Hey everyone! I guess it wasn’t just Jace messing with reality that dragged me back into writing these reviews, because here I am again, jamming a ridiculous pile of words onto the internet.
This time, we’re boldly going where no Limited review has gone before. Or, you know, where plenty of them have gone before, but with more Star Trek references, bad puns, and questionable jokes.
I’ll be reviewing every card in Star Trek from a Draft perspective, breaking down what’s worth picking, what’s worth avoiding, and what’s probably going to make you regret your life choices somewhere around turn six.
Links will be updated as each review goes live.
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolor
Artifacts and Lands
Archetypes Guide
5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or start packing up your cards.
4.5: An incredible bomb that can completely take over a game, but still gives your opponent a slim chance to fight back.
4.0: Great rares, the absolute best uncommons, or extremely premium removal. Cards I’m very happy to first pick.
3.5: Excellent role-players or removal spells that basically never get cut.
3.0: Good playables that I’m almost never cutting from my deck.
2.5: Solid playables and roughly the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck can reach.
2.0: Mediocre filler. These are normally fighting for those last few spots in the 20th-23rd card range.
1.5: Replaceable and generally below-average filler. This can also include decent sideboard cards or cards that need a very specific deck.
1.0: Bad filler that gets cut most of the time. There may be a deck that wants it, but I’m not happy when mine does.
0.5: I’m very unhappy to main deck this, but there might be some fringe sideboard application. These are cards that could be useful in the perfect situation but are bad almost everywhere else.
0.0: Completely unplayable in basically every possible situation. Thankfully, they rarely print cards this bad anymore.
A Note on Ratings
These grades aren’t meant to exist in a vacuum. Limited cards can move considerably depending on the deck around them. A 2.0 role-player might become a 3.0 in the archetype that actually wants it, while a supposedly powerful card can drop quickly if your deck can’t support it.
I’ll try to grade cards based on their average performance while pointing out the ones that have especially high or low ceilings depending on synergy.
I have successfully resisted the temptation to turn this into a Buzz Lightyear reference. You should all be proud of me.
I do appreciate that the land goes into their hand instead of directly onto the battlefield, but let’s not pretend giving your opponent a card is suddenly a good thing. You’re still handing them an extra resource, even if they have to put in some work to actually use it.
The sorcery speed is a bit of a drag too. There’s certainly some value here, but between the downside and the lack of flexibility, I’m not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of putting this in my deck.
These are a nightmare to grade properly because their value is going to fluctuate wildly depending on how many copies you manage to draft. This is one of those cards where reading the table is almost as important as reading the card.
For example, let’s say you passed one at pick one, but another shows up at pick six. I’d actually value that one pretty highly. There’s a decent chance nobody else at the table is interested in drafting these things, and you might even wheel the first one. Suddenly, you’ve got the beginnings of a pretty ridiculous little army.
On the other hand, if you’re sitting in pack three without a single copy, you probably shouldn’t be trying to break into the Automaton business. That ship has sailed, and you’re not going to make up for two packs of missed opportunities by grabbing one random copy.
I think the sweet spot is probably around three or four copies. The funny thing is that you really don’t want to draw more than one of them. You want to cast your first one and grab a bunch of its friends without having to waste additional draws on them.
That’s what makes this such an interesting drafting puzzle. The difference between a fantastic card and a mediocre one isn’t necessarily how you play it, but whether you recognized the opportunity to draft it correctly in the first place.
The stats are perfectly respectable here and should usually allow this to sneak through early and poop out a baby Borg token. Who doesn’t love a little free assimilation with their morning combat?
On its own, this is already a solid card that can provide some nice incremental value. Where things really start getting interesting is when you combine it with other artifact creatures. The potential to snowball into something considerably more threatening is definitely there, and I’m always happy to play a card that’s perfectly fine on its own but has the potential to get completely out of hand with a little help.
Getting two 1/1 dorks for two mana is pretty much the going rate these days. It’s not exciting, but spreading your stats across multiple bodies has always had some value in Limited.
