The 29 Best Fan-Made Star Wars Cards in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 19, 2024

Call the Gatewatch | Illustration by Yefim Kligerman

I think at this point, Magic fans have to accept the fact that the game is going to include large numbers of outside IPs. It’s completely possible for me to sit down at Commander night at my LGS with my once-novel Princess Twilight Sparkle deck and square off against Dustin, Gadget Genius from Stranger Things, Gandalf the Grey, and Optimus Prime, Hero. The question is no longer if Magic will be including other properties, but which ones and when?

One property that seems ripe for a Magic: The Gathering adaptation is Star Wars. Any nerdy fandom like Magic is already bound to have some crossover fans with, at the very least, George Lucas’s three original Star Wars movies. In fact, many players have already made their own custom Magic versions of Star Wars characters. These range from a few one-off cards by fans to extensive projects like Star Wars: The Gathering.

With so many outside IPs already officially joining Magic, the barrier to including custom cards featuring your favorite Star Wars characters is getting thinner. Let’s take a look at some of the best fan-made Star Wars cards that you might want to try out during your next casual game. I’ll also be discussing how well the cards mechanically capture the spirit of the character, creature, or moment from Star Wars that they represent.

#29. Loyal Tauntaun

Loyal Tauntaun isn’t the most powerful creature, especially now that we have cards like Selfless Savior. Still, this card earns a spot for being one of the biggest flavor wins I’ve seen from custom Star Wars cards. Just like Han cut open his Tauntaun to save Luke, you too can sacrifice this card to save another creature. It could even be Luke if you’re playing with a bunch of custom Star Wars cards.

#28. Admiral Ackbar

I will admit that this Admiral Ackbar card is better when played with a lot of other Star Wars custom cards, as there aren’t any starships in Magic. That being said, he is a very fun commander if your playgroup is okay with custom cards, and he’s also a good representation of his film self. Creating starships and supporting them is very on-brand for the Admiral in charge of the Rebel Alliance’s fleet of ships. Plus, you can yell “it’s a trap!” anytime someone says “in response.”

#27. Han Solo

Han Solo also works better when playing with other Star Wars cards, since his buff to starships won’t do much for you in a normal game of Magic. I think it makes total sense that Han, as a great pilot, would make any starship you control just a little bit better. First strike is also an excellent reference to him shooting Greedo first.

#26. Nerf Herder

Nerf Herder is a great support card for decks running a lot of monstrosity abilities. It’s also a good tool for any +1/+1 counter decks, as granting trample is always a solid advantage. This card is also just a fun reference to the poor workers whose profession for some reason is an insult in the Star Wars galaxy.

#25. Scavenger’s Reward

Scavenger’s Reward is a very interesting card for or against artifact decks. This card gives you an additional way to get value out of cards in your graveyard, perfect for commanders like Osgir, the Reconstructor who sacrifices artifacts. It’s also good graveyard hate if an opponent is playing a deck such as Daretti, Scrap Savant that cheats big artifacts out of the graveyard.

Flavor-wise, I think it does a good job of capturing Rey’s life as a scavenger, as you’re only ever getting half the mana value just like Rey was given much less than the scrap she found was worth.

#24. Jawa’s Scavenging

Jawa’s Scavenging offers you a lot of value for just two mana. Not only are you getting one of your artifacts back from the graveyard, but you’re also getting a new card and possibly a Treasure to help cast one of them. This card is also a good representation of how Jawas find scrapped or abandoned tech. The Treasure token represents them selling off a droid they found and/or stole.

#23. Senator Padme Amidala

I mainly put Senator Padme Amidala on this list for its combo potential. Throw her in a Queza, Augur of Agonies deck and you now have a second option to combo off with Lich's Mastery. I’m always on the lookout for cards with seemingly innocuous abilities like this that can have surprisingly big effects on games, so Padme caught my attention.

