Time Beetle
Creature — Alien Insect
Skulk (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
Parallel Universe — Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, time travel. (For each suspended card you own and each permanent you control with a time counter on it, you may add or remove a time counter.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Doctor Who
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #7980
Time Beetle puts a suspend counter on a nonland permanent, effectively time-locking a threat for a turn and triggering every "cast from exile" payoff you have in play. The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler is the defining home — Time Beetle is in nearly 90% of those decks because suspending your own cards is exactly what that engine wants.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler
The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler runs Time Beetle in close to 90% of decks because suspending a permanent triggers the Doctor's 'Brilliant Friend' ability, letting you cast it for free when it returns — Time Beetle is essentially a free extra cast engine on a one-mana body.
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Jhoira of the Ghitu already wants spells sitting in exile with counters ticking down, and Time Beetle extends that philosophy to permanents — any nonland permanent you suspend feeds the same delay-and-explode game plan Jhoira runs.
Alaundo the Seer
Alaundo the Seer untaps creatures whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, and Time Beetle's suspended permanent coming off exile counts — it's a repeatable untap trigger stapled to a removal-adjacent effect.
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Gandalf of the Secret Fire cares about casting spells from zones other than your hand, so a permanent returning from suspend after Time Beetle's counter falls off triggers his bonus-spell ability and generates the kind of value cascade that deck is built around.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is where Time Beetle actually lives — the suspend mechanic plugs directly into a cluster of commanders built around exile-zone manipulation, and the one-mana entry cost means it rarely sits awkwardly in hand. Legacy and Vintage permit it, but the effect is too slow and too narrow to compete in those formats where tempo is everything and your opponents are killing you on turn two. Oathbreaker is a reasonable home if your planeswalker and signature spell care about suspend or cast-from-exile triggers, but the card sees almost no play there in practice. Outside those formats, Time Beetle is not legal and isn't a conversation worth having.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Time Beetle isn't currently available, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number before buying. Given its near-90% inclusion rate in The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler decks, demand is real — if you're building that commander, don't wait on it.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- The Tenth Doctor // Rose Tyler
- Jhoira of the Ghitu
- Alaundo the Seer
- Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.