MTG Star Trek: A New Player's Guide to the Magic Set

MTG Star Trek is Magic: The Gathering’s set built around Star Trek, released for the franchise’s 60th anniversary. It is a Universes Beyond set, which means it brings characters from outside Magic’s own worlds into the game, and it is a full main set: packs, Commander decks, and cards you can play in Standard. Prerelease events start November 6, the set lands on MTG Arena November 10, and it hits store shelves November 13, 2026.

The quick answer: if you already play Magic, go to a prerelease the weekend of November 6. If you love Star Trek but have never played, pick one of the four Star Trek Commander decks if your friends play Commander, or learn the basics first with a free game of MTG Arena or a beginner product. Skip Collector Boosters until you know you want them.

This guide covers the dates, every product and who it is for, the new mechanics in plain words, the captains and crews you will see, and how to walk into your first prerelease without feeling lost. Everything here was checked against Wizards of the Coast’s own product, mechanics, and release notes pages at the end of October 2026.

When does MTG Star Trek come out?

November 6 is also when stores in the Wizards Play Network get early access to sell product.

Wizards announced the set as part of its 2026 lineup in September 2025, calling it a tribute set for Star Trek’s 60th anniversary. It follows Reality Fracture, Magic’s October 2026 set.

What is the Magic Star Trek set?

The Magic Star Trek set uses the set code TRK. Its Commander decks carry their own code, TRC, and there is also a bonus sheet of reprints called Stardates (SDS).

That split matters for where you can play the cards:

• TRK cards (anything from Play Boosters and Collector Boosters) are legal in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern, plus Commander and every other format that allows new cards.
• TRC cards (the new cards printed only in the Commander decks) are legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, but not Standard.
• Stardates cards are legal wherever another card with the same name is legal.

If you only play Commander with friends, none of this changes anything for you. Every card in the set works at your kitchen table. If you play Standard at a store, it means Picard and company can show up in tournament decks this winter. Our guide to MTG formats explains what each of those format names means.

What Star Trek products are there?

Here is the whole Star Trek lineup, with what each one is for. Prices change by store, so we leave them out.

Wizards’ page for stores also lists a standard Bundle and Scene Boxes. We could not confirm their exact contents from Wizards before publishing, so check the box before you buy.

The Prerelease Pack

The Prerelease Pack is what you get when you sign up for a prerelease event: six Play Boosters to build a deck from, a foil promo card, and a life counter. It is built for one afternoon of play, and it is the best first taste of a new set.

Play Boosters and Collector Boosters

A Play Booster has 14 cards, including at least one rare or mythic rare and one foil. These are the packs people draft with. A Collector Booster has 15 cards weighted toward rares, mythics, and special versions, including Klingon-script cards, classic Enterprise and LCARS frames, and signed headliner cards. Same game pieces, fancier dress.

The Beam Me Up Bundle

The Beam Me Up Bundle mixes Play Boosters with one Collector Booster and adds two of eight traditional foil promo cards. Wizards does not give the Play Booster count in its buyer’s guide; retail listings say eight, so check the box. It is a good gift for someone who already plays and loves the show.

Draft Night

Draft Night is a newer kind of product. It holds everything four people need for a Pick-Two Draft at home: 12 Play Boosters, 90 basic lands, 10 tokens, and a Collector Booster to give the winner. In Pick-Two, each player takes two cards from a pack before passing it, and Wizards says a full session runs about 90 minutes. If you have three friends and one table, this is the most social way to play the set. Our guide to how to draft MTG covers the basics of picking and passing.

What are the Star Trek Commander decks?

There are four Star Trek Commander decks, each ready to play out of the box:

Each box has a 100-card deck, a foil borderless commander, 32 cards new to Magic, reprints, and 10 double-sided tokens. All four are three-color decks, which is a little more to manage than a one- or two-color deck, but they are built to play straight from the box.

Choose by crew, not by power. A deck you love the look of will get played more than a deck someone told you was strongest. If you love the Borg, take the Borg. If you are new to Commander itself, read how to play Commander first; it takes about ten minutes.

What are the new mechanics in MTG Star Trek?

Wizards’ mechanics article lists six mechanics in the main set and two more found only in the Commander decks. Here they are in plain words.

Beam Me Up

Some instants and sorceries can be cast a second time from your graveyard. To do it, you return a creature you control to your hand and pay an extra cost printed on the card. The spell is exiled afterward. A nice side effect: the creature you beamed up can be cast again, so any “when this enters” ability happens again too.

Face a Dilemma

You face a dilemma whenever you choose modes for a modal spell or ability, the kind that says “choose one” or “choose two.” Cards like Seven of Nine and Captain Benjamin Sisko reward you each time it happens. Picking several modes at once still counts as just one dilemma.

Federation

Federation is an ability word that rewards a diverse crew. It counts how many different creature types you have among your creatures that are not Borg. A Human Scientist and a Vulcan Officer give you four types, and the card gets stronger with each one.

Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds counts how many differently named lands you control. Three Forests count as one name. Three Forests, an Island, and a dual land count as three. It rewards exploring, which is a lovely bit of flavor.

