The 40 Best Cards in MTG’s Star Trek Ranked

Steam Vents | Illustration by Shahab Alizadeh

Star Trek’s arriving at warp speed, closing out 2026 with something a little bit less spectacular than a bang, but still intriguing enough to parse through for new Magic cards. I’ve made my non-excitement for this Star Trek MTG set known, but I’m also not strictly opposed to Universes Beyond in Magic, so I’d like to remain positive and take the new cards at face value. Plus, I want to remain level-headed for any true Star Trek fans who are excited about this set.

Besides, I’m one to strip away the art and flavor and really focus on the mechanics and interactions of the cards, so ranking the best cards in the set lets me look past the things that don’t really sit well with me anyway. And like it or not, there are definitely cards in Star Trek that we’ll be playing with for a long while.

Best Reality Fracture Reprints

Wrath of God | Illustration by Pablo Mendoza

Unranked: Stardates Bonus Sheet

I’m not going to use this entire space to hash out 30 Stardates cards. Suffice to say they picked some good ones for this bonus sheet, but locked them behind a pretty low open rate for Play Boosters. Some highlights include Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, Shizo, Death's Storehouse, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, and Phyrexian Tower.

#8. Heroic Intervention

Heroic Intervention is such a stubborn Magic card; no matter how many times they reprint it, it always seems to remain above $10. I don’t know if shirtless George Takei is really doing it for y’all (this isn’t even the only card in this set to depict this exact episode), but I say print this green Commander staple into the ground.

#7. Engineered Explosives

Engineered Explosives’ relevance in Constructed ebbs and flows, but it’s always managed to stay out of bulk range. I’m not enough of a Standard expert to know if this has an immediate home there, but it’s still at the very least useful in the sideboards of various Modern and Legacy decks. This reprint also makes it Pioneer-legal for the first time.

#6. Warleader’s Call

Warleader's Call is still under three years old, but this Murders at Karlov Manor enchantment is one of the best impact effects for decks that support its colors. Pinging on entering plus an anthem on board adds a lot of extra damage to your gameplan.

#5. Professional Face-Breaker

Apparently faces in the Star Trek universe are in need of breaking, too. Never going to turn down a Professional Face-Breaker reprint. This is just a great utility creature that plays into a ton of red strategies.

#4. Guardian Project

Guardian Project earns its green staple status. It’s one of the premier ways to draw a ton of cards in green decks, and it remains highly relevant despite newer enchantments playing in the same space.

#3. Bond Lands

Each of the Star Trek Commander precons includes one bond land. It’s a top-tier land cycle for Commander, and I suppose it’s a fine gesture for these $75 precons to include one. Turns out every precon in 2027 will also include one of these, which is awesome, because every Commander player could stand to use a few more.

#2. Shock Lands

In a shocking twist, the shock lands are back once again, being printed for the second time in a 2026 Standard set. The reason is to make sure all 10 shocks stay Standard-legal in the coming years, since the ones from Edge of Eternities rotate sooner than the Lorwyn Eclipsed ones. We even get textless shock lands this time around, with some rad new art.

#1. Exploration

I rather like Jonas De Ro’s Magic art, but this version of Exploration makes me want to stay inside. It feels like a compromise for having such a strong and valuable card reprinted in a Commander precon. Exploration is a linchpin card for landfall decks, and it remains the most efficient version of the extra land drop effect.

Best New Star Trek Cards

The Beacon of Kahless | Illustration by Colin Searle

#32. Q, Your Illustrious Host

Five-color faeries barely sounds like a thing (they do exist in every color), but I suppose Q, Your Illustrious Host serves as a commander for a deck no one knew they even wanted. Such a fascinating way to bookend 2026 with Maralen, Fae Ascendant from Lorwyn Eclipsed. I doubt Q dethrones any of the already-popular faerie commanders, but it’s certainly letting you do something with the creature type you really couldn’t before, minus Morophon, the Boundless.

