Shifting BordersShifting Borders | Art By: Alex Horley-Orlandelli

There has been a shift in the air for some time now, and on April 22, 2025, that shift was felt on the Commander format. For complete information on precisely what changed in the Commander format, refer to the well-written articles by Gavin Verhey on the unbans to the format, the revamped philosophy behind the brackets, and the additions and subtractions to the Game Changers list. While both articles factor into what I want to talk about, today we'll primarily look at the contents of the second article.

A full 18 cards were added to the Game Changers list, and two (Trouble in PairsTrouble in Pairs and TrinisphereTrinisphere) were removed. But how do these 18 cards affect some of the top Commanders that lead decks with them as part of the 99? Let's take a look.

White

Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection is one of the most popular white cards in the format, finding itself in white decks ranging from Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope to The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon. As players of the format often call the card, T-Pro is a welcome addition to the list. But how does it affect the top commanders the card finds itself in, according to EDHREC?

For Edgar and Ur-Dragon, these cards would always be in higher brackets. As for Kaalia, there won't be any Vast movement through the brackets for her either. One of the most terrifying commanders upon its release, and often a very combo-based one, Kaalia needs a lot of adjustments to be found lower than Bracket 3, outside of cutting all Game Changers.

HumilityHumility is a very mean card. I won't sugarcoat it; this card is not fun. But will it rearrange where we find some of its top-played commanders?

Shorikai can easily and effectively play many different Game Changers, but it can just as easily play an effective game without any of them. If you're including HumilityHumility in your Genesis Engine deck, then you're purposefully aiming for a higher bracket game, most likely a Bracket 4 or Bracket 5 (cEDH) type of game.

Oloro, Ageless AsceticOloro, Ageless Ascetic is a bit of clever building when it comes to HumilityHumility. Turning everything into a 1/1 when your commander can gain life without even being on the field is legitimately interesting. I could see people who wanted to play the card building a higher-powered deck and stax out the table. So there could be some bracket movement. Lastly, Esika, God of the TreeEsika, God of the Tree, or more accurately, The Prismatic Bridge, can easily be built to get around Humility's downside.

Blue

The top commanders for the Parter of Veils should be no surprise. Two of them are lean and mean commanders you do not want to see sleeved across from you. The other is Guff.

The Game Changer-ing of Narset will do nothing to shift the usual Atraxa and Urza bracket placements, but this does hit Guff a bit hard. Narset, Parter of VeilsNarset, Parter of Veils isn't needed in a Superfriends deck, but it has some nice utility. I imagine it starts to hit the cutting room floor for Commodore GuffCommodore Guff going forward.

This is a cEDH card. I am not a cEDH player, but if you put this card in your deck and claim anything lower than Bracket 4, you might not know how good this card is. Look at the top commanders for this card.

First up is the partner pair of Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus. A fantastic four-color pairing and Intuition is most likely a mainstay in this deck.

Najeela and Kenrith fall into a five-color good stuff style of deck, usually full of combos and the ability to play whatever you want. So if you can play whatever you want, it would make sense to run a card that can get you whatever you want, or in this case, three of anything you want. Intuition isn't moving the needle on any of the top three commanders it currently sees play in.

The Sphinx is one of the more interesting cards on the list. In short, I'm not sure if this card should have been added to the list. I haven't seen it at a table in a long time, so maybe I'm off base, but the top commanders that run it do leave me a bit puzzled.

Kinnan is a mainstay of the higher-powered brackets and playgroups. The leader of the "Big Flips" decks loves to get out an early Sphinx to keep the value train going. But to find a Kinnan deck outside of Bracket 4 or 5 is going to be tough.

Hashaton seemed to come out of the gates hot and established itself as a commander who was not to be slept on. A card like Consecrated Sphinx and its mana cost don't matter to Hashaton, and I think that the Sphinx being added to the Game Changer list might push Hashaton decks closer to where they belong in the wild world of brackets.

Then there's Animar, Soul of ElementsAnimar, Soul of Elements. Animar does love big creatures, so the card does fit. Animar's also a notorious creature combo-oriented deck. This is also a card I have not seen at a table in a while, and the last time I did it was full of Eldrazi - no Sphinxes in sight. I'm unsure what this will do in shifting brackets for Animar, so only time will tell.

Black

There's not too much to say about NecropotenceNecropotence. Much like IntuitionIntuition mentioned above, all you have to do is look at the combo-centric commanders where this card finds itself the most.

