Hello, my fellow Planeswalkers! I am The MTG Hero and we are heading into the final frontier! Universes Beyond has brought Star Trek into Magic: The Gathering, and while I’m always interested to see what these crossover sets bring to the table, I’m especially interested when they have the potential to shake up Standard. There are quite a few cards in this set that caught my attention. Some are obvious powerhouses, while others might take a little more experimentation before players figure out where they belong. That’s one of my favorite things about a new set. You never really know which cards are going to end up defining the format until people start putting in the games. With Star Trek arriving in Standard, I wanted to take a look at ten cards that I think are worth watching. Some have already found homes in competitive decks, while others have the potential to become important pieces as the format develops. I’m looking at these cards from a competitive Standard perspective, considering their power level, versatility, and how well they fit into existing strategies. Let’s get started!
I’m always interested in cards that might not look particularly exciting at first but end up finding a home in sideboards. Test of Courage is one of those cards. We’ve already seen it make appearances in sideboards for decks like Jund Sacrifice and Mono-Green Landfall. That might not sound like much, but I pay attention when players start finding room for new cards in their sideboards. Those slots are valuable, and you generally don’t want to waste them. What makes this card interesting is the possibility of having an answer to specific situations that can otherwise be difficult to navigate. I don’t think this is a card that every deck should immediately start playing, but that’s not really the point. Sometimes a card only needs to be good in the right matchup to justify its inclusion. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one as the format develops. It might not be the flashiest card in the set, but I wouldn’t overlook it.
Hand disruption has always been one of my favorite things about playing black decks. There’s something satisfying about getting information about your opponent’s hand and taking away the card they were hoping to build their entire turn around. Salt Vampire gives us another interesting option in that department. What I like here is having disruption attached to a creature. You’re not simply spending a card to interfere with your opponent’s plans; you’re also developing your board while doing it. That’s particularly useful in midrange strategies, where every card needs to contribute to your overall game plan. We’ve already seen Salt Vampire show up in Dimir Midrange, Jund Sacrifice, and Orzhov Life Gain. I like that it isn’t necessarily tied to one particular archetype. Personally, I think cards like this are at their best when they give you information early in the game. Knowing what your opponent is holding can completely change how you approach the next few turns. It might not be the most exciting creature in Star Trek, but it’s definitely worth testing.
Leave it to Star Trek to give us a malfunctioning piece of technology that can cause problems for everyone involved. Malfunctioning Holodeck is an interesting removal option that I think has some real potential in artifact-based strategies. For three mana, it can exile an opposing nonland permanent until it leaves the battlefield. It also has Ward {2}, which makes dealing with it a little more inconvenient for your opponent. I like that it isn’t limited to creatures. Being able to temporarily deal with problematic permanents gives it some flexibility, especially when you’re playing against decks that rely on a particular card sticking around. Of course, there is a downside. Your opponent can get their permanent back by removing the Holodeck. It’s not the same as having unconditional removal, and that’s something to consider when deciding whether it belongs in your deck. We’ve already seen Jeskai Artifacts take advantage of it, including a full playset in early competitive lists. That’s probably where I’d start experimenting with this card. If you’re already getting value from playing artifacts, Malfunctioning Holodeck becomes a much more appealing inclusion.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is one of those cards that immediately makes me want to start brewing. For three mana, Picard gives your other creatures +1/+1. That’s already a nice ability for an aggressive creature strategy, but the real selling point is what happens whenever you cast a creature or Spacecraft spell. You get another 1/1 red Officer creature token. That’s a lot of additional pressure over the course of a game. One of the things I like about go-wide strategies is that they force opponents to have answers for more than just one threat. Removing your biggest creature doesn’t accomplish much if you’ve already developed several additional bodies. Picard helps make that happen without requiring you to spend extra cards specifically on token generation. There’s also an additional payoff for tapping seven untapped Officers to find a Spacecraft and put it onto the battlefield with seven charge counters. I wouldn’t necessarily build around that ability right away, but it’s a nice option to have in longer games. We’ve already seen Picard appear in Boros Pixie lists, and I’m interested to see whether that becomes a more established home. I wouldn’t be surprised if players find a few more ways to take advantage of him.
