This is not a ranking of the strongest cards in the 99. Some spectacular Star Trek cards make mediocre commanders because their color identity is narrow or their ability works better as support. I also did not reward a character for being famous. Picard and Kirk have excellent designs, but name recognition does not make a seven-mana activation cheaper.

Every ranked card's name, mana cost, rules text, color identity, set code, and preview status was checked against Scryfall on October 25. Because the set has not released, Scryfall correctly lists these cards as not yet legal. Wizards states that TRK cards become legal in all formats at release, while new TRC cards are intended for Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. Recheck final Oracle text before building.

Worf does not ask to borrow a creature. He takes one from each opponent, gives the whole away team haste, and expects you to decide what happens before the turn ends. The mana-value-three ceiling misses the table's biggest threats, but Commander is packed with utility creatures, mana dorks, token engines, and commanders that are much more useful on your battlefield than theirs.

The clean plan is theft plus sacrifice. Goblin Bombardment, Ashnod's Altar, and Altar of Dementia make sure the borrowed creatures never go home. Panharmonicon can double Worf's enters trigger, while Molten Echoes and Conjurer's Closet give you more opportunities to raid the table.

Mono-red is the real limitation. You get excellent sacrifice outlets but little conventional flicker, and Worf can whiff when opponents have no small creatures. Build him for a creature-heavy pod, not into an unknown field full of spell decks.

Who should play it: The player who thinks Threaten effects are more fun when they end with paperwork nobody wants to sign.

Q turns the first nonland card he finds into a private printing press. Exile a card from your hand and you may create another copy of Q's chosen spell, although you still have to pay to cast that copy. Hit Jeska's Will and the deck can turn spare cards into mana and more cards. Hit a clunky six-drop with no immediate use and Q has successfully recreated one of his less entertaining trials.

That variance makes top-deck control essential. Scroll Rack, Sensei's Divining Top, Crystal Ball, and Valakut Awakening help arrange the test before Q enters. Mana Geyser can fund repeated copies, while cheap interaction gives you a safer floor if you cannot guarantee the reveal.

Q is powerful, but he eats your hand as fuel and every card discarded to his little experiment is exiled rather than recycled through your graveyard. Once granted, the exiled spell keeps its copy ability even if Q leaves; the real danger is spending several useful cards to repeat a spell that never repays the investment. He rewards careful setup more than ordinary mono-red good stuff.

Who should play it: Combo-minded red players who enjoy turning one carefully chosen spell into the entire episode.

Captain Pike combines two things green already wants: lands off the top and a commander that gets enormous without spending another card. Commander mana bases naturally contain differently named lands, so Pike's strange new worlds ability can make him a serious commander-damage threat while he filters lands away from your future draws.

Oracle of Mul Daya, Courser of Kruphix, and Azusa, Lost but Seeking accelerate the land plan. Sylvan Library and Sensei's Divining Top decide what Pike sees, while fetch lands and Ramunap Excavator keep the top of the library moving. Once Pike is large, Rogue's Passage solves the awkward problem of a giant captain being stopped by a 1/1 token.

He does not grant extra land plays, trample, or card advantage beyond the lands he lets you play. A removal spell can also erase a commander-damage plan that took several turns to assemble. Pike is steady, not explosive.

Who should play it: Mono-green land players who want their value engine to double as the win condition.

Cast any noncreature spell before combat and Gray and Adira make a temporary, hasty, nonlegendary copy of your best creature. The token disappears at the end step, which is less a drawback than a suggestion to copy creatures with enters, attacks, or dies triggers.

Combustible Gearhulk, Inferno Titan, Solemn Simulacrum, Duplicant, and Meteor Golem all offer immediate value. Terror of the Peaks makes every copied body hurt before combat even starts, and blue can protect the setup with cheap cantrips and counterspells that also switch the commander on.

The pair ranks here because it needs another creature worth copying and a noncreature spell every turn. A removal-heavy table can leave you with a four-mana 2/4 and no target. When the engine is assembled, though, the deck plays like an Izzet value machine wearing a clone deck's uniform.

Who should play it: Blink players who wish their copies could attack immediately and do not mind cleaning them up afterward.

This Picard starts as an anthem, makes an Officer whenever you cast a creature or Spacecraft, and eventually taps seven Officers to put any Spacecraft directly onto the battlefield with seven charge counters. That is three coherent abilities on a three-mana commander, and the token trigger does not care whether the spell resolves.

Oketra's Monument discounts white creatures and adds more bodies. Whitemane Lion and Kor Skyfisher can be recast to keep producing Officers, Cloudstone Curio turns cheap creatures into a loopable crew, and Welcoming Vampire helps the tokens replace cards. The same Officers can station Spacecraft while you work toward Picard's seven-creature cheat.

The deck is vulnerable to sweepers, and seven untapped Officers is a very public plan. Mono-white also limits the Spacecraft and interaction you can use. Picard is still one of the cleanest choices for a dedicated Starfleet creature deck.

Who should play it: Go-wide players who want every creature spell to report for duty.

The Federation Fleet face commander pays you for artifacts, legends, and Sagas with mana value three or greater. Drawing a card whenever one enters is already a real engine. Picard's seek out trigger then turns your second draw each turn into a creature counter and two charge counters for a Spacecraft.

Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain supplies more historic-card draw, Sai, Master Thopterist leaves a flight of Thopters behind your artifacts, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine produces cards, pilots, and a reliable second draw. Unwinding Clock keeps artifact mana and activated Spacecraft available, while U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class gives the charge counters somewhere appropriately dramatic to land.

Picard costs four in three colors and does nothing immediately without another historic permanent. The mana-value restriction also means a pile of cheap baubles will not trigger his first ability. Build the curve deliberately instead of assuming every artifact is invited.