Where this gets more interesting is in a dedicated Borg deck. If you’ve got a bunch of artifact synergies running around, getting two artifact creatures for a single card can be considerably more valuable than the modest stats suggest. Suddenly, those little dorks are contributing to something much bigger than themselves.
This is a perfectly reasonable role-player that gets better or worse depending on what the rest of your deck is doing. In the right Borg deck, it’s helping fuel your entire strategy. Everywhere else, it’s just two little dudes hoping somebody finds a use for them.
A 2/2 lifelinker for two is still a perfectly reasonable Magic card, even if it’s not quite the powerhouse it was back in the olden days. Power creep has not been particularly kind to our good friend Grizzly Bears, even when he comes with a little extra padding for your life total.
In a dedicated Spacecraft deck, Boimler is going to play much closer to a 3.5. His ability to help station your Spacecraft can get completely out of hand, making him a surprisingly important piece of that strategy.
In your average deck with a couple of ways to take advantage of him, he’s more of a 2.5. If you don’t have any meaningful synergies, he’s probably closer to a 2.0. A bear with lifelink isn’t embarrassing, but it’s certainly not something I’m going to write home to Starfleet about.
Here’s another card that’s going to fluctuate pretty wildly depending on the deck you put him in. I wouldn’t count on activating that five-color ability very often, but generating a 1/1 every time you face a dilemma could actually be pretty powerful.
The real question is how often you’re going to be facing those dilemmas. In a deck built to take advantage of that ability, Sisko has the potential to generate a respectable little army without asking you to do much beyond playing your normal game of Magic.
On the other hand, if your deck isn’t particularly interested in dilemmas, you’re basically playing a Grizzly Bears with a fancy title. That’s not exactly the kind of leadership I’m looking for from a Starfleet captain.
If he’s just going to be a blank bear in your deck, he can stay back at the Academy.
Before getting into the card, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart.
For generations of Star Trek fans, Stewart wasn’t just the actor who played Captain Picard. He was the embodiment of everything that made the character great. Intelligence, compassion, integrity, and the belief that doing the right thing mattered even when it wasn’t the easy thing. He brought a level of dignity and gravitas to Star Trek that helped turn The Next Generation into something truly special.
Whether you knew him as Captain Picard, Professor Xavier, or from his incredible career on the stage, he was one of those rare actors who could make practically anything he appeared in better simply by being there. His contributions to science fiction and entertainment will be remembered for generations.
Rest in peace, Sir Patrick Stewart. Thank you for everything.
Now, as for the card itself…
Mythics are gonna mythic.
Apparently being one of the greatest captains in Starfleet history wasn’t enough, because Picard decided he needed to be an absolute Limited bomb too.
A Glorious Anthem that also spits out a bunch of dudes for doing what you were probably going to be doing in a normal game of Limited anyway? Yeah, sign me up. Making your entire army bigger is already fantastic, but getting to build that army at the same time is just ridiculous.
With Picard pumping out so many bodies, tapping seven Officers isn’t even going to be the massive undertaking it might look like at first glance. You’re getting a powerful board presence, a team-wide buff, and a very realistic path toward activating his final ability.
A fittingly powerful card for one of the most iconic characters in science fiction.
As we’ve seen in recent Limited formats, two mana to destroy a creature with power four or greater is actually a pretty solid deal. Sure, it’s conditional removal, but having the option to cash it in for another card when it doesn’t have a good target makes it considerably more appealing.
The best part is that you still get credit for facing a dilemma, even when the decision wasn’t particularly difficult in the first place. That means you’re potentially getting some extra value out of your other cards just for doing something you were already happy to do.
Efficient removal with a built-in escape hatch and some potential synergy? That’s a perfectly respectable Limited card in my book. Not every command decision needs to be a difficult one.
Remember when Savannah Lions was not only a rare, but actually saw significant Constructed play? Pepperidge Farm remembers, and unfortunately, so do I.