#22. Images of the Past

Images of the Past is a really fun way to cash in on some ETB effects without paying a lot of mana. It can also trigger any abilities that trigger when other permanents enter the battlefield. It’s a somewhat niche card, but it’s a really fun design. For bonus flavor points, it works really well with Star Wars: The Gathering’s incarnation of Luke Skywalker.

#21. Unnerved Stormtrooper / Finn, Unwavering Leader

This transform card not only does a great job illustrating Finn’s journey from reluctant Stormtrooper to a heroic member of the Resistance, it’s also just generally pretty good. Unnerved Stormtrooper basically just sits inert on your opponent’s field until one of your creatures is destroyed, allowing you to regain control of it on its more powerful side.

Finn, Unwavering Leader is both an on demand Lightning Strike and a decent draw engine, all for one mana and another creature. He can be a great early-game play, especially if you’re running an Orzhov () deck with lots of ways to sacrifice your own creatures.

#20. Blind Worship

Blind Worship can be a great finisher in decks that like to go wide with creatures. Once you drop a big stompy creature, you can attach this to it and buff up the rest of your tiny creatures or tokens for a massive swing. Though I don’t think it really captures the moment in Star Wars referenced by the art, this type of effect would explain how a bunch of Ewoks took on a whole Imperial battalion.

#19. Bib Fortuna

Bib Fortuna is a unique kind of tutor. There’s always a risk when you tutor to the top of your library, but Fortuna’s second ability increases that risk by potentially shuffling away the card you tutored for. However, it forces an opponent to choose whether they want you to have the card or waste removal on a 2/1. After you draw the card, Bib Fortuna provides a future way to shuffle your library if need be.

#18. Jabba the Hutt

Jabba the Hutt is a pretty good translation of his character to card form. He can put bounties on other creatures, and then he can send bounty hunters after them. He’s also just a very cheap way to generate 4/4 creature tokens which you can keep alive more easily if you just don’t distribute any bounty counters. This gives you a few different ways to use Jabba, which is always a nice aspect of a card.

#17. Anakin’s Resurrection

There are several good uses for Anakin’s Resurrection. If you want to attack with a creature but you know it will likely die, this card allows you to get it back immediately. It also works well in a sacrifice deck, because you can sac one of your creatures and still get it back. This also allows you to take advantage of any ETB effects that creature might have.

It does a good job capturing Anakin’s change into Darth Vader in a few ways. The need to play it immediately represents the fact that Anakin needed to change quickly if he were to survive his injuries, and making the creature an artifact in addition to its other types represents how Darth Vader is “more machine than man.”

#16. Opee, Sea Killer / Sanda Aqua Monster

Opee, Sea Killer is an okay islandwalk card, but its real value is on its flip side. It becomes a massive 5/6 with hexproof when it dies, which is incredible value for a 2-mana card. This will also force opponents to choose between taking two damage occasionally from your tinier creature or killing it and dealing with a much larger threat.

While I’m personally not a big fan of The Phantom Menace, there’s no denying that this card also does a great job of capturing the flavor of the creatures it represents. In the movie scene, the smaller fish represented on the front side is devoured by the larger one on the back.

#15. Bossk

Bossk is one of the more iconic bounty hunters from Star Wars, and his deadly nature is pretty well represented on this card. Not only does he have deathtouch, but he has a great effect that gives you additional resources for completing bounties. Once you have more than five lands, you’ll be able to reliably play more and thin out your deck as long as you’re running a fair amount of removal.

#14. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s +1 ability can be really effective when playing against mono-colored decks. You’ll be able to easily sneak an attacker past blockers, and thanks to vigilance, you’ll also have a blocker with protection when your opponent attacks you back. Honestly, this ability alone might be worth running Obi-Wan if you’re looking to play with some of these cards.

#13. Royal Guard

Royal Guard is a cool form of removal that can be repeated as long as it stays on the battlefield and you have the life to pay for it. This is a great alternative to simply taking damage from your opponents’ attacker, since you’d have lost the life anyway if you let something through. It’s particularly effective against big attackers like Yargle and Multani whose power far outweighs its toughness, making the life you pay from Royal Guard a good trade for removing it. It’s hard to say if this card is a flavor win seeing as these guys just kind of stand around in Return of the Jedi, but if you know something I don’t from the Star Wars Extended Universe, let me know in the comments!

