“All of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will—where do we want to start?” This iconic question perfectly encapsulates the beginning of the Doctor Who Commander deck design journey. As a massive Doctor Who enthusiast and the lead designer for these decks, I’m Gavin Verhey from thebootdoctor.net, and navigating sixty years of Doctor Who lore to fit into four Commander decks was an adventure in itself, a journey into a veritable Doctor Who Secret Lair of creativity and collaboration.
Of course, no Doctor travels alone. A TARDIS full of talented individuals was essential to this mission, and I was fortunate to assemble an incredible design team.
First, we had Chris Mooney. Chris’s entry into Doctor Who is a fun story in itself, sparked by a watch list I compiled over a decade ago! It’s almost like a Doctor Who plot twist that writing that list enabled Chris to join the team and work on these decks. In typical Commander deck design fashion, each team member spearheaded a deck, but Universes Beyond demanded even more cross-checking to ensure we captured the essence of key Doctor Who moments. Chris, a dedicated fan of the Twelfth Doctor, poured their passion into the Paradox Power deck, bringing it to life masterfully.
Next up, Carmen Klomparens! (Formerly Carmen Handy—congratulations Carmen!). A devoted Doctor Who fan, Carmen eagerly joined the project. Securing some of her time from her play design duties was a real win. Her play design expertise proved invaluable, not only for crafting amazing cards but also for ensuring balance. Carmen’s favorite Doctor Who era, shared by many – the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors – made her the perfect mind behind the Timey-Wimey deck.
Then there’s Trick Jarret, a familiar face from DailyMTG and social media. We often bring in subject matter experts from across Wizards, and Trick, while not primarily a designer, brought a wealth of fresh, untapped ideas. For instance, the Cyberman mechanic – turning creatures face down as 2/2s – originated directly from Trick. It’s a design space many might avoid due to its similarity to morph, but it proved to be an ideal fit for the set! Trick initially led the Villains deck during the vision phase before transitioning out as we moved into final design.
This is where Elizabeth Rice stepped in! Eli, a new Wizards hire, took the helm of the Villains deck. A Doctor Who lover, imagine starting your Wizards career on a top-secret Doctor Who project! It was a fantastic opportunity to harness Eli’s innovative design instincts and provide guidance as she navigated card design within Wizards. I’m thrilled to say many of her designs made it into the final product, marking a significant achievement for her first project at Wizards.
Lastly, Jess Dunks. Jess, a rules manager at Wizards and a massive Whovian, joined the team midway. His presence was invaluable, not only for ensuring the rules integrity of our ambitious card designs (and there were many!) but also for his deep Magic knowledge and clever design contributions. He contributed to all decks, providing essential playtesting and focused work, especially on the classic deck. His contributions were greatly appreciated, spanning both rules and design perspectives.
And finally, myself! No need for further introductions, except to say I led the classic deck. My deep knowledge of classic Doctor Who led me to immerse myself in research, revisiting episodes to ensure we captured the true essence of the series’ origins.
It’s crucial to acknowledge the vast TARDIS beyond just the design team that brought this set to fruition. Numerous collaborators within Wizards and at the BBC were instrumental. Lauren Bond from Creative, along with Neale LaPlante Johnson, deserve immense credit for their work in shaping the art descriptions and thematic elements of the set. Their contributions to this monumental project were truly immense.
Now, with team introductions complete, let’s delve into the design itself.
While the entire Doctor Who design process could fill volumes, today I want to focus on a specific narrative: how we chose the deck themes and mechanics. I’ll start with an overview, then explore each deck individually to explain their thematic origins.
Ready? Allons-y!
Deconstructing the Decks: Slicing Through Time and Space
One of the most daunting challenges in Doctor Who design was dividing the sprawling universe into four distinct Commander decks. It felt like venturing into a complex Doctor Who secret lair filled with endless possibilities.
Unlike many IPs, Doctor Who doesn’t lend itself to neat factional divisions. Initial attempts to divide it into Doctors, Companions, Daleks, and the Master felt inadequate. Doctor Who is so much richer than that! Where would all the unique alien races fit? Why separate Doctors and Companions? How could we differentiate countless Dalek iterations? We experimented with variations – combining Doctors and Companions in one deck, and Daleks, Cybermen, and artifact-based aliens in another – but nothing quite clicked. Then, during a pivotal meeting, Chris Mooney and I locked ourselves in a room, determined to find a solution.
