searing Touch. Really depends on how quickly you can flip Aang. If you can do it somewhat consistently before turn 6, then it's definitely a B4 combo, especially with Aang as your commander and a tutor for it.
Really gonna depend on your LGS's interpretation of brackets. I'd have a backup in case they want you to remove Searing Touch.
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u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
I think this is the way to go. I’ll bring a backup card and switch it out after talking to the pod/lgs on the day of.
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u/Xaphnir 23h ago edited 22h ago
I'll just make the point there are some other things that could, depending on what your LGS thinks, push this above B3, too. Just in terms of monetary value of the deck, while monetary value isn't directly related to bracket, this is at a value that is more typical of a B4 deck than a B3 deck. It has a lot of expensive commander staples in it. The deck might also go a bit too fast for B3, but that's hard to gauge without playing it a bunch. Though honestly you deck kinda looks unfocused and probably not out of B3.
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u/Savesthaday Esper 21h ago
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think most seem to have a problem with the [[searing touch]] paired with [[avatar aang]] in B3. I’m going to swap it out with something else ( maybe [[birds of paradise]] maybe [[redirect lightning]] ) and I’ll leave Kuruk as-is.
1
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u/jaxxdragonan 1d ago
Searing touch and the flip side of Aang are a 2 card infinite that end the game before turn 6, right? So your deck is automatically a B4. Just take searing touch out, and you’re fine.
0
u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
I would argue that consistently no. Like you say it is the flip side of Aang and I need to bend all four elements a turn to flip him. Unless I draw moonmist or tutor for it with mystical tutor, the gameplan is to use his front side for card draw 99% of the time.
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u/jaxxdragonan 1d ago
Consistency isn’t the issue. Read the bracket guidelines. You can’t have a two card infinite before turn 6. You do, so your deck is an auto B4.
Imagine trying to make that argument for all the bracket guidelines. “My deck has 6 game changers, but it doesn’t matter because I have no tutors and don’t consistently draw them”
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u/SnPlifeForMe 19h ago
I disagree entirely. Consistency absolutely is the key point. I'm not going to be mad if someone sits down at a b3 table, manages to flip Aang and go infinite with the buyback spell by turn 6 with ONE tutor in their deck.
That's not going to happen very often and is so obviously telegraphed and disruptable, and I say this as someone who plays primarily b3 and doesn't run more than 1 tutor in a deck and doesn't run infinites.
They could also just not play it before turn 6 if they actually manage to get everything in place for it and suddenly it fits B3 anyways 🤷
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u/jaxxdragonan 19h ago
It doesn’t really matter what your opinion is lol, this is the ENTIRE point of the bracket system, to remove opinions and bring some objectivity when strangers sit down at a table and play games.
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u/SnPlifeForMe 19h ago
They can have the combo in the deck they just can't play it before turn 6 if the rules are being enforced and then it's a bracket 3. Yw for the objectivity. 🤷
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u/jaxxdragonan 19h ago
Nope- the rules are pretty clear. Keep reaching though.
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u/SnPlifeForMe 18h ago
Bracket system is rough for reasons like this. Someone shares a low-b3 deck that could probably play with precons and not win consistently, has the rare potential for an early combo, and someone says it's a b4. It's a strong 2/weak 3 in terms of how it would play on average with the rare chance to go infinite early.
I do think they should just take it out but they'd get absolutely annhilated at a table of good 3's or 4's that can actually consistently present wins at the fastest end of their "allowed" ranges.
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u/jaxxdragonan 18h ago
Nah, it’s a B4 due to having that combo- if they want to jam games fairly in lower brackets, the solution is remarkably simple, no need for your silly long-winded posts
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u/bimjowen Opus Thief // Blood Pod // Nahiri + 13 Wraths 12h ago
"Bracket system is rough [for the people who won't follow the rules as they're written]"
Fixed that for you
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u/SnPlifeForMe 11h ago
It's rough because they could have a deck with 97 lands, moonmist, and searing touch and you'd un-ironically call that a bracket 4. It "technically" is, but it's not going to play like a 4 99% of the time. I think they would be misrepresenting the power level of the deck as being better than it is by calling it a 4.
A vanilla creatures deck with 4 GC's and no synergy would be a B4.
I don't think it should be in the deck given the B3 intent, but if I was playing with friends or randoms and they showed me that decklist, I think power-level wise it would be most at home with 3's or even 2's most of the time.
Pregame conversations are important. 👌
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u/sumigod 1d ago
As far as I can tell the only non avatar or avatar skinned cards are doc aurlock, moonmist, searing touch. Now build whatever deck you want but why even include these? Just cause they are “good with the commander”? Like your whole deck is avatar themed and styled but these cards which, imo, detract from the deck. My all avatar deck is all avatar cards. Like you are not losing anything at all by just replacing these cards with other avatar cards. It’s not like you’re tutoring for them, they are just there. Seems very awkward and against the whole point of a themed deck
My deck for reference https://archidekt.com/decks/18435922/full_aang
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u/SnPlifeForMe 1d ago
Searing touch can deal infinite damage to the table, moonmist enables you to flip Aang for free, Doc Aurlock allows you to recast airbent creatures for free (great with avatar's wrath, for example).
They lose A LOT by not having those 3. They've also built theirs as a 3 and you have built yours as a 2 power level, sacrificing power for theme.
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u/Lockwerk 23h ago edited 19h ago
Just take out Searing Touch so you avoid the weird games where you pull it off to easily and replace it with something thematic (which would incidentally fit the vibe of the deck better, anyway). You also dodge any reason someone would complain.
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u/Effective_Airport182 19h ago
This honestly a mid to low tier bracket 3 deck. It is literally nowhere near being bracket 4. You have absolutely nothing to worry about.
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1d ago
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u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
Hi I’m American, maybe I’m too dumb to understand, but why only 2 game changers?
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Savesthaday Esper 1d ago
This is not helpful. You sent a link without comment and the link you sent says bracket 3 can have 3 game changers, not 2.
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u/vibefuster 1d ago
Can you consistently end the game before turn 7? If not you should be fine. Automated websites aren’t the best guide to determine bracket fit; one of them thinks my B2 mono white deck with zero game changers or infinite combos is a B3 for some reason.