Break the Bracket Brisbane! Competitive Bracket 2 Commander

Ticket link: https://www.dorkydesires.com.au/event/

Ever wanted to try Competitive Commander on a budget? Keen to win games without getting hosed by Thassa’s Oracle? Then we have the event for you!

Introducing, “Break the Bracket”… it’s like CEDH, only… well not. The event focuses on competitive play but only using cards from Bracket 2, in other words, NO GAME CHANGERS!

Disclaimer: before delving further, I want to acknowledge that Commander Brackets were not intended for this purpose. They have mostly been created to help with matchmaking and determining what are appropriate levels of power so that a game can be reasonably fair and balanced. Please understand that what we are doing here is not something that should happen on a regular basis, it’s more an experiment. We are essentially asking the question, “what if?... “what if we played a commander game with a CEDH mindset, but only used cards allowed in a particular bracket?” In this case, we are focusing on Bracket 2. Another way you can view this tournament is as a Competitive Commander event with an extended banlist!

In addition to the regular Commander banlist, the following cards are banned from this tournament:

Drannith Magistrate Enlightened Tutor Humility Serra's Sanctum Smothering Tithe Teferi's Protection Consecrated Sphinx Cyclonic Rift Expropriate Force of Will Fierce Guardianship Gifts Ungiven Intuition Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Mystical Tutor Narset, Parter of Veils Rhystic Study Sway of the Stars Thassa's Oracle Urza, Lord High Artificer Bolas's Citadel Braids, Cabal Minion Demonic Tutor Imperial Seal Necropotence Opposition Agent Orcish Bowmasters Tergrid, God of Fright Vampiric Tutor Ad Nauseam Deflecting Swat Gamble Jeska's Will Underworld Breach Crop Rotation Food Chain Gaea's Cradle Natural Order Seedborn Muse Survival of the Fittest Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger Worldly Tutor Aura Shards Coalition Victory Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow Notion Thief Winota, Joiner of Forces Ancient Tomb Chrome Mox Field of the Dead Glacial Chasm Grim Monolith Lion's Eye Diamond Mana Vault Mishra's Workshop Mox Diamond Panoptic Mirror The One Ring The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Our biggest hope is that people enjoy the challenge of building and playing something different. This event is also more likely to be budget friendly.

Event Details:

Saturday 23rd August 2025

$35 entry

Entry includes: $10 Jene's Mtg Store credit (to be used on the day) $10 Dorky Desire’s store credit (to be used on the day) Entry into the event (with prizing for the Top 10)

TICKETS FOR THE EVENT CAN BE PURCHASED HERE: https://www.dorkydesires.com.au/event/

FINAL POD PRIZING: 1st Place

• A non-game changer expedition/masterpiece with $100 cash buyback minimum
• $100 Jene's MTG store credit
• $100 Dorky Desire’s store credit
• Palms Off Gaming Collector Series 12-pocket binder
• Entry prizes

2nd-4th Place

• $40 Jene's MTG store credit each
• $40 Dorky Desire’s store credit each
• Palms Off Gaming Collector Series 12-pocket binder each
• Entry prizes

5th-10th Place

• $25 Dorky Desire’s store credit each
• Entry prizes 11TH ONWARDS: ENTRY PRIZING Prizing is guaranteed regardless of attendance, this event has a player cap of 32. The event is at competitive REL. No proxies allowed. DECKLISTS REQUIRED (Moxfield link or similar submitted through Command Tower/Top Deck preferred) Banlist applies, in addition to the extended banlist (no game-changers) Commander rules apply Players are expected to take game actions in a timely manner. Registration 10:00am Players meeting 10:20am Round 1 Begins 10:30am 4 Swiss Rounds - 85 minutes each at end of time the turn player will be allowed to finish their turn (Turn 0) then the game ends If there is no winner then it will be declared a draw. TOP 10 + TOP 4 will not be timed, however players are expected to play in a timely manner.

Please review the following Multiplayer Tournament Rules info at the end of this post as this will be enforced on the day:

