Commander Guides
Star Trek Commander Staples
Ten cards from Magic's Star Trek set, its Commander decks and its Welcome Decks that we expect to see in a lot of Commander decks, not just one commander's: card draw, ramp, and engines for counters, lifegain and go-wide decks. These are predictions from the card text, since the set isn't out yet.
The short answer
Our top pick is Mr. Spock, Science Officer: a four-mana blue creature that makes you draw two cards whenever you would draw one. These ten picks from Star Trek are the cards we expect to show up across many Commander decks, grouped by the job they do.
- Card draw: Mr. Spock, Science Officer, Benjamin Sisko, Besieged and Kes, Evolving Telepath
- Ramp: Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy and Captain Kathryn Janeway
- Engines for a theme: Dr. Joseph M'Benga (counters), Dr. Beverly Crusher (lifegain) and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (go-wide)
- Protection: Emergency Regeneration
- Utility: Fleet Captain Christopher Pike
How we picked them
A Commander staple is a card that shows up in many decks, whatever their commander. Some are removal and ramp that fit any deck of their color. Others are the engine cards that every deck of a common theme wants, such as a counter doubler for +1/+1 counters decks. We looked for both, and we left out cards that only shine in one Star Trek archetype, such as Borg or Federation decks.
Six picks come from the main set (TRK) and three from the Star Trek Commander decks (TRC), which are compared in best Star Trek precon. Benjamin Sisko comes from the Welcome Decks, the 40-card decks made for new players. Most of the ten are legendary creatures, picked here for the 99 of other decks; they are ranked as commanders in Star Trek legends ranked.
The set releases on November 13, 2026, so there is no deck data to go on yet. These picks are predictions from the card text, and the order is ours. Prices are TurnZero HQ's non-foil prices as of November 9, 2026, before release, and they will move.
1. Mr. Spock, Science Officer: Thought Reflection for three less
Mr. Spock, Science Officer is our top pick. His only ability reads: if you would draw a card, draw two cards instead. That is the text of Thought Reflection, a seven-mana enchantment, on a four-mana creature. Three mana cheaper is the difference between a card you cast late and one you cast on turn four.
Any blue deck built around drawing cards will want him, because every draw spell and every draw trigger in the deck doubles. A wheel effect such as Wheel of Fortune, which has each player discard their hand and draw seven, draws you fourteen instead.
The catch: He is a creature, so every creature removal spell and board wipe answers him, where Thought Reflection dodges most of those. In a deck that draws a lot, he can also empty your library faster than you expect.
2. Dr. Joseph M'Benga: doubles every counter and protects your board
Dr. Joseph M'Benga doubles counters. If you would put one or more counters on a creature you control, you put twice that many of each kind on it instead. It is close to Branching Evolution, which costs three mana but only doubles +1/+1 counters. M'Benga costs one more and works on every kind of counter.
His other ability is what makes him a staple. Your other creatures with counters on them have hexproof, so the creatures you spent turns growing can't be targeted by an opponent's removal. He fits any +1/+1 counters deck, such as Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Hamza, Guardian of Arashin or Ezuri, Claw of Progress.
The catch: M'Benga doesn't give himself hexproof, so he is the creature your opponents will aim at. Hexproof also does nothing against a board wipe.
3. Dr. Beverly Crusher: every lifegain trigger happens twice
Dr. Beverly Crusher is a three-mana must-play in lifegain decks. If gaining life causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, it triggers an additional time. Sanguine Bond triggers twice, Ajani's Pridemate gets two counters, and Archangel of Thune puts two counters on each creature you control. Crusher also gets a +1/+1 counter whenever you gain life, and that trigger doubles too.
That covers most of what a lifegain deck runs, and it is why we expect her in decks led by commanders like Karlov of the Ghost Council or Oloro, Ageless Ascetic.
The catch: She doesn't double the life you gain, and she doesn't double Soul Warden-style triggers. Soul Warden's ability triggers when a creature enters, not when you gain life, so it still gains you 1.
4. Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy: ramp that grows every turn
Jadzia Dax is two-mana ramp that gets better each turn. At the beginning of your first main phase she gets a +1/+1 counter, then adds {G} for each counter on her: one the first turn, two the next, three after that. The mana comes from a trigger, not a tap ability, so summoning sickness doesn't hold her back and she doesn't need to stay untapped.
