The Tenth Doctor exiles a nonland card whenever you attack, puts three time counters on it and gives it suspend if it lacks it. Rose Tyler gets +1/+1 for each time counter on her, and whenever she attacks she puts a time counter on herself for each suspended card you own and each other permanent you control with a time counter. The deck wants a steady supply of suspended cards and permanents with time counters.
The precon builds that engine well, but several slots go to creatures and Sagas that never touch it. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Tenth Doctor and Rose decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in those decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Timey-Wimey precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Creatures that never touch a time counter
Adipose Offspring, Astrid Peth, Martha Jones, Jenny, Generated Anomaly and Sally Sparrow are fine cards, but none of them mentions suspend or time counters, and each is played in only about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in seven to eleven.
Not enough cheap suspend cards
Rousing Refrain, Sol Talisman, Ancestral Vision and Inevitable Betrayal all have suspend and are strong in these decks. Jhoira of the Ghitu and Jhoira's Timebug add time counters on demand, and Rift Elemental and Sinister Concierge turn counters into value. They are among the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Cards that do their own thing
RMS Titanic needs a crew of three and sacrifices itself, Idris vanishes after three turns, and The Day of the Doctor's last chapter can cost you 13 life. Each is played in roughly one deck in six.
The 9 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Adipose Offspring is a 2/2 for {3}{W} that makes a 2/2 Alien token when it enters (with emerge, X tokens instead). It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in eleven.
Rousing Refrain has suspend 3 for {1}{R}. When the last counter comes off, you cast it for free and add {R} for each card in target opponent's hand, and you do not lose that mana as steps and phases end. It then exiles itself with three time counters, and as a suspended card it counts for Rose Tyler's Bad Wolf.
Astrid Peth is a 2/2 for {1}{W} that makes a Food whenever it enters or attacks. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in eleven.
Jhoira of the Ghitu is a 2/2 for {1}{U}{R}. For {2}, exile a nonland card from your hand and put four time counters on it; if it lacks suspend, it gains it. Any card you cannot cast yet becomes a suspended card, and every suspended card feeds Rose Tyler.
Martha Jones is a 3/2 for {2}{U} that investigates when it enters and makes creatures unblockable when you sacrifice a Clue. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in nine.
Sol Talisman has suspend 3 for {1} and taps for {C}{C} once it comes out. You pay one mana now, get a two-mana rock in three turns, and the card counts as a suspended card in the meantime.
Jenny is a 2/3 double striker for {2}{R}{W} that explores when it deals combat damage to a player. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in eight.
Chronomantic Escape has suspend 3 for {2}{W}. Until your next turn, creatures cannot attack you. It then exiles itself with three time counters and, since it has suspend, comes back to be cast again. A repeating fog that doubles as a source of time counters.
Sally Sparrow is a 2/3 for {2}{W}{U} that gives your creature spells flash and investigates when other creatures leave. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in seven.
Jhoira's Timebug is a 1/2 artifact creature for {2}. {T}: choose a permanent you control or a suspended card you own that has a time counter on it, and add or remove a counter. Remove one to bring a suspended card out sooner, or add one to grow Rose Tyler or Rotating Fireplace.
RMS Titanic is a 7/1 flying, trampling Vehicle with crew 3 that sacrifices itself when it deals combat damage to a player. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in six.
Ancestral Vision has suspend 4 for {U}. In four turns the target player draws three cards, and in the meantime the card is a suspended card you own.
Idris is a 3/3 for {1}{U}{R} with vanishing 3 that copies the abilities of an artifact you exile. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in six.
Inevitable Betrayal has suspend 3 for {1}{U}{U}. When it comes off suspend, you search target opponent's library for a creature card and put it onto the battlefield under your control. A free steal of the best creature in their deck.
The Day of the Doctor is a five-mana Saga whose first three chapters exile cards until you find a legendary card you may play, and whose last chapter can exile other creatures and deal 13 damage to you. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in six.
Rift Elemental is a 1/1 for {R}. For {1}{R}, remove a time counter from a permanent you control or a suspended card you own and it gets +2/+0 until end of turn. It spends time counters to bring suspended cards out sooner, and it costs a single mana.
Donna Noble is a 2/4 for {3}{R} with soulbond that damages an opponent when she or her partner is dealt damage. It is played in about one Tenth Doctor and Rose deck in five.
Sinister Concierge is a 2/1 for {1}{U}. When it dies, you may exile it with three time counters, and if you do you exile up to one target creature and put three time counters on it too. Every card exiled this way that lacks suspend gains it, so a dead Concierge also removes a creature and makes two suspended cards.
The full swap list
Cut
- Adipose Offspring
- Astrid Peth
- Martha Jones
- Jenny, Generated Anomaly
- Sally Sparrow
- RMS Titanic
- Idris, Soul of the TARDIS
- The Day of the Doctor
- Donna Noble
Add
- Rousing Refrain
- Jhoira of the Ghitu
- Sol Talisman
- Chronomantic Escape
- Jhoira's Timebug
- Ancestral Vision
- Inevitable Betrayal
- Rift Elemental
- Sinister Concierge
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Inspiring Refrain$0.37
Played in 93% of Tenth Doctor and Rose decks. Suspend 3 for {2}{U}, then draw two cards and go back into exile with more counters. - Time Beetle$0.38
Played in 89% of Tenth Doctor and Rose decks. A two-mana skulker that time travels whenever it connects. - Rotating Fireplace$0.31
Played in 88% of Tenth Doctor and Rose decks. Taps for as much colourless mana as it has time counters, and can time travel for {4}. - Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey$0.37
Played in 86% of Tenth Doctor and Rose decks. Time travel and draw a card for {1}{U}. - As Foretold$1.14
Played in 85% of Tenth Doctor and Rose decks. Gets a time counter each upkeep and lets you cast one spell a turn for {0} if its mana value is at most the number of counters.
The precon's engine is already close to what players build: its best cards, Inspiring Refrain, Time Beetle and Rotating Fireplace, are played in nearly nine decks in ten. The upgrade is not a new engine but more cheap suspend cards to feed it, and fewer creatures that never touch a time counter. These nine swaps cost about $7 in total and keep the deck's identity intact.
Want a full 100-card list built around The Tenth Doctor from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Timey-Wimey precon?
Using data from 5,602 The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler decks, the highest-scoring additions are Rousing Refrain (for Adipose Offspring), Jhoira of the Ghitu (for Astrid Peth) and Sol Talisman (for Martha Jones). The full list has 9 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Timey-Wimey?
All 9 swaps cost about $6.72 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-11-02).
What should I cut from Timey-Wimey?
The weakest cards for this commander are Adipose Offspring, Astrid Peth and Martha Jones. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Timey-Wimey?
Keep Inspiring Refrain, Time Beetle, Rotating Fireplace, Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey and As Foretold. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler do?
The Tenth Doctor exiles a nonland card whenever you attack, puts three time counters on it and gives it suspend if it lacks it. Rose Tyler gets +1/+1 for each time counter on her, and whenever she attacks she puts a time counter on herself for each suspended card you own and each other permanent you control with a time counter. The deck wants a steady supply of suspended cards and permanents with time counters.
More Doctor Who Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler decks (5,602 of them when this was written, 2026-11-02) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. And lift is very high for many Doctor Who cards because they are new and rarely played outside Doctor Who decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.