After extensive brainstorming, we realized the answer lay in how fans categorize the show: by era. “When did you start watching?” This became the natural dividing line. This led to the four-deck structure: the classic era; the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctor era; the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctor era; and a villains-focused deck. Villains often transcend specific eras, making a dedicated villain deck logical.
However, from a design perspective, eras, while thematically resonant, lacked the mechanical cohesion of factions. Therefore, I aimed to define a unique mechanic for each deck, giving each a distinct identity even for those unfamiliar with Doctor Who eras. These mechanics would act as keys, unlocking the Doctor Who secret lair of each deck.
Some mechanics emerged quicker than others. I’ll discuss them in the order we finalized their themes.
Classic Deck: Historic – Echoes from the Past
Blast from the Past (Green-White-Blue)
Alt text: The Historic mechanic from Magic: The Gathering Doctor Who Commander decks, representing the classic era, showcases a green, white, and blue card with ornate, timeworn design elements.
Early in design, we compiled a list of existing Magic mechanics that could enhance Magic: The Gathering® – Doctor Who. Many were compelling, particularly for individual card designs, but “historic” resonated deeply with Doctor Who. I wanted to incorporate one or two returning mechanics, and the connection between classic Doctor Who and “historic” felt incredibly natural. It was like discovering a hidden Doctor Who secret lair within Magic itself.
Flavorfully, many classic Doctor Who episodes involve journeys into the past – often termed “historicals” by fans! From a meta perspective, it’s the longest and earliest period of Doctor Who – literally embodying history. Mechanically, it suited a deck rich in legendary creatures and artifacts – historical trinkets. (Unbeknownst to us then, it would also feature the most sagas!).
I also appreciated the potential for a linear deck: playing historic cards to trigger abilities and gain rewards. Knowing some decks might become more unconventional thematically, a grounded theme like historic provided balance.
It’s also worth noting that as the Doctor-Companion dynamic solidified – Doctors as two-color cards, Companions as one-color – this deck became a hub for numerous extra companions to mix and match. Both this deck and others contain diverse companions beyond just historic synergy.
This theme solidified quickly, perhaps unsurprisingly, as we gravitated towards a pre-existing mechanic first. It was like finding the most obvious entrance to the Doctor Who secret lair.
This brings us to our second theme.
Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh: Time Travel – Weaving Through Timey-Wimey
Timey-Wimey (Blue-Red-White)
Alt text: The Timey-Wimey mechanic from Doctor Who MTG Commander decks, themed around time travel, features a swirling blue, red, and white card design, evoking temporal distortions and paradoxes.
During our initial mechanic exploration, “suspend,” another returning Magic mechanic, stood out. It uses time counters! It debuted in a Magic time travel set! The thematic connection was undeniable. It felt like uncovering a temporal Doctor Who secret lair hidden within Magic‘s history.
However, questions arose. Suspend isn’t widely used in Commander, and it’s not inherently strong, taking considerable time to resolve – suspend 4 means four full turn cycles before any effect, ample time for opponents to react in Commander. The concept resonated, but execution was unclear.
Then, thinking about proliferate, an idea sparked: what if manipulating time-related counters became our theme? This could accelerate suspended cards, addressing a major drawback. I proposed a time-travel mechanic concept, and the team was eager to explore it.
My initial concept was quite broad, encompassing time, age, and lore counters – age from cumulative upkeep, lore from Sagas. This broadened the scope, interacting with more Magic cards and enabling cool effects like perpetually maintaining Sagas!
However, “cool to talk about” didn’t translate to smooth gameplay. Maintaining Sagas indefinitely proved processing-intensive, especially with multiple Sagas, suspend, and cumulative upkeep triggers each turn. Players became bogged down in triggers. The timing was also awkward – suspend triggered in upkeep, Sagas in the main phase, preventing streamlined play. The deck was becoming overly complex, particularly for an era many players knew and wanted to experience. We needed simplification. The Doctor Who secret lair of time manipulation was proving too chaotic.
Unsurprisingly, cumulative upkeep added little value. Apologies to cumulative upkeep fans, but its design space proved limited.
So, we narrowed the focus to time counters, making time the central theme. This led to increased use of vanishing and designs that accumulated time counters. Playtesting became much smoother and more enjoyable, providing a unique direction for the deck.