We’ve reached the point where this is a significant upgrade over that once-powerful kitty, and it still only manages to be an alright Limited card. Power creep is one heck of a drug.
Don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely going to be decks where this is fantastic. Aggressive strategies love getting a lot of power onto the battlefield for very little mana, and this certainly delivers on that front. It also has a lot of potential in letting your artifact creatures attack and station in the same turn.
The big question is just how viable those aggressive strategies are going to be in this format. If turning creatures sideways early and often is a legitimate path to victory, this could easily outperform my initial grade. If the format is slower and more focused on generating value, our little friend here might end up looking considerably less impressive.
Sometimes you just want to beat your opponent down with a cheap creature. The question is whether the rest of the format is going to let you get away with it.
Can this card be situationally busted? Absolutely. You just need the right deck, the right board state, and presumably the stars to align while you’re at it.
This feels like a little too much of a build-around for my tastes. Spending three mana on something that does absolutely nothing immediately is a pretty tough pill to swallow in Limited, especially when the payoff isn’t guaranteed.
Sure, it can slowly fill your board with creatures, but you need a critical mass of nontoken artifacts to really get the engine humming. That’s asking quite a bit from a card that already requires you to invest mana without affecting the board.
I’m sure someone is going to draft the perfect deck for this, generate a ridiculous army, and make me look like an idiot. That’s perfectly fine. I’ll be over here playing cards that actually do something when I cast them.
It doesn’t take a psychic to figure out that this card is great.
So why am I not giving this an even higher grade? Well, there are two pretty significant problems.
First, Troi is an underwhelming late-game topdeck when you’ve already played most of your creatures. Second, she’s extremely fragile, which means your opponent might be able to get rid of her before you generate any meaningful value.
Those are legitimate concerns, but they don’t change the fact that an early Troi can make the rest of your deck considerably more threatening.
I’m not exactly the biggest Phantom Monster enthusiast in 2026.
That being said, this one does have some nice synergy with stationing your Spacecraft, which gives it a little more utility than your average flying beatstick.
In a deck looking to get its Spacecraft online, I can certainly see this pulling its weight. Outside of that, it’s just another reminder that what used to be a solid Limited creature is now something we reluctantly toss into our decks when we’re running short on playables.
This is an odd one because, with a repeatable source of life gain, Beverly Crusher has the potential to go absolutely nuts. Unfortunately, there’s a pretty significant problem with that plan.
On her own, she’s a severely understatted creature that doesn’t even have a way to trigger her own ability. That’s not exactly where I want to be with a card that requires some serious work before it starts pulling its weight.
Is this really all that different from Titanbones, Towering Heart? At least that card had the decency to start out with a respectable body before asking you to jump through a bunch of hoops.
I’m sure there will be decks where Beverly looks fantastic, especially if you can reliably gain life turn after turn. The problem is that you’re putting an awful lot of faith in the rest of your deck to make an otherwise unimpressive creature worth playing.
Even in the 24th century, healthcare still comes with some pretty significant costs.
McCoy basically lets you use +1/+1 counters as shield counters, and he’s even kind enough to bring one along to get things started. That’s a pretty interesting ability, especially if you’ve got a bunch of creatures running around with counters on them.
The problem is that you’re only getting 3/3 worth of stats for four mana, which isn’t exactly setting the world on fire in 2026. You’re really going to need some additional ways to generate counters before this starts looking like a particularly good deal.
There’s also some serious blowout potential here, and unfortunately, I’m not talking about the fun kind. If your opponent manages to kill McCoy while you’ve got a bunch of creatures in combat relying on those counters for protection, things can go south in a hurry.
In the right deck, I can certainly see him doing some impressive work. Just remember that the good doctor can’t save everyone, especially when he’s the first one to die.
Well, this is certainly underwhelming. I suppose they can’t all be winners, even when they’re programmed to be medical professionals.
