Top Commander Cards from MTG: Star Trek

Hello and welcome back! It’s time again to look at some of the cards from a new set and determine which might fit best into the 99 of your Commander decks. The normal rules apply this time around, with no legendary creatures. Other legendary permanents are up for making the list, but any spacecraft will be considered for the 99 only.

There is the usual caveat that the set is kind of split into two, the Borg and artifacts and not those things. So, while I will try to get the best, most inclusive cards across the most strategies, we may have to swerve into some more specific picks.

Alright, let’s boldly go!

DEEP SPACE 9

An artifact any deck can use, this spacecraft is a costly card to cast at nine mana (though it might be weird if it didn’t cost nine mana). The rewards for doing so are immediate and repeatable, with you getting possibly four permanents from the top of your library into play right away. This will often be at least on par for the mana you spent.

Of course, being an artifact means you cheat it into play a number of ways, and repeatedly reused in a lot of ways. Of course, if it just sits there, it does some good work too, beginning to easily overwhelm opponents if you have a higher number of permanents to get out. So, most deck outside spellslinger.

It also helps you finish the game if you’re on the creature plan (so, no spellslinger again( by giving an anthem if you want to station to that point, which could be fueled by the free stuff you get from Deep Space 9.

INFINITE DIVERSITY

I went back and forth on this one a little. It’s a really good effect to have on a card, and Wizards wisely found a way to keep the ability Changeling from breaking it (all creatures with Changeling would part Borg after all). However, despite that drawback, this card could win you the game if you have a decent field that isn’t following a kindred type. Many decks will have a random assortment of creatures that will allow easily three to six copies of whatever you have to cast from your graveyard.

The card itself is very expensive to cast, however, so some dedication to using this card might be necessary, but I don’t think it's undoable. Most decks should get the copies I think, but having something worth copying is more important.

BRAZEN BLUFF

A little bit towards the spellslinger support from Deep Space 9, Bluff here is an interesting take on a Red piece of the color pie that oft seems neglected these days by both designers and players; the choice given to an opponent. Largely giving you opponent any agency more than they have is frowned upon, but when there is a drawback for them either way, then it’s a bit more palatable. 

Granted, that means you need to have a good non -creature card in hand to cast with this if they really want their spell, or be really good at bluffing. Largely I think it will come down to the deck you’re playing and how well an opponent knows how you play and design your decks. Still, I think this card is all kinds of fun, and gives some extra “counter magic” to red outside of copying spells.

HIT IT!

A decent card that gives haste to your creatures. Not something we don’t have or haven’t seen before. The second ability does give you some possible ramp with a land though, and that’s why it’s here. A Commander deck should, generally, have 36-40 lands, and hitting one of those in the five cards revealed should happen more often than not.

The rest of the revealed cards go into your graveyard, so not every deck will want this necessarily, but I think enough decks will want haste, ramp and some graveyard filler that it will definitely find homes in many decks.

MIRROR UNIVERSE INTRUSION

I do like me some cloning spells, though this one wont copy anything you have, so it wont be too useful in decks that just want to do that. However, in most decks, cloning something you don’t have is really good anyway. What’s better, this one could copy an entire field of one opponent's creatures and give them menace, making it a possible winning position for you. Clone Legion plus Menace is a great way to win.

STABLE WORMHOLE

Want to make sure you get mana every turn? Just attack, and boom, new land. This could be very good for most decks that are able to swing, especially with disposable creatures or tokens available. This is all without considering Landfall as an ability. Then it becomes absolutely crazy with just one payoff.

THE NEEDS OF THE MANY

Not quite Dawn’s Truce, but pretty darn close. Actually, it’s a bit better, as it provides a fog effect that can save you from combat, along with your whole field of creatures and semi-counter something that targets them or you. The only downsides are you need to sacrifice a creature, so it won't always be available like Dawn’s Truce without some planning, and that the spell itself gets exiled. Still, I’d give this serious consideration in your protection suites when you need some.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISSION

I feel like this is a really good card. Like, really good. Sure, you have to cast some spells to get to the straight draw, but it's only three counters. Anything that wants to add a cantrip (card draw) to a spell, or another instance of it, will love this. It can go spellslinger, super friends, artifacts, enchantress, all depending on the deck you have having a decent amount of noncreature spells.

IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

Instant speed removal or card draw. It’s not the strongest card but with the effects taken together I feel like this will definitely find homes in certain decks like Y’Shtola, Night’s Blessed and Kambal, Profiteering Mayor and many other places. Being an instant with two often relevant modes is the entire reason this card made the list.

TEST OF PRIORITIES

Similar to the above card, this one is an instant speed card selection or get value for two mana. Not too bad, and many decks would love this effect. Just think about it this way: in the early game it gives you the card advantage, and in the late game you still have that but also can get some extra value from a creature you’ve already invested in or are able to protect it by removing it as a target or saving it from mass destruction.

MALFUNCTIONING HOLODECK

This artifact is a removal spell we’ve seen before, but there are two things to consider. First is the type of card it is. Similar to enchantments, artifact cards are decently abusable so this removal is somewhat abuseable, returning it again and again to remove something.

Of course, that’s if it gets removed. While it has to (usually) be played on your turn, it comes with built in Ward 2, meaning whatever you want removed will probably stay that way. That’s something that has been creeping onto these types of removal; slow, but hard to get rid of.

WARP SPEED

That’s it for my picks of this set. I think there are still a few decent non-legendary cards left to choose from as well, just some of them are more specific to certain strategies. The Crystalline Entity and the Borg Cube come to mind.

Until next time, enjoy your shore leave.