All three of these commanders usually live in the Bracket 4-and-up levels of play. Some cases can be made for Zur and Rowan to find themselves in "lower-powered" versions, but they usually won't run a card as notorious as Necro. This card was one of the best things to do when living in a competitive environment, and some arguments can be made for it not to be as strong in Commander, but NecropotenceNecropotence should be found where it is right now, near the top.

The scourge of many formats and many players since its release. However, the Bowmasters might be one of the cards that will most affect some of its top commanders.

The partner pair of:

Sauron is a powerful card, and I'm glad I've never had to play against it. Bowmasters in this deck is more flavor-inclusive than one in terms of power for people building Lord of the Rings Commander decks. The deck being in allows it to run a multitude of Game Changers if it wants. Still, I imagine this deck will stay at the top end of Bracket 3 or the low end of Bracket 4, depending on the pilot and the specific cards in the deck.

From a strategic standpoint, Nekusar might be the perfect Commander for Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters. However, time might be this deck's greatest enemy. A former table bully of a deck that no longer sees the same levels of play might suffer from one of the most perfect cards being responsible for this card to face tougher competition. It might get the axe or cause other cards to be moved out of the 99 of Nekusar decks.

Finally, the partner pair of Tymna & Kraum gets the same treatment as IntuitionIntuition did above. A partner pair is usually found only at the highest-powered tables, where decks run multiple wheel effects and draw punishing cards such as the Bowmasters. Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters "gamechangering" will do nothing to the power that is partners.

Red

Continuing a trend, one of the top played commanders for Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat the partner pair of Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus. And once again, what was said above is true for this card. A potent four-color combination that finds itself at the cEDH tables. Tables that love free interaction and love to fight fire with fire.

The other top two commanders are

Two commanders who want to stay on the board by all means necessary. Both need all the free interaction and protection they can get because they are lightning rods for removal. Neither of these cards is the upper echelon anymore, but they were the Cream of the CropCream of the Crop for a time. Maybe these commanders will find themselves more often in Bracket 4 as they will have one more Game Changer than normal, but it's just as likely that players will choose from the three Game Changers they want to run. And are any of them Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat?

Thankfully, one of the last times I have to talk about Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver & Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus for one of these cards. If a partner pair is ubiquitous, it's more than likely going to be very strong and very heavily played. With the best four-color combination and access to the best combos, you'll need tutors. The tutors you run will be the most efficient and least restrictive, and GambleGamble fits the bill on all accounts.

To make up the top three, we need two more commanders, and we have some interesting ones to GambleGamble with.

Since it's mono-colored, Krenko doesn't have the widest berth regarding playable Game Changers. GambleGamble is one that I think should be in every list. In a deck like Krenko, GambleGamble doesn't change the "math" of how strong the deck is. Honestly, adding GambleGamble on the list is to create some parity with all the single-colored single-mana value tutors.

Ob Nixilis, Captive KingpinOb Nixilis, Captive Kingpin is going to stay right where it is now: the cEDH areas of the floor. You can and possibly should play an Ob Nixilis deck without any Game Changers, but that seems to not be most people's cup of tea, so it'll most likely stay in the higher brackets.

Green

Another example of a cheap and efficient tutor. This list of top commanders includes all types of cards in Brackets 4 and above, or powerful Bracket 3 decks as one of the only Game Changers.

These might be the top three, but many commanders after Kinnan are close in total deck counts and show that Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor becoming a Game Changer might have the same effect as GambleGamble. Some decks have slight bumps and no movement, while others find themselves outside or inside cEDH.

A more powerful card than on first read, Crop RotationCrop Rotation is one that I understand why it's on the list, but with some of the other cards already included, it might be unwarranted. This, however, is not a discussion of my opinions on the Game Changer list as a whole. So, aside from that, let's look at the top commanders who use this card.

These commanders all have a basis in land strategies, and are perfect for Crop RotationCrop Rotation. These three commanders are all very strong and aren't moving up or down based on a new addition to the Game Changers list.

This is the card on the list I am the most personally affected by. Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse was removed from a deck of mine because the idea behind the deck is to win through effects like Runeflare TrapRuneflare Trap. That style of deck doesn't need a card like this. It helps, but it's a generic good card in a more thematic deck.

Kinnan and Kenrith are killers at the table. Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse is a clear asset in those decks, allowing them to use many activated abilities on everyone's turn. We've discussed Kinnan and Kenrith before, and these decks aren't removing their muse from the deck. They'll stay on top, and you'll never escape players (myself included) saying something like "Move to our upkeep" every turn you untap.

