MTG x Doctor Who - a look at all thirteen Doctors in the set
The latest Magic: The Gathering, Universes Beyond is coming to us on 13 October 2023, featuring companions, foes, and heroes from the Doctor Who series, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
The set will be released in four commander decks, as well as (for the first time for a Universes Beyond series) Collectors Boosters. There will be TARDIS showcase treatments, with comic book style artwork, and saga cards for each Doctor, named after and representing a pivotal episode in their storyline.
Four Commander Decks
The set will release in four commander decks, each aimed to separate fans in the same way that they currently tend to separate themselves.
The first deck, "Blast from the Past", is classic Doctor Who. It features the first eight Doctors, their companions, and saga cards named after episodes from that era, including An Unearthly Child, The War Games, Caves of Androzani, and The Curse of Fenric.
Some cards will come with a special TARDIS showcase treatment, featuring a blue box background and comic-book style artwork. (Wizards of the Coast)The second deck, "Timey Wimey", is devoted to the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors. It features time counters, and a new time travel mechanic that lets suspended cars arrive faster, and vanishing cards last longer. The saga cards also feature episodes from this era, including The Girl in the Fireplace, and The Eleventh Hour.
Dr Who filming Christmas scenes as Corrie star Millie Gibson seen outside TARDIS
The third deck, "Paradox Power", is based on the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors. It introduces a new Paradox mechanic, which wants you to try to cast spells from somewhere other than your hand. The sagas follow the theme, with Paradox Power's sagas being named "Heaven Sent" and "Fugitive of the Judoon".
Finally, we have "Masters of Evil", which contains cards for many of Doctor Who's villains and is built around Artifacts. It also introduces a new mechanic, Villainous Choice.
The set contains fifteen sagas in all, which is one for each Doctor including the War Doctor, and the Fugitive Doctor. Not only that, but the cards are designed to match the characters or events they represent in a meaningful way - Clara Oswold for example, can be found in Paradox Power, but she works well with all the Doctors - she was spread out across his whole timeline after all.
There are tonne of meta references to the show, and the creators want you to "make your own episodes" while you play. Not only that, but for the first time you can use the "Doctor's Companion" mechanic - allowing you to have a Doctor and a companion as your commander.
Saga cards are named after episodes, and reflect the storyline of the episode as closely as possible in their effects. (Wizards of the Coast)Thirteen Doctors
The thirteen Doctors split across the three commander decks, however you can build a deck with any combination of Doctors and companions if you see fit.
The Classic Doctors
The First Doctor was played by William Hartnell, and is the Doctor responsible for "acquiring" the iconic TARDIS that is synonymous with the show. His card reflects this, with the artwork showing him in his TARDIS, and the card's effect allowing you to search your library or graveyard for a card named TARDIS.
Because who is The Doctor without his TARDIS?The Second Doctor was played by Patrick Troughton, who brought an impish and childlike spirit to The Doctor. He is known for playing his recorder, which is what we see in the artwork, and his character is exemplified in his cards effect, "How Civil of You", which allows each player to draw a card during your end step, at the cost of being unable to attack you or permanents you control during their turn.
The Second Doctor allows players to have no maximum hand size and encourages a pacifistic playstyle - at least while it suits. (Wizards of the Coast)The Third Doctor, portrayed by Jon Pertwee, was a scientist, a technology fanatic, and was described by the Second Doctor as a "fancy pants". He's a suave man of action - where his previous two incarnations would dodge or flee he tends to run into his problems head on.
His love of technology and tools is shown in his first ability, which gives him +1/+1 for each noncreature token you control. His assertive and active nature is reflected in his second ability, which lets him create a Clue, Food, or Treasure token when he enters the field. The whole card is tied together by his ability to "trample".
The dapper Third Doctor gets things done, and he does it all with style and finesse (in his opinion at least) (Wizards of the Coast)The Fourth Doctor was brought to us by Tom Baker, and is one of the more popular Doctor's from the classic series. His iconic scarf and hat can be seen in the artwork, as well as his bag of jelly babies, which he offers out as part of his card effect - "Would You Like A... ?"
Happy Valley's James Norton pictured doing nude yoga in throwback acting gig
Once each turn, The Fourth Doctor can play a historic land or cast a historic spell from the top of your deck. When he does, he creates a Food token. In addition, his cleverness and resourcefulness is shown in his other card effect, which lets you look at the top card of your library at any time.
We also see fours across the board - four mana cost, four power, and four life.
Would you like a jelly baby? (Wizards of the Coast)The Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison, was always meant to be a sharp contrast to his predecessor, who was so popular at the time and cemented in the public's mind.
The Fifth Doctor dresses in a very distinct manner, including a celery stalk pinned to his left lapel. This can be seen in the card art, in which The Doctor stands in front of his TARDIS, his hand on his hat as he stares into the distance. This pose reflects the understated nature of his character, a creature not afraid to be vulnerable and sensitive, and a man who is sometimes a little indecisive.
His effect, "Peaceful Coexistence", lets you put a +1/+1 token on each creature you control, provided it didn't attack or enter the battlefield this turn. It also untaps them, making these creatures great defenders, and rewarding you for patience and forethought.
The Fifth Doctor inspired a lot of people to buy cricket vests, although we apparently weren't ready for wearable celery just yet. (Wizards of the Coast)The Sixth Doctor was portrayed by Colin Baker, who brought to the role an air of savage wit and a love of language. He was a genuinely charming character, although at times he could be a little smug or arrogant. We see this in his flavour text, found at the bottom of the card.