1. Tournament Fundamentals • 1.10 Players Policy Additions o 1.10A. For Multiplayer tournaments, if a Player loses a game during a match, they are expected to act as Spectators for the remainder of the ongoing game. o Example: Alice, Bob, Charles and Dani are playing a Best-of-One Multiplayer match. Bob loses the game to combat damage, but doesn’t leave the table and keeps spectating the game. From this point, until the end of the game, Bob is forbidden from participating in any political or strategic discussions, since at this point it would be advantageous for Bob if the game ended up in a draw.
2. Tournament Mechanics • 2.1 Match Structure o A match consists of a single game of magic. In the event the game would naturally result in a draw the match is considered to have ended in a draw. • 2.2 Seating Order o Players are seated in a predetermined order established by pairing software with Seat One as the starting player during Top Cut and Finals. During Swisse rounds first player is to be determined using a random method. • 2.3 Pre-Game Procedure o Commanders are revealed prior to shuffling and presenting decks. A game should not start until all players are present or 5 minutes have elapsed in the round. • 2.4 End of Match Procedure o When time is called, the active player finishes their turn, and there are no additional turns. The game ends when the active player passes their turn. If a non-active player is acting in the end step of the active turn, when time is called, the subsequent turn becomes the final one. • 2.5. Conceding or Intentionally Drawing Games or Matches o 2.5A. In Multiplayer tournaments, players may leave the table after losing a match as remaining players continue playing (see rule 800.4 in the Comprehensive Rules). o 2.5B. If a player leaving the game would affect current or imminent game actions, those actions occur as though that player was still in the game until the end of the current phase. o 2.5C. During a multiplayer game, players are encouraged to concede while they have priority, and the stack is empty on their own turn. A player who needs to concede at any other time will be dropped from the event and must talk to a tournament organizer in order to re-enter. In this case, a judge will facilitate any mandatory actions of the conceded player until the stack is empty. In the event this happens in response to combat, the turn will be facilitated until the end of combat.
3. Tournament Rules • 3.1. Tiebreakers Policy Additions o 3.1A. In Multiplayer tournaments, the following tie breakers are used to determine how a player ranks:
4. Match points
5. Match Win percentage
6. Opponents’ Average Match points
7. Opponents’ Match Win percentage o 3.1B. Any player receiving a bye will have 3 opponents added to their opponent history with a 0.2 win rate percentage. • 3.13. Hidden Information Policy Additions o 3.13A In Head-to-Head tournaments, having the permission to look at an opponent’s card that the opponent can also look at is technically the same as that card being revealed. However in Multiplayer tournaments, that is not true. Being able to look at a card that an opponent can look at doesn’t give a player the right to reveal that card to everyone. According to Head-to-Head Tournament rules though, players are free to reveal cards that they can look at and this clashes with the concept of distinguishing between the Look and Reveal actions as defined in CR 701.16 (a through d). One of the reasons we want to allow players revealing hidden information they gained access to is to avoid a player accidentally revealing hidden information and either them or the players that gained that information accidentally being penalized. In Multiplayer it is expected that when a player is dealing with hidden information that pertains to one of their opponents, that they are extra careful about not physically revealing it. At the same time we also want to allow players to still be allowed to bluff about hidden information, so in any situation, players are allowed to verbally reveal any hidden information they may have gained. Hidden information is a resource to be shared at the controlling player’s own discretion and may be shown to as many players as they choose. If a player is shown the face or faces of cards in a hidden zone, they may not display those cards to anyone at the table who does not have permission to see them. Players are, however, free to communicate this type of information both verbally or through written notes. In Multiplayer tournaments, the following rules apply to physically revealing card faces in hidden zones: • Library: the owner of the cards in the library can choose to physically reveal as long as they have been instructed to look at them. • Face down exile: any player with a currently applicable instruction allowing them to look at the cards may physically reveal them. • Face down on the battlefield: the controller of the permanent(s) can choose to physically reveal them. • Face down on the stack: the controller of the spell can choose to physically reveal them. • Hand: the owner of the card(s) in hand can physically reveal them. • Any other temporary face down zone: any player with a currently applicable instruction allowing them to look at the cards may physically reveal them. For the purpose of physically revealing cards, an instruction to look at a card is not transferrable to another player controlling the instructed player. The choice of physically revealing hidden information belongs to the player as described above, which means that player-controlling effects, won't allow the controller to force the controlled player to physically reveal hidden information. Example: Alice resolves a Gitaxian Probe, targeting Bob. Alice may look at Bob’s hand but may not reveal or force Bob to reveal their hand to the remaining players. In this example, Alice is being temporarily shared information about Bob’s hand, and as such she cannot transform the permission granted to her by the Look effect into a Reveal effect. Bob however may choose to reveal their hand at any point. Example: Alice resolves a Praetor’s Grasp targeting Bob. Alice may not reveal cards from Bob’s library while resolving the Praetor’s Grasp, neither may Bob. Alice may reveal the chosen card that she exiled face-down. In this example, Bob doesn't know the identity of the cards in their library, and Alice is not the owner of the cards. Also, Alice gained a permission to search Bob's library, not to reveal it, therefore she will be able to only physically reveal the face down exiled card after she chooses one. Example: Alice controls an Opposition Agent and is currently controlling Bob while Bob is searching their library. Although Alice can freely talk about cards in Bob's library with the remaining players, Alice cannot physically reveal the cards in Bob’s library to them. In this example, Alice is controlling Bob. However, controlling the player doesn’t grant Alice the right to make