Last updated on December 11, 2023
The Tardis | Illustration by Svetlin Velinov
Surprisingly, a Universes Beyond product ended up being my favorite release of 2023. I know what MTG veterans think about these products in general, but I definitely rode with wave of excitement with the release of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who met Magic almost exactly when the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who took place, debuting new episodes and a 60-year special. This no doubt caused an interest spike in Doctor Who-related stuff, MTG included. For me it was a match made in heaven, but I totally understand if Universes Beyond content isn’t your cup of tea.
Still with me? Allons-y!
Doctor Who Commander Basic Information
Gallifrey Stands | Illustration by Alexander Gering
Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | WHO |
| Hashtag | #MTGxWHO |
| Number of Cards | 4 decks of 100 cards |
| Rarities | Common, Uncommon, Rare, Mythic |
| Mechanics | Planeschase, Doctor's Companion, Time travel, Paradox, Villainous choice, many returning mechanics |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Previews start | October 3, 2023 |
| Full Gallery Available | October 6, 2023 |
| Debut | October 3, 2023 |
| Global Launch | October 13, 2023 |
About the Set: The Story
What the Heck Is Doctor Who?
The Fourth Doctor | Illustration by Anna Pavleeva
Doctor Who is based on a BBC Network show that turned a young 60 in 2023. It’s a property that’s been named “TV's longest-running sci-fi show” according to the Guinness Book of Records.
The show has two distinct eras, 1964-1989 (Old Who) and 2005-2023 (New Who). Disney also made a deal with BBC to support the show and put it on Disney+. From 2023 on we can expect a more cash-powered version of the show, which was always very budget-friendly until now.
The story follows the main character, the Doctor, a member of an ancient race called the Time Lords. Time Lords are ancient, eternal, and all-knowing beings that come from the planet Gallifrey. They don't age and they can “regenerate” if mortally wounded, which means transforming into another version of themselves.
The main thing about the show and Time Lords is that they have mastered the art of time travel and can be anywhere in time and space. The Doctor usually travels with an Earth companion from modern age inside a ship called “TARDIS” (Time and Relative Dimension in Space).
Doctor Who is basically a family show meant to be emotional and educational. It’s intended for parents to watch with their children. There's always something to be learned since the Doctor meets people from the past, present, and future. Although the Doctor usually says they're the last of their kind, some other Time Lords appear here and there thanks to time travel and alternative timelines and dimensions.
Why is the Doctor the last of their kind? Because they went full Urza's Ruinous Blast and destroyed their “plane” with all their people and the Daleks (Doctor Who‘s Phyrexian analog) inside. They're the only one left.
Why Doctor Who Makes Sense in Universes Beyond and MTG
The Eleventh Doctor | Illustration by Justyna Dura
Doctor Who is very similar to modern MTG in the sense that the Doctor comes to a foreign land, like planeswalkers, to solve something beyond the capability of its denizens.
The Doctor has vast knowledge, the result of advanced Time Lord tech and living more than a thousand years. They use their knowledge to help civilizations, make peace in war situations, and fight space villains. That’s kinda what we expect from MTG’s typical planeswalker-centered story in different planes like Kaladesh and Kamigawa. Like Magic, Doctor Who features stories in medieval-like settings as well as futuristic/sci-fi settings.
The set was developed by Doctor Who fans like WotC's Gavin Verhey in collaboration with people from BBC that are, presumably, MTG fans.
Set Mechanics
Time Travel
Time Travel is a new mechanic in the Doctor Who collaboration that lets you add and remove time counters. Time counters themselves aren't new to Magic, they're the type of counter used for things like suspend and vanishing. This means Time Travel could let you bring out your own suspended card early, or extend how long your vanishing permanents stay in play.
Villainous Choice
Villainous Choice is a brand new punisher mechanic that forces opponents to choose which bad thing happens to them. It's used exclusively on popular villains from the Doctor Who universe, such as Missy and Davros, Dalek Creator, and was the headlining mechanic from the Masters of Evil Commander precon.
Paradox
It's confusing when Magic sets mix ability words and flavor words together, though paradox is in fact a recurring ability word. Paradox effects trigger whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, though the effect changes with each card. It works with everything from suspend to adventures, and was featured heavily in the Paradox Powers Commander precon.
Planes
The abilities of the TARDIS allowed players to revisit Planeschase in Doctor Who. Those of you who have had the chance to play Planechase know just how crazy the games can get. The planeschase system functions off of a special die that either has players change planes or allows chaos to ensue.