There are some minor synergies here with a variety of themes, including +1/+1 counters, lifegain, and sacrifice. Unfortunately, being vaguely useful in several different strategies doesn’t necessarily make a card particularly good in any of them.
In space, no one can hear you scream “23rd card,” but that’s exactly what this is.
I could see knocking the grade down a little if you’re “only” getting two extra bodies out of the deal, but let’s not pretend that’s some kind of tragedy. Even at the lower end of its potential, you’re getting a pretty ridiculous amount of value.
The good news is that there are plenty of lands with different names running around this format, so assembling the necessary guest list shouldn’t be particularly difficult. You don’t even have to go too far out of your way to make the party happen when the Gamemaster arrives.
Apparently, the Excalbians decided that the best way to study humanity was to see how quickly they could make your opponent concede.
I love creatures that replace themselves, but much like anything involving the American healthcare system, it doesn’t come free.
If you’ve already got a creature running around with a +1/+1 counter on it, this is a pretty great deal. Getting another body onto the battlefield while replacing the card you spent is exactly the kind of value I’m looking for in Limited.
Unfortunately, if you’re only getting a counter out of the deal, you’re paying a little too much mana for an understatted creature. That’s not a complete disaster, but it’s certainly not the kind of efficiency that’s going to have me rushing to pick this up.
The difference between a solid playable and an overpriced disappointment really comes down to whether you’ve already got a patient with a preexisting condition. Apparently, those are still a problem in the Federation.
I actually really like the whole concept of Beam Me Up, and I’ve been pretty optimistic about the mechanic throughout these reviews. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I’m interested in playing every card that happens to have it.
I’ve never been a big fan of tutors in non-Cube Limited unless you’ve got something completely busted worth searching for. Sure, if you’ve managed to draft some ridiculous bomb that practically wins the game on its own, I can understand wanting another way to find it. For the average Limited deck, though, I’d rather just play another card that actually impacts the board.
When the Federation shows up to resupply, I’ll politely let them know that I’m good.
As we just saw in Reality Fracture, being able to grab any basic land for two mana is a pretty powerful ability. It smooths out your mana, helps you hit your land drops, and, most importantly, enables some of those wildly irresponsible splashes that I keep telling people not to make before immediately making them myself.
Of course, the other half of the equation is that you actually want the card to do something relevant when you cast it. There’s only so much excitement I can muster for a mana fixer that turns into an overpriced disappointment later in the game.
Fortunately, giving your entire team a temporary boost while providing a reasonably sized body for the cost is more than enough to get the job done. It’s useful early when you need the fixing and perfectly respectable later when you’re looking to push through some damage.
Resistance isn’t futile when it comes with excellent mana fixing.
Let’s get one thing straight: we’re not exactly lining up to play Trained Armodon in 2026. A vanilla 3/3 for three mana hasn’t been particularly exciting in a very long time, so the rest of the package really needs to do some work to justify putting this in your deck.
Fortunately, getting that +1/+1 counter isn’t nearly as difficult as it might initially appear. You only need to have eight power on the battlefield when you attack, not actually attack with eight power. That’s a pretty important distinction, especially when you’ve got some larger creatures hanging back to play defense.
This is approximately the 300th variation of Oblivion Ring we’ve seen over the years, and you know what? They’ve pretty much always been good. I don’t see any reason to believe this one is going to be different.
Ward 2 is a nice little bonus, making it that much more annoying for your opponent to get their creature back. Unfortunately, being an artifact instead of an enchantment might actually make this a little more vulnerable, depending on how much artifact removal is running around the format.
Still, efficient removal is efficient removal, and I’m not going to complain about a card that does exactly what I want it to do.
Besides, if Star Trek has taught me anything, it’s that holodecks are approximately 30 seconds away from malfunctioning and trying to kill someone anyway.
This would be absolutely busted if Beam Me Up could return enchantments. We already saw how ridiculous that kind of interaction could get with The Princess Takes Flight back in Wilds of Eldraine. Unfortunately, that’s not an option here, which takes away a massive chunk of the potential value.