#12. Force Lightning

There are already Magic cards similar to Force Lightning, but I really like the addition to scry X. Depending on how much mana you pump into this spell, you could dig pretty deep into your library and set yourself up for a great next turn. Even if you don’t spend a lot on the card, whatever amount you get to scry is still added value on top of the damage you deal. Lightning in Magic is often associated with direct damage spells, so this is a fun merging of Star Wars lore and Magic mechanics.

#11. Star Wars Tap Lands

• Jedi Temple
• Droid Foundry
• Sith Citadel
• Hutt Palace
• Ewok Village

Star Wars: The Gathering includes a few awesome ideas for how to handle lands. One of them is a unique take on tap lands, one for each 3-color archetype in the set. These lands enter the battlefield tapped and can tap for one of two colors, and immediately produce a mana of a third color on ETB. I really enjoy this take on tap lands, which are usually a drag to play since they won’t do anything until your next turn.

#10. Star Wars Slow Fetches

• Droid Factory
• Sith Ruins
• Underworld Slums
• Jungle Village
• Jedi Enclave

Star Wars: The Gathering also has a great take on how to fix the slow fetch lands that are found in Commander precons. Instead of entering tapped and then fetching a tapped land later on, these lands come in untapped and can also tap for colorless mana. This means if you draw them once you already have all your colors, you can just use them as is. Otherwise, you can sacrifice them to find a tapped land of the types listed like a normal slow fetch.

#9. Jedi Mind Trick

Jedi Mind Trick can be a devastating card to use against an opponent, especially if they’re running a deck that allows them to easily sacrifice creatures. This card would be great in a multiplayer format, essentially forcing one of your opponents to help you out for a turn. It can be especially potent with cards like Ral, Storm Conduit that allow you to easily copy spells, or cards like Snapcaster Mage which will allow you to play this card again. I also think it’s a good representation of the Jedi Mind Trick from Star Wars which allows Jedi to influence another person’s behavior.

#8. Sabacc Game

Sabacc Game is a very fun card, especially in a coin flip centered deck. Either way, it can be an interesting gamble, giving you and your opponent a shot at stealing the other’s most valuable permanent. This can be an especially good card in a spellslinger deck that isn’t running too many powerful creatures, since you won’t have to worry as much about facing one of your own big threats.

This card is a reference to the Sabacc game where Han Solo won the Millenium Falcon from Lando, and I think it does a good job capturing the spirit of a high stakes card game.

#7. Princess Leia

I think Princess Leia works well as a Commander, not just in the context of Star Wars cards, but in general. Since she’s Bant (), you have access to a lot of ways to flicker her and make more rebels. You also have cards like Arcane Adaptation that can make all your creatures rebels. There are already a solid amount of existing rebel cards in Magic that you can run with Leia.

As far as flavor goes, I think the card does a good job of showing that Leia is a great leader of the Rebellions since she makes them stronger, and she herself gets stronger the more backup she has. The card very much captures the spirit of the Rebel Alliance being stronger by working together against the empire.

#6. Dark Decision

While not quite as powerful as a straight up tutor card, Dark Decision is still a great value for only two mana and one life. It’s hard to believe you won’t find at least one good card in the next 10 if your deck is built well. Even if you don’t, you get to shuffle your deck regardless, hopefully giving you better options to come.

#5. Sith Magic

Grixis () offers a lot of ways to deal direct damage to opponents or make them lose life outside of combat. This means Sith Magic allows you to reanimate creatures pretty easily. This would also be the perfect addition to an Obeka, Brute Chronologist deck, since you could end the turn before exiling the creature you got back.

#4. Beskar Ingot

Beskar Ingot is a handy card for any artifact deck. Because it costs no mana, it works especially well with cards like Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain or Urza, Lord High Artificer. Giving an equipment like Lightning Greaves or Whispersilk Cloak indestructible can also give you a huge advantage. This is a very good representation of Beskar in Star Wars, since the metal is nigh indestructible.

