Ghave, Guru of Spores card art — Art by James Paick · © Wizards of the Coast

Counterpunch

Bracket 3

CMD — Commander 2011 · 2011-06-17

Commander: Ghave, Guru of Spores · Color identity: BGW

Bracket

Power Level

5.6/10

Tipping Point

Game Changers

Why this bracket?

1 Game Changer — aura shards. Per WotC framework, any Game Changer forces a Bracket 3 floor minimum.
1 Game Changer detected (any = Bracket 3 floor; Bracket 3 allows up to three)
Borderline verdict — close to B2: Bracket 3 solely on a single Game Changer (Aura Shards) — otherwise plays at Core pace (goldfish ~turn 10), no combo or fast clock
Engine accuracy: 77.1% exact and 99.5% within one bracket on 1,229 organizer-labeled tournament decklists (engine v389).

How it compares

Against the 5 Commander 2011 decks we analyzed, this is 2nd strongest — power 5.6 versus a set average of 5.4. That is 1.0 above the 174-precon library average of 4.6. Its Tipping Point lands on turn 4, the same as the library median.

How to drop to Bracket 2Removing the 2 floors at Bracket 3 would drop your deck to Bracket 2.

More Commander 2011 decks

Mirror Mastery — Bracket 4, power 8.2
Devour for Power — Bracket 2, power 4.6
Political Puppets — Bracket 2, power 4.6
Heavenly Inferno — Bracket 2, power 3.9

Other Bracket 3 precons at a similar power

Abzan Armor — Bracket 3, power 5.6
Creative Energy — Bracket 3, power 5.6
Deep Clue Sea — Bracket 3, power 5.6
Exit from Exile — Bracket 3, power 5.6
Faceless Menace — Bracket 3, power 5.6

Upgrade this precon

6 staples this deck does not already run — all legal in Ghave, Guru of Spores's color identity, none over $20, and none of them a Game Changer, so none forces a Bracket 3 floor on its own. Adding cards can still move the bracket: paste the updated list back into the calculator to re-check.

Arcane Signet Ramp $0.49
Wayfarer's Bauble Ramp $5.61
Kodama's Reach Ramp $1.77
Nature's Lore Ramp $2.23
Rampant Growth Ramp $1.28
Three Visits Ramp $5.55

Add all 6 to TCGplayer cart — about $16.93

Affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you and with no effect on the bracket we report. Prices are Scryfall's latest and will drift.

Analyze in calculator → ← Back to library MTGJSON source ↗

Decklist (100 cards)

1 Ghave, Guru of Spores
1 Aquastrand Spider
1 Deadly Recluse
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Monk Realist
1 Selesnya Evangel
1 Golgari Guildmage
1 Selesnya Guildmage
1 Nantuko Husk
1 Fertilid
1 Spawnwrithe
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Spike Feeder
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Squallmonger
1 Penumbra Spider
1 Sigil Captain
1 Shriekmaw
1 Dark Hatchling
1 Teneb, the Harvester
1 Hornet Queen
1 Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
1 Symbiotic Wurm
1 Celestial Force
1 Karador, Ghost Chieftain
1 Chorus of the Conclave
1 Alliance of Arms
1 Cultivate
1 Harmonize
1 Syphon Flesh
1 Bestial Menace
1 Hex
1 Hour of Reckoning
1 Death Mutation
1 Storm Herd
1 Doom Blade
1 Tribute to the Wild
1 Footbottom Feast
1 Afterlife
1 Mortify
1 Nemesis Trap
1 Cobra Trap
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Golgari Signet
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Acorn Catapult
1 Soul Snare
1 Fists of Ironwood
1 Necrogenesis
1 Vow of Malice
1 Awakening Zone
1 Vow of Wildness
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Vow of Duty
1 Attrition
1 Aura Shards
1 Barren Moor
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Rupture Spire
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Temple of the False God
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
2 Swamp
2 Swamp
2 Swamp
2 Swamp
3 Forest
3 Forest
2 Forest
2 Forest
2 Plains
2 Plains
2 Plains
2 Plains

Bracket assignment per WotC Commander Brackets Beta. Decklist sourced from MTGJSON (https://mtgjson.com/api/v5/decks/Counterpunch_CMD.json). Analyzed against https://scrollvault.net on 2026-10-09.