Who should play it: Jeskai artifact players who want legendary permanents and Spacecraft in the same command deck.

Seven mana is a lot, but The Borg Queen arrives with an army's worth of text. She gives artifact creatures +2/+2, then assimilates the first creature found in an opponent's library when she enters or attacks. The stolen creature arrives under your control with a +1/+1 counter as a Borg artifact creature, ready to receive the anthem.

Panharmonicon doubles the enters trigger. Roaming Throne naming Borg and Strionic Resonator copy the Queen's triggered ability, while Master of Etherium, Tempered Steel, and Steel Overseer make the collective lethal. Unwinding Clock is excellent once the deck has enough artifact creatures and utility artifacts to exploit it.

The Queen is expensive, has no built-in protection, and can assimilate a mana dork after exiling half a library. Her floor is lower than the commanders above her, but Esper colors, artifact synergies, and repeatable theft give her the most cinematic ceiling on the list.

Who should play it: Artifact players who would rather acquire win conditions than put them in the original decklist.

Captain Sisko is a two-mana, five-color commander with a wonderfully strange assignment: face dilemmas, make Officers, then use the crew to cast the top of your library for free. You face a dilemma whenever you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. It still counts if that spell is countered, but choosing several modes on one spell is only one dilemma.

That makes Boros Charm, Drown in the Loch, Archmage's Charm, Gix's Command, Mystic Confluence, and Sublime Epiphany both interaction and token production. Ramos, Dragon Engine rewards the multicolor spell package, while Thousand-Year Elixir helps Sisko use his enormous activated ability without waiting a full turn.

Five-color access is a gift and a deckbuilding tax. The activation costs seven mana, requires Sisko to tap, and only casts spells cheap enough for your Officer count. The deck can become a pile of Charms unless you protect a focused game plan.

Who should play it: Brewers who want every modal card in Magic available and are willing to make an actual decision about which ones belong.

Worf rewards proper multiplayer aggression. Attack one opponent and you exile one card. Spread attackers across all three opponents and you exile three, with permission to play them until the end of your next turn. His enters trigger even supplies a hasty Klingon to start the battlefront.

Isshin, Two Heavens as One doubles Worf's attack trigger. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Breena, the Demagogue, and Professional Face-Breaker reward the same multi-opponent combat plan. Reconnaissance can pull creatures out of bad fights after they count as attackers, while Dolmen Gate lets the entire force survive combat damage.

Worf is five mana and does not grant evasion, so he can expose a board without guaranteeing damage. He is also more card-velocity engine than finisher; the deck still needs ways to convert all those attacks and exiled cards into a win.

Who should play it: Mardu players who believe attacking only one opponent is a failure of ambition.

Book turns every landfall trigger into a 2/2 Worm. The tokens cannot block, so the card politely removes any temptation to sit back: attack, sacrifice them, or turn their arrival into damage. A fetch land makes two Worms, and extra land effects scale without asking Book to attack.

Scute Swarm and Tireless Provisioner pile more material onto each land, Evolution Sage adds proliferate, and Parallel Lives doubles the Worm production. Purphoros, God of the Forge makes every token hurt immediately, while Goblin Bombardment and Ashnod's Altar ensure stranded Worms remain useful. Fetch-land recursion with Ramunap Excavator keeps the conveyor belt moving.

Book costs four and makes tokens that are terrible on defense. Board wipes also punish the deck for committing so much cardboard to the battlefield. Still, an uncommon commander that produces two power per land deserves more respect than its rarity suggests.

Who should play it: Gruul landfall players who want the lands to build an army instead of one enormous Elemental.

Lwaxana is a two-mana commander with the words combo players circle in red ink: a chosen creature's triggered abilities trigger an additional time while she remains tapped. She can give Etali, Primal Storm two rounds of stolen spells, double Inferno Titan attacks, make Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin build twice the Goblins, or let Purphoros, God of the Forge and Terror of the Peaks punish every creature twice.

Thousand-Year Elixir and Patriar's Seal let Lwaxana tap immediately or untap to choose a new guest. Delina, Wild Mage is especially entertaining because doubling her attack trigger creates more rolls and more temporary copies.

There are two catches. Lwaxana cannot target herself, and she has to remain tapped; untapping her ends the doubling effect. Mono-red also makes this more of an explosive engine than a protected one. Expect the selected creature to attract removal.

Who should play it: The player who reads “triggers an additional time” and immediately opens a new deck list.

Vash surveils every upkeep and draws whenever a card leaves your graveyard, but only once each turn. That last phrase is not the same as once each round. Move a card on your turn and each opponent's turn, and Vash can draw four cards before your next upkeep.

Phyrexian Reclamation and Reassembling Skeleton return creatures, Conduit of Worlds plays permanents from the yard, and Life from the Loam moves lands back to hand. Scavenging Ooze, Deathrite Shaman, and Agatha's Soul Cauldron can exile your own cards at instant speed when you need an opponent-turn trigger. The built-in surveil means the engine always has something to work with.

Graveyard hate shuts the deck down hard, and Vash does not protect the yard or the permanents you recover. The once-per-turn cap also stops obvious self-mill loops from becoming an instant draw-your-deck machine. That restraint keeps her interesting without making her weak.

Who should play it: Golgari players who prefer small, repeatable graveyard transactions to one giant reanimation spell.

Jadzia comes down for two mana and begins every first main phase by adding a +1/+1 counter to herself, then making green mana equal to all counters on her. The first trigger refunds one mana. The second makes two. Left alone, she becomes both an enormous creature and a personal Gaea's Cradle that fits in the command zone.

Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire accelerate the counter count. Kami of Whispered Hopes adds another counter bonus and turns size into mana redundancy, while The Ozolith preserves value if Jadzia dies. Staff of Domination gives all that green mana a place to go once the engine becomes excessive.

The weakness is timing. Jadzia must survive to your next first main phase, and commander tax makes repeated removal increasingly painful. She also lacks trample or protection. Spend real slots on Heroic Intervention, boots, and evasion instead of assuming the mana engine will be allowed to live.

Who should play it: Mono-green players who want their commander to ramp harder every turn and eventually win through combat.

Dr. Crusher doubles triggered abilities caused by you gaining life. That wording matters. Soul Warden is a source of life, so its creature-entering trigger is not doubled. Ajani's Pridemate, Voice of the Blessed, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Archangel of Thune, and Well of Lost Dreams trigger because you gained life, so Beverly gives each an extra trigger.

Meanwhile, Beverly puts a +1/+1 counter on herself whenever you gain life. A stream of tiny life events grows the commander while the rest of the board receives twice the normal payoff. Cleric Class and Authority of the Consuls provide efficient support, and white has no shortage of creatures that gain life when something enters.

She does not double the amount of life gained, and she does not protect the engine. Lifegain decks can also become stuffed with cards that gain life but do nothing when the payoff permanents are removed. Keep interaction and a real win condition in the list.

Who should play it: Lifegain players who care less about reaching 90 life than making every one-point gain trigger something frightening.

Janeway grants an extra land play and makes every creature that enters under your control explore, including herself. Lands revealed through explore go to hand for the additional drop; nonlands can place a +1/+1 counter and either stay on top or move to the graveyard. The commander smooths draws, fills the yard, grows a board, and ramps without requiring a Star Trek-only shell.

Wildgrowth Walker turns every explore into life and more counters. Path of Discovery makes nontoken creatures explore again, while Oracle of Mul Daya and Tireless Provisioner capitalize on the extra lands. Evolution Sage proliferates the counters, and Ashaya, Soul of the Wild gives a creature-heavy deck even more landfall texture.

Four mana is fair rather than fast, and Janeway must remain in play for creatures to explore. Token decks get the counter selection but Path of Discovery only adds its extra trigger to nontokens. She is powerful because the ordinary game actions already fit together.

Who should play it: Green value players who want lands, creatures, counters, and graveyard setup on one bridge.

Commander Spock is the best of the four Star Trek precon face commanders revealed so far. On entry and every attack, he checks the top card. If its mana value is no greater than the number of differently named lands you control, you cast it for free. If it is a land, you may put it onto the battlefield tapped. If neither happens, you still draw it.

Singleton mana bases make strange new worlds easy to support, and Bant gives Spock excellent top-deck tools. Sensei's Divining Top, Scroll Rack, Brainstorm, and Sylvan Library load the next mission. Oracle of Mul Daya and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove expand the land plan, while Lightning Greaves helps Spock attack before the table can arrange a transporter accident.

At five mana, the first commander-tax increase hurts. He also needs land names, not raw land count; a battlefield with six Forests only contributes one. Build a genuinely varied mana base and enough expensive hits to make the free cast matter.

Who should play it: Bant players who enjoy top-deck manipulation and would like every attack to reveal a free episode.

Seven has one line of rules text and an entire archetype hiding inside it: whenever you face a dilemma, draw a card. Choosing one or more modes for a modal spell or ability counts, even if the spell is countered or loses its targets. Choosing several modes on one effect still counts as only one dilemma.

Dimir happens to be excellent at modal interaction. Drown in the Loch, Archmage's Charm, Cryptic Command, Gix's Command, Inscription of Ruin, Mystic Confluence, and Sublime Epiphany all replace themselves through Seven while doing their normal jobs. Unlike many typal commanders, she asks you to play flexible cards you would already consider.

Four mana for a 3/4 that does nothing until the next modal decision is a vulnerable starting point. Modal double-faced cards do not automatically count—a dilemma requires choosing modes, not choosing which face to play. That rules distinction will save an argument before it reaches the judge-call stage.

Who should play it: Dimir control players who want every “choose one” spell to contain the secret mode “draw a card.”

Geordi doubles every batch of charge counters placed on an artifact you control. Star Trek Spacecraft use charge counters through station, so he makes a crew member's power count twice. The older Magic card pool is where the engineering gets irresponsible.

Everflowing Chalice and Astral Cornucopia enter with twice the expected counters. Coretapper and Surge Node load artifacts faster, Lux Cannon reaches four counters in half the taps, and Darksteel Reactor becomes a credible alternate win. Magistrate's Scepter receives two counters from its own activation; add proliferate or another counter source and the extra-turn engine gets much easier to complete.

Geordi doubles counters only on artifacts, not creatures or lands, and he does not protect an expensive board from Vandalblast. Charge-counter decks can also fill up with clever pieces that do nothing alone. Prioritize artifacts with a useful floor before chasing the wildest ceiling.

Who should play it: Artifact engineers who have been waiting years for a commander to make Coretapper look like premium technology.

M'Benga is a mono-green counter doubler in the command zone, and he gives every other creature you control with a counter hexproof. That pairing fixes the usual problem with counter decks: spending turns building a monster only to lose it to one targeted removal spell.

Walking Ballista and Hangarback Walker enter with double counters. Incubation Druid and Kami of Whispered Hopes turn counters into mana, while Forgotten Ancient spreads a huge supply across the team. Branching Evolution, Hardened Scales, and The Ozolith make the arithmetic uglier. Because these are replacement effects, combining several of them multiplies the growth quickly.

M'Benga pointedly does not give himself hexproof, and a counter does not protect any creature from a board wipe, sacrifice spell, or exile effect that avoids targeting. The deck still needs protection beyond its commander. Even with that weakness, doubling the deck's core resource every time is brutally efficient.