#3. Darth Tyranus, Count of Serenno

Darth Tyranus, Count of Serenno, known better as Count Dooku, is an incredibly powerful planeswalker. His +1 ability renders even some of the most powerful attackers pretty useless, and his ultimate ability can swing a game in your favor. That’s not to mention that his -3 ability can be activated as soon as he hits the battlefield, meaning you can easily cheat out massive artifacts like Blightsteel Colossus.

#2. Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker works really well as a Bant commander. He can trigger lifegain payoffs, and he can get super powerful if you’re generating a lot of tokens. Bant has access to a lot of token doublers and counter doublers, which synergize very well with Luke’s abilities. He can also protect himself pretty effectively, though at the cost of losing his counters.

#1. Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader

Anakin Skywalker’s front side is almost like the dark inverse of Luke’s. Instead of getting stronger when creatures enter the battlefield alongside him, he gets stronger when they die. He can also sacrifice his allies to take out opponents’ creatures, which works really well with his first ability.

If Anakin would be destroyed, you instead get to transform him into Darth Vader, which is a great bit of flavor. His Darth Vader side can be incredibly powerful, largely dependent on how many counters you managed to get on him before he transformed.

Is There Going to Be an Official Star Wars x Magic: The Gathering Collaboration?

While no Star Wars crossover with Magic has been announced, I wouldn’t count it out as a possibility. In fact, Mark Rosewater’s blog is a great hint that this may be possible. Rosewater was asked in 2011 if Magic would ever do a Star Wars set, to which he replied, “we only do sets based on our own IP (intellectual property).” This answer is obviously no longer the case, and the chances for a Star Wars set seemed more likely when Rosewater got the same question in 2022. This time, Mark simply replied, “would people like to see a Star Wars set?”

Whether or not we’ll get one is hard to say. First, Magic would have to make a deal with whomever holds the rights to make Star Wars into a card game. That’s unlikely given that Fantasy Flight Games is currently trying to launch its own Star Wars TCG after the failure of the short-lived Star Wars Destiny card game. An MTG crossover could shoot this new Star Wars TCG in the foot, as they would have to design their game and cards in a way where they weren’t stealing any of the ideas Wizards came up with in a Universes Beyond set. It would also mean that players might not buy into an all new TCG when they could just get the Star Wars Magic cards for a game they’re already invested in.

That being said, Rosewater asking if fans would like a Star Wars set does make it seem like it’s somewhere within the realm of possibility, so we may just see an official crossover at some point. However, if you really want to play with Star Wars Magic cards, there is already a pretty good solution.

Star Wars: The Gathering

Star Wars: The Gathering is one of the more ambitious fan projects in the Magic community. It is a fully designed set of almost entirely unique cards, based in the Star Wars universe. It has clearly-defined archetypes, and is even able to be drafted.

Fans can print the cards on their own, or they can order professionally printed versions through a link on the site. Any Magic and Star Wars fan would have a blast playing with these cards, so I definitely advise checking them out.

One of my favorite aspects of these custom cards is that they all use artwork as opposed to just taking screenshots from the movies. This makes it feel much more like a real Magic set. The cards are also designed in a way that they feel more balanced than custom cards tend to be.

Wrap Up

Hallowed Fountain (Unfinity) | Illustration by Piotr Dura

Many players have reservations about custom Magic cards, and I get it. They’re often designed by fans who don’t take previously printed cards into consideration, or who unintentionally design cards with ambiguous effects because they don’t understand Magic’s precise wording. However, I think the cards from Star Wars: The Gathering are all really well made and would add a fun new dynamic to your games. I’m personally planning on getting my own printing of Star Wars: The Gathering to draft with friends who are Star Wars fans and might not otherwise be interested in Magic.

Would you want to try playing with any of these cards? What other custom cards would you like to see us cover? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s Twitter.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing you next time!