Lathril, Blade of the ElvesLathril, Blade of the Elves has made people take another look at the "Elf ball" strategy — the clear frontrunner for decks wanting to run our pointed ear individuals, and a powerhouse one. Lathril has a clear path up the bracket ladder, in my opinion. While interaction rises the higher up the bracket you go, the interaction types differ from those at lower levels. With some more Game Changers added in green, Lathril players will have to choose what to run, but they might also find themselves in a sweet spot within Bracket 4 battles.

The card on this list that has a direct challenger to the card that makes up your deck. Natural OrderNatural Order or Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor? Which one do you run if you're tight on Game Changers? This is a real question that players might be asking, especially the heavy green, heavy Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth decks.

Green creature decks want to use a card like Natural Order to find a game-winning piece and put it right on the battlefield. This card will cause certain commanders to move based on the merit of how many tutors the pilot wants to run. You'll see more decks with one card like this or Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor in it rather than both, like you would in the past.

A personal favorite of mine, and one that is up to no good. There's no proper way to play a "fair" version of Food ChainFood Chain. It often turns into a combo with just a commander, and what a suite of commanders that love to run it.

All three of these commanders are filled to the brim with value. They might even overflow with Etali and the ability to play your opponents' cards. Food Chain and the commanders that include it have one goal in mind: to win. When that's your goal, you often don't care what a Game Changer is. You might not always be playing cEDH, but you would probably sit down at a table and try your deck's luck if a pod needed a fourth player.

Multi-Colored

Notion ThiefNotion Thief is an aptly named card, as it will steal all the joy from three players at the table.

The dark Lord takes another hit with a card added to the Game Changer list. Too many of these might force players to scale down or considerably scale up their deck to compete at a table with brackets in mind. This is an easy card to cut from decks like Sauron, since all it will do is take your board state from annoying to super annoying.

Anowon, the Ruin ThiefAnowon, the Ruin Thief will most likely feel no effect with a standard kindred Rogue deck build. The card is in because of its creature type and not due to the impact, though it is nice. And don't worry about people targeting you for a Game Changer; you're playing mill, so you signed up for target practice.

Talion, the Kindly LordTalion, the Kindly Lord likes to play all the colored cards that punish opponents for taking game actions. Like some cards across the list, it might make Talion players cut something else, or they might cut the Thief. I would still play Notion ThiefNotion Thief, but I'm a bit of a sicko.

This is the first card I ever felt awful for playing at a table. It's also the first on this list that might just be torpedoed out of deck lists with its addition to the Game Changer list.

Is Aura ShardsAura Shards a good card in these decks? Yes, it is. But do you need to bring extra hatred towards your deck because of a card like this? No, you don't. This card looks like a good piece of constant interaction, but it shuts down other players' strategies as much or worse than the average stax piece.

In Anikthea, you can turn it into a creature, triggering itself and then copying it for more and more value. In Arcades, your creatures will be entering repeatedly; even though they might be Walls, there will be many of them. Sythis will have just about every enchantment creature that it can get its hands on, so it's another case of too much value.

These decks will probably remove Aura ShardsAura Shards or take their deck up a notch or two.

Lands

This card is a mistake. On the surface, it looks like it has a nice restriction, but it's the most trivial of training wheels to crack this land wide open.

The theme of these commanders and how they want to use Field of the DeadField of the Dead can be summed up in four words: vast tracks of land. All they want to do is put lands onto the battlefield, then take them away and do it again. The real reason why Field of the DeadField of the Dead will end up in higher brackets is because that's where commanders that have a strategy based on lands can be dealt with most effectively. You need to be able to fight a threat like this with answers like WastelandWasteland, Strip MineStrip Mine, and possibly even an ArmageddonArmageddon. Land destruction is relegated to specific brackets, and so should Field of the DeadField of the Dead be.

The last card on the list is also the most expensive.

I'm going to cheat with this one. I don't think it's relevant to tell you what commanders this card is most applicable to. If someone is playing this card, it means one of two things: they've been in the game for a long time and have had this card since the dawn of their play experience, or they're playing at the most high-powered table and doing something with artifacts.

This card is a Game Changer for the same reasons The Tabernacle at Pendrell ValeThe Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale is one. $$$.

Wrap Up

So what does any of this mean? This is all a bit speculative, as we'll have to wait and see how the pilots of these various commanders treat their new Game Changers. I do know is that it gives me more ways to experiment in the deck-building process, and for that, I am grateful. Magic is fun; play more of it.

As always, if you want to find me, I'm everywhere under nicnax96. Check out other things I wrote on EDHREC. After all, I did well in my guesstimations for what they might unban. I've talked or written on the subject multiple times, so there might be hope for me and this game yet.