Each Commander precon featured 9 unique planes and a phenomenon card, for a total of 40 new Planechase cards across the set. Between Bad Wolf Bay‘s flicker effect and The Doctor's Tomb‘s graveyard hate, there are plenty of game-altering effects.
Doctor's Companion
Commander drives a lot of the mechanics behind Magic at this point, and seeing another companion/partner ability is anything but surprising. This time around, if a card has the Doctor's Companion keyword, it can essentially be partnered with any Doctor Commander. This specifically refers to exclusively Doctor cards and not any shapeshifters.
Sagas
It only suites a set revolving around time to include sagas to some degree. These enchantments that progress each turn made a return and are pretty powerful when you take a look at cards like Death in Heaven or The Eleventh Hour. Many (if not all) Doctor Who sagas corresponded to an episode of the TV show and attempted to tell the plot of that episode in saga form.
Booster Fun Treatments
Serialized Doctor Cards
Infographic of serialized Doctor Who cards
Serialized cards made a return in MTG x Doctor Who with each Doctor receiving their own version. There are 500 of each, with an extra few for each Doctor based on their corresponding number. Each Doctor, from the first to the thirteenth, received this special TARDIS showcase serialized version.
TARDIS Showcase Treatments
A variety of Doctor Who cards have special “TARDIS Showcase” versions available in Collector Boosters. This is also the version that serialized cards come in, but when it comes to non-serialized cards, there are many more characters and cards available in this unique printing.
Surge Foils
Surge foils are a special type of foiling in the Doctor Who Universes Beyond release. Originally, surge foils appeared in Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth on select cards. They're available only in Doctor Who Collector Boosters, not the Commander decks, and can be any non-plane card from the release.
Doctor Who Card Gallery
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolor
Colorless
Land
Planechase Planes
Available Products
Blast From The Past Commander Deck
- BIGGER ON THE INSIDE—Bring your favorite Doctor Who characters, villains, and adventures to life at your table with this Magic: The Gathering Commander Deck; each deck introduces 50 never-before-seen Magic cards with art and game mechanics inspired by the beloved BBC series
- TRAVEL THE STARS WITH A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES and STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
- COMPANIONS WELCOME—This ready-to-play deck allows you to jump right into Magic’s most popular format. Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- TIME LORD NOSTALGIA—The Blast from the Past MTG Commander deck showcase the first Eight Doctors and their companions with a 100-card deck featuring 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- TRAVEL THROUGH TIME and SPACE WITH PLANECHASE—Every deck also comes with 10 Planechase cards, each featuring a different place (and time) in the Doctor Who universe; roll the included planar die and you may travel to a different place or trigger a chaotic effect.
Timey-Wimey Commander Deck
- BIGGER ON THE INSIDE—Bring Doctor Who characters, villains, and memorable episodes to life at your table with this Magic: The Gathering Commander Deck; each deck introduces 50 never-before-seen Magic cards with art and game mechanics inspired by the beloved BBC series
- TRAVEL THE STARS WITH A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
- COMPANIONS WELCOME—This ready-to-play deck allows you to jump right into Magic’s most popular format. Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- WIBBLY-WOBBLY TIMEY-WIMEY— The Timey-Wimey MTG Commander Deck lets you team up with the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors and their fearless companions with a 100-card deck featuring 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- TRAVEL THROUGH TIME & SPACE WITH PLANECHASE—Every deck also comes with 10 Planechase cards, each featuring a different place (and time) in the Doctor Who universe; roll the included planar die and you may travel to a different place or trigger a chaotic effect!
Paradox Power Commander Deck
- BIGGER ON THE INSIDE—Bring Doctor Who characters, villains, and memorable episodes to life at your table with this Magic: The Gathering Commander Deck; each deck introduces 50 never-before-seen Magic cards with art and game mechanics inspired by the beloved BBC series
- TRAVEL THE STARS WITH A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES and STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
- COMPANIONS WELCOME—This ready-to-play deck allows you to jump right into Magic’s most popular format. Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- EMBRACE THE POWER OF PARADOX—The Paradox Power MTG Commander deck showcases the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors and their companions with a 100-card deck featuring 2 Traditional Foil Legendary cards and 98 nonfoil cards
- TRAVEL THROUGH TIME and SPACE WITH PLANECHASE—Every deck also comes with 10 Planechase cards, each featuring a different place (and time) in the Doctor Who universe; roll the included planar die and you may travel to a different place or trigger a chaotic effect.
