While it’s far from perfect, Commander’s current bracket system is a massive step in the right direction for rule zero conversations. With a few clear guidelines to follow and a Game Changer list that keeps particularly powerful cards out of lower brackets, there’s a better chance that Commander games with strangers will be a bit more balanced.
That said, after playing a lot of Bracket 3 Commander myself, a few power outliers, not including Sol Ring, have stuck out that, in my opinion, should be on the Game Changers list. If you choose to try these out for yourselves, you may agree.
MTG Flare of Fortitude
Quite comparable to the Game Changer Teferi’s Protection, Flare of Fortitude offers a similar level of immunity, making your life untouchable and your permanents Hexproof and Indestructible. It won’t stop quite as much as the Game Changer, but more often than not, you get the same get-out-of-jail-free card.
In some situations, Flare of Fortitude is even better than Teferi’s Protection thanks to its free alternate casting cost. Cashing in any nontoken white creature in a pinch, you can tap out entirely with this card in your hand and survive almost anything that your opponents throw at you. This makes protecting your board or stopping an alpha strike trivial, often causing an entire Commander game to revolve around this instant.
At this point, I’m putting Flare of Fortitude in every single white bracket 3 Commander deck I own because it’s not a Game Changer, but easily performs at that level. This has made the card a clear power outlier in my experience, suggesting that it should become a Game Changer.
MTG Treasonous Ogre
Between cards like Jeska’s Will, Mana Vault, and Ancient Tomb, many of the cards on the Commander Game Changer list are mana accelerants that can easily speed you ahead of your opponents. While this isn’t quite as good as those cards, Treasonous Ogre does feel like a massive outlier in Bracket 3 Commander.
Easily offering players ten or more red mana after it enters play, it’s extremely easy to win a game of Commander after resolving Treasonous Ogre. Whether you power out an infinite combo that’s supposed to occur in the later turns, or just drop Etali, Primal Conqueror into play on turns 3-4, Treasonous Ogre is not a card that ever gets used fairly.
Even with the all-in nature of Treasonous Ogre restricting the creature to certain strategies, this card’s ability to consistently end games ahead of time feels too strong for bracket 3 Commander. Other strategy-specific cards, like Tergrid, God of Fright, are Game Changers, and Treasonous Ogre fits in far more decks than Tergrid does.
MTG Displacer Kitten
It needs support to go off, but Displacer Kitten can come down at any point and take an MTG Commander game over. Going infinite with a wide variety of different cards, this will commonly end the game as soon as it enters play, demanding opponents remove it on sight. Annoyingly, Displacer Kitten’s ability can even protect itself, making a simple Consider an easy way to dodge an opponent’s removal spell.
Even if you aren’t trying to go infinite with it, which is frankly difficult, Displacer Kitten can create bucketloads of value alongside otherwise innocuous cards like Mulldrifter. Even worse, cards that tutor on entry like Recruiter of the Guard or Imperial Recruiter can both find Displacer Kitten themselves and easily assemble combos with it.
Even with the Bracket-related rules that stop fast combos in lower brackets, Displacer Kitten often changes the game even when used fairly. This makes it seem like a no-brainer addition to the Game Changer list, like all the other cards on this list.
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