Federation Fleet Upgrade Guide: 18 Easy Changes You Can Make

Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary | Background Illustration by Jason Pastrana

Precons are universally an imperfect product, but those imperfections vary based on the set, and even the deck. Sometimes the issue is super low, nearly unplayable power (looking at you, Undead Unleashed) and other times, the themes simply doesn’t vibe with what the box implied.

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That’s where Federation Fleet lands: Though it seemed at the offset to be a spacecraft precon, the reality focuses more on the seek out mechanic. But that can be fixed.

Federation Fleet Deck Overview

Federation Fleet is a Jeskai () precon helmed by Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary, a payoff for playing historic spells and exhibitor of the seek out mechanic.

Seek out isn’t exactly new as draw a second card payoffs are fairly prolific throughout Magic; there are even other commanders that use it, like Minn, Wily Illusionist or Gavi, Nest Warden. It’s just named here, and given ample support throughout the deck. The spacecraft are more of a secondary theme; they happen to be here, and they work with Picard’s abilities.

Upgrade Plan

I was expecting a spacecraft commander precon, and was rather surprised I didn’t get it. And I bet you feel the same. So, my upgrade plan is making it the spacecraft commander I expected it to be, bringing in plenty of cards that enhance that, which includes spacecraft and spacecraft support.

While it’s a theme thing, this also improves the deck as not all the seek out cards, and many of the enablers, are unimpressive. Those are the primary targets for cards to swap out, though, like with any precon upgrade, there are also just less than ideal cards that have better or more synergistic options. None of the cards I’m adding cost more than $10.

Borg Scout Sphere

Suggested Cut:

Yes, mingling Borg and Picard is a flavor fail in this deck, but I’m not trying to build a flavorful deck. I really like Borg Scout Sphere with Picard in particular as it becomes Divination, but synergistic, which is what it takes to make Divination playable these days. Even without Picard, it enables our seek out cards. Overall, super solid.

I really dislike Fevered Visions without a way to break the symmetry. It enables seek out each turn, but I’m not convinced that’s a significant enough payoff to justify giving your opponents extra cards.

Captain America, Living Legend

Suggested Cut:

I see this vision of Temporal Tribulation: Flicker two permanents, Picard draws two cards, do it again later. But the deck lacks the enters abilities for me to really get excited about it.

Captain America, Living Legend is an excellent support piece for spacecraft (and vehicles) because it gives your creatures flexibility. You can station a spacecraft twice as fast, or get all the value of stationing without giving up your ability to attack or block.

Damning Verdict

Suggested Cut:

I say this every precon season, but decks that want to go wide should avoid symmetrical board wipes. I could accept something like Supreme Verdict if this were a vehicle deck and the idea was to destroy creatures, then crew vehicles, but spacecraft eventually become and stay creatures.

But they become creatures with counters, so Damning Verdict doesn’t see them. Since Picard puts +1/+1 counters on creatures, you can trust that most of your board survives this Verdict, which makes it the obvious choice, in my mind.

Insight Engine

Suggested Cut:

My issue with Howling Mine is the same as Fevered Visions, despite the artifact type making it slightly more relevant.

Insight Engine is the first of several cards from the Edge of Eternities Counter Intelligence precon. Picard doesn’t put counters on it directly but it works with other support that’s already in the deck, like Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct plus much of the support coming in. I love the draw, and every activation after the first enables seek out on opposing turns.

Inspirit, Flagship Vessel

Suggested Cut:

Frantic Search is generally quite bad because it puts you down cards, until you have something like High Tide that breaks it. Seek out isn’t enough to flip the broken switch.

Inspirit, Flagship Vessel provides meaningful spacecraft support by distributing charge counters and eventually makes them a force that can’t be destroyed with hexproof and indestructible. It’s so much better.

Jefferies Tube

Suggested Cut:

Farewell to Thrill of Possibility, another cheap and irrelevant seek out enabler.

Jefferies Tube is predominately here to turn mana into a fully stationed spacecraft, but its modality is also nice. Keep an eye out for Captain Janeway, Endgame as it really benefits from that unblockablity.

Kilo, Apogee Mind

Suggested Cut:

One day, Wizards will wise up to the uselessness of Commander's Sphere. Until then, I will keep getting a free card slot to add a card that actually matters!

Kilo, Apogee Mind was the face commander of Counter Intelligence for good reason: A creature with decent power that proliferates when tapped is the perfect spacecraft enabler. It’s put to good use here.

Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge

Suggested Cut:

Spot, Felis catus does very little here. It’s cute, but overall too costly to excite me.

Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge is pretty narrow but you’re playing a casual deck; you can afford a narrow synergy piece, especially with a commander that makes it cantrip.

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

Suggested Cut:

There’s a persistent joke in Magic that white gets the short end of the mechanical stick and Dr. Pulaski, Cynical Clinician certainly seems to have been designed with that in mind. Lifegain doesn’t matter in this deck.

Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd mostly makes the cut because I’m adding The Seriema. It’s an amazing synergy piece because The Seriema tutors Phelia, and then Phelia flickers the Seriema to draw more cards. That synergy is greatly enhanced in this deck since flickering historic permanents triggers Picard, and more than a few spacecraft have good enters abilities, too.

Surge Conductor

Suggested Cut:

On the Shoulders of Giants just… doesn’t do anything? Team-wide flying is cool, but not worth 3 mana and nothing else. That goes double for this deck since we’re adding more spacecraft, most of which have flying themselves.

Surge Conductor is much more meaningful support as a proliferate engine that makes spacecraft and creatures better thanks to Picard’s Oprah-esque counter distribution.

The Seriema

Suggested Cut:

Faithful Mending is similar to Frantic Search: Unplayable without the right synergies, which this deck lacks.

The Seriema works perfectly in this deck because Universes Beyond design ethos prints so many legendary creatures. While I’ll usually reach for Phelia first, there’s Kilo, Loran of the Third Path, and Data, Exploring Humanity as cool creatures, and that’s just the start.

U.S.S. Defiant, Mirror Migrant

Suggested Cut:

As amazing as Fractured Identity is in Cube, I don’t love it in the format it was designed for. Have you really removed the threat if two of your opponents have them? I don’t understand the math, though maybe I’m just cowardly.

U.S.S. Defiant, Mirror Migrant is a really nice protection spell. At least, when your deck cares about playing artifacts.

U.S.S. Enterprise-A, Free Spirit

Suggested Cut:

Tom Paris, Risk-Taker is easily my least favorite seek out card in the deck. It’s super costly and I don’t feel like its enough of a finisher.

U.S.S. Enterprise-A, Free Spirit makes the cut because it stations itself almost immediately: Making three 1/1s means it gets to attack the next turn or provide a meaningful burst of power to another spacecraft you want to get off the ground.

U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class

Suggested Cut:

Kes, Evolving Telepath is such a slow draw engine. Five mana, this deck doesn’t really accelerate it out, and your opponents have most of a turn to answer it.

U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class costs much less and Picard can trigger it off seek out. It’s also the only spacecraft that rewards you for overstationining it, which is just neat.

Uthros Research Craft

Suggested Cut:

I love Cryptic Command as a card, but this deck wants to tap out for its big spacecraft and creatures, not hold up this much mana.

Uthros Research Craft is probably the best spacecraft from Edge of Eternities. It draws so many cards, and eventually ends up becoming a serious threat that kills an opponent in a combat or two. Even before I knew how I was upgrading this deck, I planned to bring it in.

Warmaker Gunship

Suggested Cut:

Too many spacecraft leads to issues where you have all the spacecraft and no creatures to station them; as such, I thought it appropriate to cut U.S.S. Defiant, Tough Little Ship as the least impressive of them.

Warmaker Gunship is very similar as a spacecraft with a removal-based enters ability, but it’s cheaper and it shoots creatures, which are often more relevant at this power level.

Warp Core

Suggested Cut:

I don’t like Unification. I’m against giving cards to your opponents and don’t really want to give up one of my creatures to draw two, especially in a manner that’s so hard to capitalize on. The spacecraft reanimation is nice, but not worth two mediocre chapters.

Warp Core is maybe a little too cute, but I want to get this spacecraft thing going. It helps fix mana, hit land drops, and stations spacecraft pretty swiftly.

Winds of Abandon

Suggested Cut:

Chain Reaction is out for the same reason as Supreme Verdict: I just don’t want to sweep my board. Winds of Abandon sweeps everybody elses’ while serving as spot removal in a pinch.

The Final Decklist and New Cards

Here’s the updated decklist, and all the cards I’m adding. If you want to pick them up yourself, use the shopping cart button in the upper corner!

Commanding Conclusion

Furycalm Snarl | Illustration by Bastien Grivet

Though Federation Fleet wasn’t what I imagined when I saw it, part of the joy of Magic is reshaping decks into what you wish to see. These upgrades make it the spacecraft deck I hoped it would be, with the added benefit of ditching weak synergy pieces.

How would you upgrade Federation Fleet? Are you picking up any of the Star Trek precons? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord! If you want more TRK coverage, check out Draftsim’s YouTube channel and newsletter, The Daily Upkeep!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!

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