Masters of Evil Commander Deck
- BIGGER ON THE INSIDE—Bring your favorite Doctor Who characters, villains, and adventures to life at your table with this Magic: The Gathering Commander Deck; each deck introduces 50 never-before-seen Magic cards with art and game mechanics inspired by the beloved BBC series
- TRAVEL THE STARS WITH A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
- EXTERMINATE YOUR OPPONENTS—This ready-to-play deck allows you to jump right into Magic’s most popular format. Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- BATTLE AS THE BADDIES—The Masters of Evil MTG Commander Deck allows you to team up with the Doctor’s greatest foes with a 100-card deck featuring fan-favorite Doctor Who villains
- TRAVEL THROUGH TIME & SPACE WITH PLANECHASE—Every deck also comes with 10 Planechase cards, each featuring a different place (and time) in the Doctor Who universe; roll the included planar die and you may travel to a different place or trigger a chaotic effect!
Collector Boosters
You read that right, this was the first ever Commander release to have its own Collector Boosters come out alongside it. These featured cards using the TARDIS treatment as well as surge foils, and are the only way to acquire serialized Doctor cards.
Here are the full Doctor Who Collector Booster contents:
- 1 Traditional foil basic land (1 in 3 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Traditional foil Doctor card (1 in 10 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Traditional foil card from Blast from the Past (1 in 10 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Traditional foil card from Timey-Wimey (1 in 10 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Traditional foil card from Paradox Power (1 in 10 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Traditional foil card from Masters of Evil (1 in 10 appear in surge foil)
- 1 Non-foil extended-art new-to-Magic card
- 1 Traditional foil extended-art new-to-Magic card
- 1 Non-foil extended-art reprint Magic card
- 1 Traditional foil extended-art reprint Magic card
- 1 Surge foil extended-art new-to-Magic card
- 1 Surge foil extended-art reprint Magic card
- 1 Surge foil wildcard (Cannot be a TARDIS showcase variant or basic land.)
- 1 Non-foil TARDIS showcase variant
- 1 Traditional foil TARDIS showcase variant (Serialized Doctor cards appear in this slot)
- 1 Traditional foil double-faced token (1 in 3 boosters feature a surge foil.)
- TRAVEL WITH THE TIME LORD IN A DIFFERENT SORT OF BOX—Bring beloved Doctor Who characters, villains, and memorable episodes to life at your tabletop with incredible art and game mechanics full of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey mischief
- A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
- COLLECT RARE & SPECIAL ALT-FRAME CARDS—Collector Boosters are a shortcut to the coolest Doctor Who cards; every booster contains 7–14 cards of rarity Rare or higher and tons of special card treatments, including 6–7 Extended-Art cards
- DIMENSIONALLY TRANSCENDENTAL TREATMENTS—Every pack also contains 2 Showcase TARDIS cards, using the Chameleon Circuit to turn Magic cards into your favorite time-and-spaceship with alt-frames and alt-art
- FULL OF SHINING FOIL CARDS—Get more shiny cards than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at; each pack contains a total of 12 cards that gleam with a gorgeous foil treatment, including 3–10 special Surge Foils
The Dalek Lands Secret Lair
Two Secret Lair drops released alongside the normal Doctor Who releases. This one, “The Dalek Lands,” features the enemy fast lands in extended-art versions in both foil and non-foil versions. The cards included are:
The Weeping Angels Secret Lair
The other secret lair, “The Weeping Angels,” features five iconic angels from Magic's history in beautiful new extended art. The full secret lair drop includes:
Secret Lair x Doctor Who: Regeneration
A third Secret Lair released in December 2023, featuring five mechanically unique cards:
Wrap Up
The Fugitive Doctor | Illustration by Greg Staples
I’m curious if this product caused any MTG players to become more interested in the Doctor Who franchise. If it sparked even a little interest like the Warhammer 40k franchise did for me, then that’s good.
Universes Beyond brought two of my favorite IPs to Magic: Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who. There’s always the fear that Magic is losing its unique appeal, but in the end I think these are worth exploring.
Were you as excited about this release as I was? Are you the type who can’t stand Universes Beyond products? Let me know in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Twitter.
Take care, and remember never to ignore coincidence! Unless, of course, you’re busy.
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2 Comments
Anyone else notice the picture titled ‘The Eighth Doctor’ is actually Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor?
Quite right, not sure how that got mixed up. Thanks for pointing it out!
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