Start the TARDIS MTG Card

Start the TARDIS excels in providing card advantage and the potential for extra turns, catapulting your game ahead. While strong, it demands a specific mana combination and a card discard, limiting its deck compatibility. Countering this card requires swift reaction with instant-speed interaction and strategic foresight.

Doctor Who (WHO)
2023-10-13 - Number 661

Doctor Who (WHO)
2023-10-13 - Number 56

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Jump-start,Surveil

Text of card

Surveil 2, then draw a card. You may planeswalk. (To surveil 2, look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.) Jump-start (You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a card in addition to paying its other costs. Then exile this card.)

Cards like Start the TARDIS

Exploring the multifaceted world of time manipulation in MTG, Start the TARDIS is an interesting card that captures the essence of temporal advantage. It’s akin to cards like Time Warp which allows a player to take an extra turn. However, Start the TARDIS comes with its unique twist, requiring a player to exile cards from their hand to activate its effect, situating it within a different strategic niche than Time Warp that offers a direct extra turn without additional costs.

Compare this with Temporal Mastery, another card with the allure of granting additional turns, but with the added excitement of potentially casting it for a reduced Miracle cost. Even though Start the TARDIS doesn’t share this cost reduction feature, its conditions for activation can integrate seamlessly into strategies aiming to benefit from card exile. Savor the Moment is another relative, granting an extra turn at a lower cost yet with the limitation of not untapping permanents. This is a striking contrast to Start the TARDIS which offers a full turn experience.

Altogether, while it stands on shared ground with other turn-based spells, Start the TARDIS carves out its own identity in MTG, offering a unique experience when it comes to harnessing the power of time in gameplay.

Cards similar to Start the TARDIS by color, type and mana cost

Fae of Wishes // Granted - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When you play Start the TARDIS, not only it delivers immediate value by drawing you cards, but it also opens up the potential for further advantages down the line. This boost in resources can be a turning point, helping you to stay ahead in the match.

Resource Acceleration: This card sets you cruising through the time stream by potentially skipping ahead of your opponents. By granting extra turns, Start the TARDIS can accelerate your game plan, giving you the rare opportunity to unleash more spells or mobilize your forces uninterrupted.

Instant Speed: Ready to shift gears at a moment’s notice, Start the TARDIS can be cast at instant speed, allowing you to react swiftly to the changing tides of the game. This flexibility ensures you can maximize its potential at the optimal moment, whether it’s to surprise an opponent or to navigate around their strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: One notable drawback of Start the TARDIS lies in its discard requirement. Playing this card necessitates the loss of another card from your hand, which can be a painful decision, especially if your hand size is already dwindling or every card is essential to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: The rigid color-aligned mana cost attached to Start the TARDIS restricts it to decks that can produce the exact mana combination. This limitation can be a stumbling block in deck construction, potentially disrupting the flow of multicolored or colorless decks less inclined to accommodate such specificity.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Considering the card’s demanding mana investment, its effectiveness is measured against other cards available for the same or lower investment. In certain scenarios, the steep cost can slow down your tempo and lead to missed opportunities for optimizing your plays throughout the game.

Reasons to Include Start the TARDIS in Your Collection

Versatility: Start the TARDIS offers unique flexibility as it can be easily integrated into various deck archetypes. Its ability to affect the game state by potentially gathering valuable spells from throughout the game gives it a slot in decks looking for innovative ways to capitalize on casting multiple spells.

Combo Potential: The ability to fetch cards from outside the game when certain conditions are met makes Start the TARDIS a powerhouse for combo strategies. It empowers players to access a wider array of answers or combo pieces, significantly tipping the scales in their favor.

Meta-Relevance: With the ever-shifting landscape of competitive play, Start the TARDIS can adapt to the prevailing trends. Whether it is to outpace aggro decks or to outvalue control matchups, this card’s inclusion can provide pivotal plays that align with the current meta.

How to beat

The Start the TARDIS card is a unique piece in the strategic puzzle of Magic: The Gathering, offering a twist reminiscent of time travel shenanigans. To tackle this formidable card, a thorough understanding of disruption and timing is vital. You must be cunning, deploying counter spells to thwart your opponent’s attempts to activate its powerful ability. Artifact removal spells are equally critical, as these can directly eliminate the TARDIS from the battlefield before it warps the state of play.

Utilizing instant-speed interaction is paramount. Cards like Naturalize or Disenchant can be cast in response to the activation of the TARDIS, ensuring that it never gets its engine running. Should the TARDIS already be in motion, strategies such as graveyard manipulation or shuffle effects can minimize the advantage gained by your opponent. As an MTG player, it’s essential to stay one step ahead, predicting when the TARDIS might appear and keeping removal or counterspells at the ready. This way, you’ll keep the timeline—and the game—firmly within your grasp.

Remember, flexibility and foresight are your allies in overcoming the challenge posed by Start the TARDIS. Be vigilant, adaptable, and expect the unexpected to secure your victory against this temporal threat.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Start the TARDIS MTG card by a specific set like Doctor Who and Doctor Who, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Start the TARDIS and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Start the TARDIS Magic the Gathering card was released in 1 different sets between 2023-10-13 and 2023-10-13. Illustrated by Mandy Jurgens.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2023-10-13	Doctor Who	WHO		661	2015	Normal	Black	Mandy Jurgens
2	2023-10-13	Doctor Who	WHO		56	2015	Normal	Black	Mandy Jurgens

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Start the TARDIS has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Start the TARDIS card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2023-10-13	A spell cast using jump-start will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, it's countered, or it leaves the stack in some other way.
2023-10-13	If a card with jump-start is put into your graveyard during your turn, you'll be able to cast it right away if it's legal to do so, before an opponent can take any actions.
2023-10-13	If an effect allows you to pay an alternative cost rather than a spell's mana cost, you may pay that alternative cost when you jump-start a spell. You'll still discard a card as an additional cost to cast it.
2023-10-13	When casting a spell with jump-start, you must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions, including those based on the card's type. For instance, you can cast a sorcery using jump-start only when you could normally cast a sorcery.
2023-10-13	You may planeswalk only in games using the Planechase variant. If you are instructed to planeswalk in any other game, nothing happens.