#31. Georgiou, Terran Emperor

Georgiou, Terran Emperor embodies the glass cannon mentality perfectly. This plays best in decks that already want to drop their life total to 0 and then swap life with other players, but it can also wrap up a game quickly against players who just don’t run a lot of interaction. Seems like a cool achievement worth building towards, even if it’ll probably lose you more games than it wins.

#30. Rite of Ascension

I liked Endless Foot Assault, I still like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, and now I get to like Rite of Ascension, though for fewer decks. Adding up to 6 power of attacking tokens on each combat step is very good, especially if those tokens can stick around and help maximize battlefront on subsequent turns. You can also dogpile one opponent with all the tokens that enter; they don’t have to be split up amongst your opponents, and they don’t have to jam into bigger blockers if only one player happens to be open.

#29. Federation Resupply

Open the Armory remains a solid budget tutor for aura and equipment decks, and it has only been reprinted a couple times. Federation Resupply power creeps it in two ways: Beam me up lets you do it a second time, and it can also search for spacecraft. Instant staple for decks built around any of the three requisite card types.

#28. Kobayashi Maru Scenario

I’m more or less ignoring the positive effects on Kobayashi Maru Scenario and care almost entirely that this is another Demonic Pact that you can donate to someone right before it loses you the game. You should have a contingency plan for when this all goes wrong, but that can be a simple disenchant after you’ve gotten your 5-for-1 off the other modes.

#27. Khan, Vengeful Heart

There are other cards that you can cast from exile and combo with Food Chain, like Misthollow Griffin, Eternal Scourge, and Squee, the Immortal. Khan, Vengeful Heart isn’t reinventing that part of the card, but it actually does something when you cast it, making it the strongest option in a vacuum.

#26. Vulcan Mind-Meld

As someone who rarely dabbles in the Eternal 60-card formats, Vulcan Mind-Meld catches my attention. Where I really like it is in politically-slanted Commander decks, where this is a collective Ancestral Recall for you and someone you want to buddy up with. Bonus points in theft decks as well, and super juicy with Scheming Symmetry.

#25. Holo-Engineer

Jinnie Fay, Jetmir's Second asks whether you like cats or dogs better, while Holo-Engineer simplifies that down to just 3/3 illusion tokens. Effects like this can put a lot of power on board when backed up by any number of mass-production token-makers.

#24. Chief Kyle, Transporter Tech

Displacer Kitten, Flickering Hound, and now Chief Kyle, Transporter Tech are basically the tri-force of cards that blink something when you play a certain card type. Kyle’s all about land drops, doing a sort of Teleportation Circle impression by turning your one land drop each turn into a blink. Where this gets really interesting is with extra land drops or fetches you can use on an opponent’s turn to make them a sort of protection piece.

#23. Death Is Irrelevant

Part Darksteel Forge, part Virtue of Persistence, Death Is Irrelevant looks really fun to play with, even as an 8-mana enchantment. Triggering on end step is a big deal, making this more like an 8-mana reanimation spell that leaves this threatening enchantment around to assimilate more creatures on future turns.

#22. Sam Kirk, Xenoanthropologist

I’d want some direct artifact or investigate synergies before I run Sam Kirk, Xenoanthropologist. But I rather like these creatures that just create game objects when your opponents do basic things. April O'Neil, Human Element and Mona Lisa, Ever Adaptable were other 4-mana examples from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

#21. Own the Day

Own the Day is tailored towards go-wide aggro decks instead of Voltron decks. Maximizing battlefront turns this into a frontrunner for best-in-class extra combat spell, though you obviously have to put in some amount of work to achieve that.

#20. Collation Trimatrix

Cryptbreaker for artifact creatures is a great addition to robot decks. There’s no extra juice here, but Collation Trimatrix is the perfect 1-drop for an all-in black artifact creature deck.

