Magic: The Gathering® | Star Trek™ Mechanics

For over 60 years, Star Trek has delighted audiences with a bold vision of the future, filled with adventures to strange new worlds, technological wonders, and iconic captains and crews. We've packed decades of episodes, movies, and more than a few Easter eggs into Magic: The Gathering® | Star Trek™. Want to check out the new and returning mechanics you'll encounter in this set? Let's make it so.

Beam Me Up

A convenient way to get the away team where they need to go or kickstart this week's ethical quandary (sorry, Tuvix), transporters have been a mainstay of Star Trek since the beginning. Beam me up is a new keyword ability that allows you to cast some instant and sorcery spells from your graveyard by beaming … er, returning a creature you control to its owner's hand and paying a cost listed in the ability.

Returning the creature to its owner's hand is part of the cost to cast the spell, so once you've announced that you're casting a spell with beam me up from your graveyard, it's too late for anyone to respond by trying to remove the creature you're going to return. Just like all spells you cast for an alternative cost, if you need to know its mana value, always use its mana cost. For example, Open Communications always has mana value 1, even if you cast it using beam me up.

A spell cast using beam me up will always be exiled afterward, whether it resolves, is countered, fails to resolve because its targets are illegal, or anything else. The card types of a card with beam me up still govern when it can be cast. While instants with beam me up are great for quickly rescuing the crew from sticky situations, sorceries are still confined to your main phase when the stack is empty.

Beam me up cards offer opportunities coming and going. Cast the spell a second time from your graveyard, and your beamed-up personnel will be able to use "enters" abilities again, shake off unwanted Auras, and more. Energize!

Face a Dilemma

The Federation is charged with the protection and betterment of all its citizens. But from time to time, peace is threatened. When this happens, how do we respond? It is these dilemmas that lie at the very heart of the stories we celebrate in this set, and the new rules term face a dilemma invites you to face the hard choices.

Several cards in this set, such as Seven of Nine above, refer to a player facing a dilemma. You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. You've probably encountered many modal spells or abilities, even though you may not have realized it at the time. A modal spell or ability offers you a bulleted list of options and is preceded by an instruction such as "Choose one" or similar. For example, Command Decision.

All that's required to face a dilemma is to choose one or more modes. It doesn't matter what happens to the spell or ability after that. Captain Benjamin Sisko will count modal spells and abilities that resolved earlier in the turn, ones that were countered, and ones that didn't resolve because their targets became illegal, as long as you chose one or more modes for them.

If you choose multiple modes, including choosing the same mode more than once for spells and abilities that allow you to do so, that all counts as a single dilemma. In some cases, a modal triggered ability may trigger and you can't legally choose any mode. This usually happens because each mode requires a target and there are no legal targets available, or because the card has some restrictions on which modes may be chosen. In these cases, you didn't choose a mode, so you didn't face a dilemma.

Federation

The United Federation of Planets is made up of dozens or maybe hundreds or maybe back to dozens but working back to hundreds of worlds. Star Trek's timeline is pretty long, and a lot happens. The point is, the Federation draws strength from its many species contributing their knowledge and resources toward a better future. Your creatures can contribute to your better future through new federation abilities.

Federation is an ability word that's used to highlight abilities that care about the number of creature types among non-Borg creatures you control. (Sorry, Seven.) Different federation abilities will use this value in different ways, so read each carefully. For example, if you control Hoshi Sato and Captain Benjamin Sisko from the previous sections, there would be three creature types among non-Borg creatures you control: Human, Scientist, and Officer. If you control a Borg creature, none of its other creature types are counted for federation abilities. However, those creature types may still be counted if they appear on non-Borg creatures you control.

Strange New Worlds

The galaxy? As Q once said, "It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid." Your mission of exploration will take you to strange new worlds to seek out new life and new sources of mana, and strange new worlds abilities will further reward your adventurous spirit.

Strange new worlds is an ability word that highlights abilities that count the number of differently named lands you control. Each individual name counts once, no matter how many lands with that name you control. So, if you control three Forests, an Island, and a Breeding Pool, The Traveler's power is 3. Different cards with strange new worlds abilities will use that number in different ways. For example, Deep Space Scan uses it to determine the magnitude of its effect as the spell resolves.

Spacecraft and Station

You can't travel to any new worlds, strange or otherwise, if you don't have a starship, so it's no surprise that Spacecraft and the station ability make their return in this set. From the iconic ships of the early days of the Federation to the cutting-edge marvels leading the way after the Burn, an entire fleet of favorites awaits you.

