What exactly is the hard and fast rule on 2-card combos under the bracket system? (Game Conflict)
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Feb. 11, 2026, 8:28 p.m. by StopShot
Disclaimer: (This is not a "who-is-the-antagonist" post. This matter has already long been resolved respectfully with an in-game vote. This example is given to point out potential gray-areas over what defines a 2-card combo with the intent to invite thought and discussion on what the nitty-gritty details and restrictions should entail when deck-building combos under the bracket system.)
The other day my playgroup had a bracket 3 match that caused an argument over what constitutes a 2-card combo over a play one of my opponents made. Bracket 3 officially states that there are:
No 2-card combos (before turn 6)
[Combos are] game-enders, lockouts, or infinites
In the game my opponent played a turn 1 Enlightened Tutor to fetch a Sol Ring, turn 2 played the Sol Ring, and on turn 3 played a Volcano Hellion having it deal 1 trillion damage to itself, but with its ETB ability on the stack they casted Archon's Glory bargaining the Sol Ring to give the Volcano Hellion lifelink which would result in my opponent gaining 1 trillion life by turn 3.
The playgroup insists the play is a 2-card combo that violates the spirit of bracket 3, because:
- The combo was pulled off by turn 3 and not turn 6 or later.
- The combo is a 2-card combo and not a 3-card combo as any sacrificed permanent required to bargain Archon's Glory shouldn't count in a mana-rock heavy format.
- The infinite life gain counts as a lockout since some decks would be unable to realistically break the lock via commander damage.
My opponent and a bystander watching the game argue the play fits within the confines of bracket 3, but for different reasons from each other:
- Ramp and Sol Ring shouldn't be factored in on how early a 2-card combo can occur when deck-building combos, otherwise ramp should count as an extra card in the combo making it a 3-card combo as the ramp was necessary for pulling off the combo early.
- If there had not been any ramping the combo would have occurred by turn 5 at the earliest with no means to win until turn 6 or after.
- The card bargained with Archon's Glory should count as card 3 as it was necessary to pull off the combo which is why they're running Archon's Glory over a card like Swift Justice.
- It doesn't fit the bracket definition of a combo as it's not a game-ender because it doesn't end the game, it's not an infinite because it's a one-time effect that is not loopable by itself, and it's not a lockout because it doesn't impede the functions of anyone's deck and players can still cast spells and attack no differently than before.
There was also discussion if bargaining a token for Archon's Glory would have still made it a 3-card combo if they had sacrificed a treasure token instead of a mana-rock. This further begged the question if and when any card should be counted as being a part of a combo like in the combo Flameshadow Conjuring + Felidar Guardian + Mountain. (The Felidar Guardian always blinks the Mountain effectively untapping it so you can always pay the Flameshadow Conjuring's triggered ability while the hasty token blinks the original Felidar Guardian to restart the loop.) Since the basic land is necessary for the combo, would a basic Mountain count as card 3 of the combo or does it go against the spirit of the 2-card combo rule? Molten Echoes + Felidar Guardian isn't allowed in comparison as it's a 2-card combo that doesn't require blinking a mana source to generate infinite hasty tokens, yet that combo is no less difficult to pull off than the Flameshadow Conjuring variation.
How would you best define what is or is not a 2-card combo before turn 6?
RiotRunner789 says... #3
The only part of the two card combo that might have pushed it over the edge (for me) is that they tutored for it. They may not have grabbed a missing piece in the combo, but they grabbed the one card that could let them pull it off turn 3.
Had they also had sol ring opening hand or got it turn 1 or 2 from the draw, I'd be less salty. However, I'd still call their deck bracket 3 if they cannot consistently pull that off. If they have enough tutors to grab a combo piece or the perfect ramp (i.e. sol ring) to win before turn ~6, then it isn't bracket 3.
February 12, 2026 5:46 a.m.
In my (dubious) opinion that combo is exactly the kind of thing that is fine in Bracket 3. Gaining 3 trillion life doesn't actually mean you win, lots of decks can generate infinite damage/life loss later (no rule says you have to accommodate someone who can't win vs your deck because of how they designed it, so if they can't deal Commander damage with their deck they might need to politick with the board to get someone ELSE to kill you before they can try to win), also the 'combo' requires you to have an artifact to sacrifice, that's ANOTHER piece MINIMUM for it to go off so early. Is it nice? Not really, but Bracket 3 isn't supposed to be THAT nice, it's the turning point where you're really trying to win. I'm not taking out Inkmoth Nexus + Kessig Wolf Run from my Gruul deck because 'maybe I'll draw all my fastest ramp and kill someone turn 5', so I agree that ramp should generally be discounted from the discussion.
