Star Trek Cards, Mechanics, and Set Information

Last updated on October 21, 2026

Captain Kirk, Boldly Going | Illustration by Josh Newton

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of Magic: The Gathering. It’s 30-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Well, um, until now, when it’s time to boldly go where other IPs have gone before in Universes Beyond!

Clearly there will be more MTG fan unease at yet another non-fantasy Universes Beyond product, but for the Star Trek faithful, many of whom bought the soon-doomed Star Trek TCG in 1994, this is a long time dream fulfilled.

As Captain Kirk says at the end of The Wrath of Khan: “There are always… possibilities.” Here’s what we know, coupled with a bit of reasoned speculation (and isn’t that a reasonable definition of science fiction anyway?).

Star Trek Basic Information

Forest | Illustration by Bengt Hampus Viklander

Set Details

Set Symbol
Set Code	TRK, TRC, SDS
Hashtag	#MTGxStarTrek
Number of Cards	280
Rarities	Common, Uncommon, Rare, Mythic
Mechanics	Assimilate, Dilemma, Federation, Station

Important Dates

About the Set: The Story

First Contact | Illustration by Keiran Yanner

There’s 60 years of story to pull from, as Star Trek (commonly referred to as “The Original Series” or TOS in Trek fandom), premiered in September 1966. There have been various sequels, remakes, and reboots over the years, with movies, novels, video games, board games, and toys. Of course, there’s also Star Trek conventions dating back to 1972, which arguably set up modern fandom for what it is today. You can consult Camille Bacon-Smith’s 1992 study, Enterprising Women, a book-length ethnography which helped to kickstart fan studies as an academic pursuit, if you’d like to trace the origins of TV-focused fanzines and fanfiction as we think of it today. I got my PhD studying this stuff, so if you want to toss some comments below or on the Draftsim Discord, I can go deep on this stuff.

That said, the preview video gave us clues as to how the set might limit the story. Perhaps.

The first sight in the video is of the TOS Enterprise. The nacelle’s design has the kind of spinning color on the front tips that they used in the 1960s series, which is different from the newer designed version of that era’s ship in recent spinoffs, Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Austere Command | Illustration by Cliff Nielsen

The next sight is Captain Kirk on the original bridge played by original actor, William Shatner. There are no designs so far that look like the aesthetic shift of the sequel films for that series.

Crystalline Entity | Illustration by David Alvarez

All well and good, but the third image is of the Crystalline Entity, a key part of Data’s origin story in Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), that premiered in 1987.

That’s kind of a deep cut, and it’s followed by another, Klingon Chancellor Gowron, also from TNG, and then that show’s Enterprise as the final piece of art.

They could have more easily showed things like Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard, or Data himself, and that likely would provide a bit more pop of recognition for folks with only a passing familiarity of Trek. The choices indicate pretty deep story detail from TNG and beyond. Given that TNG comes like 70 years after TOS in the Trek timeline, the set lives on Star Trek’s classic trope, time travel, which undergirded so many episodes and films.

Captain Janeway, Endgame | Illustration by Jason Pastrana

I plug in this image of Captain Janeway from the Voyager series finale, Endgame, because Star Trek stories come to an end even if there are infinite stories to tell before, after, and in between timelines. Perhaps we’ll see an original, abandoned concept for 1994’s Generations film, which united Kirk and Picard, which was to see the two ships locked in combat. We nerds can dream.

Star Trek Mechanics

Warp Speed | Illustration by Raymond Swanland

Assimiliate

The Borg Queen, Perfection Manifest is a hive mastermind of intelligence and power, and assimilate reflects that by giving you control of whatever is assimilated, and improving on it. By improving WotC means give it a +1/+1 counter, make it an artifact creature, and convert its types into a borg.

Dilemma

With any dilemma, you look at any spell or ability in which you choose a mode and that matters in some way. Seven of Nine comes from the borg where only optimal choices were tolerated.

Lots of cards throughout Magic’s history include modes to choose from and among the more famous ones are charms, commands, and confluences.

Federation

The ability word federation signals that a card counts non-borg creature types. As in you care about the number of creature types you control as long as they are not borg, which oppose the United Federation of Planets in numerous ways.