Now we’re getting into the cards that really interest me from a deckbuilding perspective. Anthropological Mission looks like an interesting engine for spell-heavy strategies, particularly decks that want to keep interacting with their opponents while maintaining a steady supply of cards. The idea is pretty straightforward. You work toward casting your third noncreature spell, and once you’ve reached that point, the card starts rewarding you for continuing to cast noncreature spells by drawing additional cards. That’s exactly the kind of effect I want to see in a deck built around inexpensive spells. Think about how many times you’ve played a control or spellslinger deck, traded resources with your opponent, and eventually found yourself topdecking while they still have a full grip. Having an engine that helps prevent that situation is incredibly valuable. Izzet Mission has already started taking advantage of this card, and it makes sense. The deck wants to cast spells, generate value, and keep the game moving on its own terms. My biggest concern is how quickly you can get this engine online against aggressive decks. Spending mana setting up card advantage doesn’t mean much if you’re already too far behind on the battlefield. Still, I think there’s plenty of potential here. This is one of those cards I’d expect players to keep experimenting with throughout the Standard season.
Not every good card needs to be a flashy mythic rare. Sometimes, a land that gives you a little extra value is exactly what your deck needs. Ni'Var Science Academy is an interesting utility land that has already caught the attention of Dimir Control players. I tend to pay attention to utility lands because they’re one of the easiest ways to improve a deck without sacrificing valuable spell slots. Your mana base is something you need regardless, so getting additional value out of those slots is always appealing. Ni’Var Science Academy provides a way to improve your card selection starting on turn three, which is particularly useful for slower strategies that expect games to go longer. And that’s where I think this card has the most potential. Control decks are constantly looking for ways to improve their draws and find the right answers for whatever their opponents are doing. Having additional utility built into your mana base can make a noticeable difference over the course of a match. It’s not going to win games by itself, but I like what it brings to the table. These are the kinds of cards that can quietly become format staples without attracting much attention when they’re first released.
I love cards that make your opponent stop and reconsider how they’re supposed to approach a game. Georgiou, Terran Emperor definitely does that. Georgiou has a pretty unusual ability: you can’t lose the game for having zero or less life as long as she remains on the battlefield. Of course, there’s a catch. If she leaves the battlefield while you’re still at zero or less life, you lose the game. That’s a pretty interesting situation to put your opponent in. Against aggressive decks, Georgiou can give you an opportunity to stabilize when you’re otherwise hanging on by a thread. She also brings additional value through her other abilities, so you’re not simply playing a card that prevents you from losing. What I particularly like is how she affects sideboarding decisions. When you’re playing against a control deck with very few creatures, it’s tempting to take out some of your creature removal. After all, why keep removal spells in your deck if there aren’t many targets? Georgiou makes that decision a little more complicated. We’ve already seen her appear in Dimir Control and Dimir Uldaros builds, and I think there’s room for further experimentation. She’s not necessarily going to fit into every black deck, but I like having another unusual threat that can completely change the way certain matchups play out.
If there’s one thing I enjoy seeing in a new set, it’s another interesting mana accelerator. Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy is particularly interesting because she has the potential to become more valuable as the game progresses. Jadzia provides mana acceleration that increases over time, giving decks an opportunity to develop their mana while eventually turning her into a more substantial threat. That’s a pretty appealing combination. One of the first places I’d look to play her is Selesnya Landfall. The deck already wants to take advantage of lands entering the battlefield, and Jadzia gives it another way to turn that development into additional resources. The interaction with Earthbender Ascension is especially interesting. Growing Jadzia through +1/+1 counters also improves her mana production, giving you another reason to take advantage of your landfall triggers. I also appreciate that she has an additional ability that lets you discard her to put two +1/+1 counters on another creature. That means she isn’t necessarily a terrible draw later in the game when you no longer need another mana creature. I’ve always liked cards that can serve multiple purposes depending on the situation. Jadzia seems to fit that description pretty well. Whether she becomes a major player in Standard remains to be seen, but I definitely think she’s worth testing.