If the game isn't done in most senses of the word when the combo resolves then it's very unlikely to be a problem, it has to either kill people or lock the board down pretty tight. This is why I run Chain of Smog and Sedgemoor Witch in a deck that is lower power, yes it's 2 cards and can be done sooner than turn 6, but by itself it's not enough to win the game, since I don't have Haste they can just wipe my board, or run some Pillow Fort.
In contrast most people would be annoyed if you ran Underworld Breach in your Bracket 3 deck, yet it's not part of especially tight combos; you almost always need several cards (and some chaff in your bin) to do anything, so TECHNICALLY it could be fine in a lower power deck, as long as it can run GCs. I still wouldn't use it there because it's too easy to set up, but I think that's where the 'turn 6' aspect comes in, Breach is very easy to win early with, so it'd be disqualified via that, but merely gaining a ton of life doesn't 'do' anything on it's own, so it's not an issue IMHO.
I'd probably be a bit salty about this if I'd pulled a decent hand (that I'll have to just reshuffle), but I don't think it's breaking any rules in Bracket 3. To me it's a great example of how Sol Ring and Mana Crypt warp stuff by making ridiculous hands possible, ones that can only be beaten with other very powerful cards (be it cheap/free interaction or nasty Stax). This is why I don't like Sol Ring in lower Bracket decks, but that ship seems to have sailed long ago (I still don't run it in lots of decks).
Final point, I'm curious if the Brackets shouldn't bother to mention how many cards a combo is and just stick with 'how soon does your deck expect to end the game' as it's key metric? I care a lot less about how many pieces your combo uses vs how early you typically assemble it.
February 12, 2026 11:01 a.m.
Short story: I use Commander's Spellbook as a "neutral arbiter" on combos, and they would call this a 2-card infinite combo with a notable prerequiste. Since the combo requires a 4 drop and 1-drop on the same turn, it's obviously castable on Turn 5 in any deck, and earlier in any deck with a reasonable amount of Ramp. So for me, this combo belongs in a Bracket 4 deck ... and if the deck isn't otherwise strong enough to play on those tables, I'd pull it out of the deck.
A few more points, in no particular order ...
- Commander Spellbook unfortunately doesn't list any combos for Archon's Glory, but here are other 2-card combos that require an artifact as a notable prerequisite, and here's one with a Bargain mechanic, just like Archon's Glory.
- From a Comprehensive Rules and Tournament Rules standpoint there isn't actually an "infinite" anything in Magic, just an arbitrarily large number of iterations of a loop ... and 1 trillion obviously counts for that! :-D
- From a Bracket 3 standpoint, it's important to remember the line is drawn at "No 2-Card Combos (before turn 6) - Game-enders, lockouts, or infinites". So a combo doesn't have to be both game-ending and infinite ... infinite alone is enough to bump the deck up a bracket.
- I totally understand where your opponent was coming from though ... I once tried to argue a very similar issue myself. I wasn't trying to be a jerk about it; I was just honestly convinced Warren Soultrader + Gravecrawler wasn't a 2-card combo, because it didn't actually do anything ... sure I could loop the Gravecrawler an arbitrarily large number of times, but it needs a third card (e.g., a Blood Artist or Impact Tremors or whatever) to end the game. I was wrong though, and I now think of it like this: Soultrader + Gravecrawler is a 2-card infinite combo, and Soultrader + Gravecrawler + Blood Artist is a 3-card infinite and game-ender combo.
Good luck in your future games with this opp; cheers!
February 12, 2026 11:52 a.m. Edited.
Huh, I just noticed Commander Spellbook has changed their stance on Warren Soultrader ... they no longer show 2-card combos for the card. So maybe disregard my point above about infinite combos vs infinite game-ender combos.
Interesting ...
legendofa says... #2
For the Archon's Glory combo, I'm going agree with your opponent and the bystander. As I understand, ramp shouldn't be included in the turn calculation. The intent is to prevent Tainted Pact + Thassa's OracleGC, Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void , that sort of combo, where the cards can be played on a normal curve and lead directly to a kill effect before turn 6. There are ways to drag someone down from a trillion life, or just bypass life totals, so I don't consider that a lockout (but I might concede if someone did that, depending on the matchup).
But I would not consider Sol Ring
as part of the combo, because it's such a loose requirement. I'd compare it to something like Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar. Technically, you need a third effect and another Zombie for this to mean anything. But that's so easy to get to, it doesn't even really need a dedicated deck. Yes, you need a token, enchantment, or artifact to sacrifice, but that can happen incidentally during normal play. If a combo needs a third card, but that card can be any (insert category here) or a basic land, it shouldn't count toward the combo requirements.
Ultimately, my call is that this was a lucky play with a combo that's legal in Bracket 3.
February 11, 2026 10:16 p.m.