MANILA, Philippines – Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is heading into the final frontier with the release of its final expansion for 2026: Star Trek!
The Star Trek universe makes its way into MTG’s card pool with an assortment of memorable characters, locations, and moments spanning the franchise’s rich history.
Alongside new creature types like Klingon, Vulcan, and Borg, Star Trek introduces mechanics and themes that blend seamlessly with the game’s existing strategies and metagame.
Whether you’re a tournament grinder or a Commander enthusiast, here are some cards worth keeping an eye on as release day approaches.
Honorable Mention
Before diving into some of Star Trek’s standout cards, it’s worth highlighting one of the set’s most relevant additions regardless of format: shocklands.
These lands, which deal two damage to their controller when entering the battlefield untapped, have long been staples across nearly every format where they’re legal.
Beyond their multiple collectible variants, Star Trek also offers players an opportunity to pick up these essential lands at more accessible price points, while premium printings remain available for collectors.
White
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
One of Star Trek’s most beloved icons, Captain Jean-Luc Picard brings his leadership prowess to MTG by creating a 1/1 red Officer creature whenever you cast a creature or Spacecraft spell.
Beyond bolstering your board, Picard also grants additional stats to your other creatures and features a tutoring ability reminiscent of Magda, Brazen Outlaw.
While he may not be as explosive as his dwarven counterpart, Picard has potential across other formats and could even serve as the centerpiece of a thematic Commander deck built around Spacecraft.
Brad Boimler, Eager Ensign
Brad may initially seem innocuous as a two-mana 2/2 with lifelink, but his potential as an enabler becomes apparent once he’s tapped.
While tapped, Brad adds an additional counter to permanents you control whenever they receive one.
His ability isn’t limited to +1/+1 counters on creatures, allowing him to interact with everything from charge counters on Spacecraft to loyalty counters on Planeswalkers.
While he may be on the weaker side for 60-card formats, Brad should find a home in singleton formats like Commander, where his ability to generate additional counters can really shine.
Federation Resupply
Federation Resupply plays into one of white’s traditional strengths by providing support for Equipment and Aura strategies, while also letting players dig for Spacecraft thanks to its set-specific mechanics.
What makes the card particularly appealing is its potential to generate two-for-one value or even better through its Beam Me Up ability.
In Standard, for example, players can chain Equipment searches across turns two through four using Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, and Federation Resupply.
The Needs of the Many
Sometimes, one extra turn is all it takes to win a game, and The Needs of the Many might just be the card to secure it.
For just two mana and the sacrifice of a single creature, your creatures gain hexproof and indestructible for the turn.
You also gain hexproof and prevent damage, making it a flexible option for both offensive pushes and defensive plays.
With cards like Teferi’s Protection costing three mana, The Needs of the Many could prove to be an appealing alternative for decks looking to protect their board without spending as much mana.
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Blue
Scotty, Miracle Worker
Scotty is known for working miracles in the Star Trek universe, and his corresponding MTG card lives up to the name.
With Scotty on the battlefield, instants and sorceries in your graveyard gain the set’s Beam Me Up mechanic during each main phase, allowing you to reuse them as long as you meet the additional requirement of returning or bouncing a creature to your hand.
While somewhat restrictive compared to cards like Past in Flames, Scotty could be a potent engine in the right deck. Rather than simply working miracles, he might just enable an entire Storm strategy on his own.
Seven of Nine, Unassimilated
Seven of Nine is an interesting card with considerable potential as both an advantage engine and a win condition, particularly in control decks.
Coming in as a 0/4 for two mana, she can help block early aggression and provide some much-needed breathing room.
Her ability to loot for removal or other answers every turn is an added bonus, and with the requirement being five differently named lands, it’s relatively easy to activate without much deckbuilding sacrifice.
Whether she can compete with similar cards remains to be seen, but expect her to find a home in formats where Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student isn’t around.
Gwyndala, the Progeny
Gwyndala has all the makings of an exciting build-around Commander while still offering potential in constructed formats thanks to Equipment like Colossus Hammer.
Beyond bringing her own Equipment and effectively entering as a 2/2, her ability to turn all Equipment you control into copies of another opens up plenty of possibilities.
Cards like Coral Sword can go from combat tricks to full-fledged combo enablers when transformed into something like Colossus Hammer.
In Standard, she also has access to tools like Improvised Arsenal and Iron Man Armor, making for some potentially devastating plays.
Subcommander T’Pol
T’Pol is an efficient cost card that can serve as both a disruption piece and a threat in blue-based strategies.
Having a spell-like effect attached to a creature is already of great value, and with Star Trek’s Beam Me Up mechanic alongside several creatures that support it, T’Pol should see some play.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite measure up to her predecessor, Tishana’s Tidebinder, which benefits from additional toughness and relevant creature types like Merfolk and Wizard. Still, she could serve as a solid second Tidebinder in Commander.
Black
Khan, Vengeful Heart
Khan is a recurring figure throughout the Star Trek franchise and is widely regarded as one of its greatest antagonists. His MTG counterpart brings an equally interesting effect to the table.
