Commander · Power Level

Power Level, Explained

"Power level" is the old 1-10 community scale; WotC Brackets are the official 1-5 system. Here's how they map - and what 50,328 tracked games actually say about whether they predict winning.

Updated 24 Jun 2026
50,328
Games analyzed
Decks analyzed
4,002

Each with a full decklist and 5+ tracked games.

Method
Pod-normalized

Win rate vs an equally-random deck in the same pods, with 95% CIs.

Source
Real tracked games

Casual Commander games logged on Playgroup. No deckbuilder has this.

Only on Playgroup

Do decks with more Game Changers win more?

Game Changer count is one of the things that sets a deck's bracket. Across 4,002 tracked decks (full decklist, 5+ games) and 50,328 games, here is win rate by Game Changer count - normalized for pod size so bigger and smaller pods compare fairly. +12% means decks in that group win 12% more often than an average deck in the same pods. (These are correlations across the decks we track, not all of Commander - see the method note below.)

0 Game Changers
2,198 decks · 26,057 games
+2.4%
95% CI 0.2 / 4.6
1-3 Game Changers
1,387 decks · 18,492 games
+10.7%
95% CI 7.9 / 13.4
4+ Game Changers
417 decks · 5,779 games
+18.7%
95% CI 13.7 / 23.8

The takeaway: decks running Game Changers win meaningfully more than average, but with diminishing returns - decks with none are roughly average, and decks with 4+ don't clearly beat decks with 1-3. Adding Game Changers moves a deck up a bracket faster than it moves its win rate.

How we measured

Reading this honestly

Sample. 4,002 decks with a full decklist and 5+ logged games, out of roughly 625k decks. The decklist is the bottleneck, and tracked decks skew toward engaged players - read this as the decks we track, not all of Commander.

Today's list, all history. We apply the current Game Changers list across every tracked game. The official list changes over time and most of these games predate the bracket system, so this measures these specific cards' association with winning, not the bracket system over time.

Count, not bracket. Game Changer count is only one of several bracket criteria - tutors, extra turns, mass land denial, and two-card combos count too - so it approximates a bracket rather than equalling one.

Correlation. Win rate is normalized by pod size and shown with 95% confidence intervals; the 4+ group is a smaller sample. These are associations, not proof that the cards cause wins.

How the systems relate

Power level vs Brackets vs Game Changers

Power level (1-10)
The old, informal community scale. Subjective and contested - "what's a 7?" is a running joke.
Brackets (1-5)
WotC's official replacement: Exhibition, Core, Upgraded, Optimized, cEDH - defined by concrete criteria, not a vibe.
Game Changers
The official 53-card list of format-warping cards. Their count is one of the things that sets your bracket.

Rough map: power 1-4 ≈ Bracket 1-2, power 5-7 ≈ Bracket 3, power 8-9 ≈ Bracket 4, power 10 ≈ Bracket 5 (cEDH). See the Game Changers list and the official Commander Brackets announcement . The list itself lives on Scryfall (is:gamechanger) .

Power Level FAQ

Is EDH power level accurate?
Power level is a rough estimate, not a measurement. Across the decks we track, decks with Game Changers do win more often than average (about 12-15% more), while decks with none are roughly average, and decks with more than a few don't win at a higher rate still. So it tracks winning directionally, not precisely. These are correlations across the decks we track, not all of Commander.
What is a Commander deck's power level?
Historically, the community rated decks on an informal 1-10 scale (1 = unfocused, 10 = cEDH). It is subjective and contested. Wizards of the Coast's official Brackets (1-5) are the newer, more concrete replacement.
How does the 1-10 power level map to the new Brackets?
Roughly: power 1-4 = Bracket 1-2 (Exhibition / Core), power 5-7 = Bracket 3 (Upgraded), power 8-9 = Bracket 4 (Optimized), power 10 = Bracket 5 (cEDH). The mapping is approximate - Brackets are defined by concrete criteria (Game Changers, tutors, combos, mass land denial), not a single number.
Do decks with more Game Changers win more?
In our tracked games, yes - decks running 1-3 Game Changers win meaningfully more than average, with diminishing returns past that. It is a correlation across the decks we track, not proof that the cards cause the wins.
What power level or bracket is my deck?
Counting the Game Changers in your decklist is the quickest read on its bracket. For your deck's real power level, play tracked games on Playgroup - we measure how it actually performs, not just how it's built.
Get your real number

A static calculator only sees how your deck is built. To learn how it actually plays - its real win rate and matchups - track your games on Playgroup.