If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, the next few weeks are going to be pretty exciting for you. Magic: The Gathering has expanded its list of IP crossovers to include everyone’s favorite time-traveling Time Lord, a whole host of villains, and many of the iconic companions from across the series. If you’re not a fan, well… There’s still some pretty cool cards! Today we’re looking at what’s been previewed so far and diving into their implications in casual Commander. Welcome back to the Commander Corner, and strap in, because we’ve got a lot to cover.
Creature Types Matter
Friends, bust out your shapeshifters and cards with changeling, because there are cards which care about the Doctor, Time Lord, and Dalek creature types, and I’m sure we’ve barely scratched the surface on those. Best of all, you don’t even have to play bad cards to make these better, as a lot of changeling cards are incidentally pretty good. Realmwalker, Orvar, the All-Form, Mirror Entity, Taurean Mauler, and a few others are rather popular. Even Black Market Connections makes shapeshifters. Now then, let’s talk about some cards.
The Face of Boe
I have always had a soft spot for 4-mana commanders who do cool stuff. Casting cards like Rousing Refrain, Inspiring Refrain, Chronomantic Escape, Ancestral Vision, Inevitable Betrayal, and many others sounds pretty sweet to me. That’s saying nothing of the suspend cards we’re likely to see packaged with this commander.
The Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is priced to move at a reasonable four mana for 4/4 worth of stats, which is my sweet spot. Additionally, getting some extra value off the top of your library is a great consolation prize for not doing much else while in play. One caveat is you really, really, really want a way to grant your spells flash to take advantage of the Doctor’s on every player’s turn, rather than just your own.
Davros, Dalek Creator
I feel like I’m getting spoiled with all of these 4-mana commanders, and Davros, Dalek Creator is no exception. While you can build the meme deck filled with Dragon’s Approach, there’re plenty of other ways to build this deck that I can’t wait to try out.
The Twelfth Doctor
While The Twelfth Doctor isn’t four mana, a commander who lets you easily copy spells is something I can get on board with. There’s a ton of impulse-draw effects and ways to cast spells from your graveyard that work exceedingly well with Doctor Twelve. By the way, this isn’t limited to instants and sorcery cards. You can demonstrate any kind of spell using this ability.
The Second Doctor
I’m going to stop mentioning it after this time, but The Second Doctor costs only four mana. Combine that mana cost with an ability that every opponent is going to love, and you’ve got a recipe for a fun group-hug build.
The Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor can do a lot for a relatively low cost, but requires a lot of setup to really maximize that potential. The biggest winners for this deck are probably from the Court and Honden cycles, although suspend cards also get a big boost.
The Fugitive Doctor
Getting a bunch of Doctor’s companions of varying colors to add to The Fugitive Doctor in the Command Zone really makes this card worthwhile. Sure, there’s some cool cards you can flashback in red and green, but adding blue? Now you’re really cooking with gasoline. Martha Jones in particular seems like a fitting addition.
The Sixth Doctor
The price of admission for The Sixth Doctor is a steep six mana, and your reward is a meager 3/3, but copying any spell once each turn is a very nice reward for your trouble. Much like The Fourth Doctor, you’re really going to want a way to cast spells on each other player’s turn.
The Seventh Doctor
I’ve gone on about commanders that cost four mana, but The Seventh Doctor costs five. While my usual recommendation of two-mana rocks isn’t going to facilitate casting this Doctor on turn 3 very often, it does feed directly into what the Doctor wants you to do: Control a bunch of artifacts, start ramping out huge spells, and roll the dice on huge value every time you attack with the Doctor.
Rassilon, the War President
I really enjoy conspire as a mechanic, so Rassilon, the War President really gets the gears turning on all kinds of sweet interactions I can’t wait to try out. Plus, I’m always looking for excuses to play Bitterblossom and Lord Skitter, Sewer King.
Susan Foreman
Notably, Susan Foreman is the first Doctor’s companion I’m featuring. This is because she taps for mana. Always having access to a two-mana accelerant across every single game without sacrificing slots in the 99 to random signets or talismans is a huge boon. Plus, if your Doctor didn’t have it already, you now get access to green.
Sally Sparrow
If you enjoy Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir or Yeva, Nature’s Herald, you’ll probably love Sally Sparrow. Even if you aren’t putting her at the helm of a deck, she fits in quite nicely into most blue/white blink strategies.
The Rani
What The Rani lacks in overt power, she makes up for in political leverage. The ability to assist meek creatures in becoming serious threats can be the foundation of deals, and keeping heat off your back by making an aggressive creature point somewhere else is quite valuable. Also, the enchantments stick around, even if The Rani goes away.
Missy
The only issue with Missy is that your new Cyberman allies are face down, meaning they don’t have abilities. If all you’re trying to do is trade in creatures for expendable bodies using Grave Pact or something similar, that’s no issue. However, if you’re trying to maximize value, you’ll need a way to blink these creatures to their face up sides. Still, all that extra material might be enough if you’ve played a few aristocrats style payoffs.
Wow, that was a lot of cards. Even more interesting, I only talked about legendary creatures. Hmm. I guess that means I need to make a part 2, right? After all, there’s a ton of other cards that I think are great, and I just did not have enough room to showcase them all. Well, if you’re gonna twist my arm about it, fine then! I’ve been Luka “Robot” Sharaska, and I’ll see you again next week for part 2 of the Doctor Who Commander review here in the Commander Corner!
Luka V. Sharaska (they/them) earned the nickname “Robot” by having a monotone voice, a talent for calculating odds, and a perfect poker face. Robot has been playing Magic for more than a decade, starting during the days of New Phyrexia in 2011.