At four mana, Khan’s ability is relatively straightforward, providing two cards in exchange for sacrificing another creature or artifact as he enters the battlefield. What makes him stand out, however, is his ability to be cast from exile.
In Commander and other eternal formats, Food Chain is already known for generating wins when paired with the right creatures to sacrifice and recur.
Khan, being a black creature, could open up an entirely new color option for competitive Food Chain strategies.
His Human creature type is another bonus, allowing him to benefit from existing Human tribal support.
U.S.S. Reliant, From Hell’s Heart
One of the many Spacecrafts featured in Star Trek, the U.S.S. Reliant is an excellent card for grinding out longer games.
By recurring creatures with a mana cost of four or less from your graveyard upon entering the battlefield or attacking, it offers a two-for-one deal: a body on the board and a flying threat that can generate further value as the game progresses.
With Star Trek offering multiple ways to search for Spacecraft, alongside support from the previous space-themed set Edge of Eternities, the Reliant could serve as an excellent tutor target when needed.
Salt Vampire
Salt Vampire is black’s latest two-mana 2/2 tempo creature, and one that could find a home in lower-powered formats thanks to its versatility and disruption.
Beyond being able to strip a card from an opponent’s hand and exile it, Salt Vampire also comes with lifelink, which could prove relevant depending on the strength of the aggro decks surrounding it.
There’s not much else to say about it beyond being another addition to black’s usual two-drop lineup, although its Vampire creature type could potentially hint at future set synergies.
D’Ghor Bloodletter
Dilemmas are one of Star Trek’s new mechanics, forcing players to choose between different modes of an ability, and D’Ghor Bloodletter puts it to good use.
For just three mana, players can either give the entire board -1/-1 or force each opponent to sacrifice a creature while leaving behind a 2/2 creature token for themselves.
Fleshbag Marauder has long been a staple in formats like Commander thanks to its sacrifice effect. Having a potential board wipe as an alternative makes D’Ghor Bloodletter an appealing addition to decks looking for flexibility.
Red
Q, Stacking the Deck
Q embodies the chaos of Star Trek lore, with his near-omnipotent nature making him one of the franchise’s most unpredictable characters. Q, Stacking the Deck, captures that aspect of his personality rather well.
A four-mana 4/4 on the surface, Q could be an interesting addition to Commander tables and even eternal formats, turning every resource into a single card.
The possibilities are certainly amusing. A deck built around Q could be as straightforward as running nothing but Lightning Bolts or as ridiculous as stacking your library with Colossal Dreadmaw.
Of course, you’ll still need to pay for those cards, but having an entire hand full of the same card sounds like a good time waiting to happen.
Brazen Bluff
Brazen Bluff continues red’s tradition of having counterspells without actually being counterspells, and this time, it introduces an entire game of chicken.
While it isn’t as unrestricted as Tibalt’s Trickery, which can counter any spell with an unpredictable outcome upon resolution, Brazen Bluff lets players take matters into their own hands when fighting over a noncreature spell.
The stories this card will generate are bound to be legendary. Countering a game-winning combo with one of your own could make for some memorable moments at the table.
Encounter the Unknown
Encounter the Unknown continues the trend of taking an existing card concept and giving it an alternative mode, making it useful in different situations.
Part card draw and part board wipe, this instant could be a welcome addition to red-based control strategies.
Early in the game, it serves as a defensive tool, while its ability to dig two cards deeper as the game progresses could make the difference between winning and losing.
The Naked Time
Ramp in red isn’t anything new, especially with cards like Way of the Pyromancer appearing in the previous set. The Naked Time, however, offers an assortment of abilities for just two mana.
Upon entering the battlefield, it ramps you by providing a basic Mountain. On the following turn, it grants creatures entering the battlefield a +1/+1 counter and haste.
Being able to play a four-drop on turn three with haste is an excellent curve to build around, especially in slower formats like Standard.
Even with the land sacrifice required on The Naked Time’s third turn, the drawback isn’t as significant considering the land was only meant to be temporary in the first place.
Green
Captain Kathryn Janeway
Captain Janeway is poised to become a Landfall staple across multiple formats, with her four-mana cost drawing comparisons to Icetill Explorer.
While the additional land drop attached to a 2/3 body is certainly appreciated, Janeway leans more toward creature-centric strategies rather than purely land-based builds.
Unlike Icetill Explorer, however, she doesn’t provide the same sense of inevitability by allowing lands to be played from the graveyard.
Pairing the two paints an entirely different picture, though, and with both cards sharing the same Standard environment, expect ramp strategies to make their presence felt while they’re both legal.
Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy
Jadzia Dax is both a ramp card and a counter enabler, drawing comparisons to Bristly Bill, Spine Sower from Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
At two mana, she enters as a 0/1 creature that grows every turn, generating mana for every counter attached to her.
This isn’t limited to +1/+1 counters, making her particularly interesting for decks built around other counter types.
