Face a Dilemma in MTG: Rules, History, and Best Cards

Elim Garak, Simple Tailor | Illustration by Alexander Gering

Adapting a Universes Beyond property to a Magic set invokes that interesting struggle between flavor and function—the cards need to capture the ethos of the property they come from while working as game pieces. Characters and objects often work well since you can make creatures, artifacts, etc., but concepts are trickier.

The moral dilemma has always been central to Star Trek, as captains and other officers face difficult decisions that may determine the lives and many. Such an abstract, overarching concept is best suited to adapt as a mechanic, which is how we got face a dilemma.

Let’s see how it works in Magic.

How Does Face a Dilemma Work?

Austere Command | Illustration by Cliff Nielsen

Face a dilemma is a fairly straightforward mechanic: When you choose one or more modes on a modal spell or ability, you get a boon. This is typically on permanents, which trigger after you face a dilemma.

For example, Seven of Nine draws a card when you face a dilemma and Captain Benjamin Sisko makes 1/1s in the end step equal to the number of dilemmas you faced that turn. It’s very similar other mechanics that reward you for taking games actions like scrying or drawing cards for additional benefits.

The History of Face a Dilemma in MTG

Face a dilemma was introduced in 2026’s Star Trek Universes Beyond crossover as a flavorful mechanic that represents the moral dilemmas often raised in the Star Trek television series. It’s predominately a blue-black mechanic, though it appears in other colors. It hasn’t appeared in other sets, though the flavor is neutral enough that it could (or could return under a similar but different name).

What Counts as a Dilemma in MTG?

You face a dilemma if you choose one or more modes on a modal spell or ability. Nothing else counts.

While many Magic players face a variety of dilemmas like whether to mulligan or if they should splash that epic bomb that totally won’t ruin their mana base, face a dilemma is pretty narrow.

What Counts as a Modal Spell or Ability?

In short, modal spells or abilities make you pick from a bullet list of options. For example, Cryptic Command is a modal spell and Aether Channeler has a modal triggered ability. Though modal has other uses in Magic, such as referring to modal double-faced cards or player slang around flexible cards (one might describe Cyclonic Rift as modal because it can be spot removal or a board wipe), the rules are clear: Modal spells and abilities have bulleted lists. Nothing else interacts with face a dilemma.

Do You Still Face a Dilemma if Your Modal Spell Is Countered?

Yes! Face a dilemma doesn’t care very much about the modes or targets or anything of a modal spell, just that you choose modes. When you put a modal spell on the stack, part of the casting process is to choose which modes you’re going with.

Take Fiery Confluence. You don’t cast it, then wait for it to resolve before choosing modes. You announce the chosen modes (and targets, if applicable) as it goes on the stack: “I’m casting Fiery Confluence to destroy your Sol Ring and deal 2 damage to each opponent twice.” Because you choose modes there, you have chosen modes by the time the spell is cast. And that’s all face a dilemma cares about, making that choice. The spells don’t need to resolve.

On a related note, this also means that face a dilemma abilities generally resolve before the spell that triggers them. If you cast that Fiery Confluence with Seven of Nine in play, it would see you face the dilemma as you cast the spell and trigger. The triggered ability would go on the stack after Fiery Confluence and thus resolve first.

What If You Choose Multiple Modes for a Spell or Ability?

No matter how many modes are chosen for a spell or ability, you only face a dilemma once per spell or ability. Prismari Command, Thraben Charm, and Mystic Confluence all make you face a single dilemma, despite making you choose different numbers of modes.

What If an Opponent’s Effect Has You Choose an Effect?

This is a bit of tricky situation. Face a dilemma doesn’t specify that it triggers when you choose modes on “a spell or ability you control or own,” so it theoretically triggers on opposing spells/abilities. However. Making a choice doesn’t equal facing a dilemma because, again, dilemmas are only choosing modes on modal spells, though I can’t find a modal spell that gives your opponent the choice of modes. Other types of choices don’t count.

For example, Blood Clock gives you a choice: You pay may 2 life or return a permanent you control to your hand. While this is a choice, arguably a dilemma, you aren’t picking between modes on an ability. So no dice.

Similarly, cards like Mind Rot, Accursed Marauder, and Promise of Loyalty that make you choose cards you control to keep or discard or sacrifice or whatever don’t count as modal abilities.

The last, and perhaps most confusing thing worth noting is that voting for an effect doesn’t count as facing a dilemma, so council’s dilemma cards like Expropriate have no overlap with face a dilemma cards.

The tl;dr is that face a dilemma doesn’t trigger every time you make a choice, just when you choose modes on a modal spell.

How Does Facing a Dilemma Work with Triggered Abilities That Don’t Have a Legal Mode?

This is kind of niche, but what happens if your modal triggered ability has no legal modes? Let’s say you control Ayula, Queen Among Bears, but all bears have shroud, so you can’t target them.

If there are no legal targets for your ability, then you can’t put it on the stack and choose a mode. And if you don’t choose a mode, then you don’t face a dilemma.

It’s worth noting this doesn’t matter if the modal ability fails to resolve because it loses its legal target; say, you target a creature with Aether Channeler’s bounce ability, then your opponent sacrifices it. Like with a countered modal spell, what matters is making the choice, not the ability’s resolution.

Gallery and List of Face A Dilemma Cards

• Captain Benjamin Sisko
• Elim Garak, Simple Tailor
• Gabriel Lorca, Mirror Menace
• Jett Reno, Problem Solver
• Melkotian Adjudicator
• Obsidian Order Operative
• Seven of Nine
• Tell Me What You See
• The Caretaker

Best Face a Dilemma Cards

Captain Benjamin Sisko

Captain Benjamin Sisko is the expected 5-color commander from Star Trek to lead all the officers of your dreams. It’s a pretty good dilemma card, if only because you can pick all the best modal cards from the available pool. The tokens are a good payoff, though I wish it didn’t trigger in the end step. I suppose it makes the stack cleaner and easier to resolve, but it also gives your opponents a chance to interact with Sisko before you reap your rewards.

Elim Garak, Simple Tailor

Elim Garak, Simple Tailor has a pretty significant drain ability. There’s a reason most of these abilities restrict themselves to 1 life, and this doesn’t even have a once per turn restriction.

Seven of Nine

Look, you’ll never see me down on a card draw engine. Making every modal spell you cast cantrip hits pretty hard, especially if those modal spells remove permanents, like Theorix Charm or Cryptic Command. Cantripping removal spells sound like the foundation of a decent control deck.

Wrap Up

Captain Benjamin Sisko | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Face a dilemma is a clever solution to the need to create mechanics for a fairly tricky concept. Star Trek wouldn’t be Star Trek without making choices, and face a dilemma does a good job adapting it and expanding the play patterns of modal spells.

What do you think about face a dilemma? Are you looking forward to playing any of these spells? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord! For more Star Trek content, check out our YouTube channel and newsletter, both called The Daily Upkeep!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!