Overview

Doctor's Companion is built around the suspend mechanic and time counter manipulation. Whenever The Tenth Doctor attacks, he exiles cards from the top of your library until he hits a nonland card and suspends it with three time counters, for free — every attack seeds a future turn with a spell you didn't pay for. His other ability, Timey-Wimey, is a huge {7} mana sink that lets you add or remove a time counter on every suspended card and every permanent with a time counter you control, three separate times, at sorcery speed — rushing several suspended spells to resolution at once, or buying time on ones you're not ready for yet.

The Doctor also interacts with companion cards in a new way unique to this set: certain cards featuring his companions (Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Rose Tyler) carry Doctor's companion and can begin the game in the command zone alongside him. The deck layers free suspend triggers from attacking, a mana sink that can accelerate the whole suspended pipeline at once, and companion synergy into a Jeskai value engine that generates enormous advantage over the course of a long game.

Key Cards

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Martha Jones
Companion · Unblockable Enabler
A companion for the Tenth Doctor that can begin in the command zone. She investigates the moment she enters, and whenever you sacrifice a Clue, she and one other target creature become unblockable for the turn. In a deck full of suspended threats waiting to resolve, that unblockable window is exactly what's needed to close a game once those spells finally hit the battlefield, and the Clue itself is a card draw whenever you need it.
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Teferi, Master of Time
Instant-Speed Loyalty · Flexibility
Every loyalty ability on Teferi can be activated on anyone's turn, any time you could cast an instant, which is rare for a planeswalker. His +1 loots a card, his −3 phases out a problem creature you don't control until its owner's next turn, temporary but instant-speed removal from combat, and his −10 hands you two extra turns in a row. He doesn't touch time counters or suspend directly, but being able to protect himself or answer a threat at instant speed, on anyone's turn, makes him far harder to punish than a normal planeswalker.
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Jhoira of the Ghitu
Suspend Engine · Threat Accelerator
For two mana, exile any nonland card and suspend it with four time counters. Jhoira of the Ghitu is the premier suspend enabler in MTG and a perfect fit for this deck: any card in hand can be suspended for two mana, front-loading a threat into the pipeline for four upkeeps' wait. Between Jhoira's suspends and the Tenth Doctor's own free attack-trigger suspends, this deck can have several cards ticking down at once, all of which Timey-Wimey can accelerate at will once you have seven mana spare.
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Clockspinning
Counter Manipulation · Instant-Speed Trigger
For one blue mana at instant speed, add or remove an existing counter from target permanent or suspended card, with buyback for three more mana if you want it back in hand. In this deck it most often speeds a suspended threat one step closer to resolving, but it can just as easily add a time counter to an opponent's own suspended bomb to delay it, or pick at counters on a Saga or planeswalker across the table. The buyback mode turns it into a repeatable tool whenever there's spare mana floating.

Playing the Deck

The deck operates on two timelines simultaneously: the present (playing ramp, counters, and small threats) and the future (building a pipeline of suspended cards that will resolve over subsequent turns). Early turns should establish mana acceleration and deploy Jhoira of the Ghitu to begin suspending powerful spells. The Tenth Doctor arriving on turn three or four adds a free suspend to the pipeline every time he attacks.

The mid game is defined by the number of suspended cards in the pipeline. More suspended cards means more upkeeps' worth of free spells arriving, and a bigger payoff whenever Timey-Wimey's seven mana is available to rush several of them home at once. Clockspinning with buyback keeps chipping counters down at instant speed, and Teferi, Master of Time can loot, phase out a blocker, or protect himself at instant speed on anyone's turn.

The late game resolves through an overwhelming spell advantage. A backlog of suspended threats all landing within a turn or two of each other, accelerated by Timey-Wimey if the mana is there, generates a swing that is almost impossible to answer, especially with Martha Jones ready to push the resulting bodies through unblocked. The deck's Jeskai colours provide enough counterspell backup to protect the key turns when the pipeline delivers maximum value.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck generates value automatically: the Tenth Doctor suspends a free spell every time he connects in combat, and Martha Jones turns the resulting board of suspended threats into unblockable damage once they arrive. Timey-Wimey is a genuine bomb once the deck can afford it, capable of rushing an entire backlog of suspended cards home in one activation. The Jeskai colour combination provides excellent removal, counterspells, and draw to support the engine.

Weaknesses: The deck is slow to establish: it needs suspended cards actually in the pipeline, and Timey-Wimey's {7} activation cost, before the engine fires at full power. Exile-based graveyard hate and counterspells aimed at suspended cards as they try to resolve both hurt disproportionately. The suspend pipeline means the deck has less immediate impact than decks that operate entirely in the present.

Verdict
Doctor's Companion is a well-crafted suspend deck that rewards planning ahead and building pipeline value over several turns. The Tenth Doctor turns his own combat step into a free spell every attack, Timey-Wimey is a genuinely powerful mana sink once it's affordable, and the companion system introduced in the Doctor Who set adds a layer of flavourful customisation. Martha Jones as a command-zone companion gives the deck a reliable way to close once the suspended threats start landing. Players who enjoy strategic long-game deckbuilding and value the planning aspect of suspend over immediate impact will find this precon deeply satisfying.

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Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Doctor's Companion precon, enriched with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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