The War Doctor wants a deck that removes its creatures and brings them right back to reuse them. It can share the lead with a Doctor's companion as a second commander.
Mana cost
White, Red ()
Power / toughness3 / 5
RarityRare
Whenever one or more other permanents phase out and whenever one or more other cards are put into exile from anywhere, put a time counter on The War Doctor.
Whenever The War Doctor attacks, it deals damage equal to the number of time counters on it to any target. If a creature dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.
Picked for what they do in The War Doctor's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit The War Doctor's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how The War Doctor works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
If an effect instructs you to choose a creature type, you may choose Time Lord.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
If The War Doctor phases out at the same time as any other permanents, its first ability won't trigger.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
Neither "Time" nor "Lord" are creature types. Some older cards were printed with the subtype "Lord," but all of those cards have updated Oracle card text that removed that type.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
Unlike other creature types in Magic that are each only one word, the two words "Time Lord" represent a single creature subtype. Time Lord is the only two-word creature type.
Wizards of the Coast13 Oct 2023
You choose the target of the second ability as it attacks. The number of time counters is checked at the time the ability resolves. If The War Doctor has left the battlefield by that time, use the number of time counters it had on it the last time it was on the battlefield to determine how much damage it deals to that target.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWRPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, R for red.Blink/FlickerBlink decks briefly remove their own creatures from play and return them at once, so every 'when this enters' ability happens again. The move is called a flicker, and it can also rescue a creature from a spell aimed at it.Open the Blink/Flicker pageFlicker/SaveBriefly exiles a permanent you control and immediately returns it. That saves it from a kill spell like Swords to Plowshares, and it re-triggers any enter the battlefield ability: Mulldrifter flickered is two more cards. Ephemerate, Teferi's ProtectionOpen the Flicker/Save pageBurnBurn decks win by dealing damage straight to opponents with spells and abilities, rather than by attacking with creatures. Damage that hits every opponent at once counts three times over at a four-player table.Open the Burn pageDamage RemovalRemoves creatures by dealing damage to them rather than by destroying them outright. This includes fight cards, where your creature deals the damage. Damage only kills a creature if it at least equals its toughness, so it can miss the biggest ones, and it does not kill a creature that cannot be destroyed. Lightning Bolt, Rabid Bite, PyroclasmOpen the Damage Removal pageBurnDeals damage directly, to creatures or to players. Because it can hit a player as easily as a creature, the same card can remove a blocker or finish off an opponent. Lightning Bolt, Blasphemous ActOpen the Burn pagePhasing / Teferi ThemeCards with phasing, which makes a permanent vanish for a while, so removal cannot touch it. It is treated as though it does not exist until its controller's next turn.Open the Phasing / Teferi Theme pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection pageGame ChangerCards that warp the game disproportionately around themselves, requiring immediate answers.What the brackets mean
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