When you can’t get her onto the battlefield, she can also serve as a combat trick, providing two +1/+1 counters to another creature.
Being able to use her as a pump spell even while she’s on the battlefield, thanks to her legendary status, is a nice touch.
As more counter-based strategies emerge, expect Jadzia to become a more frequent inclusion.
Stable Wormhole
Combining Landfall strategies with creature-centric ramp can be difficult in formats without fetchlands, but Stable Wormhole offers an interesting solution.
With it on the battlefield, attacking with a creature produces a tapped Planet land token, allowing players to trigger Landfall before combat damage is dealt.
Overlord of the Hauntwoods makes for an interesting comparison. While you lose out on a new land with every land type for Domain synergies and a larger body, Stable Wormhole provides earlier ramp pressure that could be online as early as turn two in Standard.
Expect this card to find a home in Commander as well, potentially following a trajectory similar to Cryptolith Rite.
Test of Courage
Test of Courage looks like an excellent sideboard option, particularly as a direct upgrade to a card already seeing play in Natural State.
Having a one-mana answer to early artifacts and enchantments, with the added option of using it as graveyard hate, gives it plenty of versatility. The additional two lives is also a welcome bonus.
Multicolor
Kira Nerys, Firebrand
Kira is an aggressive 4/3 creature that opens up some interesting deckbuilding possibilities in colors not typically known for manipulating combat in this manner.
In a way, she resembles the Ninjutsu mechanic, except that instead of sneaking in one or two creatures, you’re potentially bringing an entire army into the fray.
Normally, white provides instant-speed flicker effects while red offers haste, both of which are generally used to maintain tempo or generate card advantage rather than push for damage.
With Kira on the battlefield, however, open mana isn’t the only thing opponents need to worry about. Cards like Sneak Attack can literally sneak an attack through while leaving mana open for additional plays.
Hit It!
Hit It! is a combination of red and green’s various strengths in the Star Trek expansion, making it a fun card to build around.
On one hand, it provides haste for your creatures, setting up future turns for aggressive plays. The real value, however, lies in its second ability, which lets you dig five cards deeper into your library for a land.
Whether used as a ramp piece or an enabler for graveyard-centric strategies, Hit It! is poised to see play in multiples while it’s legal in Standard, as well as in Commander.
Dal R’El, Augment Orphan
Dal R’El is a legendary creature with a decent mana cost with an interesting creature type: Mutant. This could make him particularly relevant alongside Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and potentially X-Men cards down the line.
At his core, he’s essentially a legendary Lotus Cobra, generating mana whenever a land enters the battlefield. While the mana is restricted to red and green, he still makes for an interesting ramp Commander.
Being able to sacrifice lands for card draw is another welcome addition. Even if he doesn’t offer much beyond that, his 3/3 body remains decent for Voltron strategies in Commander.
Colorless
Deep Space 9
Deep Space 9 is the kind of card that could inspire entire strategies, and despite its steep nine-mana cost, being both an artifact and a Spacecraft makes that requirement feel more like a suggestion than a necessity.
Upon entering the battlefield and during every upkeep thereafter, it exiles four cards from the top of your library, allowing every permanent among them to go straight onto the battlefield.
It’s an inevitability engine reminiscent of Portal to Phyrexia, although unlike the latter, it focuses on your own library rather than the graveyards of all players.
The real fun comes from the possibility of chaining multiple Deep Space 9 triggers in a single turn, and that’s without even considering duplicate copies.
U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class
The Enterprise-D is a useful advantage engine for creature-based decks that eventually doubles as a threat when it becomes a creature in the late game.
For three generic mana, it provides a way to play the top card of your library whenever a charge counter is placed on it, and that doesn’t necessarily require stationing it.
Aggressive Standard decks can sometimes run out of gas in certain matchups, making an additional source of card advantage particularly valuable when combat isn’t an option.
The fact that its ability isn’t limited to station-based charge counters also makes it more flexible than it initially appears. Consider picking up a couple of copies if you’re looking to compete or simply want another solid value card for Commander.
Engineered Explosives
Engineered Explosives returns as a reprint of a card that hasn’t seen Standard play in over 22 years, making it a welcome addition to both Standard and Pioneer.
As aggressive strategies continue to lower their curves, Engineered Explosives becomes increasingly valuable as a potential board wipe. Even casting it for zero mana gives it utility against token-based strategies.
Already a sideboard staple in eternal formats, this is a card worth picking up in multiple copies if you haven’t already added it to your collection.
Boldly going where Magic has never been before
Star Trek is an interesting set, and while its power level may not be as high for eternal formats as some of the previous expansions, it makes up for it with flavor and synergy.
It’s not every day that we get a Universes Beyond set that feels like it had a clear plan going into its design. From the perspective of both a player and a collector, there’s plenty to look forward to.
Beyond the alternate card printings available, the inclusion of shocklands alongside several decent playable cards spread across different formats is a pleasant surprise.
As the final MTG release of the year, Star Trek is definitely one to keep an eye on, arriving on November 13, 2026, just in time for the holiday season.
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