Who should play it: Counter players who want Hardened Scales in the command zone with a medical shield attached.

Mr. Spock wins because he turns the most useful action in Commander into twice that action. If you would draw a card, you draw two instead. Your normal draw step becomes two cards. Brainstorm draws six before putting two back. Windfall gives you twice the new hand everyone else receives. Consecrated Sphinx draws four whenever an opponent draws one.

Then the doublers start talking to each other. Teferi's Ageless Insight and Spock can turn one draw into four. The One Ring becomes spectacular and dangerous in equal measure. Faerie Mastermind supplies triggers around the table, while Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower keep the expanded hand. Laboratory Maniac and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries convert the very real risk of drawing the entire library into a win.

Spock costs four, has no protection, and paints a target visible from the Neutral Zone. He also doubles mandatory draws, so a long game can deck you against your will. None of that changes the verdict: a universal draw replacement needs no typal support, no combat, and no elaborate setup. Untap with Spock and the game has already tilted.

Who should play it: Blue players who consider “too many cards” a challenge to be solved after drawing them.

Choose the engine that matches what you already enjoy:

1. Pick Mr. Spock for raw cards and mono-blue control. 2. Pick M'Benga for creature counters and explosive combat math. 3. Pick Geordi for charge counters, artifacts, and Spacecraft. 4. Pick Seven of Nine for modal spells and Dimir interaction. 5. Pick Commander Spock for Bant lands and top-deck manipulation. 6. Pick Worf when you want combat to generate the cards. 7. Pick The Borg Queen when theme and artifact theft matter more than speed.

The right commander is not necessarily the highest-ranked one. A focused Lwaxana list will outperform a pile of blue staples wearing Mr. Spock as a hat. Start with the play pattern, choose the captain, and test the first draft in the ElderDecks Commander deck builder.

Mr. Spock, Science Officer is the best Star Trek commander revealed through October 25, 2026. He doubles every card you draw while he is on the battlefield, works with ordinary blue draw spells, and does not require a Star Trek typal theme. Dr. Joseph M'Benga and Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge are stronger choices for creature-counter and artifact decks, respectively.

Among the four face commanders, Commander Spock ranks highest here. His Bant color identity, land-based scaling, card fallback, and ability to cast the top card for free give the Landing Party deck the most broadly useful engine. Worf, Defiant Commander is the cleaner choice for aggressive players; Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary and The Borg Queen need more specialized artifact shells.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek releases worldwide on November 13, 2026. Prerelease events run November 6–12, and Wizards' preview schedule says the complete card image gallery will be available October 30.

Not yet as of October 25, because the cards have not released. Wizards states that new TRK cards will be legal in all formats when the set releases. New TRC cards and Stardates cards are intended for Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, with reprints retaining their existing legality.

You face a dilemma whenever you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. The choice counts even if the spell is countered or fails to resolve. Choosing multiple modes for one spell still counts as one dilemma. Simply choosing which side of a modal double-faced card to play is not the same thing.

Strange new worlds counts differently named lands, not the total number of lands. Three Forests, an Island, and a Breeding Pool count as three names. Commander decks have an advantage because singleton mana bases naturally contain many unique lands.

No. A commander's static ability functions only while it is on the battlefield unless the card says otherwise. Mr. Spock does not affect your opening seven or cards drawn before he resolves. Once he is in play, each individual card draw is replaced with two draws.

Probably. This ranking covers 86 newly designed legendary creatures visible through Scryfall on October 25. Wizards has more previews scheduled through October 30. ElderDecks should recheck the complete gallery, final Oracle text, and Commander decklists before treating the order as final.

Star Trek's commander class is deeper than the four precon leaders. Mr. Spock is the obvious raw-power winner, but Geordi turns decades of charge-counter artifacts into a new toolbox, Seven of Nine makes overlooked modal spells cantrip, and Lwaxana Troi may inspire the strangest mono-red deck at the table.

That is the encouraging part of this set: the best Star Trek commanders do not all ask for the same “legends and artifacts” pile. They point toward lifegain, graveyards, combat, lands, counters, theft, top-deck control, and a few deeply suspicious engineering projects. Pick the one whose failure mode still sounds fun. Commander games are long; you should enjoy the episode even when your captain gets removed.

- Official Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek card image gallery - Official Star Trek mechanics guide - Official Star Trek preview schedule - Official Star Trek buyer's guide and Commander deck overview - Official collecting guide, set codes, release dates, and legality - Scryfall Star Trek card gallery - Scryfall Star Trek Commander gallery

Card names, previewed rules text, color identities, artists, images, set codes, and current legality states were checked on October 25, 2026. The ranking is an original ElderDecks editorial judgment based on command-zone value, efficiency, resilience, color access, synergy depth, and setup cost. It does not claim tournament results, playtesting data, final prices, or a complete post-release metagame.

If you want the captain's-chair answer, Mr. Spock, Science Officer is the best MTG Star Trek commander revealed so far. Turning every card you draw into two cards is outrageous before you add a single synergy. Dr. Joseph M'Benga takes second by doubling creature counters while protecting the creatures carrying them, and Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge is the artifact specialist most likely to make a harmless-looking charge counter feel dangerous.

That ranking comes with a stardate-sized asterisk. Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek is still in preview season. This list covers the 86 newly designed legendary creatures available through Scryfall on October 25, 2026. Wizards says the complete gallery arrives October 30 and the tabletop set releases November 13, so consider this a heavily researched scouting report rather than a verdict carved into a dilithium crystal.

If you are looking for the best cards for an existing deck rather than a new commander, start with our ranking of the best MTG Star Trek cards for Commander. This list is specifically about the legends worth building around.