His ability, Time Lord's Prerogative, lets you copy a historic spell when you cast it once per turn.
The Sixth Doctor wore a completely tasteless costume, complete with clashing colours across the ensemble (Wizards of the Coast)The Seventh Doctor, the penultimate in the Classic Series, was played by Sylvester McCoy. He is secretive and manipulative, but masks this with a thin air of humour.
He used his mind as a weapon, tactfully calculating and manipulating situations to his desired outcome. It's only fitting then, that his ability is designed to confound and confuse your opinion, giving them the reigns without any actual control.
When he attacks, you choose a card in your hand and tasks your opponent with guessing whether the cards mana value is greater than the number of artifacts you control. If they're wrong, you get to cast it without paying any mana. If they're right, you get to investigate.
The smile of the Seventh Doctor was always a facade - beneath the surface was a calm and calculated master of manipulation. (Wizards of the Coast)The classic series ended with The Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann for three episodes.
The card art reflects the darker personality of his character and storylines, and when he enters the battlefield you mill three cards.
During each of your turns, you may play one historic land or cast a historic permanent from your graveyard. Instead of leaving the battlefield, this card becomes exiled.
The Eighth Doctor suffered from frequent bouts of amnesia and regularly found himself involved in time paradoxes. (Wizards of the Coast)The New Who Doctors
After a hiatus, Doctor Who returned with the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.
This doctor was clever and fast-paced, but was ultimately a stripped-down version of previous incarnations - something reflected in the artwork for this card, which shows him stood in front of his open TARDIS, hand outstretched.
He has haste, and his card effect, Into the TARDIS, gives you an additional upkeep step whenever he untaps during your untap step.
The Ninth Doctor's flavour text is simply his catchphrase - "Fantastic!" (Wizards of the Coast)The Tenth Doctor was played by David Tennant, and is one of the more popular incarnations from the modern series (so much so, that he makes a return as the Fourteenth Doctor in the 60th Anniversary specials).
Ten is a very human Doctor - more so than his predecessors - but he is also exceptionally clever and, at times, quite chaotic.
His two card abilities are named after two of his iconic phrases - "Allon-y!", and "Timey-Wimey". The first eiles card from the top of library until you find a nonland card. This card gets three time counters on it, and gains suspend.
The second ability lets The Doctor manipulate the threads of time, allowing you to time travel three times. This essentially removes all three of the time counters in one go, giving you access to the exiled card immediately.
The Tenth Doctor doing Tenth Doctor things in a planet-sized library (Wizards of the Coast)The Eleventh Doctor was brought to us by Matt Smith, who brought a playful flamboyance to the character, along with a chaotic cleverness and a sinister darkside. In contrast to his predecessor, The Eleventh Doctor is more alien than other incarnations, and tended to react to things instinctively based on his moods and feelings.
This is encompassed in his ability name, "I. AM. TALKING!", which lets you exile a card whenever you attack, placing a number of time counters on it equal to its mana cost. If it doesn't have suspend it gains it, which very much follows the theme of the deck. In addition, The Eleventh Doctor can make a target creature with 3 or less power unblockable.
The artwork shows The Eleventh Doctor at his most iconic, taunting spaceships and aliens with the Pandorica while they train their searchlights on him. This also happens the scene where he shouts the line "I. AM. TALKING!".
"Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe!" (Wizards of the Coast)The Twelfth Doctor was played by Peter Capaldi, who managed to bring to life a version of the character that was scary and ruthless, while simultaneously kind and forgiving. He struggled with the niceties, wielding cue cards given to him to help him navigate social situations, and was an absolute demon on the guitar.
The card art really sums up what made The Twelfth Doctor unique, as we see him riding a tank into a medieval ring, playing an electric guitar and wearing sunglasses (which are actually Sonic and replace his screwdriver for the majority of Season 9).
He has two card effects - the first gives his spells demonstrate, allowing you to copy them for you and an opponent. The other effect ties in with this, giving you a +1/+1 counter on The Twelfth Doctor whenever you cast a spell.
What better way to spend what you believe are your last weeks alive, than riding a tank and playing heavily distorted electric guitar for medieval peasants? (Wizards of the Coast)The Thirteenth Doctor brought a woman to the role for the first time - Jodie Whitaker. She was excitable, curious, and immensely kind, but still liable to lash out if provoked or in stressful situations.
She also has two abilities, "Paradox", and "Team TARDIS". The first lets you put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature whenever you cast a spell from somewhere other than your hand, while Team TARDIS lets you untap each creature you control with a counter on it.
The Thirteenth Doctor wears a welding helmet and looks excitedly through a magnifying glass (Wizards of the Coast)Alongside each doctor is one of their companions, although there's no reason to feel like you have to pair them together the way they have been. Notable companions include Clara Oswald, Peri Brown, Rose Tyler, and Sarah Jane Smith.
Each companion can be played in the commander zone alongside a Doctor, thanks to the Doctor's Companion mechanic. They all have abilities that complement their Doctor, with some, like Peri and Clara, complimenting multiple Doctors where appropriate for their character.
The set releases 13 October 2023, so if you don't have access to a TARDIS or Time Ring, you'll have to wait until then to get your hands on these cards.
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