Station

As soon as Star Trek was spoiled, we knew the spacecraft and station mechanic from Edge of Eternities were no mistake. Thankfully the super fun mechanic has lots of design space so check the power on your creatures and get ready to tap them for charge counters.

Cameo Mechanics

Expect lots of cameo mechanics to get spoiled closer to release date. For now, enjoy that explore is found on Voyager’s commanding officer, Captain Kathryn Janeway.

Set Types

There are too many types to name since nearly every character is from a different planet. I pulled out some key ones here:

Borg

Think Star Trek‘s version of Phyrexians and slivers, but as artifact creatures. As in, artifact creatures matter with the borg, and you better believe that animate artifact cards love this sort of support. This is one of the types to note with federation effects out there, so while there are lots of subtypes, the main one to track is if it is borg or not.

Klingon

The Klingon Empire extends to Magic and this tougher-than-nails species is a lock for aggro red decks. Their capabilities are never to be underestimated and often lethal if tested.

Officer

Sure you’ve seen nobles, doctors, and scientists recently, but officers are a separate distinction. Rank matters in Star Trek, and officers do too, even those unnamed ones dressed in maroon.

Planet

A new planet is something any Star Trek fan can get behind, and there is a new one for each color pair. Though planets are not a deck of their own, there is a way to create token planets. This beautiful token simply provides a mana of any color.

Romulan

Romulans bring an empire to bear on their enemies, so their combat expertise is under a microscope.

Vulcan

This logical vulcan has no problem being alphabetically listed last among the set’s card types. The iconic people are fascinating and thankfully their focus on the mind means card draw in Magic.

Speculation

Unamed Star Trek art from WeeklyMTG with captains (L-R): Benjamin Sisko, Jean-Luc Picard, James T. Kirk, Kathryn Janeway, and Michael Burnham.

There’s lots we don’t know about the Star Trek set yet, but Edge of Eternities gives us lots of possibilities. Star Trek is about spacecraft which get to where they’re going at warp speed, so we already have potential mechanics to draw from, although warping is different in the universes of each set.

If the set is going to need to use time travel of some kind to build a coherent story, we might see some of the ways the Doctor Who cards did that, including using older mechanics like suspend.

In terms of the Trek universe, there are a lot of things on fans’ wish lists, and one thing that is a must-have is the transporter, which gives us the “Beam Me Up, Scotty” line that has percolated into everyday life, the mechanic is a focus, but there might be room for more references.

Structurally, there will have to be legends to represent the main characters, as there are in so many Universes Beyond sets. We have villains and robots as creature types in MTG, and remember that Starfleet officers don’t consider themselves soldiers, so there’s a clear distinction.

Anyone that guessed there would be a tribble is correct, but how many cards remains to be seen. They are a perfect blend of a goofy part of Trek and Magic mechanics, as these pests multiply rapidly. I can see either tokens or a Squadron Hawk sort of thing.

It doesn’t appear WotC is saving design space and focusing on one time period like they did with the Lord of the Rings set. That would have allowed Magic to follow up with more Trek properties, just like the MTG release of The Hobbit that followed LTR years later. If the set (ahem) takes off, perhaps we’ll get another space set in Universes Beyond in the future, so Trek will be a one off (Star Wars, anyone?).

With the commander decks set to major entities across multiple series, there’s a lot of freedom for the eternal-legal cards so I wager these are important to go along with the four precons:

• Federation Fleet = looting mixed with creature tokens and power matters with support for artifacts.
• Klingon Fury = goes wide with things like battle cry, battalion, and mobilize.
• Landing Party = pull out the explore cards, bring back lander tokens and landfall enchantments.
• We are the Borg = uses controlmagic, +1/+1 counters, a keyword soup legend, and graveyard manipulation.

Notable Cards

Allow me to re-introduce you to Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. The Phyrexian villain is back as Khan, Engineered Evil and available in both play and collector boosters, however it won’t be legal in Standard, and remains a death sentence to opponents in many formats.

Cards like The City on the Edge of Forever depict a particularly memorable episode and use the saga chapters to showcase key points in the story.

Among the Wizards Play Network promos you can land Burst Lightning, Highly Illogical, Munitions Enthusiast, or Solemn Simulacrum.