Well, you can’t have Star Trek without Captain Kirk! Captain James T. Kirk is one of the cards that immediately caught my attention because of how much flexibility he offers aggressive decks. Whenever Kirk enters or attacks, you get to choose one of three abilities: • Discard a card, then draw a card. • Create a 1/1 red Officer creature token. • Give your creatures +1/+0 until end of turn. That’s already a pretty useful selection of abilities. You can improve your hand, add another creature to the battlefield, or simply push through additional damage. But there’s an additional wrinkle. If you have no cards in hand, you get to choose one or more of those abilities instead. That’s where things get particularly interesting. Aggressive decks have a habit of emptying their hands pretty quickly. Sometimes you get your opponent down to a handful of life, only to find yourself topdecking while they start stabilizing. Kirk gives you a pretty good reason to take advantage of that situation. Being able to generate additional creatures and pump your team while also getting value from his other abilities can create some difficult situations for your opponent. The interaction with The Naked Time is another reason I’m excited about this card. Giving Kirk haste allows you to get immediate value from him, potentially creating a much more explosive turn than your opponent was prepared for. I think Kirk has the potential to become an important piece of aggressive Standard strategies, and I’m looking forward to seeing what players come up with. 1. The Naked Time If you’ve been following the early Star Trek Standard results, this probably won’t come as much of a surprise. The Naked Time is my pick for the best Star Trek card for Standard. What makes this Saga so interesting is how much it does for aggressive decks without asking for an unreasonable amount of setup. Its first chapter lets you search for a Mountain and put it onto the battlefield. The second chapter gives creatures entering the battlefield that turn a +1/+1 counter and haste. That second chapter is where things get really exciting. Boros Pixie has already shown just how much potential this card has. When you combine The Naked Time with cards like Momo, Friendly Flier, Sage of the Skies, and Nurturing Pixie, you can create some incredibly explosive turns. The interaction with Nurturing Pixie is particularly important. Returning The Naked Time to your hand before its final chapter resolves allows you to reuse the Saga instead of simply letting it sacrifice a land. That’s a lot of value from one card. What I really like is that The Naked Time doesn’t just give aggressive decks another threat. It helps enable the kind of turns that can completely change a game. And the early competitive numbers back that up. At Magic World Championship 32, The Naked Time was the most-played Star Trek card, with 104 copies registered across the tournament’s decklists. That’s a pretty strong indication that competitive players see something special here. Of all the cards in this set, this is the one I’m most confident will have an immediate impact on Standard. It already has an established home, plenty of synergy, and the ability to create some seriously powerful turns. For me, it’s an easy choice for the number one spot.
Wrap-Up Overall, I’m pretty happy with what Star Trek is bringing to Standard. There are some genuinely interesting cards here, and I think the biggest takeaway is that they aren’t all trying to accomplish the same thing. We’ve got aggressive additions like Captain Kirk and The Naked Time, mana acceleration with Jadzia Dax, and some interesting tools for slower strategies with Georgiou and Anthropological Mission. That’s what I like seeing in a new set. I don’t want every powerful card to end up in the same deck. I want new cards that give players reasons to experiment, revisit older strategies, and build something they might not have considered before. I’m particularly interested in seeing where some of these cards end up after players have had more time to test them. Early results are useful, but there’s a big difference between a card looking good during the first few days of a format and actually proving itself over an entire Standard season. And that’s half the fun of a new set. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on what develops over the coming weeks. Until then, I’m looking forward to seeing which of these cards ends up making the biggest splash. Until next time Planeswalkers Hero out!
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My name is The MTG Hero. I have played Magic for over 15 years. I am a consistent high Mythic ranked player. Follow me on Twitch and subscribe on YouTube!
