Better Brew: Search and Recommendations
We’ve been iterating on the brew stages since launch, and this is the biggest update yet. Not a new feature, just a much better version of the one you already use.
The short version: search and recommendations now live in the same panel, you can use advanced search syntax, and there’s a new way to shortlist cards before committing them to your deck.
Search Meets Recommendations
Previously, each brew stage had basic text search. It worked, but it didn’t understand card syntax and it had nothing to do with our recommendation engine. Two separate tools.
Now every stage has a single filter panel with an Archetype Scoring toggle.
Toggle on (the default): Cards are ranked by how well they fit your commander’s archetypes, synergies, and deck roles. You’ll see badges like “Theme All-Star”, “Strong Synergy”, and “Good Role” that tell you why a card scored well.
Toggle off: Pure search results, ranked by relevance. Same filters, same layout, no scoring.
The important part: your search query works in both modes. Type t:creature mv<=3 with scoring on, and you get cheap creatures ranked by synergy with your commander. Toggle scoring off, and you get the same pool
ranked by search relevance. No switching tabs, no losing your place.
The search box now supports Scryfall-style syntax. Type line filters (t:artifact), mana value ranges (mv<=4), oracle text (o:"draw a card"), price caps (usd<=5), and more. We auto-inject your commander’s
color identity and format legality, so you just search for what you want.
Add to Deck, or Just Consider It
We also added a split button on every card recommendation. Click the main button to add a card directly to your deck like before. But click the dropdown arrow, and you can switch to Consider mode.
In Consider mode, cards go to your “Considering” list instead of straight into the deck. Your choice persists across stages, so if you’re in a browsing mindset, you can shortlist a bunch of cards and decide later what actually makes the 99.
This fits how most people actually build decks. You don’t commit to every card the moment you see it. You build a shortlist, then trim.
The Small Stuff
A few more things that make the day-to-day better:
- Clear filters button resets your search and dropdowns with one click
- Stage persistence in the URL, so refreshing the page puts you right back on Ramp or Draw or wherever you were
- Show owned only toggle to filter down to cards already in your collection
- New cards filter to only see cards printed after a specific set
- Completed brew stages now show as green checkmarks in the stepper so you can tell them apart from your current stage at a glance
What’s Next
The brew stages are the core of Icarian’s deckbuilding experience, and we’re not done. We’re working on consolidating the internals so we can iterate even faster. But for now, we think this is the most productive way to go from “I just picked a commander” to “I have a real deck.”
Ready to try it? Sign up for Icarian and start brewing.