Instead, you’re usually just borrowing your opponent’s creature for a couple of turns before they get it back. That’s considerably less exciting when you’re spending an entire card to accomplish it.
The problem is that this ends up feeling much closer to a glorified stun effect than an actual removal spell. Sure, buying yourself some time can be useful, especially in an aggressive deck, but I’m not particularly interested in removal that comes with an expiration date.
To make matters worse, you even have to pay extra for the card draw. Temporarily removing a creature and replacing your card was simply too much value to ask for at three mana. This card just doesn’t measure up.
As we’ve discussed approximately 47 times throughout these reviews, there are plenty of ways to abuse bouncing your own creatures back to your hand with Beam Me Up.
O’Brien even gets around the no-beaming restriction on Marooned, which isn’t going to come up all that often, but it’s a nice little bonus when it does. Miles must be better at his job than whoever designed that particular security system.
The real selling point, though, is drawing a card at the end of every turn in which you’ve bounced something. Now we’re talking! You’re already getting value from reusing your creatures, and O’Brien rewards you with even more card advantage just for doing something you wanted to do anyway.
Personally, I’m taking a hard pass on this one. I’m sure there will be the occasional spectacular blowout where everything lines up perfectly and you look like a genius for putting this in your deck. Unfortunately, I’m considerably more interested in what a card does in the average game than what it does when the stars align.
The problem is that you need an awful lot of things to go right. Combat has to line up favorably across multiple creatures, you need something you’re willing to sacrifice, and your opponent needs to cooperate by making the kind of attacks or blocks that let you get maximum value.
That’s a pretty ridiculous collection of requirements for a card that can easily end up doing almost nothing. I’m generally happy to play combat tricks that can swing a fight in my favor, but this is asking me to jump through far too many hoops.
I’m sure someone will have a story about the time this card completely destroyed their opponent’s board. Good for them. I’ll be over here playing cards that don’t require a minor miracle to be useful.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and the needs of my Limited deck require leaving this in my sideboard.
This replaces itself when you cast it, so it can’t be all that bad.
Unfortunately, that additional value comes with a pretty hefty station requirement for what ultimately amounts to a fairly unimpressive creature. I’m not particularly excited about putting in a bunch of work just to get something that isn’t going to have a massive impact on the battlefield.
I actually like this card quite a bit out of the sideboard when you’re playing a controlling deck against an aggressive opponent. It puts them in the rather awkward position of having to choose between gaining card advantage and actually being able to attack you. That’s not a particularly pleasant decision when your entire game plan revolves around turning creatures sideways.
Of course, I’m not nearly as excited about putting this in my main deck. It’s a pretty situational effect, and there are going to be plenty of matchups where it doesn’t accomplish nearly enough to justify the card.
Now, I know I’m probably going to regret saying this, but I don’t expect the alternate win condition to come up particularly often. Will it happen? Absolutely. Am I going to lose to it approximately five minutes into my first draft? Almost certainly.
I’m not entirely convinced this grade is low enough. In modern Limited, if you’re going to saddle a three-drop with a drawback, you’d better be giving me some pretty impressive stats to make up for it.
Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re getting here. The body simply isn’t good enough to justify the downside, especially when we’ve reached the point where three-mana creatures routinely come with respectable stats and some additional value stapled on for good measure.
We’ve already established that Grizzly Bears aren’t exactly setting the world on fire in modern Limited. That doesn’t mean you can just ignore your two-drop slot, though. You still need creatures that can get onto the battlefield early and hopefully do something useful once the game goes longer.
Fortunately, Picard seems to understand that assignment. Being able to pump up one of your other creatures and turn it into a massive attacker is exactly the kind of late-game relevance I’m looking for from an otherwise unremarkable two-drop.
Sure, he’s not going to win any awards for his stats, but the ability to turn one of your random dudes into a serious threat makes him considerably more appealing than your average bear.