#19. Will Riker, First in the Field

I’m really intrigued by the design on Will Riker, First in the Field. You get two free land drops per turn, which is obviously extra landfall triggers, but also just extra mana you can use each turn. You then sacrifice those lands, so you fuel your land recursion spells, too. I can’t think of another card that does exactly this, and I imagine it’ll be really strong in landfall builds.

#18. Mr. Spock, Science Officer

Commanderfication of effects we already have will continue until morale improves. Teferi's Ageless Insight already exists, but it can’t be your commander, and it doesn’t apply to your draw step. Mr. Spock, Science Officer has no limitation, but it offsets its card draw potential with how hopelessly boring it is.

#17. Dr. Joseph M’Benga

Kind of another sauceless card, but Dr. Joseph M'Benga gives your creatures double counters at a reasonable cost, as well as hexproof. That’s enough to make its way into +1/+1 counter decks, though it’s strange that this doesn’t double charge counters on spacecraft until they’ve already become creatures.

#16. Stable Wormhole

Ramp that doesn’t work without attackers in play can be dicey, but Sword of the Animist has proven that an extra land every turn is worth the investment. After just two attacks, Stable Wormhole is comparable to all those Explosive Vegetation variants, except it sticks around to keep making more New Planets, and you even open up room for token synergies.

#15. Join the Collective

I’ve seen mostly negative opinions of Join the Collective, but I’m going to bat for this board wipe. Seven mana is astronomical for a sweeper, but one that leaves five, six, maybe even upwards of 15-20 tokens on board is absurd. Think about how often you cast Vanquish the Horde or Blasphemous Act for their maximum discount without having to actually count creatures on board. Boards get cluttered fast, and Join the Collective sweeps it all away while also re-cluttering your own board with bodies.

I don’t even necessarily care that this won’t replace artifact creatures. I’m more interested in having a Purphoros, God of the Forge in play and using this to just end the game on the spot.

#14. Kurn, Son of Mogh

Kurn, Son of Mogh is one of my favorite new battlefront creatures, paying you off big time for staying aggressive and spreading out attacks. Even if Kurn’s the only thing attacking, that’s already comparable to Phyrexian Arena that damages opponents, but it can triple up on the effect if you get an attack in on each opponent.

#13. Kira Nerys, Firebrand

Kira Nerys, Firebrand has such a cool take on Boros () beatdown. Flash creatures in or make tokens mid-combat, and you’ve suddenly got extra attackers out of nowhere. And you can line this up after blocks (or no blocks) have been declared, giving some of your creatures the equivalent of haste and unblockable. I kind of forgot about the trample and +1/+1 too; I’d still be super fond of this without those extra abilities.

#12. Lieutenant Commander Data

Lieutenant Commander Data only got better with each read of the card. It gets a counter off anyone’s noncreature spells, and it can remove counters from any of your creatures. That plays well with negative-counter creatures like Thing in the Ice and The Watcher in the Water, and it plays well with spacecraft that can pick up an excess of charge counters once fully stationed.

#11. Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Flashing Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in to retrieve a permanent from your graveyard is already fine, but the ability to save something from removal offers some strong modality. That can often be even better than a typical hexproof trick since it’ll retrigger any enters abilities, and you even pick up a +1/+1 counter when it returns.

#10. Q, Stacking the Deck

Somehow this list ended up with more Qs than a box of Scrabble. Q, Stacking the Deck is the most popular commander from Star Trek, and among the most novel card designs of 2026. It’s a really nutty ability for what I understand is a very abstract character, and it definitely gets your brain brewing. What’s the best card to tuck away with Q? That’s the question players are trying to figure out.

#9. Data, Exploring Humanity

Another Data card, Data, Exploring Humanity has one of the better seek out triggers. Discover 4 is at minimum just drawing another card, and at best spotting you the “free mana” to cast something that costs between 1-4 mana. You can also trigger seek out on other players’ turns, which really pushes this android over the top.

