Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from EDHREC. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
Commander Spellbook has introduced Salt Scores for combos and locks. Announced on October 9 by head editor Ethan Coover, the feature moves beyond rating individual cards: it asks how unpleasant a complete interaction is to face in a Commander game.
Users rate a combo from zero to four. Voting is available through a random-combo voting page or the Metadata section of an individual combo entry. A player can change an earlier vote, and aggregate scores refresh after a delay rather than changing instantly with every submission.
Voting requires Discord authentication and membership in the Commander Spellbook server. That requirement matters when interpreting the result: this is feedback from participating community members, not a representative survey of every Commander player.
Unlike a once-a-year card survey, the system accepts votes throughout the year and bases the displayed measure on the preceding twelve months. Older votes fall out of that rolling window, allowing perceptions to change as the game and its surrounding community change.
The new scores are also searchable. Spellbook’s salt search term supports comparisons including greater than, less than and equality, so users can filter interactions rather than merely read a number on a page.
For deckbuilders, the feature provides another way to prepare a pregame conversation about loops, locks and finishers. It does not determine whether a combo is legal, establish an official bracket, or objectively measure its strength. A low score cannot promise that a particular table will enjoy the interaction; a high score can help identify a discussion worth having before the game begins.
Users rate a combo from zero to four. Voting is available through a random-combo voting page or the Metadata section of an individual combo entry. A player can change an earlier vote, and aggregate scores refresh after a delay rather than changing instantly with every submission.
Voting requires Discord authentication and membership in the Commander Spellbook server. That requirement matters when interpreting the result: this is feedback from participating community members, not a representative survey of every Commander player.
Unlike a once-a-year card survey, the system accepts votes throughout the year and bases the displayed measure on the preceding twelve months. Older votes fall out of that rolling window, allowing perceptions to change as the game and its surrounding community change.
The new scores are also searchable. Spellbook’s salt search term supports comparisons including greater than, less than and equality, so users can filter interactions rather than merely read a number on a page.
For deckbuilders, the feature provides another way to prepare a pregame conversation about loops, locks and finishers. It does not determine whether a combo is legal, establish an official bracket, or objectively measure its strength. A low score cannot promise that a particular table will enjoy the interaction; a high score can help identify a discussion worth having before the game begins.
Original source: Introducing Commander Spellbook's Salt Score ↗EDHREC