However, for those who enjoy intricate interactions, the Time Spiral reprint Clockspinning is included, allowing you to carefully maintain Sagas indefinitely – or accelerate your opponents! – use it judiciously!
Villains: Villainous Choice – A Masterful Scheme
Masters of Evil (Blue-Black-Red)
Alt text: The Villainous Choice mechanic from MTG Doctor Who Commander decks, representing iconic villains, showcases a menacing blue, black, and red card design with sharp, dangerous visual elements.
The origin of this mechanic is intriguing. Early in design, someone suggested a “punisher” card – cards like Browbeat, forcing opponents to choose between undesirable options. Playing with it revealed punisher mechanics perfectly embodied villains. They frequently force heroes into impossible choices, “Save your friend or this spaceship of innocents?” – that kind of dilemma. This felt like discovering the villain’s Doctor Who secret lair – a place of cruel choices and wicked schemes.
Hold that thought.
Playtesting the villains deck revealed players loved being the villain. I’ve never witnessed anything quite like it in Magic playtests. Players piloting the villains deck actively antagonized others (playfully), shouting “Exterminate!” when attacking with Daleks, making devious deals, and embracing villainy.
This sparked an idea: What if we leaned into this? And that’s how villainous choice emerged. Initially, it involved asking every opponent, evolving into iterations targeting specific or all opponents. The mechanic tested exceptionally well, and focus groups rated it among our highest-rated mechanics ever!
However, villainous choice isn’t inherently a deck-building theme (though The Valeyard caters to those who wish to try!). They are individual cards integrated into decks. To further embrace the villainous theme, what if players truly wanted to attack and antagonize everyone?
This led to the group slug concept. Abilities like myriad encourage attacking all opponents. An artifact theme also emerged, given Daleks, Cybermen, and many villains are artifact creatures.
This deck is incredibly fun to play, and I hope you enjoy antagonizing your opponents (in a friendly manner!) with it. Embrace your inner villain and explore this Doctor Who secret lair of mischief!
Twelfth and Thirteenth: Paradox – Rewriting Reality
Paradox Power (Green-Blue-Red)
Alt text: The Paradox mechanic from Doctor Who Magic: The Gathering Commander decks, representing the modern era Doctors, features a vibrant green, blue, and red card design with chaotic, reality-bending visual effects.
This mechanic and theme were the most elusive. The other three themes solidified, but we were still searching for the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctor deck’s identity. We knew we wanted a spell-focused theme – historic focused on battlefield permanents, time counters often resulted in permanents, and artifacts (initially a stronger villain theme) were table-centric. Something emphasizing spellcasting and trickery felt fitting for Magic: The Gathering® – Doctor Who. This search felt like delving into a complex Doctor Who secret lair of temporal anomalies.
Chris Mooney generated numerous ideas. One was purely noncreature spells matter. Functional but uninspired. We considered casting spells from the graveyard, similar to the C19 flashback deck, with a thematic link to the Thirteenth Doctor searching for her past.
Then, Chris suggested casting spells from not your hand. Chris’s instincts were consistently sharp throughout design, so we decided to try it. I also admired the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate red-green cast-from-exile deck.
Immediately, I loved its Doctor-like feel: rewarding actions outside Magic‘s norms. “How do I cast spells not from my hand??” Players must devise ingenious methods to trigger the ability. This creativity and open-ended problem-solving felt very Doctor Who. It also allowed us to incorporate a delightful mix of returning mechanics, from foretell to jump-start – a signature element of Chris’s Commander preconstructed deck designs, adding their distinct touch. This mechanic unlocked a truly unique Doctor Who secret lair of gameplay.
Into the Time Vortex: Exploring Further
These preconstructed decks hold so much more. From unconventional themes to a record-breaking number of new cards in a preconstructed series (nearly 200, larger than old small sets!), and unique character combinations, there’s immense depth to explore.
Today, I’ve offered a glimpse into deck creation and theme selection. It was a remarkable team effort, and I eagerly anticipate you playing with them! I hope this peek into the Doctor Who secret lair of design has been insightful.
For questions or thoughts, reach out on social media. For more insights, catch me discussing these decks on Good Morning Magic!
Have a fantastic time and enjoy your adventures in the many worlds of Doctor Who!
Gavin Verhey
Email: [email protected]
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