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The War Doctor

Legendary Creature — Time Lord Doctor · {2}{R}{W} · Red/White commander

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.

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What The War Doctor actually does

Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.

• Triggered ability · exileWhenever 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.
• Triggered ability · attackWhenever 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.

What a The War Doctor deck needs

Plays as combat trigger. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.

• exile effects — exile removal, blink and graveyard exile (each adds a time counter)
• haste, evasion and protection for the commander (its attack deals damage per time counter)

The The War Doctor deck plan

The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.

• 10× Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
• 8× Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
• 8× A spell you cast from outside your hand — flashback, foretell, escape, adventure, cascade, plot and their kin
• 6× Make the commander connect — a body that never deals combat damage never triggers
• 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
• 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
• 1× Answer a whole board at once
• 7× Refill your hand
• 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal

Best cards for The War Doctor

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.

Combos with The War Doctor

Known combos from Commander Spellbook that The War Doctor is a piece of, and how many decks list them.

• The War Doctor + Dance With Calamity826 decks

Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →

Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables. Read the guide · Browse all commanders · Pricing