Gallifrey StandsGallifrey Stands| Art by Alexander Gering

Entering the TARDIS

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Beyond the Multiverse, where we dive into the Universes Beyond card pool and assemble decks from it. Today, we have one of two lists that's near and dear to my heart (The other will be coming soon). Above all, it's been a lot of fun to build and play with, and I've sought to reassemble the deck multiple times.

As icing on the cake, there's a flavor challenge that makes this immaculate. As a result, you weren't sacrificing power like we had to for the Spongebob article I did the other week, but it's still solid in its own right. Let's walk through the door, shall we?

Meeting the Doctor

The Doctor himself (at least for this incarnation; I'd be using they/them to address them generally) is a much-beloved figure from the Doctor Who series who travels across time and space on a myriad of adventures. They, hailing from the planet Gallifrey, stop numerous villains from achieving their schemes time and again.

This incarnation, however, was a short-lived one, as he was largely present for the series's 60th Anniversary specials. There, he undergoes a journey which culminates into a showdown with The Celestial ToymakerThe Celestial Toymaker. He triumphs, but not before undergoing a special kind of regeneration that results in both he and The Fifteenth DoctorThe Fifteenth Doctor coexisting.

Most importantly, Fourteenth has but a simple request for us: Run as many Doctors as we can. Moreover, he have you look at the top 14 cards of your library, and ditch any Doctors you see in the graveyard, and you choose one for him.

In addition, he becomes that Doctor, only except he has haste. Considering the cards, stretched across three precons and a Secret Lair Drop, we're bound to have several themes mashing together into some wibbly-wobbly mess.

...What's that? You want a focused deck plan? I threw that in a supernova. I simply don't agree with it. However, we're operating under a challenge: Every card in the deck is from the Doctor Who release, and a lone Secret Lair drop, Secret Lair x Doctor Who: Regeneration. However, we won't be using The Masters of Evil precon for today's decklist. That said, I'll have a section for it later in the article.

Across Time and Space

Going through all of the Doctors, we have a total of 17: First-Fifteenth, The War DoctorThe War Doctor (10, 973 decks) and The Fugitive DoctorThe Fugitive Doctor (4,299 decks), and with them comes a scattered mixture of effects, reflecting the themes of each preconstructed deck that featured the Doctors: Historic, Time Counters, and Exile/Paradox.

As a result, the rest of our deck has to blend in with them. The Tenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor (10,919 decks) is one of the best: He suspends cards on attack and, if you can afford it, bring stuff from exile onto the stack quickly. With that in mind, you'd get to demonstrate those spells with The Twelfth DoctorThe Twelfth Doctor or rack up time counters to make The War DoctorThe War Doctor a serious problem for your opponents.

Further, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up The Doctor's numerous companions. Firstly, Rose NobleRose Noble (1,490 decks) not only draws us cards, but can be used in the Command Zone if we choose. You can choose to run Fourteenth on his own, but The Doctor must always have a companion.

Secondly, Clara OswaldClara Oswald (6,488 decks) also works, too, and is one of the best of the companions (card-wise), as she doubles up on any triggered abilities the Doctors have. Moreover, Yasmin KhanYasmin Khan (3,763 decks) "draws" us a card we could cast. In a similar vein, Sarah Jane SmithSarah Jane Smith (9,791 decks) lets us investigate for Historic spells we cast.

On the other hand, Jamie McCrimmonJamie McCrimmon (3,673 decks) is a threat in his own right, while K-9, Mark IK-9, Mark I (27,659 decks) protects our legendary creatures (and we'll have a lot!). Similarly, Tegan JovankaTegan Jovanka (5,753 decks) protects an attacking historic creature we control.

We're in a Library; Arm Yourself

Most importantly, the rest of the deck should help bind all three themes together. The Doctor's famous TARDISTARDIS (16,010 decks) is an exemplar of what we're looking for: It's Historic, and casts from exile via Cascade. Firstly, Inspiring RefrainInspiring Refrain (30,919 decks) is a spell you'll always want to suspend, drawing you cards once every few turns on average.

Into the Time VortexInto the Time Vortex (15,276 decks) and Throes of ChaosThroes of Chaos (20,187 decks) not only Cascade, but can be cast from anywhere outside of your hand. This works in tandem with The Thirteenth DoctorThe Thirteenth Doctor (16,664 decks) to bolster your creatures, and untap them.

