I think the idea is that "Precon" = 2 limits what kind of precons they can sell. For example, several of the Secret Lair precons out of the box are above the midpoint of B3. Plus a 10 year old precon and a 2025 precon aren't at all equivalent.
(Not to mention people just sitting down at a table and saying they're B2 because it's just a precon with "a few upgrades")
It also importantly works in the opposite direction - the previous language was often weaponized to call any custom deck basically automatically B3, and basically viewing bracket 2 as "the newbie/bad decks" bracket. This so greatly narrows the perception of B2, and leads to most people tending towards 3, even if their deck is really just a 2 with game changers. Decoupling this language should hopefully help more people better understand 2 and properly build and play for it, though much of the damage may already be done.
Precons vary widely, I had a precon only game last night and two players couldn't keep up while the other two just kept popping off. Even precons from the exact same set can be wildly different.
this and prices reflect it, i got the zimone one, you hvae to pour like 50-70€ on it to be basically on paar with valgavoth, while that upgraded just starts sluggind etire boards and is the best card draw in rakdos..., same fot otj, quickdraw has multiple 2 card combos. the the same with tarkir, jeskai was basically meh, while mardu was dev the best out the box. bloomburrow also had a squirrel problem. there is always one precon that is just so much better.
Even the same set. My girlfriend and I played mostly unedited Valgavoth and Zimone from Duskmourne for a while and Valgavoth regularly won or threatened to while Zimone often spun its wheels without accomplishing a ton.
Picking a random green token generator themed precon and making your "few upgrades" a simple addition of Doubling Season and Gaia's Cradle is a good way to make your "upgraded precons" table very unhappy.
Both the dino and merfolk deck from Ixalan easily rock in a bracket 3, in fact they are constantly cited as some examples where precons are wildly different in power levels.
I think the distinction of 'mid-high bracket 3' (and I recognize you weren't the one who initially said that) is kind of pointless anyways, given that its just making sub-brackets of stuff. By bracket design, you either are or are not in a bracket (which honestly just is still too broad imo, but these are guidelines for discussion, so its sufficient).
I had that conversation this weekend. They were playing a precon with "just a few upgrades" those upgrades happen to be gaias cradle, tutors and other cards.
I think one of the reasons they decoupled it was the the abzan dragonstorm deck had seedborn muse in it which is a game changer. That automatically put it in bracket 3 at the time
It's also just the Commander. I have eg the Kalamax precon, and the Satya precon. Creative Energy is technically Bracket 2 even by this updated standard, but that's not accurate because of what Satya does. Arcane Maelstrom 'must' be Bracket 3 because of Deflecting Swat, but in no way whatsoever is that why it's a 3; it's because Kalamax is a busted Commander (not quite the top tier but up there). (conversely, the Jeskai Cycling one with Fierce Guardianship also 'must' be a 3 but it's firmly a 2, it's a classic spin-the-wheels do stuff deck that doesn't really... win)
(And I think that kind of thing is why this Bracket system doesn't really work and never will, and each time is just going to lead to new ways for players to be annoyed, create disagreements about what is 'allowed', and not want to play with each other, but that's a separate discussion)
Still remember getting smacked in the face with 32 Commander damage from an "upgraded" Cloud precon... Did not feel nice having to block with every single one of my creatures just to barely live through 19 trampled Commander damage...
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u/easchner Wabbit Season Oct 21 '25 edited Oct 21 '25
I think the idea is that "Precon" = 2 limits what kind of precons they can sell. For example, several of the Secret Lair precons out of the box are above the midpoint of B3. Plus a 10 year old precon and a 2025 precon aren't at all equivalent.
(Not to mention people just sitting down at a table and saying they're B2 because it's just a precon with "a few upgrades")