Magic: The Gathering’s Star Trek set introduces two new mechanics designed specifically for Commander. The November release follows a shift away from a standalone annual Commander series, with preconstructed decks now commonly arriving alongside major set launches.
Commander has previously gained format-focused mechanics including Lieutenant in Commander 2014 and Eminence in Commander 2017. The upcoming Star Trek Universes Beyond release continues that tradition with Battlefront and Seek Out, while four new decks explore aggressive attacks, card draw, Borg assimilation and Starfleet technology.
Battlefront rewards attacking multiple opponents
Battlefront appears in the Klingon Fury deck and is built for players who want to pressure the whole table. The ability checks how many different opponents you attacked during the current turn, then scales its effect accordingly.
Worf, Defiant Commander demonstrates the mechanic. When the 3/4 Klingon warrior officer attacks, Battlefront lets you exile the top X cards of your library, with X based on the number of opponents attacked that turn. You may play those exiled cards until the end of your next turn.
The ability also tracks the earlier attacks if a card gives you another combat phase. That means a second combat can continue to benefit from the number of opponents you targeted during the first one, making Battlefront a natural fit for aggressive group-slug strategies.
Seek Out turns extra card draw into board development
The second new mechanic, Seek Out, triggers whenever you draw your second card in a turn. The wording formalises an effect that has appeared on earlier cards such as Thopter Fabricator and Jace, Arcane Strategist.
Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary uses Seek Out to place a +1/+1 counter on a creature and two charge counters on a spacecraft. Picard also draws a card whenever a historic permanent with mana value three or more enters the battlefield. Historic permanents include artifacts, legendary cards and Sagas.
The name is a clear nod to the Enterprise mission to “seek out new life and new civilizations”. However, Seek Out and Battlefront are broad enough to return in future Magic sets. More specifically themed abilities such as Beam Me Up and Strange New Worlds are less likely to travel beyond the Star Trek setting.
What is in the four Star Trek Commander decks?
Worf and Picard lead two of the four decks. The remaining commanders are the Borg Queen and Commander Spock, giving the release four distinct strategies to explore.
The Borg Queen and Assimilate
The Borg Queen commands an Esper deck in white, blue and black colours. Her strategy centres on the new Assimilate mechanic and a powerful artefact-creature theme.
She gives your artifact creatures +2/+2. Whenever she enters the battlefield or attacks, an opponent exiles cards from the top of their library until a creature card is found. That creature enters the battlefield under your control as an artifact creature Borg with a +1/+1 counter, losing its other creature types.
The deck also includes Locutus of Borg, an assimilated version of Picard. He is a 3/3 with lifelink and lets your artifact creatures create a 1/1 Borg token whenever they deal combat damage to a player.
Join the Collective provides a destructive reset. It destroys all creatures, then creates one Borg token for every non-artifact creature destroyed this way.
Commander Spock and Strange New Worlds
Commander Spock is a 3/5 Vulcan Human Scientist who leads the fourth deck. His version of Strange New Worlds lets you reveal the top card of your library whenever he enters the battlefield or attacks.
You may cast that card without paying its mana cost if its mana value is no greater than the number of differently named lands you control. If the revealed card is a land, you may put it onto the battlefield tapped. If you cannot play it, you draw it instead.
For players who enjoy tabletop gaming alongside their arcade news and gaming coverage, these decks offer four very different ways to approach a multiplayer match. The broader arcade machine buying guide is also useful for planning a dedicated games room where card nights and retro gaming can share the same space.
Release date
All four Star Trek Commander decks are scheduled for release on 13 November 2026. The set adds new tools for attacking, drawing cards, building artefact-heavy boards and turning opposing creatures into Borg.
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