Magic: The Gathering – All Star Trek Mechanics
· Vice
Magic: The Gathering’ Star Trek set launches in less than a month and players can start studying up on the new and returning mechanics now to prepare for the upcoming prerelease and launch events.
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Every New and Returning MEchanic in Magic: The Gathering x Star Trek
Beam Me Up
“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.
Face a Dilemma
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
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. 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
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
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 stuck at Spacedock until they become creatures.
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
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.
That’s a ton of new information to digest, but luckily players have a few weeks to wrap their head around these concepts before the first events will begin to take place.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more Magic: The Gathering news and updates as the Star Trek set release date approaches.
Magic: The Gathering is available now at local game shops and digitally through Magic Arena. Magic: The Gathering – Star Trek releases November 13, 2026.
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