Giving itself double strike already makes this a perfectly “reasonable” body for the cost, and by reasonable, I mean something your opponent probably isn’t going to enjoy dealing with.
Where things really start getting out of hand is when you begin handing out double strike to your other artifact creatures. Suddenly, those seemingly harmless little robots become legitimate threats, and combat math starts looking like something that requires an advanced degree to figure out.
The ceiling here is pretty ridiculous in a dedicated artifact deck, but the nice thing is that you aren’t stuck with an embarrassing creature if you don’t have a bunch of other artifacts running around.
Resistance really is futile when the Borg start hitting you twice. Have I already made this terrible reference? Absolutely. Will it be the last time? Not a chance. I’ve got an entire set full of Borg to get through, and my standards aren’t suddenly going to improve.
I’ve never been particularly fond of cards that distribute +1/+1 counters like this. They tend to look considerably better on paper than they actually play, especially when you’re spending a card just to make creatures you already have slightly bigger.
What really bothers me here is that I think Beam Me Up actually makes this card worse. Yes, you read that correctly. After spending approximately half this review praising the mechanic, I’ve finally found a card where I’m not particularly interested in using it.
If you’re putting this in your deck, it’s probably because you’re trying to beat your opponent’s face in before they have a chance to stabilize. Bouncing one of your own creatures back to your hand, even to generate some additional value, doesn’t exactly fit that game plan. You’re taking pressure off the battlefield when you should be doing everything possible to keep it on.
This has a pretty good chance of finding a home in multiple archetypes, which is exactly what I like to see from a solid Limited card.
Spacecraft decks are naturally going to have a bunch of artifacts running around, and the Borg went all-in on the artifact lifestyle. Either way, Rutherford should have plenty of opportunities to find something useful.
The best part is that looking at six cards is a pretty substantial chunk of your deck. Even without going out of your way to build around him, there’s a good chance you’re going to hit something worthwhile.
Obviously, the more artifacts you’re running, the better he gets, but I suspect he’ll be perfectly respectable in most decks. Just don’t go jamming him into a deck with absolutely no artifacts and then complain when he whiffs. Even Starfleet’s finest engineers can’t find something that isn’t there.
I really wish this was a little cheaper because five mana is an awful lot to ask for what you’re getting here. It also has the unfortunate problem of telegraphing your intentions pretty loudly when you pass the turn without playing anything. Your opponent might not be a Vulcan, but they can probably figure out that something is up.
The good news is that Saavik can deal two damage all on her own before you even start adding other creature types into the equation. That should be enough to take down something relevant in most games, and the potential to scale up makes it considerably more interesting.
Still, I’m not particularly thrilled about spending five mana on conditional removal, even when it comes with a small body attached. At that price, I’d really prefer to just kill whatever is bothering me without having to worry about whether I’ve assembled the right crew.
Pros: It only costs one mana, and being a modal spell means it can trigger some additional benefits from cards that care about those sorts of things.
Cons: It doesn’t actually do a whole lot.
That’s pretty much the entire review right there, but I’m contractually obligated to keep typing.
The flexibility is nice, and I can certainly see decks that are interested in casting cheap spells or taking advantage of modal effects wanting this. Unfortunately, neither mode is particularly exciting on its own, and combining two underwhelming options doesn’t magically make a great card.
Sometimes you just need a cheap spell to make your deck function. Just don’t expect this one to boldly go anywhere particularly impressive.
I’m always a sucker for these cheap tricks that grant hexproof or indestructible. There’s just something deeply satisfying about watching your opponent spend their premium removal spell only for you to ruin their entire day with a single mana.
This isn’t quite on the level of Take Up the Shield, since losing the lifelink takes away some of the potential for absolutely ridiculous combat swings. Still, the +1/+1 counter means you’re getting something permanent out of the exchange instead of just keeping your creature alive.
Besides, Star Trek has shown us that shouting “Shields up!” at the last possible second is a perfectly legitimate defensive strategy.
