The Best Commons and Uncommons By Color for Star Trek Draft

U.S.S. Voyager, Lone Wanderer | Illustration by Hector Ortiz

“Is this the human quality you call friendship?” – Kryten

“Don’t give me any of that Star Trek crap. It’s too early in the morning!” – Lister

I just had to include a Red Dwarf reference for posterity.

Jumping into a new Draft set like Star Trek can be daunting. Here, I’m going to go over my picks for the best commons and uncommons in each color to arm you with a bit of extra information as to what you should take in your drafts. As the format progresses and we learn more about it, these will absolutely change, so take these picks with a pinch of salt. I hope that this can serve as a baseline for TRK as we get started with it.

Commons

Pattern Buffer Preservation | Illustration by Alex Negrea

White

#3. Oberth-Class Starship

Did you know that hitting land drops is a good thing? It lets you cast your spells and have a good game of Magic. I know that’s obvious, but it’s exactly why Oberth-Class Starship is so good. It’s a cheap play that gives you another land drop, simple as.

#2. Federation Field Medic

It may be situational, but the fact that Federation Field Medic has the potential to draw you a card when it enters is more than enough for me. Just remember that it counts counters on any permanents, so a spacecraft with charge counters on it also counts.

#1. Malfunctioning Holodeck

It’s a bit boring, but a 3-mana removal spell that exiles any annoying permanent is still going to be the best white common, at least at this early stage. Until we know what the format is like, Malfunctioning Holodeck is always a safe pick.

Blue

#3. Guidance Failure

Oh look, a 4-mana instant that lets us put a target creature on the top or bottom of its owner’s library. We’ve now seen dozens of variations on this design, and it’s usually really good, so Guidance Failure’s bound to be among blue’s best commons in TRK.

#2. Suurok-Class Science Vessel

Cheap creatures that draw a card when they enter are basically always good. Suurok-Class Science Vessel isn’t exactly a creature, but it does a good enough approximation that I have to assume it’s a good card.

#1. Interstellar Effigy

I have no problem believing that Interstellar Effigy is an incredible common. Only time will tell whether its cost will hold it back, though it’s an improvement over Iceridge Serpent from Tarkir: Dragonstorm in multiple ways, and that was already a fine common.

Black

#3. Relentless Drednok

Black’s commons feel kind of weak, but I really do like the Relentless Drednok. Unlike a lot of the other options for this list, Drednok has strong applications in multiple black archetypes, which likely makes it a high pick in Draft.

#2. Eject the Warp Core

I usually pick the cheaper removal spell for black’s number one common, but lately I’ve been wrong about that. Eject the Warp Core can answer virtually any creature in the format if you give it fodder, and the -2/-2 mode isn’t half bad either.

#1. He’s Dead, Jim

Removal is king. If you’re sick of losing to bomb rares, the answer is usually that you need more removal. The whole reason why a card like He's Dead, Jim is so good is because it gives you a way to answer problematic creatures that you’d otherwise lose to. It’s a necessary evil in Limited games.

Red

#3. Boarding Action

Star Trek has a noncreature spells archetype, and it looks pretty good. Boarding Action is therefore not just a card for aggressive Klingon strategies, but also a great card for noncreature spell decks, giving you two good spells in one.

#2. Tal Shiar Analyst

It’s quite rare to see a good build-around for an archetype at the common level, but that’s what I think we have in Tal Shiar Analyst. Blue/red noncreature spells looks like a very good archetype at this early stage, and this is one of the reasons I think it’ll be powerful.

#1. Planetary Bombardment

You can’t argue with cheap removal, especially something that could potentially be as good as Flame Slash. Planetary Bombardment is one of the better 1-mana removal spells we’ve seen in recent years, and it’s bound to be one of red’s best commons.

Green

#3. Common Goal

Green’s removal spells often leave quite a bit to be desired, and Common Goal is no different. Yeah, it’s pretty effective and should be able to kill most creatures, though there’s still a requirement involved. At the very least this is harder to disrupt than most bite spells, and it can even take out larger creatures than normal.

#2. Xenobotanist

If green ever has a 2-drop mana dork, it usually plays really well. Xenobotanist is also a fairly decent blocker and fixes for any color of mana, so it has to be a strong early pick in most green decks, though perhaps the more aggressively slanted landfall deck won’t be that interested.

#1. Temporal Conqueror

Unlike cards like Satyr Wayfinder or Town Greeter, Temporal Conqueror trades mana efficiency for a much more relevant body on the board, which actually works out really nicely. It still fills your graveyard and guarantees you some extra mana for the following turn, so getting to trade off for a good creature or hold back Klingon tokens is a really nice upside.

Uncommons

Data, New Life | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

White

#3. Ghost of Illyria

This might be a more speculative pick, but I’ve noticed something quite important. TRK has significantly fewer flying creatures than other sets tend to. Especially as a lot of the flying slots are taken up by spacecraft that aren’t necessarily going to work. As such, Ghost of Illyria looks like one of the best flying creatures white has access to, and it has a great ability to use, too.

