(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.

Paradox Power Cards Added

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Enchantments (2) 1 Elven Chorus 1 Visions of Phyrexia Artifacts (2) 1 Chaos Wand 1 Sword of Forge and Frontier Creatures (8) 1 Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness 1 Etali, Primal Storm 1 Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald 1 Keeper of Secrets 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged 1 Maelstrom Wanderer 1 Plargg and Nassari 1 Wild-Magic Sorcerer Sorceries (2) 1 Escape to the Wilds 1 Jeska's Will

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.

Paradox Power Cards Removed

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Enchantments (2) 1 Become the Pilot 1 Fugitive of the Judoon Creatures (11) 1 Bill Potts 1 Dan Lewis 1 Danny Pink 1 Frost Fair Lure Fish 1 Jenny Flint 1 Madame Vastra 1 Me, the Immortal 1 Nardole, Resourceful Cyborg 1 River Song 1 Strax, Sontaran Nurse 1 Thijarian Witness Artifacts (1) 1 Psychic Paper

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.

Paradox Power Precon Upgrade Guide

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Commander (2) 1 The Thirteenth Doctor 1 Yasmin Khan Artifacts (11) 1 Arcane Signet 1 Chaos Wand 1 Confession Dial 1 Cursed Mirror 1 River Song's Diary 1 Sol Ring 1 Sonic Screwdriver 1 Sword of Forge and Frontier 1 TARDIS 1 Talisman of Curiosity 1 Talisman of Impulse Instants (7) 1 Beast Within 1 Chaos Warp 1 Decaying Time Loop 1 Flatline 1 Growth Spiral 1 Surge of Brilliance 1 Think Twice Enchantments (7) 1 Bigger on the Inside 1 Carpet of Flowers 1 Elven Chorus 1 Heaven Sent 1 Return the Past 1 The Flux 1 Visions of Phyrexia Creatures (21) 1 Clara Oswald 1 Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness 1 Etali, Primal Storm 1 Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald 1 Flaming Tyrannosaurus 1 Graham O'Brien 1 Iraxxa, Empress of Mars 1 Karvanista, Loyal Lupari // Lupari Shield 1 Keeper of Secrets 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged 1 Lunar Hatchling 1 Maelstrom Wanderer 1 Memory Worm 1 Osgood, Operation Double 1 Plargg and Nassari 1 Ryan Sinclair 1 Sisterhood of Karn 1 The Foretold Soldier 1 The Fugitive Doctor 1 The Twelfth Doctor 1 Wild-Magic Sorcerer Sorceries (16) 1 Cultivate 1 Escape to the Wilds 1 Farseek 1 Impending Flux 1 Into the Time Vortex 1 Jeska's Will 1 Last Night Together 1 Ponder 1 Preordain 1 Quantum Misalignment 1 Search for Tomorrow 1 Start the TARDIS 1 Throes of Chaos 1 Truth or Consequences 1 Twice Upon a Time // Unlikely Meeting 1 Wreck and Rebuild Lands (36) 1 Cinder Glade 1 Command Tower 1 Desolate Lighthouse 1 Dreamroot Cascade 1 Exotic Orchard 1 Fiery Islet 4 Forest 1 Frontier Bivouac 1 Frostboil Snarl 1 Gallifrey Council Chamber 1 Game Trail 4 Island 3 Mountain 1 Myriad Landscape 1 Ominous Cemetery 1 Path of Ancestry 1 Reliquary Tower 1 Rockfall Vale 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Rootbound Crag 1 Sheltered Thicket 1 Stormcarved Coast 1 Temple of Abandon 1 Temple of Epiphany 1 Temple of Mystery 1 Temple of the False God 1 Vineglimmer Snarl 1 Waterlogged Grove

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.

If you liked this article, check out:

Precon Primer - Timey-Wimey

Precon Primer - Paradox Power

Too-Specific Top 10 - You're Gonna Pay

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.