On the other hand, Displaced DinosaursDisplaced Dinosaurs (22,458 decks) turns the Doctors into major threats. In addition, it's worth noting that the clue tokens we make here can also become 7/7s as well. Twice Upon a Time // Unlikely MeetingTwice Upon a Time // Unlikely Meeting (6,703 decks)'s adventure half gets us a Doctor we need, and (assuming we have at least two Doctors out) gives us an extra turn. Speaking of which, this does raise a concern with the deck.

With only 16 Doctors in the 99, we'll need to find as many of them as we can. An Unearthly ChildAn Unearthly Child (5,294 decks) helps us dig for the Doctors, but also searches for their Companions and vehicles, too. However, the best of these is The Five DoctorsThe Five Doctors (4,241 decks). Unkicked, we get to find up to five Doctors.

That said, if you're able to cast it with the kicker cost, we can get those five into play as well. Lastly, Time Lord RegenerationTime Lord Regeneration (4,708 decks) fetches another Doctor if one should happen to kick the bucket.

Allons-y!

The Time War Ends

Firstly, I'm sure this decklist looks like a glorified goodstuff mess, but perhaps this is a reason why The Doctor loves humans: Our ability to see patterns that aren't there. Crucially, there are a few ways to win with this deck.

You can go with the combat damage strategy with stuff like Day of DestinyDay of Destiny 17,137 decks), Heroes' PodiumHeroes' Podium (41,061 decks), and the aforementioned Displaced Dinosaurs. Our creatures tend to be small fries compared to what our opponents might be playing, so buffing them is just as important as accruing value.

The rest of the deck, like I stated, pulls a lot of the good stuff (including one of the best mana bases of any given set of precons) in to help give it a leg-up in games. While we have wipes like FarewellFarewell (333,945 decks), both Impending FluxImpending Flux and The Night of the DoctorThe Night of the Doctor (8,205 and 8,601 decks respectively) play into our Exile and Historic themes respectively.

In addition to the green ramp spells we have access to, like Search for TomorrowSearch for Tomorrow (82,020 decks), we get to use all six Talismans of our colors. Meanwhile, we have The Doctor's handy Sonic ScrewdriverSonic Screwdriver (51,211 decks), which is a mana rock that also carries a lot of utility.

However, our ultimate way to win is Gallifrey StandsGallifrey Stands (5,127 decks). Firstly, it pulls all of the Doctors from our graveyard to hand. If we can cast enough of them, we win! The Sixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor (12,154 decks) helps with this by copying each Doctor we play. That said, they won't be legendary, but they still fulfill the needed criteria. However, this is a common plan with Fourteenth, and people will see it coming from miles away, so be prepared to protect your game plan.

Can You Hear the Drums?

If you want to make use of cards from The Masters of Evil precon, then there's a few options here. Firstly, you'll gain access to Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act (922,694 decks), which is a good wipe all around. On the other hand, we can make great use of Cyber ConversionCyber Conversion (23,264 decks), one of the best targeted removal spells from this release. Lastly, PropagandaPropaganda (338,922 decks) deters attackers while we assemble our board.

We're All Stories, In the End

In conclusion, this list is as wild as it is consistent. Further, it's as flavorful as it's solid. I'm quite confident it's a list that can hold up in a Bracket Three pod, though I typically design for Bracket Two. It's been a blast every game I jammed with it, and I hope you feel the same as well.

That said, while you could make the list the ordinary way, it's a dull approach. Moreover, it's also not as flavorful, and isn't as satisfying. Each game feels like you're watching a full episode of Doctor Who play out right before your eyes. Will there be Cybermen or Daleks? Maybe not, but it fits the mold all the same.

What I also like the list is that, even with the smaller than usual card pool, you could find a way to make other cards work. Maybe you want to run your favorite Doctor's Companions. Perhaps, there's a favorite card you'd like to run. Go ahead.

Make your own episode, and however you want it to (doesn't mean winning every game, by the way. Even heroes have to lose at some point). Either way, I'm sure it'll make for some memorable stories down the road.

Join us next time when we (finally!) make our first dive into Marvel. Until then, and I guess if it's my last chance to say it...