A 4/4 for five mana that occasionally remembers it can fly and gains you a little life whenever it gets tapped. At least the life gain has some nice synergy with station, giving you a little extra value for helping get your Spacecraft up and running. That’s certainly something, even if it’s not particularly exciting.
The real problem is that you can only afford to play so many five-drops in your Limited deck, and I’d generally prefer mine to do something a little more impressive. A five-mana creature really needs to justify taking up one of those precious slots, and this one feels more like filler than a legitimate payoff.
Sulu is a perfectly serviceable body on his own, but we all know that serviceable doesn’t pay the bills in modern Limited. Fortunately, he’s got a little more going for him than just respectable stats.
Being able to draw a card when he attacks after you’ve played an Equipment or Spacecraft is a pretty nice way to generate some additional value. Those are both things you’re likely to be playing anyway in the right deck, so you’re not exactly jumping through some ridiculous hoops to get the engine running.
The problem comes later in the game when the battlefield starts getting clogged up. Suddenly, attacking with Sulu might mean sending him on a suicide mission just to draw another card. That’s not exactly the kind of exchange I’m thrilled about making, especially if I’ve already invested resources into keeping him relevant.
If you thought Grizzly Bears were unimpressive in modern Limited, allow me to introduce you to the exciting world of Grizzly Bears with only one toughness. Apparently, Starfleet has been making some serious budget cuts to its tactical division.
Sure, this can eventually grow into something a little more respectable, but the problem is that by the time you actually manage to make that happen, it’s probably not going to be particularly relevant to the board anymore.
Here’s another modal card where neither mode is particularly impressive.
There are certainly going to be go-wide decks that love the +1/+1 counter half of this, especially when they’re looking to turn a board full of little dudes into something considerably more threatening. Unfortunately, your average Limited deck is probably going to find this pretty underwhelming.
This is exactly the kind of thing I warned about in my mechanics article. Just because a card triggers something for being modal doesn’t mean you should be jamming a bunch of subpar spells into your deck to make those synergies work. You’re still spending an entire card on an effect that needs to justify its existence.
If your deck can take advantage of both the effect and the synergy, great. Otherwise, you’re just making your deck worse in the name of making your other cards slightly better.
The real test of conviction is whether you can resist putting this in your deck just because it says “Choose one.”
I’m somehow going to restrain myself from making the approximately 47 obvious jokes about this card’s name, which is particularly impressive considering I’m sitting here downing coffee after coffee just to get these reviews written. At this point, I’m fairly certain my blood type is espresso.
I really wish this searched for a basic land instead of specifically a Plains. That restriction makes it considerably more likely to miss, especially when your other option is limited to a nonland permanent with mana value three or less. Looking at a bunch of cards and finding absolutely nothing useful is not exactly my idea of a good time.
The saving grace here is Bean Me Up, which lets you get some additional value by reusing an enters-the-battlefield effect while also giving you another shot at casting this. That’s a pretty significant upside and the main reason I’m willing to give this card a passing grade.
Without that flexibility, I would have a hard time justifying putting this in my deck. With it, there’s at least some potential to generate enough value to make the whole thing worthwhile.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s not enough coffee in this nebula, and I’ve still got a ridiculous number of cards left to review.
Flavor-wise, this is an easy 5.0. Playability-wise? Well, let’s just say the Tribbles are causing trouble for all the wrong reasons.
The inability to block is an absolutely massive downside. In your average Limited deck, this is borderline unplayable garbage. Sure, you can keep making more Tribbles, but an endless supply of creatures that can’t block isn’t particularly helpful when your opponent is busy beating your face in.
Now, there are certainly some exceptions. If you’ve got a bunch of sacrifice outlets, this suddenly becomes an engine that practically runs itself. Having a steady supply of expendable little furballs can get out of hand in a hurry. The same goes for decks with ways to pump the entire team, turning your seemingly harmless Tribbles into a legitimate army.