Then there’s something that only Universes Beyond can pull off and that is autographed cards. Having Magic creators, illustrators, even community members sign cards is nothing new, but having the actor or actress that portrayed the very character on the card, sign that collectible before it gets opened from a collector booster is an astounding premium.

• Captain James T. Kirk — signed by William Shatner
• Captain Jean-Luc Picard — signed by Patrick Stewart
• Captain Kathryn Janeway — signed by Kate Mulgrew
• Lieutenant Commander Data — signed by Brent Spiner
• Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge — signed by LaVar Burton
• Mr. Spock, Science Officer — signed by Ethan Peck
• Seven of Nine, Unassimilated — signed by Jeri Ryan

Official Spoilers

Any transmissions straight from the Federation are sent to the spoiler and leak hub for Star Trek, complete with filters for your researching ease.

Available Products

Got any power you can shunt to the engines? Multiple delays affect these Star Trek products, so check the details on when your cards might arrive. The listed MSRPs are for individual items.

Play Booster — $6.99

Star Trek play boosters let you play the game, including all the Limited formats you would fire up on a holodeck session like Draft or Sealed. These have the chance of landing you a shockland, a legendary spacecraft, an episode-titled saga or a sweet sorcery like Mirror Universe Intrusion.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Play Booster Box

• THE SHIP IS YOURS, CAPTAIN—Take a seat in the captain’s chair and engage with the unforgettable crews, adversaries, and starships of Star Trek’s many generations, from the bridge down to the lower decks
• ASSEMBLE YOUR OWN FEDERATION—Seek out strange new worlds and face moral quandaries—but when peace is threatened, send all hands to battle stations! Your continuing mission? To boldly go where no one has gone before
• FOIL CARD IN EVERY PACK—Each Play Booster contains at least 1 shiny Traditional Foil card and 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, including the possibility of special alt-art, alt-border cards
• BEST BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing Limited games with friends, and are tons of fun to open
• WELCOME TO THE GATHERING—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy, gorgeous art, fantastical stories, and a thriving fan community all together into a card game experience like no other

$134.89

Buy on Amazon

Collector Booster — $37.99

Star Trek collector boosters are for the Trekkies, and any collector of Star Trek memorabilia, think Sheldon’s Leonard Nimoy-signed napkin, just stay responsible in your purchases. The prospect of opening an autographed card is better than a serialized one with less than 250 of each.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Collector Booster Box

• THE SHIP IS YOURS, CAPTAIN—Take a seat in the captain’s chair and engage with the unforgettable crews, adversaries, and starships of Star Trek’s many generations, from the bridge down to the lower decks
• MAY CONTAIN HEADLINER SIGNED CARD—Each pack may include Collector Booster-exclusive card treatments and might even contain an ultra-rare Headliner card signed by Star Trek cast members
• DISCOVER STARFLEET’S BOLDEST, BRIGHTEST, AND BRAVEST—Every Collector Booster is like its own universe to explore, including tons of foils, special card treatments, Rares and/or Mythics, and a Full-Art land
• WELCOME TO THE GATHERING—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy, gorgeous art, fantastical stories, and a thriving fan community all together into a card game experience like no other
• CONTENTS—12 Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Collector Boosters, each containing 15 cards

$628.25

Buy on Amazon

Commander Deck — $74.99

Not every player is an EDH fan, but all Magic players should know of Commander and that there are four Star Trek Commander Decks available in a bundle. The TRC precon lineup is made up of three-colored precons with strong potential, and somehow they are all partly white.

• Federation Fleet | | Seek Out Card Draw | Charge Your Starships
• Klingon Fury | | Show Your Aggression | Hit the Whole Battlefield
• Landing Party | | Strange New Worlds | Trigger Landfall
• We are the Borg | | Grow Your Ranks | Assimilate the Enemy

Expect the notorious, mechanics that land high on the storm scale to be combined with familiar effects like flicker and landfall. Three of the four want to attack and trigger each turn, so rest assured you’ll see some combat action. The spread of colors allows lots of options for each, so expect excellence in these 100-card decks.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Commander Deck Bundle