She is even better with Hardened Scales or Dr. Joseph M'Benga, which make each turn's counter count for two. Late in the game, when another mana source matters less, Transfer Symbiont lets you pay {2}{G} and discard her from your hand to put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.
The catch: Transfer Symbiont works only from your hand, not from the battlefield. On the battlefield she is a small creature, and every removal spell that kills her takes the ramp with her.
5. Benjamin Sisko, Besieged: play lands and creatures from the top
Benjamin Sisko, Besieged lets you play with the top card of your library revealed, and you may play lands and cast creature spells from the top. That is the main ability of Courser of Kruphix and the main ability of Vizier of the Menagerie on one card. Every land or creature on top is a card you get without drawing it.
He costs six mana, which is a lot for a card in the 99. Green creature decks already pay that for their best threats, and we expect them to make room, since a long game with Sisko out turns most of your library into cards you can play.
The catch: Six mana is the reason he is fifth and not higher. At $14.99 he is also the most expensive of the ten.
6. Emergency Regeneration: a two-mana save for an artifact board
Emergency Regeneration is a two-mana instant: artifacts you control gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. Cast in response to a spell that destroys every artifact, it saves every artifact you control, and in response to targeted removal, the spell loses its target.
An artifact wipe is one of the few cards that can undo an artifact deck's whole game, and white has few cheap instants that protect every artifact at once. That is why we expect it in most white artifact decks.
The catch: Indestructible doesn't stop exile, so it does nothing against a wipe like Farewell. It doesn't stop sacrifice effects either, and it protects only artifacts.
7. Captain Kathryn Janeway: an extra land drop and an explore for every creature
Captain Kathryn Janeway lets you play an additional land on each of your turns, and whenever she or another creature you control enters, that creature explores. To explore, you reveal the top card of your library. A land goes to your hand; anything else puts a +1/+1 counter on the creature, and you choose whether to keep that card on top or put it into your graveyard.
The two abilities feed each other. Explore finds lands, and the extra land drop gives you somewhere to play them. That makes her a fit for landfall decks and for green creature decks.
The catch: On her own she explores once, so most of her value needs more creatures to follow her. The extra land drop needs lands in hand to matter.
8. Captain Jean-Luc Picard: an anthem that makes a token for every creature
Captain Jean-Luc Picard gives other creatures you control +1/+1, and whenever you cast a creature or Spacecraft spell, you create a 1/1 red Officer creature token. Each creature you cast puts two bodies on the board, and the anthem makes the Officer a 2/2.
He also has a third ability: tap seven untapped Officers you control to search your library for a Spacecraft card and put it onto the battlefield with seven charge counters on it. Most decks will never use it. The anthem and the tokens alone are enough to make him strong in any white go-wide deck.
The catch: The anthem dies with him, and a three-mana creature is easy to remove. In a deck with few creatures, the token trigger won't come up often.
9. Kes, Evolving Telepath: draws more every turn, 45 cards in all
At the beginning of your end step, Kes, Evolving Telepath gets a time counter, then you draw X cards, where X is the number of time counters on her. You draw one card the first turn, two the second, three the third, and so on. At nine counters she is sacrificed, after drawing nine that turn, so if she lives that long she draws 45 cards in all.
Proliferate adds a time counter, so every proliferate effect speeds her up. She is the cheapest of the ten, at $2.14.
The catch: She is a five-mana creature with no protection, and the first two turns draw only three cards between them. Most of her value comes after she has survived a few turns, which a lot of tables won't allow.
10. Fleet Captain Christopher Pike: untap or tap two creatures
Fleet Captain Christopher Pike has two abilities. Yes: {1}, {T}: untap two other target creatures. No: {2}, {T}: tap two other target creatures. Untapping a creature that taps for mana gets you more mana, untapping two attackers after combat works like vigilance, and tapping two blockers before you attack clears a path.
