Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton
Legendary Creature — Human Scientist · {2}{W} · White commander
Science Teacher — Each Saga spell you cast has replicate. The replicate cost is equal to its mana cost. (When you cast that Saga, copy it for each time you paid its replicate cost. Copies of Saga spells become tokens.)
Doctor's companion (You can have two commanders if the other is the Doctor.)
Build an Ian Chesterton deck →
What Ian Chesterton actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Keyword · science teacherscience teacher
- AbilityScience Teacher — Each Saga spell you cast has replicate. The replicate cost is equal to its mana cost.
What an Ian Chesterton deck needs
Plays as sagas. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- Sagas (each Saga spell has replicate)
- a Doctor partner (Doctor's companion)
The Ian Chesterton deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 14× A permanent that does something every turn it is on the battlefield — the deck's body, for a commander whose text asks for nothing specific
- 7× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 10× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 3× Answer a whole board at once
- 9× Refill your hand
- 3× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
- 24× A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
Best cards for Ian Chesterton
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
A permanent that does something every turn it is on the battlefield — the deck's body, for a commander whose text asks for nothing specific
- Crashing Drawbridge2 mana
- Cleric Class1 mana
- Bontu's Monument3 mana
- Mirror Entity3 mana
- Oketra's Monument3 mana
- Hazoret's Monument3 mana
- Rhonas's Monument3 mana
- Twinning Staff3 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Generous Gift3 mana
- Erode1 mana
- Unwanted Remake1 mana
- Angelic Ascension2 mana
- You Cannot Pass!1 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Open the Armory2 mana
- Enlightened Tutor1 mana
- Templar Knight2 mana
- Idyllic Tutor3 mana
- Ranger-Captain of Eos3 mana
- Loyal Tutor1 mana
- Recruiter of the Guard3 mana
- Search for Glory3 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Shatter the Sky4 mana
- Split Up3 mana
- Winds of Abandon2 mana
- Depopulate4 mana
- No Witnesses4 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
- Vexing Bauble1 mana
- Caretaker's Talent3 mana
- Enduring Innocence3 mana
- Mentor of the Meek3 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Coppercoat Vanguard2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Chaplain of Alms // Chapel Shieldgeist1 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Palladium Myr3 mana
- Worn Powerstone3 mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mana Vault1 mana
- Wayfarer's Bauble1 mana
A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
- Ancient Tomb0 mana
- Arid Mesa0 mana
- Ash Barrens0 mana
- Bloodstained Mire0 mana
- Buried Ruin0 mana
- Cavern of Souls0 mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- City of Brass0 mana