#2. Rutherford, Upgraded Ensign

It’s hard to argue with a simple two-for-one. I already mentioned how a cheap creature that draws a card is really good, and one that draws you a good spell from among the top cards of your deck should be even better. You do need to make sure your deck has enough artifacts to find with Rutherford, Upgraded Ensign, but that shouldn’t be too difficult to manage.

#1. 70,000 Light-Years from Home

I misread this card originally. Turns out it’s better than what Path to Exile could be, since the basic land is only added to hand, not put directly onto the battlefield. 70,000 Light-Years from Home is a quintessential premium removal spell and should be taken highly.

Blue

#3. Hoshi Sato, Exolinguist

What is it with Star Trek and good creatures that replace themselves when they enter? Hoshi Sato, Exolinguist is just another great one. It’s quite expensive, but it reminds me a lot of Pondering Mage, which was a great card in a format that was much more powerful than this one.

#2. V’Ger, the Intruder

Speaking of creatures replacing themselves…. Star Trek appears to have a lot of ways to ramp but not a lot of things to do with all of that mana. V'Ger, the Intruder is an easily splashable big threat that will dominate a lot of the boards you play it on. It’s one of the best things to ramp into in this set.

#1. Cloak and Phaser

I’m excited to see how the Strange New Worlds deck plays out, and Cloak and Phaser is the best payoff for it. This is definitely a card I’d like to take early and then keep an eye out for as many different land names that I can find.

Black

#3. In the Pale Moonlight

This is not only an excellent episode, but also a great saga. Every chapter of In the Pale Moonlight gives you a nice little boost in value. While each chapter doesn’t amount to much on its own, the combination of all three looks really good to resolve.

#2. Hive Mind Coprocessor

I’m quite excited to see how the Borg deck plays out, and Hive Mind Coprocessor looks like the strongest nonrare payoff for it. The fact that each card you draw costs you life instead of mana is a really nice touch, meaning you can cast it on curve and still draw cards in the same turn.

#1. Resistance Is Futile

You can’t argue with a removal spell as clean as this. Yes, there are a bunch of artifact creatures in Star Trek, but unlike Go for the Throat, Resistance Is Futile isn’t dead when that’s the case. There are some great, cheap artifact creatures for you to pair with it, and it still answers most of the best creatures in TRK.

Red

#3. Khan, Despot by Design

It turns out red has a lot of powerful uncommons, so deciding on one for this third slot was quite difficult. I’m going with Khan, Despot by Design for the simple reason that the creatures in Star Trek look a lot smaller than usual and I think 1 damage to everything might be a lot more effective here than it would be elsewhere. It’s also a big trampling creature, which should be particularly strong in a set of smaller ones.

#2. Transporter Malfunction

It’s not often we see an efficient removal spell that we can cast twice. Transporter Malfunction is an especially good removal spell, and it can even go upstairs for good measure. With the noncreature spells deck in particular, this card looks like it’s going to do some work.

#1. Academy Instructor

I’ve already mentioned the noncreature spells deck a few times, and this card is one of the reasons I’m so hyped for it. Academy Instructor can give you so much free value, and there are so many great spells that work with it. There are a lot of cheap cantrips, cheap interactive spells, and much more. The archetype looks properly supported, and this is its best nonrare payoff.

Green

#3. Adversary by Algorithm

Green has a few nice two-for-one spells, and Adversary by Algorithm is the one I’m picking for this list. Beam me up spells are well supported in Star Trek with a lot of great options to return to your hand, so this looks basically like Call of the Herd with a big upside.

#2. David and Carol Marcus, Creators

Three mana to Rampant Growth plus get a creature has been a very good deal every time we’ve seen it. David and Carol Marcus, Creators adds to that equation quite nicely by creating a New Planet instead of searching a land for you. That has great synergy with the strange new worlds mechanic and fixes you for every color of mana at once. This is definitely one of green’s best cards.

#1. Hologram Stalker

So 6 mana for a 2/2, a 3/3, and any permanent back from your graveyard. This is a ridiculous amount of value. Yes, 6 mana is a lot, but that really shouldn’t matter. Hologram Stalker is an absolute beast of a card and is even a great payoff for the black/green graveyard deck.

Wrap Up

Risa | Illustration by Colin Searle

I know there’s some amount of animosity in the community towards this set and Universes Beyond in general. If you’ve read this and are still unsure about this set or Star Trek as a whole, my advice is simply to give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen? Star Trek has a lot of things wrong with it, but that shouldn’t detract from the things it has done right over the years. At its heart, it’s a show about unity, diversity, and joy, in a genre that all too often is about bleak dystopian worlds with no hope in sight. Try it out, have fun with it, and bring some more positivity to this great hobby of ours.

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Until next time, take care of yourselves!