• GET ALL 4 STAR TREK-THEMED COMMANDER DECKS—Explore Star Trek’s final frontier with all 4 Magic: The Gathering | Ster Trek Commander decks (Federation Fleet, Landing Party, Klingon Fury, and We Are the Borg)
• NEW COMMANDER CARDS—Each ready-to-play deck includes 33 Star Trek-themed Commander cards entirely new to Magic: The Gathering
• FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Command your decks in style with 1 Mythic Rare Legendary card featuring Borderless art and a shiny Traditional Foil treatment in each deck
• EPIC MULTIPLAYER GAMES—Magic’s most popular multiplayer play format, Commander is an action-packed, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue (best with 3–5 players)
• CONTENTS—All four 100-card decks also come with 10 double-sided token cards, 1 deck box, 1 strategy guide, and 1 reference card

Buy on Amazon

Collector Commander Deck — $159.99

Speaking of excellence, Star Trek Collector's Edition commander decks are fully foiled out decks ready to blind any unsuspecting opponents and Star Wars stans with Star Trek goodies.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Collector's Edition Commander Deck Bundle

• GET ALL 4 COLLECTOR’S EDITION DECKS—Includes Federation Fleet, Landing Party, Klingon Fury, and We Are the Borg
• FINER THAN GOLD-PRESSED LATINUM—Boldly go where no one has gone before; every card in these 100-card Collector’s Edition decks boasts the unmistakable shine of Surge Foil
• THE SHIP IS YOURS, CAPTAIN—Outwit and outmaneuver your friends in Star Trek’s final frontier with Commander, Magic’s most popular multiplayer format
• 33 NEW COMMANDER CARDS—Each ready-to-play deck includes 33 Star Trek-themed Commander cards entirely new to Magic: The Gathering
• BORDERLESS COMMANDER—Command your decks in style with 1 Mythic Rare Legendary card featuring special Borderless art that fills the entire card in each deck

Buy on Amazon

Bundle — $69.99

Send out an away team with a Star Trek Bundle and any species they come across can get a good idea of what the set is all about with nine of nine play boosters, 30 lands, 10 of which are full-art, plus a promo, d20 and a solid box.

Sale

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Bundle

• THE SHIP IS YOURS, CAPTAIN—Take a seat in the captain’s chair and engage with the unforgettable crews, adversaries, and starships of Star Trek’s many generations, from the bridge down to the lower decks
• BUNDLE EXCLUSIVES—Get a Bundle full of Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek cards and special accessories, including a shiny foil card featuring Bundle-exclusive alt-art, a Spindown die to track your life total, and a sturdy box to store it all in
• EXPORE THE FINAL FRONTIER WITH FULL-ART LANDS—Seek out strange new worlds with 30 land cards, including 10 Full-Art lands (5 with a shiny Traditional Foil treatment)
• 9 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing games with friends, and are tons of fun to open
• BUNDLE CONTENTS—9 Play Boosters, 1 alt-art Traditional Foil card, 15 Traditional Foil Land cards (5 with full art), 15 regular Land cards (5 with full art), 1 oversized Spindown life counter, 1 card storage box, and 2 reference cards

$64.99

Buy on Amazon

Beam Me Up Bundle — $99.99

The Beam Me Up Bundle includes the contents of the Bundle above except you trade one play booster for a collector booster, add 2 of 8 Schematic cards of the space-faring vessels that are sometimes more famous than the characters, and more set-specific art.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Beam Me Up Bundle

• A BUNDLE ENGINEERED FOR THE FANS—This feature-packed bundle is givin’ her all she’s got, Captain! You don’t need to crawl through a Jefferies tube to uncover the secrets of a starship when everything is contained right here
• MAY CONTAIN HEADLINER SIGNED CARD—Get 1 Collector Booster full of foils, special card treatments, and Rares and/or Mythics; you might even discover an ultra-rare Headliner card signed by Star Trek cast members
• EXCLUSIVE SHIP SCHEMATIC CARDS—Each Beam Me Up Bundle contains 2 of 8 possible Schematic cards of the most iconic ships in the universe, each featuring a Traditional Foil shine and art that can’t be found anywhere else
• EXPLORE THE FINAL FRONTIER WITH FULL-ART LANDS—Seek out strange new worlds with 30 land cards, including 10 Full-Art Away Team lands featuring art of the Enterprise crew visiting alien worlds
• 8 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Play Boosters are the best way to discover what Magic has to offer; they're perfect for building decks, playing games with friends, and are tons of fun to open