- Best overall: Mr. Spock, Science Officer - Best counters commander: Dr. Joseph M'Benga - Best artifact commander: Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge - Best spells commander: Seven of Nine - Best lands commander: Commander Spock - Best precon face commander: Commander Spock - Best graveyard commander: Vash, Freelance Archaeologist - Best combat commander: Worf, Defiant Commander - Best weird build-around: Lwaxana Troi, Charming Guest

I ranked these legends by repeatable card or mana advantage, strength from the command zone, color access, resilience, deckbuilding depth, and how much help they need before doing something worthwhile. A commander that draws cards simply for playing Magic scores higher than one that needs three permanents, an untap step, and favorable weather on Risa.

This is not a ranking of the strongest cards in the 99. Some spectacular Star Trek cards make mediocre commanders because their color identity is narrow or their ability works better as support. I also did not reward a character for being famous. Picard and Kirk have excellent designs, but name recognition does not make a seven-mana activation cheaper.

Every ranked card's name, mana cost, rules text, color identity, set code, and preview status was checked against Scryfall on October 25. Because the set has not released, Scryfall correctly lists these cards as not yet legal. Wizards states that TRK cards become legal in all formats at release, while new TRC cards are intended for Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. Recheck final Oracle text before building.

Worf does not ask to borrow a creature. He takes one from each opponent, gives the whole away team haste, and expects you to decide what happens before the turn ends. The mana-value-three ceiling misses the table's biggest threats, but Commander is packed with utility creatures, mana dorks, token engines, and commanders that are much more useful on your battlefield than theirs.

The clean plan is theft plus sacrifice. Goblin Bombardment, Ashnod's Altar, and Altar of Dementia make sure the borrowed creatures never go home. Panharmonicon can double Worf's enters trigger, while Molten Echoes and Conjurer's Closet give you more opportunities to raid the table.

Mono-red is the real limitation. You get excellent sacrifice outlets but little conventional flicker, and Worf can whiff when opponents have no small creatures. Build him for a creature-heavy pod, not into an unknown field full of spell decks.

Who should play it: The player who thinks Threaten effects are more fun when they end with paperwork nobody wants to sign.

Q turns the first nonland card he finds into a private printing press. Exile a card from your hand and you may create another copy of Q's chosen spell, although you still have to pay to cast that copy. Hit Jeska's Will and the deck can turn spare cards into mana and more cards. Hit a clunky six-drop with no immediate use and Q has successfully recreated one of his less entertaining trials.

That variance makes top-deck control essential. Scroll Rack, Sensei's Divining Top, Crystal Ball, and Valakut Awakening help arrange the test before Q enters. Mana Geyser can fund repeated copies, while cheap interaction gives you a safer floor if you cannot guarantee the reveal.

Q is powerful, but he eats your hand as fuel and every card discarded to his little experiment is exiled rather than recycled through your graveyard. Once granted, the exiled spell keeps its copy ability even if Q leaves; the real danger is spending several useful cards to repeat a spell that never repays the investment. He rewards careful setup more than ordinary mono-red good stuff.

Who should play it: Combo-minded red players who enjoy turning one carefully chosen spell into the entire episode.

Captain Pike combines two things green already wants: lands off the top and a commander that gets enormous without spending another card. Commander mana bases naturally contain differently named lands, so Pike's strange new worlds ability can make him a serious commander-damage threat while he filters lands away from your future draws.

Oracle of Mul Daya, Courser of Kruphix, and Azusa, Lost but Seeking accelerate the land plan. Sylvan Library and Sensei's Divining Top decide what Pike sees, while fetch lands and Ramunap Excavator keep the top of the library moving. Once Pike is large, Rogue's Passage solves the awkward problem of a giant captain being stopped by a 1/1 token.

He does not grant extra land plays, trample, or card advantage beyond the lands he lets you play. A removal spell can also erase a commander-damage plan that took several turns to assemble. Pike is steady, not explosive.

Who should play it: Mono-green land players who want their value engine to double as the win condition.

Cast any noncreature spell before combat and Gray and Adira make a temporary, hasty, nonlegendary copy of your best creature. The token disappears at the end step, which is less a drawback than a suggestion to copy creatures with enters, attacks, or dies triggers.

Combustible Gearhulk, Inferno Titan, Solemn Simulacrum, Duplicant, and Meteor Golem all offer immediate value. Terror of the Peaks makes every copied body hurt before combat even starts, and blue can protect the setup with cheap cantrips and counterspells that also switch the commander on.

The pair ranks here because it needs another creature worth copying and a noncreature spell every turn. A removal-heavy table can leave you with a four-mana 2/4 and no target. When the engine is assembled, though, the deck plays like an Izzet value machine wearing a clone deck's uniform.

Who should play it: Blink players who wish their copies could attack immediately and do not mind cleaning them up afterward.

This Picard starts as an anthem, makes an Officer whenever you cast a creature or Spacecraft, and eventually taps seven Officers to put any Spacecraft directly onto the battlefield with seven charge counters. That is three coherent abilities on a three-mana commander, and the token trigger does not care whether the spell resolves.

Oketra's Monument discounts white creatures and adds more bodies. Whitemane Lion and Kor Skyfisher can be recast to keep producing Officers, Cloudstone Curio turns cheap creatures into a loopable crew, and Welcoming Vampire helps the tokens replace cards. The same Officers can station Spacecraft while you work toward Picard's seven-creature cheat.

The deck is vulnerable to sweepers, and seven untapped Officers is a very public plan. Mono-white also limits the Spacecraft and interaction you can use. Picard is still one of the cleanest choices for a dedicated Starfleet creature deck.

Who should play it: Go-wide players who want every creature spell to report for duty.

