Precon Upgrade Guide - Paradox Power
November 27, 2023 by
Beth Queen of Cardboard 
(The Thirteenth Doctor | Art by Pauline Voss | Yasmin Khan | Art by Andrey Kuzinskiy | Etali, Primal Storm | Art by Raymond Swanland)
Hey friends. Beth, Queen of Cardboard here with another Precon Upgrade Guide. Today we're focusing on the Universes Beyond: Doctor Who deck Paradox Power.
As I mentioned in my Upgrade Guide for Blast from the Past, these decks are some of the most thematic precons I've seen, and that can make them incredibly hard to upgrade. With this deck, I chose to focus on what the commanders are trying to do, which is cast spells from a location other than your hand. In my upgrades I focused specifically on playing from exile.
Let's get into the deck.
Dinos on a Spaceship
Our companion, Yasmin Khan, already lets us cast from exile, so this seems to be the way the deck wants to go. My favorite cast-from-exile creature has got to be the OG Etali, Primal Storm. In addition to Etali, I included the new Etali, Primal Conqueror, as well as Laelia, the Blade Reforged and Plargg and Nassari.
Cascade is another great way to cast from exile, so to support this we're adding Maelstrom Wanderer and Wild-Magic Sorcerer. And a surprise pick for the deck is Sword of Forge and Frontier, the newest Sword of X&Y, from Phyrexia: All Will Be One.
I also added Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald and Keeper of Secrets for a few more benefits for casting from exile. And to ensure that we know what's coming, I included Elven Chorus so that we can check the top of our library before Cascading or activating Yasmin.
No More Me
Making cuts from a deck is probably my least favorite thing to do, but in this deck the alternate commander, Me, the Immortal, just isn't on the same page as The Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan. Me had to go.
In addition, I removed cards that weren't directly benefitting the cast-from-exile plan. Cards like Dan Lewis and Bill Potts, while fun, felt like they fit in a different deck. The one Foretell card I removed, Frost Fair Lure Fish, needed more support other than just being a cool 7/7 with some evasion.
A strong argument could be made to keep Danny Pink in the deck, as he gives lesser-power creatures +1/+1 and allows you to draw a card the first time a +1/+1 counter is put on a creature each turn. However, he doesn't directly correlate with the goal of casting or benefiting from casting from exile. While he can be used for more card draw, I let him go.
I made 14 swaps and I feel pretty good about where the deck is going.
Big Beats
The ultimate goal of this deck is combat, benefitting from both your and your opponents' spells. Your creatures start big or get bigger and make for some impressively large creatures swinging in to deal damage. If you're stuck, continuing to cast from exile can help you with a few well-placed burn spells. Foretell Impending Flux face down and wait for the moment for it to make the most impact. And a few Etali swings should get you right where you need to be.
In Conclusion
It might be my coming off of MTG Summit and getting to play Mental Misplay's Etali deck there, but I think this deck is going to be a lot of fun. I only made a few changes in this one because it's so flavorful and synergistic. If you want to power it up a bit more, I highly suggest looking at ways to copy Etali or another creature that allows you to cast spells from exile for free. Remember friends, free spells are good spells.
Let me know in the comments how you upgraded Paradox Power or other ways you like to cast from exile.
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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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