The vast majority of decks abide by these rules.
And then Doctor Who comes along and shatters that rule with the Paradox Power commander deck.
Get stuck into Magic: The Gathering’s Pioneer format.
In Paradox Power, the goal is to play cards from anywhere other than your hand.
Paradox Power Commander Deck List
Here’s thefull Paradox Power deck listbroken down by card throw in.
Paradox Power Commander Deck Key Themes
Paradox Power is doing a lot.
The Thirteenth Doctor by Pauline Voss
Cards likeThe ThirteenthandTwelfth Doctors,Graham O’Brien, andFlaming Tyrannosaurusall have powerful effects that you’ll want to maximize.
The problem is that the deck hasa bunch of other themes that are getting in the way.
You also have amind-boggling number of potential commander/companion combinations.
The Thirteenth Doctor by Pauline Voss
The standard combo isThe Thirteenth DoctorandYasmin Khan.
Number 13 is the paradox source and an escalating threat, while Yasmin consistently triggers that paradox effect.
It’s simple and gets all three of the Naya colors of red, white, and green.
Or you could go withThe Twelfth DoctorandGraham O’Brien.
There are10 Plane cardsin the deck, something that isn’t too common in casual Commander games.
The plan is tofocus on the paradox ability.
The Twelfth Doctor by Alexander Mokhov
Unfortunately, there aren’t quite enough potential triggers of paradox to make this strategy effective.
That means an average of one every five cards helps the strategy, which is far too few.
Cards withflashback,foretell, andcascadeareall great ways to trigger paradox.
Take out the cards that don’t fit the strategy and replace them with cards that do.
AndCarpet of Flowersis a potent card, but it occasionally misses depending on your opponents.
Sell it to help purchase some of the cards discussed in the next section.
Image
Name
Reason
Battle Mammoth
Battle Mammoth has three benefits.
First, it’sa big efficient threat.
Second, ithelps draw cards.
Third, it has foretell, whichhelps trigger paradox.
Bring on the angry Elephant.
Against a token swarm, it’s essentially one red mana to sweep the board clean.
Clara Oswald by Marta Nael
Plus,she can trigger paradox repeatedlymerely by discarding a card.
It turns a slightly worrying escalation into a very worrying escalation that could potentially upend games.
Itsflashback ability will also ensure a paradoxtrigger or two.
Green Slime
Foretelltriggers paradox, and the Slime willshut down an artifact or enchantment.
A great way to add an instant-speed answer.
Another perfect fit for Paradox Power.
Plus, Paradox Power could use a little bit more mana after taking out Carpet of Flowers.
Maelstrom Wanderer
Maelstrom Wanderer isa great way to set up some big, splashy plays.
It can cascade into any card in the deck, and it triggers paradox twice in row.
Throw in all creatures gaining haste, and Mr. Maelstrom can be a potential win condition.
If you’re lucky, you might even kill your opponents' creatures while leaving yours relatively unscathed.
Either way, theflashback helps trigger paradox.
Ravenform
Ravenform is already agreat removal spellfor blue, butflashbackalso makes it a greatparadox trigger.
Saw It Coming
It’s acounterspell, and it hasforetell to trigger paradox.
So here it is.
Thrummingbird
Like Flux Channeler, Thrummingbird offers a way ofdoubling tokensfor very little.
It also offers an early-game play that becomes a problem later.
Beast Within is good, but if you find your playgroup is fairly creature-heavy,PongifyandRapid Hybridizationare better.