out-of-game choices or decisions. The choice to reveal hidden information at any time is granted by MTR 3.13, and as such is not an in-game choice or decision. Example: Alice owns a Bane Alley Broker. She activated its ability exiling a Dark Ritual. At some point Bob gains control or Bane Alley Broker and also activates it exiling a Counterspell. Alice can still look at the Dark Ritual but she can no longer reveal it. Bob can also look at Alice's Dark Ritual and he can reveal it. If Charlie now gains control of Bane Alley Broker, both Alice, Bob and Charlie will be able to look at Dark Ritual and Counterspell, but now, only Charlie can physically reveal them. Example: Bob is controlling Alice during her turn, due to resolving the activated ability of a Mindslaver. Alice draws an Ad Nauseam for the turn, then Alice casts and resolves Praetor's Grasp targetting Charlie, exiling a Lion's Eye Diamond. Bob has access to all of this hidden information, but Alice still has the choice of physically revealing cards from her hand, and neither Alice or Bob can physically reveal cards from Charlie's library. Alice will also be the one with the choice to physically reveal the Lion's Eye Diamond, not Bob. Example: In a situation where Alice resolved Gather Specimens, Bob controls Lens of Clarity and Charlie is resolving a Reality Shift on a creature controlled by David, both Bob and Alice will gain information about the identity of the Manifested card from David entering the battlefield under Alice's control. However this was an object that is owned by David, created by an effect from Charlie, but neither of them have the right to look at. In this situation, Alice is the one deciding if she wants to physically reveal the hidden information regarding the manifested card.
8. Communication • 4.1 Player Communication Policy Additions o The active player may request the table to stop excessively influencing game actions to progress play. Failure to do so may result in an Unsporting Conduct - Minor penalty.
9. Definition of Penalties Turn Skip A player receiving this penalty will forfeit the next turn they would receive. The skipped turn is treated entirely as though it did not exist and the next turn they take is treated as if it were the skipped turn. Gameplay Error Missed Trigger No Penalty In priority order, opposing players decide ‘Yes’ or No’ to place the trigger on the stack. The trigger is placed on the stack unless one or more opposing players decide ‘No’ and the judge determines that it would not be too disruptive to place the trigger on the stack. Do not place the trigger on the stack if significant decisions have been made based on the trigger being missed. Unlike other illegal actions (which must be pointed out), opponents may choose whether or not to point out their opponent’s missed triggers. (See IPG for upgrade path). Hidden Card Error Warning The majority of remaining opponents must decide on the card(s) returned. If no majority decision is reached, the final decision will be made by a randomly chosen opponent. Tournament Error Tournament Errors upgrade after a player has committed 2 infractions in the same category. Tardiness Turn Skip Players not in their seat within 1 minute of the start of the round will skip their next available turn, in this case, likely the first turn. After 5 minutes, the player will be counted as a no-show, receive a Match Loss, and be dropped from the event. A match will not begin until either all players are in attendance or 5 minutes have elapsed in the round. Outside Assistance Match Loss A player, spectator, or other tournament participant does any of the following: • Seeks play advice or private information about their match from others once they have sat for their match. • Gives play advice or reveals private information to players (outside of their match) who have sat for their match. • During a game, refers to notes (other than OracleTM pages) made before the official beginning of the current match. (See 1v1 MTR section 2.12 for proper use of electronic devices.) Players no longer active in the game are no longer a part of the current match, and attempting to influence the pod would be considered Outside Assistance. Decklist Problem Turn Skip The decklist is illegal, doesn’t match what the player intended to play, or needs to be modified due to card loss over the course of the tournament. Deck Problem Warning The contents of a deck do not match the decklist registered, and the decklist represents what the player intended to play. Considering there are no sideboards in this format, only cards that are presented at the time of cut are considered, and any other cards stored in the deck box are not considered part of the deck. (Upgrades still follow the conventional path noted in the IPG, but any Game Losses are replaced with Turn Skips.) Marked Cards Warning Cards or sleeves in a player’s deck have inconsistencies on them that might allow them to be differentiated from each other while in the library. This includes scuff marks, nail marks, discoloration, bent corners, and curving from foils. The player needs to replace the card(s) or sleeve(s) with an unmarked version or, if no sleeves are being used, use sleeves that conceal the markings. If the player is unable to find replacement cards, they may replace those cards with any combination of cards named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest, or Wastes. As the decklist is being changed to match the new contents of the deck, the penalty is a Turn Skip. This change may be reverted at a later point without further penalty if replacements for marked cards are found. Tournament Impediment Warning A player causes a delay specific to the timely progression of the event resulting in the consumption of additional tournament resources. • A player leaves excessive trash in the play area after leaving the table. • A player fails to follow the request of a tournament official to leave the play area. • A player fails to provide match results in a timely manner. Unsporting Conduct Unsporting Conduct Minor Turn Skip Examples of unsporting conduct minor include: • A player uses excessively vulgar and profane language. (A player may be using inappropriate language without realizing it. A comment of “Please avoid using this language” is often appropriate prior to giving this penalty.) • A player inappropriately demands to a judge that their opponent receive a penalty. • A player appeals to the Head Judge before waiting for the floor judge to issue a ruling. • A player continues to attempt to influence game actions after other players wish to continue play. Downgrade: A Warning may be applied instead of a Turn Skip if the player in question displays ignorance or remorse regarding their actions and the impact on other players is minimal. However, it is important to inform the player that subsequent penalties will be upgraded as per the standard rules. All Credits to Monarch authors and contributors