The 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.
Guide
Gameplan
The War Doctor is a counters-as-damage attacker: you stockpile time counters by repeatedly phasing permanents out and exiling cards, then swing to fire off a growing burst that snipes creatures, planeswalkers, or faces. Early turns are spent building a phase/exile engine and protecting the Doctor, mid-game you exile from everywhere to balloon the counter, and you close by attacking for lethal direct damage. As a Doctor, he wants a Doctor's Companion in the command zone for added value and resilience.
Strengths
- Counters never go away, so damage scales relentlessly across a long game
- Hits any target, doubling as removal, planeswalker control, and reach to the dome
- The exile clause replaces dies-triggers, denying graveyard recursion to opponents
- Cheap to cast at four mana and benefits from both phasing and exile, two underexplored axes
- Doctor's Companion gives a free second commander for extra engine pieces
Weaknesses
- Does nothing the turn it lands and needs to connect to matter, so it's vulnerable to removal and blockers
- Counter buildup is slow without a dedicated phase/exile engine
- Heavily commander-dependent; repeated bounces or board wipes reset your clock
- No card advantage built in, so RW hand refill must come from the 99
- Single large attack can be fogged or chump-blocked to fizzle lethal
Key Cards
- Teferi's Protection — Phases out your whole board to add a time counter while saving you from a wipe or alpha strike.
- Out of Time — Phases out every creature with a counter and triggers The War Doctor's phase-out clause for a counter spike.
- Semblance Anvil — Repeatable cost reduction via imprint that pairs with exile-from-anywhere themes to grow counters.
- Rest in Peace — Exiles cards going to graveyards across the table, generating a steady stream of time counters.
- Leonin Relic-Warder — Blink it to repeatedly exile permanents and pile on counters while removing threats.
- Faith's Reward — With phasing or sacrifice loops, returning permanents keeps the engine churning and bodies safe.
- Embercleave — Cheap to cast on a connecting attacker and pushes The War Doctor into one-shot range alongside its counter damage.
- Sword of Hearth and Home — Connects to blink a permanent each combat, exiling and returning it for guaranteed counter growth.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone) and protection (Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, Teferi's Protection) so the Doctor reliably survives to attack. Layer in repeatable exile/blink engines—Conjurer's Closet, Restoration Angel, Soulherder via partner companions—and graveyard-hate stax like Leyline of the Void to passively stack counters. Top end with damage doublers (Fiery Emancipation, City on Fire) and Embercleave/Sunforger to convert a modest counter total into a one-shot kill.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Attacking with a large counter pile to deal lethal direct damage to one or more opponents
- ▸Using the attack trigger as removal to clear blockers, then connecting for the kill
- ▸Commander damage if buffed with equipment alongside the counter ping
- ▸Grinding out the table by exiling key creatures and planeswalkers until they have no answers
Archetypes
- Blink/Flicker — Flickering permanents exiles them to trigger the counter clause while reusing ETBs for value.
- Voltron — He's a cheap repeatable damage source that wants equipment and protection to push lethal pings.
- Graveyard Hate Control — Exile-matters effects like Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void double as counter engines and lock pieces.
- Phasing Combo — Repeatable phase-out effects can loop to grow counters and protect your board through wipes.
Combos
- The War Doctor + Dance with Calamity
→ Near-infinite damage to one opponent
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (RW), by popularity.