He is also part of an infinite mana combo. You need Kiora's Follower ({T}: untap another target permanent) and a creature that taps for two or more mana. Tap the creature for two, pay {1} and tap Pike to untap the creature and Kiora's Follower, then tap Kiora's Follower to untap Pike. Each loop nets one mana, and you can repeat it as many times as you like.
The catch: The combo needs three cards, and Kiora's Follower is green and blue, so it only works in a deck with both colors. That is why Pike is tenth. Without the combo he is still a cheap utility creature that does something useful every turn.
Close calls that just missed
These four are strong, but each one is slower or narrower than the ten above. Rok-Tahk, Budding Scientist gives every creature you control "{T}: Add {G}{G}", which is a lot of mana in a creature deck, but it costs six. Uhura, Xenolinguist draws you a card for {1} whenever a non-Human creature enters, but it costs five and the draws aren't free. Stable Wormhole ramps only in a deck that attacks every turn. Command Chair taps for X mana, where X is the greatest mana value among commanders you control, which is great with a seven-mana commander and slow everywhere else, since it costs six and enters tapped.
Rok-Tahk, Budding Scientist ↗
Six mana. Every creature you control taps for {G}{G}, and Murf, a 0/1 indestructible token, comes with it.
Uhura, Xenolinguist ↗
Five mana. Whenever a non-Human creature enters, you may pay {1} to draw a card.
Stable Wormhole ↗
Three mana. Each time you attack, a tapped New Planet that taps for any color.
Command Chair ↗
Six mana, enters tapped. Taps for three of one color, or X, the greatest mana value among your commanders.
Two fair objections
"Benjamin Sisko at six mana isn't a staple." That is fair, and he is our lowest-confidence pick in the top half. We still think green creature decks will play him, because Vizier of the Menagerie is already a common pick in those decks, and Sisko also lets you play lands from the top.
"Pike's combo needs three cards." That is true, which is why he is tenth. He makes the list as a three-mana creature that untaps your mana creatures or taps down blockers every turn, and the combo is a bonus in green-blue decks.
The reprints are already staples
The main set also reprints all ten shock lands, such as Steam Vents and Watery Grave, and Engineered Explosives at rare. Those were in Commander decks long before Star Trek, so they aren't predictions. The reprints make them easier to open in a pack. For which printings cost the most, see our Star Trek chase cards page.
What we don't know yet
We don't know how many decks will run any of these. That depends on what players build in the first few weeks, and on how these cards compare with the cards each deck already owns. A card can read like a staple and still lose its slot to an older card that does the job for less. Once there is deck data, we will check these picks against it and update this page. If you think a card is missing, tell us which one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Star Trek cards will be Commander staples?
Our ten predictions, in order, are Mr. Spock, Science Officer, Dr. Joseph M'Benga, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Jadzia Dax, Living Legacy, Benjamin Sisko, Besieged, Emergency Regeneration, Captain Kathryn Janeway, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Kes, Evolving Telepath and Fleet Captain Christopher Pike. Six are from the main set, three from the Commander decks and one, Benjamin Sisko, from the Welcome Decks. The set releases November 13, 2026, so these are predictions from the card text, not results.
Is Mr. Spock, Science Officer good in Commander?
We think he is the best card on this list. He doubles every card you draw, which is what Thought Reflection does for seven mana, and he costs four. Any blue deck that draws a lot of cards will want him. The catch is that he is a creature, so creature removal and board wipes answer him.
Are the Star Trek cards legal in Commander?
Yes. Wizards' release notes say the main set (TRK) is legal in Standard, Pioneer and Modern, so it is legal in Commander too, and the cards printed in the Star Trek Commander decks (TRC) are legal in Commander as well. The set releases on November 13, 2026, and stores can run prerelease events from November 6.
How much do these Star Trek staples cost?
As of November 9, 2026, before release, non-foil copies run from $2.14 for Kes, Evolving Telepath to $14.99 for Benjamin Sisko, Besieged, and seven of the ten are under $8. Prices often move in the first weeks after a set releases, so check the current price before you buy.
Will these picks change after the set releases?
Probably. These are predictions from the card text, and the set isn't out yet, so no deck data exists. Once players have built decks with the set for a few weeks, we will check which picks held up and which cards we missed.
Put your Star Trek picks in a deck and see how it plays.
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