The problem is that you really need those synergies to make this worth playing. Without them, you’re just filling your board with adorable creatures that aren’t particularly interested in helping you survive.
Oh look, another five-drop that doesn’t actually do anything when it enters the battlefield. That’s certainly becoming a recurring theme, and not one I’m particularly excited about.
The body is perfectly respectable and provides a pretty significant chunk of the eight power you need to get things going. Unfortunately, even when you manage to jump through that hoop, the payoff is decidedly meh.
That’s a pretty tough sell for a five-mana creature. At that point in the game, I want something that’s going to have an immediate impact or provide a significant advantage if it sticks around. This doesn’t really accomplish either of those things particularly well.
Calling her Number One was meant to be ironic, because that’s certainly not where she’s landing on my pick order.
I’m not exactly surprised that the U.S.S. Enterprise is a fantastic Limited card. It would be pretty weird to make one of the most iconic ships in science fiction history into an unplayable pile of garbage.
The Enterprise comes with its own little crew of Officer tokens, which conveniently gets it halfway toward being fully stationed the turn it hits the battlefield. Even better, those same Officers can help finish the job on the following turn if you don’t have another way to get things moving. Starfleet finally figured out that it’s a good idea to send a ship into space with an actual crew.
And what are you getting for all this hard work? A 5/5 flying lifelinker with three 1/1s thrown in for just five mana. That’s an absolutely ridiculous bargain, especially considering how little effort it takes to get the Enterprise up and running.
The tokens provide immediate board presence, the Spacecraft gives you a massive threat, and the lifelink means racing this thing is going to be an absolute nightmare for your opponent.
Four mana is a little too much to pay to destroy a tapped creature at sorcery speed. Eight station counters is also a bit too much work for a 4/4 flyer. But throw those two slightly underwhelming effects together, and suddenly you’ve got a perfectly respectable Limited card.
Neither half is particularly exciting on its own, but together they add up to a solid playable. It might not be on the cutting edge of Limited power levels, but it’ll get the job done.
This is pretty much the definition of curve filler. You’re not playing it because you’re excited about what it does. You’re playing it because you somehow made it through the draft without enough early creatures and now you’ve got a problem to solve.
The one thing that could make this considerably more appealing is having a ton of artifact synergies. In a dedicated Borg deck, even an otherwise unimpressive artifact creature can pull its weight when the rest of your cards reward you for having it around.
Well, that’s a wrap on white! After going through all these cards, I think we’ve got a color with some absolutely ridiculous bombs surrounded by a whole lot of cards that need the right friends to accomplish anything particularly impressive.
At the top of the heap, we’ve got Captain Jean-Luc Picard, U.S.S. Enterprise-A, Free Spirit, and Excalbian Gamemaster. All three are capable of doing some truly stupid things, and I’d be thrilled to open any of them. Unfortunately, once you get past the premium cards, things start looking a little less exciting.
The big takeaway for me is that white really wants you to care about what the rest of your deck is doing. Between Spacecraft, artifact creatures, +1/+1 counters, and Face a Dilemma payoffs, there are plenty of ways to squeeze extra value out of otherwise unremarkable cards. The challenge is making sure you’ve actually drafted the pieces that work together instead of ending up with a pile of mediocre creatures that are all waiting for someone else to do something.
Overall, I think white has plenty of potential, but it’s going to reward drafting a cohesive deck rather than simply grabbing the individually strongest cards. I’m excited to see how some of these synergies come together once we actually get to play the format.
That’s it for white! I’ll be back with the next color review as we continue working our way through Star Trek. There’s still a ridiculous pile of cards left to cover, and apparently I’ve decided that sleep is optional.
Until then, stay classy people.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.
Josh is a member of the elite limited team The Draft Lab as well as the host of The Draft Lab Podcast. He was qualifying for Pro Tours, Nationals, and Worlds literally before some of you were born. After a Magic hiatus to play poker and go to medical school, he has been dominating Arena with over an 80% win percentage in Bo3 as well as making #1 rank in Mythic.