The Federation Fleet face commander pays you for artifacts, legends, and Sagas with mana value three or greater. Drawing a card whenever one enters is already a real engine. Picard's seek out trigger then turns your second draw each turn into a creature counter and two charge counters for a Spacecraft.

Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain supplies more historic-card draw, Sai, Master Thopterist leaves a flight of Thopters behind your artifacts, and Shorikai, Genesis Engine produces cards, pilots, and a reliable second draw. Unwinding Clock keeps artifact mana and activated Spacecraft available, while U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class gives the charge counters somewhere appropriately dramatic to land.

Picard costs four in three colors and does nothing immediately without another historic permanent. The mana-value restriction also means a pile of cheap baubles will not trigger his first ability. Build the curve deliberately instead of assuming every artifact is invited.

Who should play it: Jeskai artifact players who want legendary permanents and Spacecraft in the same command deck.

Seven mana is a lot, but The Borg Queen arrives with an army's worth of text. She gives artifact creatures +2/+2, then assimilates the first creature found in an opponent's library when she enters or attacks. The stolen creature arrives under your control with a +1/+1 counter as a Borg artifact creature, ready to receive the anthem.

Panharmonicon doubles the enters trigger. Roaming Throne naming Borg and Strionic Resonator copy the Queen's triggered ability, while Master of Etherium, Tempered Steel, and Steel Overseer make the collective lethal. Unwinding Clock is excellent once the deck has enough artifact creatures and utility artifacts to exploit it.

The Queen is expensive, has no built-in protection, and can assimilate a mana dork after exiling half a library. Her floor is lower than the commanders above her, but Esper colors, artifact synergies, and repeatable theft give her the most cinematic ceiling on the list.

Who should play it: Artifact players who would rather acquire win conditions than put them in the original decklist.

Captain Sisko is a two-mana, five-color commander with a wonderfully strange assignment: face dilemmas, make Officers, then use the crew to cast the top of your library for free. You face a dilemma whenever you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. It still counts if that spell is countered, but choosing several modes on one spell is only one dilemma.

That makes Boros Charm, Drown in the Loch, Archmage's Charm, Gix's Command, Mystic Confluence, and Sublime Epiphany both interaction and token production. Ramos, Dragon Engine rewards the multicolor spell package, while Thousand-Year Elixir helps Sisko use his enormous activated ability without waiting a full turn.

Five-color access is a gift and a deckbuilding tax. The activation costs seven mana, requires Sisko to tap, and only casts spells cheap enough for your Officer count. The deck can become a pile of Charms unless you protect a focused game plan.

Who should play it: Brewers who want every modal card in Magic available and are willing to make an actual decision about which ones belong.

Worf rewards proper multiplayer aggression. Attack one opponent and you exile one card. Spread attackers across all three opponents and you exile three, with permission to play them until the end of your next turn. His enters trigger even supplies a hasty Klingon to start the battlefront.

Isshin, Two Heavens as One doubles Worf's attack trigger. Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Breena, the Demagogue, and Professional Face-Breaker reward the same multi-opponent combat plan. Reconnaissance can pull creatures out of bad fights after they count as attackers, while Dolmen Gate lets the entire force survive combat damage.

Worf is five mana and does not grant evasion, so he can expose a board without guaranteeing damage. He is also more card-velocity engine than finisher; the deck still needs ways to convert all those attacks and exiled cards into a win.

Who should play it: Mardu players who believe attacking only one opponent is a failure of ambition.

Book turns every landfall trigger into a 2/2 Worm. The tokens cannot block, so the card politely removes any temptation to sit back: attack, sacrifice them, or turn their arrival into damage. A fetch land makes two Worms, and extra land effects scale without asking Book to attack.

Scute Swarm and Tireless Provisioner pile more material onto each land, Evolution Sage adds proliferate, and Parallel Lives doubles the Worm production. Purphoros, God of the Forge makes every token hurt immediately, while Goblin Bombardment and Ashnod's Altar ensure stranded Worms remain useful. Fetch-land recursion with Ramunap Excavator keeps the conveyor belt moving.

Book costs four and makes tokens that are terrible on defense. Board wipes also punish the deck for committing so much cardboard to the battlefield. Still, an uncommon commander that produces two power per land deserves more respect than its rarity suggests.

Who should play it: Gruul landfall players who want the lands to build an army instead of one enormous Elemental.

Lwaxana is a two-mana commander with the words combo players circle in red ink: a chosen creature's triggered abilities trigger an additional time while she remains tapped. She can give Etali, Primal Storm two rounds of stolen spells, double Inferno Titan attacks, make Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin build twice the Goblins, or let Purphoros, God of the Forge and Terror of the Peaks punish every creature twice.

Thousand-Year Elixir and Patriar's Seal let Lwaxana tap immediately or untap to choose a new guest. Delina, Wild Mage is especially entertaining because doubling her attack trigger creates more rolls and more temporary copies.

There are two catches. Lwaxana cannot target herself, and she has to remain tapped; untapping her ends the doubling effect. Mono-red also makes this more of an explosive engine than a protected one. Expect the selected creature to attract removal.

Who should play it: The player who reads “triggers an additional time” and immediately opens a new deck list.

Vash surveils every upkeep and draws whenever a card leaves your graveyard, but only once each turn. That last phrase is not the same as once each round. Move a card on your turn and each opponent's turn, and Vash can draw four cards before your next upkeep.

Phyrexian Reclamation and Reassembling Skeleton return creatures, Conduit of Worlds plays permanents from the yard, and Life from the Loam moves lands back to hand. Scavenging Ooze, Deathrite Shaman, and Agatha's Soul Cauldron can exile your own cards at instant speed when you need an opponent-turn trigger. The built-in surveil means the engine always has something to work with.

