Paradox Power is the Grixis precon from Doctor Who Commander, led by Davros, Dalek Creator. It forces opponents to lose 3 or more life in a turn, then rewards every opponent who crosses that line with a 3/3 menace Dalek token and a card-advantage "villainous choice" — building an army and a hand from the suffering of everyone else at the table.
May 2026Precon GuideGrixis · U/B/R
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Face Commander · WHO · Rare · Legendary Creature
Davros, Dalek Creator
Legendary Creature — Human Scientist
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U/B/R · GrixisLife LossDalek TokensDoctor Who
Overview
Paradox Power is built around a life loss engine that generates Dalek creature tokens. At the beginning of your end step, Davros, Dalek Creator checks each opponent: any who lost 3 or more life that turn gives you a 3/3 menace Dalek token and forces a villainous choice on that opponent — either you draw a card, or they discard one. The Dalek tokens themselves are plain 3/3 menace bodies with no attack trigger of their own, so the deck's job is to push several different opponents past that 3-life threshold every turn, then let a growing menace army and repeated card advantage close the game.
The deck includes multiple sources of opponent life loss beyond combat: taxation effects, drain spells, and pingers that chip away at life totals each upkeep or trigger. The Grixis colour combination provides the full suite of black life drain, red direct damage, and blue card draw, creating a game plan that grinds opponents down through incidental damage while the Dalek army grows and eventually overwhelms through combat.
Key Cards
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Exterminate!
Removal · Replicate
Destroys target creature and makes its controller lose 3 life — enough, on its own, to satisfy Davros's threshold against that opponent. Its Replicate cost lets you tap an untapped Dalek instead of paying mana to copy the spell entirely, so with two or three Daleks already on board a single cast can destroy multiple creatures and hit multiple opponents for 3 life each, without tapping them out of attacking next turn since they're only tapped, never sacrificed.
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Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Life Loss Engine · Draw Punisher
Whenever an opponent draws a card, they lose 2 life. Whenever you draw a card, you gain 2 life. Sheoldred is the premier life loss generator for this deck: every card every opponent draws — on their turn, through instant-speed draw effects, through triggered draw abilities — causes 2 life loss, which fires Davros's Dalek creation trigger. In a four-player game, Sheoldred alone generates multiple Dalek tokens each round without any additional investment. Combined with cards that force opponents to draw, Sheoldred becomes a Dalek factory that also protects you through life gain.
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Wound Reflection
Life Loss Amplifier · Every End Step
At the beginning of each end step — not just each opponent's own, but every end step in the round, including yours — each opponent loses life equal to whatever they've already lost that turn. That means life an opponent loses during your own turn gets doubled again at your end step, before Davros even checks his threshold, making it far easier for any opponent who takes a hit to comfortably clear the 3-life mark.
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Heartless Hidetsugu
Mass Damage · Symmetrical Risk
{T}: Heartless Hidetsugu deals damage to EACH player, you included, equal to half that player's life total, rounded down. It's real damage, not life loss, so it plays through any prevention effects, but it's symmetrical — this is at its most explosive when your own life total is already low and your opponents' are still high, since half of a small number costs you little while half of a big number can nearly ruin an opponent's turn and clear Davros's threshold instantly. Its damage still counts as life loss for Davros and Wound Reflection alike, and if Sheoldred is in play, every subsequent card draw compounds the life loss further.
Playing the Deck
The deck's early game is about establishing Davros and protecting him. Without Davros in play, crossing the 3-life threshold on an opponent does nothing extra, so the priority is landing him and keeping him alive. Early mana rocks accelerate Davros to turn three or four, and incidental chip damage from lands (Pain lands, Shock lands) and opponent combat often has at least one opponent past 3 life lost by your end step in a multiplayer game.
The mid game is defined by building the Dalek army. Sheoldred arriving means every card an opponent draws chips 2 life off their total, and most opponents draw at least one card most turns, so she alone can push a slow-drawing opponent past Davros's threshold on her own. Every opponent who clears 3 life lost in a turn nets one more 3/3 menace Dalek at your end step, and the villainous choice that comes with it keeps your hand fuller or theirs thinner besides.
Heartless Hidetsugu is typically held as a late-game closer, ideally once your own life total is already low: once the Dalek army and Wound Reflection are in play, a Hidetsugu activation can instantly clear every opponent's threshold and set up a lethal attack from the assembled menace army the same turn. The deck's blue counterspells protect this key turn from interference.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths: Paradox Power generates threats from ordinary gameplay. Opponents drawing cards, taking combat damage, and paying life all chip away at the 3-life threshold Davros checks each turn. Sheoldred and Heartless Hidetsugu are individually powerful cards that perform well even without Davros in play. The deck is highly explosive: a single Hidetsugu activation can put every opponent's threshold within reach in one shot.
Weaknesses: The deck draws significant aggression: Sheoldred and Heartless Hidetsugu are both major threat cards that opponents prioritise removing, and Hidetsugu specifically punishes you too if your own life total isn't kept low. Davros requires opponents to actually lose life to generate tokens, making the deck weaker against life gain strategies. The deck can struggle to close the game if the Dalek army is repeatedly swept by mass removal.
Verdict
Paradox Power is the most aggressive and explosive of the four Doctor Who precons, delivering an immediate and recognisable game plan: drain opponents' life totals and build an army from their suffering. Sheoldred and Heartless Hidetsugu are genuine constructed-power cards that make the deck competitive even at higher-powered tables. The Dalek token synergy is flavourfully resonant and mechanically satisfying. Players who enjoy aggressive attrition strategies and want a deck that can end the game suddenly from a seemingly losing position will find Paradox Power deeply rewarding.
Want to build a fully optimised life loss and Dalek army? Let the Oracle find the best drain synergies.