Precon Primer - Timey-Wimey
November 13, 2023 by
Beth Queen of Cardboard 
(The Tenth Doctor | Art by Luisa J. Preissler | Rose Tyler | Art by Luisa J. Preissler | The Ninth Doctor | Art by Colin Boyer)
Hello friends. It's Beth, Queen of Cardboard, back with another Precon Primer, this time with the Timey-Wimey deck from the Universes Beyond: Doctor Who set. This deck is all about time, the adjustment of time counters, and taking advantage of the ability to bring in spells when you want, disabling your opponents at the opportune time. While most Jeskai (white, blue, and red) decks may be categorized as spell-slinger decks, don't underestimate the ability of Rose Tyler to come in and swing for lethal commander damage, sometimes immediately.
With 50 new cards, 10 new planes, and one of the most complicated synergies out there, there's a lot to talk about. Let's get into it.
Timey-Wimey Precon Deck
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Allons-y!
The Tenth Doctor brings you a new Suspended card with each attack, with no need for him to enter combat himself. In a set about Doctors, this one is fine sitting back and supporting your companion, Rose Tyler. By the time you get to seven mana, you can time travel, not once, not twice, but three times, removing or adding time counters as you like. That board wipe you have Suspended? Cast it. The big creature that's lying in wait? Cast it.
Let's talk about Rose. She gets +1/+1 for each time counter on her, and when she attacks she adds another time counter for each other Suspended card AND each permanent you own with a time counter on it. Including your face commander and companion, there are 20 cards in the deck that deal with time counters.
In short, Rose gets big quickly. It's also pretty clear that there are plenty of ways to make her unblockable and protect her. In addition to being the biggest threat on the table, quite literally, Rose only costs two mana. Even if she's removed, she'll be back and threatening lethal often. She's a remove-on-sight card in this deck, especially when she's sitting in the command zone.
Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey
Before the Doctor Who release, time travel wasn't a major consideration, with Alaundo the Seer and Jhoira of the Ghitu as the commander of .072% and .089% of decks on EDHREC, respectively. While those commanders might not be seeing the top 100 anytime soon, they're getting a ton of support in this deck. Here time counters are seen on Suspended cards, Vanishing cards, and as a generic counter for cards like The War Doctor, Rotating Fireplace, and Trenzalore Clocktower.
Time Beetle is perhaps one of the biggest offenders of time manipulation, despite being one of the smallest creatures in the deck. It has the Skulk ability, and being unblockable by bigger creatures is a great thing to have because when it deals combat damage, it Time Travels. While for most spells you'll want to remove time counters, adding time counters makes sure that Vanishing cards like Flesh Duplicate, well, never vanish. Adding time counters can also be valuable with cards like Wilfred Mott and Kate Stewart.
Doctors Who?
The Ninth Doctor is the alternate commander in this deck, but doesn't work as well as The Tenth Doctor paired with Rose. Getting an additional upkeep step can't be ignored, as this is where you'll be removing time counters. If your only goal is casting Suspended cards, The Ninth Doctor will help you with this, but you'll need to manage this carefully if you have other cards that you want kept Suspended for a specific moment in time.
The Eleventh Doctor is probably the best alternate commander for what the deck is trying to do, but doesn't work as well with Rose because his ability only triggers when he deals combat damage to a player. To keep your deck colors you'll need a companion in red, such as Donna Noble. With this pairing, you'll deal damage directly to your opponents when your creatures are dealt combat damage. The pair guarantees you'll get damage in, one way or another.
The War Doctor is another direct damage card, dealing damage to any target when he attacks. While this could be a double whammy with Rose, to keep in your deck colors you'll need a blue companion instead. Martha Jones is the necessary companion to stay within Jeskai, and she ensures the attack goes through by making her and one other creature unblockable when you sacrifice a clue.
In addition to the Doctors in this deck, you're granted some additional support with both legendary and nonlegendary creatures. Sally Sparrow works especially well with Martha, allowing you to Investigate and giving all your creatures the ability to be cast at instant speed. The Face of Boe allows you to cast a Suspend card from your hand for its Suspend cost. Jenny, Generated Anomaly Explores, which might not fit in this deck extremely well, but I can't wait to drop her into a Lost Caverns of Ixalan deck. At the end of the day, she's getting bigger and giving you knowledge, never a bad thing.
My favorite non-legendary creature is Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. This doozy of a spell can be cast with Suspend 4 and you should probably just keep it Suspended for as long as you can, because any time you remove a time counter from it, you'll get a 2/2 Dinosaur with flying and haste. Are you ready for some flipping dinosaurs on a flipping spaceship?
Run For Your Life
In addition to the time counters, this deck is equipped with a variety of other tricks. Is your opponent trying to wipe your board? No worries, cast Gallifrey Falls // No More and phase all your creatures out. Want some extra value on your attack? Swing in with the TARDIS and your next spell will have Cascade. Need to remove a problem? You've got The Pandorica to phase that problem right out for someone else to deal with later. Want to reset everyone but you? Convoke Everything Comes to Dust and any creature that isn't one of those creature types that Convoked the spell gets exiled. Speaking of exile, this deck has a reprint of Farewell. If you're behind, you can just reset the entire board back to the beginning of time.
If all else fails, take an extra turn with Regenerations Restored. Do you know what doesn't get reset with a board wipe? Cards that are Suspended, which at the point you're looking to be a problem, is probably half or more of your board.
Time Travel Across the Planes
Planeschase is a popular format introduced to Magic: the Gathering in 2009, and 40 new planes are added to the format with this release. Each Doctor Who deck contains 10 planes unique to its specific deck and it's suggested that when playing, you use all of the Planes in the set, if not the format.
- Amy's Home
- Bad Wolf Bay
- Human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis
- Lake Silencio
- New New York
- Ood Sphere
- Pompeii
- Prime Minister's Cabinet Room
- The Lux Foundation Library
- Two Streams Facility
Conclusion
This deck is strong, potentially the strongest in this set. However, the mechanics can quickly get overwhelming for both the player and opponents. I suggest when playing this deck that you use tools such as Infinitokens or other markers to help keep track of triggers and counters. Otherwise your deck may not work the way you want it to.
Being one of the more complicated precons I've tested out, I would not suggest this deck to a beginning player, no matter how much they may love the Doctor Who universe. When you get the timing down, this deck is incredibly synchronous and can present deadly turns early on in the game. And I love the fact that you can manipulate abilities that previously could have been seen as a negative, such as Phasing.
Stay tuned for the Precon Primers for Blast from the Past and Paradox Power!
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Beth Queen of Cardboard
Beth is an casual Commander player who's passionate about silly decks, creating safe community spaces, and crowns. She loves to travel and play magic with friends. When not playing Magic, she's probably snuggling her dogs or playing some video games.
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