Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher

Bracket

• B1 Exhibition — Not in the same deck as its two-card combo partners: Staff of Domination, Umbral Mantle, Sword of the Paruns, Singing Bell Strike, Ringing Strike Mastery
• B2 Core — Not in the same deck as its two-card combo partners: Staff of Domination, Umbral Mantle, Sword of the Paruns, Singing Bell Strike, Ringing Strike Mastery
• B3 Upgraded — Not in the same deck as its early two-card combo partners: Staff of Domination, Umbral Mantle, Ringing Strike Mastery
• B4 Optimized — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list
• B5 cEDH — allowed: No restriction beyond the banned list

Why

• Two-card combo with Staff of Domination, Umbral Mantle, Sword of the Paruns, Singing Bell Strike, Ringing Strike Mastery (early with Staff of Domination, Umbral Mantle, Ringing Strike Mastery)

How Lotus Vault estimates a bracket

Bracket: Lotus Vault analysis, with Commander Spellbook flags

Combos

89 known combos, 5 of them two-card.

• Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher + Staff of Domination
  Produces: Infinite card draw, Infinite colorless mana that can't be spent to cast spells from your hand, Infinite draw triggers
  View on Commander Spellbook
• Umbral Mantle + Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher
  Produces: Infinite colorless mana that can't be spent to cast spells from your hand, Infinitely large creature until end of turn
  View on Commander Spellbook
• Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher + Sword of the Paruns
  Produces: Infinite colorless mana that can't be spent to cast spells from your hand
  View on Commander Spellbook

Combos: Commander Spellbook

Rulings

• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  You can choose two commanders that are the same color or colors.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  If a card refers to a commander creature you own, a Background won't usually be counted or included for that effect. If another spell or ability causes your Background to become a creature, however, it will be included. Any effect that refers to your commander or a commander you own or control without specifying creature will apply to a Background that is your commander, as appropriate.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  If your commander loses the choose a Background ability or stops being a Background during the game, as appropriate, it is still your commander.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards (or 58 cards in a Commander Draft game) of your deck are shuffled to become your library.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  If you control a Background that grants an ability to commander creatures you own, and you own more than one commander creature, each of them will have that ability.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won't have to pay an additional {2} the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 combat damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined (although your Background won't usually be a creature anyway).
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can include only cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders' combined color identities.
• 2022-06-10 · Wizards of the Coast
  Choose a Background is a variant of the partner ability. You may have two commanders if one of them is a legendary creature with the choose a background ability and the other is a legendary Background enchantment. Backgrounds and cards with choose a Background do not interact with cards which have any other partner ability.

Rulings: Scryfall · Wizards of the Coast