Graveyard hate shuts the deck down hard, and Vash does not protect the yard or the permanents you recover. The once-per-turn cap also stops obvious self-mill loops from becoming an instant draw-your-deck machine. That restraint keeps her interesting without making her weak.

Who should play it: Golgari players who prefer small, repeatable graveyard transactions to one giant reanimation spell.

Jadzia comes down for two mana and begins every first main phase by adding a +1/+1 counter to herself, then making green mana equal to all counters on her. The first trigger refunds one mana. The second makes two. Left alone, she becomes both an enormous creature and a personal Gaea's Cradle that fits in the command zone.

Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, and Ozolith, the Shattered Spire accelerate the counter count. Kami of Whispered Hopes adds another counter bonus and turns size into mana redundancy, while The Ozolith preserves value if Jadzia dies. Staff of Domination gives all that green mana a place to go once the engine becomes excessive.

The weakness is timing. Jadzia must survive to your next first main phase, and commander tax makes repeated removal increasingly painful. She also lacks trample or protection. Spend real slots on Heroic Intervention, boots, and evasion instead of assuming the mana engine will be allowed to live.

Who should play it: Mono-green players who want their commander to ramp harder every turn and eventually win through combat.

Dr. Crusher doubles triggered abilities caused by you gaining life. That wording matters. Soul Warden is a source of life, so its creature-entering trigger is not doubled. Ajani's Pridemate, Voice of the Blessed, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, Archangel of Thune, and Well of Lost Dreams trigger because you gained life, so Beverly gives each an extra trigger.

Meanwhile, Beverly puts a +1/+1 counter on herself whenever you gain life. A stream of tiny life events grows the commander while the rest of the board receives twice the normal payoff. Cleric Class and Authority of the Consuls provide efficient support, and white has no shortage of creatures that gain life when something enters.

She does not double the amount of life gained, and she does not protect the engine. Lifegain decks can also become stuffed with cards that gain life but do nothing when the payoff permanents are removed. Keep interaction and a real win condition in the list.

Who should play it: Lifegain players who care less about reaching 90 life than making every one-point gain trigger something frightening.

Janeway grants an extra land play and makes every creature that enters under your control explore, including herself. Lands revealed through explore go to hand for the additional drop; nonlands can place a +1/+1 counter and either stay on top or move to the graveyard. The commander smooths draws, fills the yard, grows a board, and ramps without requiring a Star Trek-only shell.

Wildgrowth Walker turns every explore into life and more counters. Path of Discovery makes nontoken creatures explore again, while Oracle of Mul Daya and Tireless Provisioner capitalize on the extra lands. Evolution Sage proliferates the counters, and Ashaya, Soul of the Wild gives a creature-heavy deck even more landfall texture.

Four mana is fair rather than fast, and Janeway must remain in play for creatures to explore. Token decks get the counter selection but Path of Discovery only adds its extra trigger to nontokens. She is powerful because the ordinary game actions already fit together.

Who should play it: Green value players who want lands, creatures, counters, and graveyard setup on one bridge.

Commander Spock is the best of the four Star Trek precon face commanders revealed so far. On entry and every attack, he checks the top card. If its mana value is no greater than the number of differently named lands you control, you cast it for free. If it is a land, you may put it onto the battlefield tapped. If neither happens, you still draw it.

Singleton mana bases make strange new worlds easy to support, and Bant gives Spock excellent top-deck tools. Sensei's Divining Top, Scroll Rack, Brainstorm, and Sylvan Library load the next mission. Oracle of Mul Daya and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove expand the land plan, while Lightning Greaves helps Spock attack before the table can arrange a transporter accident.

At five mana, the first commander-tax increase hurts. He also needs land names, not raw land count; a battlefield with six Forests only contributes one. Build a genuinely varied mana base and enough expensive hits to make the free cast matter.

Who should play it: Bant players who enjoy top-deck manipulation and would like every attack to reveal a free episode.

Seven has one line of rules text and an entire archetype hiding inside it: whenever you face a dilemma, draw a card. Choosing one or more modes for a modal spell or ability counts, even if the spell is countered or loses its targets. Choosing several modes on one effect still counts as only one dilemma.

Dimir happens to be excellent at modal interaction. Drown in the Loch, Archmage's Charm, Cryptic Command, Gix's Command, Inscription of Ruin, Mystic Confluence, and Sublime Epiphany all replace themselves through Seven while doing their normal jobs. Unlike many typal commanders, she asks you to play flexible cards you would already consider.

Four mana for a 3/4 that does nothing until the next modal decision is a vulnerable starting point. Modal double-faced cards do not automatically count—a dilemma requires choosing modes, not choosing which face to play. That rules distinction will save an argument before it reaches the judge-call stage.

Who should play it: Dimir control players who want every “choose one” spell to contain the secret mode “draw a card.”

Geordi doubles every batch of charge counters placed on an artifact you control. Star Trek Spacecraft use charge counters through station, so he makes a crew member's power count twice. The older Magic card pool is where the engineering gets irresponsible.

Everflowing Chalice and Astral Cornucopia enter with twice the expected counters. Coretapper and Surge Node load artifacts faster, Lux Cannon reaches four counters in half the taps, and Darksteel Reactor becomes a credible alternate win. Magistrate's Scepter receives two counters from its own activation; add proliferate or another counter source and the extra-turn engine gets much easier to complete.

Geordi doubles counters only on artifacts, not creatures or lands, and he does not protect an expensive board from Vandalblast. Charge-counter decks can also fill up with clever pieces that do nothing alone. Prioritize artifacts with a useful floor before chasing the wildest ceiling.

Who should play it: Artifact engineers who have been waiting years for a commander to make Coretapper look like premium technology.

