Universes Beyond Doctor Who has brought new and exciting cards to the commander format. Especially exciting for players is choosing one of the 14 Doctors as their commander. By pairing the Doctor with one of the 27 companions, the options are seemingly endless.
Without a doubt, building a commander deck is a highly subjective endeavor, even more so when building a deck around one of the Doctors. Everybody has their favorite Doctor for one reason or another, but today, we want to focus on the top five Doctor cards that will impact the format and who are worthy of building a deck for. Let’s kick it off with…
The Thirteenth Doctor
- Mana Cost: 1GU
- Type: Legendary Creature – Time Lord Doctor
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Statistics: 2/2
- Ability: Paradox – Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, put a +1/+1 counter on the target creature. Team TARDIS – At the beginning of your end step, untap each creature you control with a counter on it.
Players have dozens of options to cast spells from anywhere besides their hand, such as cards with suspend, flashback, cascade, or foretell to name just a few. The Thirteenth Doctor pumps up creatures by distributing +1/+1 counters on them. Last but certainly not least, the player can untap all creatures with +1/+1 counters at the beginning of his or her end step. There are multiple synergies and combos that involve counters, especially in her color pairing. A flavor win, since you are manipulating time, is the infinite turns combo with Sage of Hours and Hardened Scales.
The Sixth Doctor
- Mana Cost: 4GU
- Type: Legendary Creature – Time Lord Doctor
- Rarity: Rare
- Statistics: 3/3
- Ability: Time Lord’s Prerogative – Whenever you cast a historic spell, copy it, except the copy isn’t legendary. This ability triggers only once each turn.
Anyone who has ever played with or against Sakashima of a Thousand Faces understands the sheer power of duplicating a legendary creature and eliminating the “legendary rule.” The Sixth Doctor allows the player to cast a “Spark Double” once per turn. Players can now do the same with artifacts and sagas as well. This peculiar Doctor only needs to draw into enough cards to make as many copies as possible. Which, if we’re being honest, shouldn’t be a problem in blue and green color pairing.
The Twelfth Doctor
- Mana Cost: 3UR
- Type: Legendary Creature – Time Lord Doctor
- Rarity: Rare
- Statistics: 4/4
- Ability: The first spell you cast from anywhere other than your hand each turn has demonstrate. (When you cast that spell, you may copy it. If you do, choose an opponent to also copy it. A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
The Twelfth Doctor stylishly entering a tournament in medieval England while playing the electric guitar on top of a German military tank must be one of the most iconic scenes of the Doctor Who show ever. The most rock-n-roll Doctor did not disappoint his MtG fans with his card. A strong 4/4 is nothing to scoff at, and he only gets stronger from there. Copying spells and playing them from anywhere other than the player’s hand is what Izzet (red and blue color pairing) excels at. Additionally, The Twelfth Doctor, unlike some Doctor cards, is not limited to an “only once per turn” clause.
The Eleventh Doctor
- Mana Cost: 1WU
- Type: Legendary Creature – Time Lord Doctor
- Rarity: Rare
- Statistics: 3/2
- Ability: I. AM. Talking! – Whenever The Eleventh Doctor deals combat damage to a player, you may exile a card from your hand with a number of time counters on it equal to its mana value. If it doesn’t have suspend, it gains suspend. 2: Target creature with power 3 or less can’t be blocked this turn.
Let’s talk about one of the most popular Doctors in recent years, The Eleventh Doctor. He lets any card in the player’s hand gain suspend, where the number of suspend counters is equal to the card’s mana cost. Given all the new cards with Time Travel and new ways to remove time counters, players can now resolve their suspended spells much faster. The Eleventh Doctor gives himself evasion, thus allowing the player to suspend one card each turn that didn’t have suspend. Amy Pond would be an obvious choice as his Companion Partner, not only because of her ability to remove time counters but also because the color red gives the deck an extra kick of spiciness.
If readers are wondering why The Eleventh Doctor is so far up the list, yes, it is a highly biased and subjective decision. Matt Smith as The Doctor is by far my favorite of them all.
The Tenth Doctor
- Mana Cost: 3UR
- Type: Legendary Creature – Time Lord Doctor
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Statistics: 3/5
- Ability: Allons-y! – Whenever you attack, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card. Put three time counters on it. If it doesn’t have suspend, it gains suspend.
Timey-Wimey – 7: Time travel three times. Activate only as a sorcery. (For each suspended card you own and each permanent you control with a time counter on it, you may add or remove a time counter. Then do it two more times.)
The Tenth Doctor sits on top of the list not only because David Tennant is absolutely the most popular actor to have brought the Doctor to life in recent years. It largely has to do with the card being the strongest, and simply put, the most fun Doctor to play with. Giving any non-land card only three time counters, no matter their mana cost is incredibly strong. With enough lands and mana rocks, the player can remove all three of those time counters. Players who want to get the most out of this deck should include big splashy spells, big creatures that have an immediate effect on the board, and a white or black-colored companion because control is a thing in MtG. I recommend Tegan Jovanka, to make sure the Doctor doesn’t die when blocked, Clara Oswald to copy the Doctor’s ability, and Rose Tyler to catch opponents by surprise with commander damage.
As previously mentioned, choosing a commander to build is a highly subjective task. Many players, such as myself, will choose their Doctor based on their favorite actor in the show. But the Doctors mentioned above, are positively the five with the most potential in commander.
The MTG Doctor Who set releases on Oct. 13, featuring products like the four Commander Precon decks, along with collector boosters that contain alternative art and special foil treatments.
