This time last week, Wizards of the Coast announced a shock 16-card ban wave. While Standard was undoubtedly the focus of this much-needed ban wave, it was hardly the only one affected. On MTG Arena, not only did Historic get a handful of pre-bans, but four cards were also banned in Brawl. For the most part, this was a good decision.
Each of the four cards banned in Brawl last week was a widely played format-homogenizing auto-include. While these cards were useful, colorless fast mana and super staples ultimately made deck construction more boring. With this in mind, Wizards’ latest Brawl bans make total sense and should make the format more fun overall.
That said, while homogenizing cards can restrict deck building, outright banning cards obviously does the same. Due to this, as Wizards embarks on a new approach for Brawl, it might be worth considering pivoting in a different direction entirely.
Brackets for Brawl
Currently, the banlist for Brawl consists of 22 MTG cards. If you ask me, even though Wizards wasn’t wrong to ban them, the vast majority don’t need to be there. Only cards like Drannith Magistrate and Gideon’s Intervention, which go against the format’s spirit, feel truly ban-worthy.
Admittedly, considering the Brawl ban list currently contains insanely powerful cards like Channel, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, and Field of the Dead, this is a pretty bold take. If these cards were allowed in Brawl, there would still need to be some way to restrict their play. After all, without this, they’d become the homogenizing problem that Wizards is exactly trying to avoid.
Personally, I think Brawl should take a leaf out of Commander’s book and more deliberately implement a bracket system. Technically, weighted matchmaking already handles this; however, there’s a lot of grey area as calculations are done behind the scenes. Without anything telling players what affects their deck’s matchmaking score, there’s little reason not to use every format homogenizing bomb.
As a digital format, implementing a pop-up to show a Brawl bracket system within the MTG Arena client is definitely feasible. In theory, Wizards could even go one step further to enforce the bracket you select for your deck. After choosing your Commander and bracket, the client could simply stop you from adding too many tutors, combos, or homogenizing cards to your deck.
Alternatively, Wizards could simply make the behind-the-scenes calculations for deck matchmaking weight public. While this would potentially allow for bad actors to exploit the system, it could facilitate more considerate deck construction. That being said, from when it was exposed in the past, the current system is definitely wonky in places. Due to this, it might be better to consider an alternative solution.
Brawl Highlander
To push players away from homogenizing auto-includes, Wizards could completely pivot Brawl to borrow Canadian Highlander’s points list. Effectively utilizing the Vintage banlist, almost everything is playable in Canadian Highlander, at a cost. The most powerful cards in MTG all come with a point value attached, and you’re only allowed ten points per deck.
In theory, Brawl could do the exact same thing from within the client itself. Ideally, this would allow all of the recently banned cards to be playable, even alongside the Power Nine, if they ever become cratable. Unfortunately, while this system would technically give players more cards to play with, it is innately competitive.
Thankfully, this is a problem that could be addressed by expanding the points system and the points allowed per deck. Rather than only 42 cards having points, Wizards could potentially give tons of powerful cards and Commanders point values. At the same time, Wizards could also introduce brackets, with different point totals, to also guide matchmaking.
Unfortunately, while this system sounds like it’s the best of both worlds, it easily falls into the same pitfalls as the current matchmaking does. Having to balance around combos, tutors, and evaluate the strength of synergies gets incredibly complicated incredibly quickly. In theory, there could be an implementation of this system, which is perfect, but finding that feels like a long process.
Even if it is possible, it could easily be argued that Brawl Highlander should simply be its own format. Ideally, this would allow players to iron out the kinks before Wizards takes notice and potentially adopts or supports it. For this to happen with any ease, however, MTG Arena is really missing one key feature.
Better Browsing
In reality, a dedicated server browser for Brawl should fix the format’s matchmaking issues. Thankfully, this feature is already believed to be in the works, as it’s been mentioned alongside multiplayer repeatedly. Unfortunately, multiplayer, at least, is still a long way off, as even a 2027 release for the feature seems unlikely.
Hopefully, a proper server browser for Brawl can be implemented before then, as it does fix some major problems. Rather than relying on the whims of the matchmaking system to pair up decks, players can have some useful autonomy. Just like on Magic Online, players with casual or typal-focused decks can find and play against one another.
Having a server browser on MTG Arena would effectively also introduce the Commander Bracket system into Brawl for free. As the go-to method for divining deck strength, this system would likely be used a lot when setting up matches in the server browser. This would put the power in players’ hands, allowing each table to decide what should and shouldn’t be playable.
With players in control, reducing the Brawl ban list to only what’s strictly necessary would allow for greater freedom all around. Players who want to use powerful cards and fast mana like Ancient Tomb could still do so, while others could ban it during the pre-game/server browser setup. That said, this could easily fracture the format and make things more complicated if every match has its own unique banlist.
Thankfully, while this fracturing is technically a concern, it likely wouldn’t be the death of Brawl. On both paper and Magic Online, pre-game conversations are a feature of Commander, not a flaw. As such, there’s little reason to think that players wouldn’t be able to manage on their own.
A New Approach
Ultimately, even if there’s room for improvement, it’s unlikely Wizards will radically overhaul Brawl anytime soon. Realistically, the biggest shake-up I’d expect to see will be the server browser’s introduction, with little before then. That said, Wizards did specifically declare a new era for Brawl, so the ban list may get tweaked soon.
In last week’s banned and restricted announcement, Wizards stated they’re taking “a new approach toward our stewardship of Brawl.” Currently, it’s unclear how this new approach will manifest exactly, but one future development has been teased, at least. Alluding to their future plans, Wizards noted how they might make a competitive Brawl queue in the future.
While this idea is just a hypothetical at the moment, it could help to solve some of the format’s matchmaking woes. At the moment, hell queue is a mix of competitive decks, overpowered commanders, and lists that are accidentally too strong. Having a competitive Brawl queue would at least remove part of the problem, hopefully smoothing things out.
Sadly, there’s no word on when, or even if, competitive Brawl will come to MTG Arena. For now, Wizards is still exploring player interest in the format, so it’s all up in the air. Just don’t be surprised if you see a few more competitive Brawl events in the coming weeks and months.
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