M'Benga is a mono-green counter doubler in the command zone, and he gives every other creature you control with a counter hexproof. That pairing fixes the usual problem with counter decks: spending turns building a monster only to lose it to one targeted removal spell.

Walking Ballista and Hangarback Walker enter with double counters. Incubation Druid and Kami of Whispered Hopes turn counters into mana, while Forgotten Ancient spreads a huge supply across the team. Branching Evolution, Hardened Scales, and The Ozolith make the arithmetic uglier. Because these are replacement effects, combining several of them multiplies the growth quickly.

M'Benga pointedly does not give himself hexproof, and a counter does not protect any creature from a board wipe, sacrifice spell, or exile effect that avoids targeting. The deck still needs protection beyond its commander. Even with that weakness, doubling the deck's core resource every time is brutally efficient.

Who should play it: Counter players who want Hardened Scales in the command zone with a medical shield attached.

Mr. Spock wins because he turns the most useful action in Commander into twice that action. If you would draw a card, you draw two instead. Your normal draw step becomes two cards. Brainstorm draws six before putting two back. Windfall gives you twice the new hand everyone else receives. Consecrated Sphinx draws four whenever an opponent draws one.

Then the doublers start talking to each other. Teferi's Ageless Insight and Spock can turn one draw into four. The One Ring becomes spectacular and dangerous in equal measure. Faerie Mastermind supplies triggers around the table, while Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower keep the expanded hand. Laboratory Maniac and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries convert the very real risk of drawing the entire library into a win.

Spock costs four, has no protection, and paints a target visible from the Neutral Zone. He also doubles mandatory draws, so a long game can deck you against your will. None of that changes the verdict: a universal draw replacement needs no typal support, no combat, and no elaborate setup. Untap with Spock and the game has already tilted.

Who should play it: Blue players who consider “too many cards” a challenge to be solved after drawing them.

Choose the engine that matches what you already enjoy:

1. Pick Mr. Spock for raw cards and mono-blue control. 2. Pick M'Benga for creature counters and explosive combat math. 3. Pick Geordi for charge counters, artifacts, and Spacecraft. 4. Pick Seven of Nine for modal spells and Dimir interaction. 5. Pick Commander Spock for Bant lands and top-deck manipulation. 6. Pick Worf when you want combat to generate the cards. 7. Pick The Borg Queen when theme and artifact theft matter more than speed.

The right commander is not necessarily the highest-ranked one. A focused Lwaxana list will outperform a pile of blue staples wearing Mr. Spock as a hat. Start with the play pattern, choose the captain, and test the first draft in the ElderDecks Commander deck builder.

Mr. Spock, Science Officer is the best Star Trek commander revealed through October 25, 2026. He doubles every card you draw while he is on the battlefield, works with ordinary blue draw spells, and does not require a Star Trek typal theme. Dr. Joseph M'Benga and Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge are stronger choices for creature-counter and artifact decks, respectively.

Among the four face commanders, Commander Spock ranks highest here. His Bant color identity, land-based scaling, card fallback, and ability to cast the top card for free give the Landing Party deck the most broadly useful engine. Worf, Defiant Commander is the cleaner choice for aggressive players; Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary and The Borg Queen need more specialized artifact shells.

Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek releases worldwide on November 13, 2026. Prerelease events run November 6–12, and Wizards' preview schedule says the complete card image gallery will be available October 30.

Not yet as of October 25, because the cards have not released. Wizards states that new TRK cards will be legal in all formats when the set releases. New TRC cards and Stardates cards are intended for Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, with reprints retaining their existing legality.

You face a dilemma whenever you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. The choice counts even if the spell is countered or fails to resolve. Choosing multiple modes for one spell still counts as one dilemma. Simply choosing which side of a modal double-faced card to play is not the same thing.

Strange new worlds counts differently named lands, not the total number of lands. Three Forests, an Island, and a Breeding Pool count as three names. Commander decks have an advantage because singleton mana bases naturally contain many unique lands.

No. A commander's static ability functions only while it is on the battlefield unless the card says otherwise. Mr. Spock does not affect your opening seven or cards drawn before he resolves. Once he is in play, each individual card draw is replaced with two draws.

Probably. This ranking covers 86 newly designed legendary creatures visible through Scryfall on October 25. Wizards has more previews scheduled through October 30. ElderDecks should recheck the complete gallery, final Oracle text, and Commander decklists before treating the order as final.

Star Trek's commander class is deeper than the four precon leaders. Mr. Spock is the obvious raw-power winner, but Geordi turns decades of charge-counter artifacts into a new toolbox, Seven of Nine makes overlooked modal spells cantrip, and Lwaxana Troi may inspire the strangest mono-red deck at the table.

That is the encouraging part of this set: the best Star Trek commanders do not all ask for the same “legends and artifacts” pile. They point toward lifegain, graveyards, combat, lands, counters, theft, top-deck control, and a few deeply suspicious engineering projects. Pick the one whose failure mode still sounds fun. Commander games are long; you should enjoy the episode even when your captain gets removed.

- Official Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek card image gallery - Official Star Trek mechanics guide - Official Star Trek preview schedule - Official Star Trek buyer's guide and Commander deck overview - Official collecting guide, set codes, release dates, and legality - Scryfall Star Trek card gallery - Scryfall Star Trek Commander gallery

Card names, previewed rules text, color identities, artists, images, set codes, and current legality states were checked on October 25, 2026. The ranking is an original ElderDecks editorial judgment based on command-zone value, efficiency, resilience, color access, synergy depth, and setup cost. It does not claim tournament results, playtesting data, final prices, or a complete post-release metagame.

AI-generated article, published by an ElderDecks editor.