Spacecraft and Station

Spacecraft return from Edge of Eternities, and they fit Star Trek perfectly. A Spacecraft is an artifact that starts as a ship in dock. During your main phase, when you could cast a sorcery, you can tap another creature to station it, putting charge counters on the ship equal to that creature’s power. Your crew is literally powering up the ship. Once the ship has enough counters, it becomes an artifact creature with the power, toughness, and abilities printed in that section. The U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class becomes a 4/5 flyer with vigilance once it has seven counters.

Assimilate

Assimilate is the Borg’s mechanic. It puts an opponent’s creature, or a creature card from somewhere other than the battlefield, under your control with a +1/+1 counter. The creature becomes a Borg artifact creature and loses its other creature types. Resistance, as the saying goes, is futile.

Battlefront and Seek Out (Commander decks only)

Two ability words appear only on the new Commander cards. Battlefront counts how many opponents you attacked this turn, so it rewards swinging at more than one player, as on Worf, Defiant Commander. Seek Out triggers when you draw your second card in a turn, as on Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary.

Which Star Trek characters are in the set?

The set reaches across the franchise rather than one show. Among the legends named in Wizards’ release notes:

• The Original Series: Captain James T. Kirk
• The Next Generation: Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Lieutenant Commander Data, Beverly Crusher, The Traveler
• Deep Space Nine: Captain Benjamin Sisko, Elim Garak, Gul Dukat, Martok
• Voyager: Captain Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, The Caretaker
• Enterprise: Hoshi Sato
• Newer series: Captain Pike, Jett Reno, and Brad Boimler from Lower Decks

Wizards’ card image gallery has the full set. Browsing it for your favorite captain is a fine way to pick a Commander deck.

How do you go to a Star Trek prerelease as a new player?

A prerelease is a casual event the week before a set comes out. Everyone gets a Prerelease Pack, opens six Play Boosters, and builds a 40-card deck on the spot. The format is called Sealed. You play a few rounds against other people doing the same thing, and nobody has seen these cards before, which levels the field nicely.

Here is how to make it go smoothly:

1. Learn the turn first

You do not need to be good. You do need to know what a turn looks like. Play a few games of MTG Arena (free on desktop and mobile), or read our Academy lesson on how to play Magic. Star Trek is on Arena from November 10, which gives you a few days to try the cards digitally before the tabletop release.

2. Sign up with the store

Find a store on the Wizards store locator and reserve a seat. Events fill up. Tell the organizer it is your first prerelease. Most stores are glad to have new players and will point you to a friendly table.

3. Bring the basics

Bring sleeves if you like, a pen, and a bag for your cards. The store provides basic lands. The Prerelease Pack includes a life counter.

4. Build a simple deck

Sort your cards by color. Pick the two colors with the most good creatures and the most ways to remove your opponent’s creatures. Play about 17 lands and 23 spells. That is the whole recipe for a first Sealed deck. The prerelease survival guide in our Academy walks through it step by step, including how to count lands and creatures.

5. Ask questions out loud

Prerelease games are relaxed. Asking “what does this card do?” is normal, and so is asking a judge or your opponent to explain a new mechanic. Everyone at the table is reading new cards too.

Which MTG Star Trek product should you buy first?

It depends on who you are.

If you have never played Magic at all, the Star Trek products are not built to teach. Wizards’ Foundations Beginner Box is. It comes with guided tutorial decks for two players, and the rules you learn carry straight over to Star Trek cards. Our Academy lesson on how to start playing Magic explains why we would start there, and our MTG starter kit guide compares every beginner product side by side.

FAQ

What is the MTG Star Trek release date?

The tabletop release date is November 13, 2026. Prerelease events run November 6 to 12 at local game stores, and the set arrives on MTG Arena on November 10.

Is the Star Trek Magic set legal in Standard?

Yes. Cards from the main set (code TRK) are legal in Standard, Pioneer, and Modern. The new cards printed only in the Commander decks (code TRC) are legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, but not Standard.

How many Star Trek Commander decks are there?

Four: Federation Fleet (Jean-Luc Picard), Landing Party (Commander Spock), Klingon Fury (Worf), and We Are the Borg (The Borg Queen). Each also comes in a Collector’s Edition with every card in surge foil.

Can a new player go to a Star Trek prerelease?

Yes, if you know how a turn works. You will build a 40-card deck from six packs at the event, and stores expect some first-timers. Learn the turn on MTG Arena or with a friend first, and tell the organizer it is your first event.

What is Draft Night in Star Trek?

Draft Night is a box for four players to draft at home. It includes 12 Play Boosters, 90 basic lands, 10 tokens, and a Collector Booster for the winner. Wizards says a Pick-Two Draft session takes about 90 minutes.

Where to go next

If the Star Trek set is your way into Magic, start with the free Magic course in our Academy, then read how to play Commander before you open a Commander deck. Ludarium Letters sends a short note on games worth your table, and you can sign up just below.

The game is the reason. The people are the point.

Sources

• Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Mechanics (Wizards of the Coast, 2026)
• Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Buyer’s Guide (Wizards of the Coast, 2026)
• Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Release Notes (Wizards of the Coast, 2026)
• Star Trek MTG Arena Event Schedule (Wizards of the Coast, 2026)
• Star Trek product page (Wizards Play Network, 2026)
• Star Trek Dates and Details (Wizards Play Network, 2026)
• Pick-Two Draft (Wizards of the Coast)
• Magic: The Gathering 2026 Set Line Up Premieres at MagicCon: Atlanta (Wizards of the Coast, 2025)