#8. Janice Rand, Essential Aide

I’ve got high hopes for Janice Rand, Essential Aide. Triggering off a commander entering or attacking represents a lot of ramp, and potentially twice as much if you’ve got partner commanders. The +1/+1 counter buff is just gravy here. Reminds me a bit of The Earth King but without much of a deckbuilding restriction.

#7. Collective Override

I’m equally high on Collective Override. It does a sort of Inkshield/Galadhrim Ambush impression, though it notably doesn’t fog the damage coming in. It can also just draw a bunch of cards. It can make a bunch of creatures while drawing a bunch of cards. And you can be proactive or defensive about it, which means it’s at its best in decks capable of attacking with lots of creatures. Seems like the type of spell that can either flip the table or push a winning board state even further ahead.

#6. Quark, Humble Proprietor

Quark, Humble Proprietor forces you into a mini-game where you’ll stockpile a ton of Treasure tokens, but you have to de-Quark your board before you can use them. Eight Treasures across two turn cycles is kind of broken, and the hurdle you have to overcome is as simple as feeding Quark to a Goblin Bombardment or some other sac outlet.

#5. Starfleet Academy

I’m usually wary of the hype surrounding lands like Starfleet Academy. I’m not a huge fan of Three Tree City, for example. But the federation ability here is potentially busted. If you’ve ever played with Coat of Arms, you’re aware how many different creature types just naturally show up on creature cards these days, and there are plenty of creatures that produce tokens with entirely different creature types. I don’t think you’ll add this to every single deck, but like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Three Tree City, this can tap for obscene amounts of mana in the right place. Which is 100% not a Borg deck.

#4. Hit It!

Star Trek is going off with high-quality ramp spells. Hit It! is a Gruul () ramp deck’s dream, jumping you ahead on curve and giving you that coveted haste enabler. This gives Rhythm of the Wild a run for its money, unless you really value the uncounterable text.

#3. Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy

Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy is the newest mana dork that scales its mana production to the number of +1/+1 counters on it, which it gets naturally each turn. A legendary Gyre Sage, if you will. You must use that mana in your first main phase, and the combat trick mode is completely lost if this is your commander, but I think we’ve got a busted mana dork on our hands.

#2. The Beacon of Kahless

Someone at WotC got the message about 3-drop mana rocks and has been pumping out banger Manaliths lately. The latest is The Beacon of Kahless, which is a simple red mana rock that becomes a very strong ramp piece in go-wide aggro decks. Even 2 mana per turn is powerful enough, but if Beacon’s ever paying for itself right away and sticks around to tap for 3 mana on later turns, it’s cracked in half.

#1. Deep Space 9

2026 has been a great year for giant artifacts, between Krang, Utrom Warlord, Memnarch, the Warden, and now Deep Space 9. This uber-spacecraft is surprisingly comparable to Apex Devastator, turning one card into possibly five, with the promise of up to four more cards on each of your turns. It’s also just a mega-anthem at some point too, which isn’t hard to unlock when you’re dumping extra permanents into play for free. This is going to become a standard talking point next to Portal to Phyrexia when players discuss huge artifacts worth cheating into play.

Beam Me Up!

Captain Pike, Fullness of Time | Illustration by Joel Chaim Holtzman

You know what, I think I might’ve actually learned a thing or two about Star Trek from this. I’m not booting up The Next Generation or anything like that, but I somehow feel more connected to an entire conglomerate of Star Trek lovers now. Is… Universes Beyond working on me? Or maybe this is just what Borg assimilation feels like.

I’m not exactly a Star Trek convert, but I dig some of the designs in this set. There’s a colossal amount of playable new ramp spells as a highlight, a smattering of intriguing new commanders, and plenty of pumped-up bread-and-butter effects that feel worthy of a slot in your next deck.

Which cards are you most excited about from Star Trek? Are there any I overlooked from this massive set? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord. And check out The Daily Upkeep newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest MTG news.

Thanks for making Draftsim your #1 stop for all things Magic!