MTG Star Trek Draft Guide: Best Commons, Uncommons and Archetypes

With the full MTG Star Trek card list out, here’s what to take in draft and at the prerelease. The best common is Malfunctioning Holodeck, a 3-mana artifact that exiles any nonland permanent and protects itself with ward 2. The best uncommons are three cheap removal spells: Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn!, 70,000 Light-Years from Home and Resistance Is Futile. Black and red have the deepest removal at common, and every two-color pair has a clear plan, from Borg artifacts to Klingon sacrifice. Prerelease events run November 6 to 12, and the set comes out November 13.

Updated November 1, 2026 · Card text from the full spoiler on Scryfall and MTGGoldfish · These are first-look ratings from reading all 201 commons and uncommons. We’ll update them once the prerelease results are in.

The best MTG Star Trek commons

Commons make up most of every pack, so these decide most games. Here’s the best one in each color, plus the runner-up:

• Malfunctioning Holodeck ({2}{W}): exiles any nonland permanent an opponent controls until it leaves, and ward 2 makes it hard to undo. Take it over almost any common.
• He’s Dead, Jim ({3}{B}): an instant that destroys any creature, with a surveil 1 on top. Clean, unconditional removal.
• Plasma Cascade ({2}{R}): 3 damage to any target at instant speed, and you can swap a dead card for a new one.
• Common Goal ({1}{G}): green’s removal. Two of your creatures can team up on one of theirs, so it kills bigger things than most bite spells.
• Interstellar Effigy ({4}{U}): a 4/3 that bounces a creature when it enters. Tempo plus a real body.
• Genesis Effect ({4}{R}): 6 damage to a creature. You destroy one of your lands, but you get a New Planet land that taps for any color, so you don’t fall behind on mana.
• Eject the Warp Core ({1}{B}): -2/-2 for two mana, or -6/-6 if you sacrifice a token or a spare artifact.
• Class-F Shuttlecraft ({3}): a mana rock that fixes any color, then becomes a 2/4 flier once you station it. Every deck can play it.

The best MTG Star Trek uncommons

1. Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn! ({X}{R}): deals twice X damage to a creature at instant speed and exiles it. Three mana kills a 4-toughness creature. The best uncommon in the set for limited.
2. 70,000 Light-Years from Home ({1}{W}): exiles any creature or Spacecraft for two mana. They may get a basic land, but you won’t care.
3. Resistance Is Futile ({1}{B}): destroys any nonartifact creature for two mana. Late in the game, it brings back a cheap artifact creature instead.
4. Khan, Despot by Design ({4}{R}): a 5/4 trampler that pings each of your opponent’s creatures for 1 when it enters. It wipes out tokens and Borg drones.
5. Mugato ({3}{G}{G}): a 6/6 with reach, vigilance and deathtouch. Nothing gets past it on the ground or in the air.
6. Impossible Choice ({2}{B}): destroys a creature (they get two 1/1 tokens) or draws you two cards.
7. U.S.S. Excelsior, Cutting Edge ({3}{W}): destroys a tapped creature when it enters, then grows into a 4/4 flier.
8. V’Ger, the Intruder ({6}{U}): a 5/7 flier that draws a card or shrinks their team every time it enters or attacks. Worth the seven mana.

All the removal at common and uncommon

Removal wins limited games. If two cards are close, take the one on this list:

Black and red are the deepest. Green has the least, so green decks win with big bodies like Mugato, Species 8472 and Photosynthetic Physician instead.

The 10 two-color archetypes

Each color pair has two gold uncommons that show its plan. Draft toward the one that’s open:

Our early favorites are Black-Red and White-Black. Both get the set’s best common removal, and their plans work with average cards. Green-Blue looks like the trickiest, because Strange new worlds only gets strong once you have several differently named lands.

Star Trek mechanics that matter in limited

• Station: Spacecraft start as artifacts. Tap your other creatures to add charge counters, and they become creatures (usually fliers) at 5 to 10 counters. Good in slower decks, but stationing means not attacking with those creatures.
• Beam me up: cast the spell again from your graveyard by also returning one of your creatures to your hand. Best with creatures that do something when they enter, like Interstellar Effigy or Vexing Drone.
• Face a dilemma: you face a dilemma whenever you choose a mode on a spell or ability. Cards like Seven of Nine and Melkotian Adjudicator reward every modal card you play.
• Strange new worlds: counts your differently named lands. The 10 common Planet dual lands and the Anomaly lands each count as a new name, so play them.
• Power 8 or greater: white and red cards trigger when you attack with 8 or more total power. Pet Sehlat (4/3 for three) and Tactical Officer get you there fast.
• Missions: enchantments that gain quest counters and pay off more as they grow. Fine, but slow for limited.

Prerelease tips for Star Trek sealed

1. Count your removal first. In sealed, the colors with the most removal usually win, even if the creatures are average.
2. Play your Planets. The common dual lands enter tapped but gain you 1 life, fix your colors and power Strange new worlds.
3. Don’t overload on Spacecraft. Two or three is plenty. Every creature tapped to station one isn’t attacking or blocking.
4. Value cheap interaction. Set Phasers to . . . costs one mana, and stun counters buy a whole turn.
5. Use the landcyclers. Horta, Humpback Whales and Free Borg Revolutionaries are big late but turn into lands early, so you can run 16 lands instead of 17.

New to the prerelease? Our Star Trek prerelease guide covers dates, what’s in the kit and what to bring. For constructed and Commander, see the best MTG Star Trek cards and the most expensive Star Trek cards.

Read next: MTG Star Trek Prerelease Guide · Best MTG Star Trek Cards · MTG Star Trek Chase Cards

Sources: card text from Scryfall’s Star Trek (TRK) card list and MTGGoldfish’s full spoiler, checked November 1, 2026; prerelease and release dates from Wizards of the Coast. Ratings are our own first look before the set is played. Links to TCGplayer may earn us a commission. Card images: Wizards of the Coast via TCGplayer.

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