Buy on Amazon

Draft Night — $119.99

Star Trek Draft Night puts players on an away mission to find out which one of four players can come out on top given Limited cards and a great prize of a collector booster. The supplies for this mission include 12 play boosters and 90 lands, plus tokens for your convenience.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Draft Night

• THE SHIP IS YOURS, CAPTAIN—Take a seat in the captain’s chair and engage with the unforgettable crews, adversaries, and starships of Star Trek’s many generations, from the bridge down to the lower decks
• EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DRAFT WITH FOUR PLAYERS— It’s a draft party in a box! Draft Night is the self-contained kit for hosting a Pick-Two Draft for four players. Bring Star Trek to your table for an unforgettable game night
• DRAFT—Start with three Play Boosters each. Open the first pack, pick two cards, and pass. Repeat with the remaining cards and packs
• BUILD—Construct a 40-card deck with your draft selections, adding any number of Basic Lands (we recommend 17)
• PLAY—Pair off and play. Winners face off for fun and the grand prize: a Collector Booster full of Rare and/or Mythic Rare cards, shiny foils, and special alt-border cards

$127.54

Buy on Amazon

Scene Box: Enterprise-Q — $41.99

The Enterprise-Q Scene Box adds zaney tricks, unpredictability, and a powerful antagonist to mess with crew members. The box comes with six unique cards and three play boosters.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Scene Box - Enterprise-Q

• SHOW OFF THE SPLENDOR OF STAR TREK AND MAGIC—Claim your favorite icons to play and display with Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Scene Boxes
• ENTERPRISE-Q—The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise encounters Picard’s longtime adversary, Q. Will the trickster’s machinations bring woe or wonder?
• COMBINE 6 BORDERLESS CARDS TO MAKE THIS SCENE—Upgrade your deck or collection with these six Borderless Scene cards and piece them together to reveal the full story
• PUT YOUR ART ON DISPLAY—While each Scene Card is a playable Magic card (including game text), this box also contains 6 art-only cards, allowing you to appreciate the scene in all its glory on the included display easel
• 3 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Each Scene Box also comes with 3 Play Boosters; the best way to discover what Magic has to offer, they're perfect for building decks, playing games with friends, and are tons of fun to open

$44.99

Buy on Amazon

Scene Box: Divergent Timeline — $41.99

Jump to 2009 and director J.J. Abrams gave us a fresh movie on a young James T. Kirk. This Divergent Timeline still brings the three play boosters and art cards. Expect a very different Kirk, McCoy, and Spock.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Scene Box - Divergent Timeline

• SHOW OFF THE SPLENDOR OF STAR TREK AND MAGIC—Claim your favorite icons to play and display with Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Scene Boxes
• DIVERGENT TIMELINE—An intrepid crew takes their first voyage into the stars together. As James T. Kirk steps into the captain’s chair, a bold legacy begins anew
• COMBINE 6 BORDERLESS CARDS TO MAKE THIS SCENE—Upgrade your deck or collection with these six Borderless Scene cards and piece them together to reveal the full story
• PUT YOUR ART ON DISPLAY—While each Scene Card is a playable Magic card (including game text), this box also contains 6 art-only cards, allowing you to appreciate the scene in all its glory on the included display easel
• 3 BOOSTERS FOR PLAYING WITH FRIENDS—Each Scene Box also comes with 3 Play Boosters; the best way to discover what Magic has to offer, they're perfect for building decks, playing games with friends, and are tons of fun to open

$44.99

Buy on Amazon

Beginner Box

The Star Trek Beginner Box was set to operate like jumpstart packs, but got cancelled due to shipping delays according to Wizards. It’ll take a two-part time travel episode to bring this product back on an alternate timeline.

Wrap Up

Chancellor Gowron | Illustration by Rémi Jacquot

Fascinating.

Are players going to show up for Star Trek in MTG? It’s hard to know, but TNG ended just as Magic began, so I think there’s a kind of rightness to this. All I can say is that if I make the Pro Tour, I’m definitely wearing my Starfleet uniform to my rounds.

What do you want to see in this crossover of Magic and Star Trek? Which mechanics or creature types do you think will return from Edge of Eternities, Unfinity, and beyond? Let me know in the comments or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, Live Long and Prosper!