Spacecraft is an artifact subtype. Each Spacecraft starts out as just that: simply an artifact, but most of them can become artifact creatures with the help of your brave crew. Most have two striations in their text boxes, while a few have three. They start with any abilities in the topmost striation. But they're kind of stuck at Spacedock until they become creatures. That's where station comes in.

Station is an activated ability that can be activated only as a sorcery, meaning during your main phase when the stack is empty. To activate a station ability, you tap an untapped creature you control other than the Spacecraft itself (if it's also a creature). The creature you tap can be any other untapped creature you control, including one that just came under your control this turn. As the station ability resolves, put a number of charge counters equal to the creature's power onto the Spacecraft.

Once the Spacecraft has a number of charge counters on it equal to or greater than the number indicated in the circle on the left side of its text box, it becomes an artifact creature with the power and toughness indicated on the right side. It will also gain any abilities in that striation. For example, once the Enterprise-D has seven or more charge counters on it, it becomes a 4/5 artifact creature with flying and vigilance while keeping its triggered ability and station.

Not all Spacecraft become creatures once they reach the indicated number of charge counters. If there is no power and toughness indicated, it simply means the Spacecraft will have the abilities listed in that part of the text box. It won't become an artifact creature.

Assimilate

Say, you look like someone with biological and technological distinctiveness. Perfect.

The Borg share a group consciousness. They operate with one mind, focused on one goal: seek perfection by assimilating other species into their Collective. Assimilate is a new keyword action that brings one of your opponent's creatures over to your side. Resistance is futile.

Most cards that assimilate will instruct you to assimilate a card that isn't on the battlefield. To do this, put it onto the battlefield under your control with a +1/+1 counter on it. It is a Borg artifact creature and will lose any other creature types it would otherwise have. If the card has any supertypes, card types, or subtypes other than creature types, it will keep them.

If you're instructed to assimilate a creature that's already on the battlefield, you first gain control of it, then put a +1/+1 counter on it. It becomes a Borg artifact creature and loses all other creature types it has. Again, if it has any supertypes, other card types, or subtypes other than creature types, it will keep them.

Battlefront (Commander Only)

Commander is a perfect environment for a Klingon craving the thrill of battle. There are so many enemies to attack! Surely, songs will be sung of your victory—maybe even an entire opera! Battlefront abilities reward you for doing what you were born to do: attack multiple opponents in the same turn! Qapla'!

Battlefront is an ability word used to highlight abilities that care about the number of opponents you attacked this turn. This number will be used in different ways, depending on the specific battlefront ability. To attack an opponent means to declare one or more creatures as attacking that opponent. Creatures that enter the battlefield attacking won't count. For example, if you attack a single opponent with a creature that has myriad, the number of opponents you attacked that turn is one, even though the token copies fanned out and went after each other opponent.

If there are multiple combats in a turn, battlefront abilities will remember who you've previously attacked. For example, say you're in a game with three opponents, and in one combat phase you attack one opponent with Worf. Worf's ability will trigger, and you'll exile one card. If there's another combat phase that turn and in that combat phase you attack the other two opponents, Worf's ability will trigger again, this time exiling three cards.

If instead in that additional combat you attack the same opponent you attacked in the first combat and one new opponent, Worf's ability would exile two cards. Note that an opponent you attacked twice in a turn counts only once for battlefront abilities.

Seek Out (Commander Only)

Star Trek teaches us to seek out not only new life outside of ourselves, but the best versions of ourselves. But in Magic games, sometimes you just want to seek out more cards to do cool stuff with.

Seek out is a new ability word that highlights triggered abilities that trigger whenever you draw your second card each turn. These abilities will trigger even if the permanent with the ability wasn't under your control as you drew the first card. So, if you draw Jean-Luc Picard, cast him, then draw a second card that turn, his seek out ability will trigger. Find a way to draw two cards during an opponent's turn, and the ability will trigger again. Before you know it, your opponents will be left scrambling while you can relax behind a hand full of cards, a board full of colossal threats, and a nice cup of Earl Grey.

Next Stops on the Journey to Release

Sensors have already detected Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek previews, and the set releases on November 13, 2026, with Prerelease events starting November 6. Preorders are available now at your local game store, TCGplayer, Amazon, and elsewhere Magic is sold.