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Released

Star Trek

Provisional guide from preview-season sources — official Comprehensive Rules text for these mechanics hasn't been published yet. This page is upgraded to fully verified rule quotes when the rules go live.
What's New
🛸Beam Me UpNEW
Recast an instant or sorcery from your graveyard by bouncing one of your own creatures — then the spell is exiled.
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  • Beam me up is a keyword ability that lets you cast certain instants and sorceries from your graveyard for the cost listed in the ability.
  • Returning a creature you control to its owner's hand is part of the cost, paid as you cast the spell — not an effect that happens on resolution.
  • The spell is exiled afterward no matter what: whether it resolves, is countered, or fails to resolve because its targets became illegal.
  • Like all alternative costs, the spell's mana value is still its printed mana cost — Open Communications is mana value 1 even when cast with beam me up.
  • The card's types still govern timing: instants can be beamed up any time you could cast an instant, sorceries only in your main phase with an empty stack.
  • The bounce is upside: re-casting the returned creature lets you reuse its "enters" abilities and sheds unwanted Auras.
Can my opponent kill the creature in response to stop me paying the cost?No. The creature is returned as you announce the spell, before anyone gets priority — there's no window to respond to the bounce.
If the spell gets countered, can I beam it up again later?No. A spell cast with beam me up is exiled after it leaves the stack, however it leaves.
Does beam me up change the spell's mana value?No. Always use its printed mana cost when you need its mana value, regardless of what you actually paid.
Can I beam up a sorcery during combat?No. The card type still sets the timing — sorceries are confined to your main phase with the stack empty.
📖 Official rule text
Card text: (You may cast this card from your graveyard for {2}{U} if you also return a creature you control to its owner's hand. Then exile this spell.)
Likely interactions
⚡ Enters triggers
Bouncing your own creature to pay the cost is a feature: cast that creature again and you get another round of its "enters" abilities.
⚡ Auras
Returning a creature to hand also frees it from Auras an opponent has stapled onto it — those Auras are left with nothing to enchant.
☠️ Removal dodge
Players will try to beam up an instant in response to a removal spell, using the required bounce to save the targeted creature. The sequencing of cost payment versus the opponent's spell on the stack is exactly the kind of corner worth confirming before the rules update is out.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Graveyard hate
Beam me up casts the card straight from the graveyard, so effects that stop players casting spells from graveyards are the natural answer — but the exact point at which the card leaves the graveyard is unpublished rules territory right now.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
⚖️Face a DilemmaNEW
Choosing one or more modes for a modal spell or ability means you faced a dilemma.
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  • Face a dilemma is a rules term, not an ability of its own — cards like Seven of Nine pay you off whenever you face one.
  • You face a dilemma as you choose modes, which happens when you cast a modal spell or put a modal ability on the stack.
  • A spell or ability is modal when it gives a bulleted list of options preceded by an instruction such as "Choose one" or similar.
  • What happens afterward doesn't matter: modal spells that resolved, that were countered, or that fizzled on illegal targets all still counted as dilemmas.
  • Choosing multiple modes — including the same mode more than once where allowed — is still just one dilemma.
  • If a modal triggered ability triggers and you can't legally choose any mode, you didn't choose a mode, so you didn't face a dilemma.
When exactly do I face the dilemma?As you choose the modes — during casting a modal spell or putting a modal ability on the stack, not on resolution.
Does countering the modal spell take away my payoff?No. The modes were already chosen, so the dilemma already happened. Captain Benjamin Sisko counts countered modal spells too.
Does "Choose two" give me two dilemmas?No. Choosing multiple modes for a single spell or ability counts as a single dilemma.
Can a modal trigger fail to be a dilemma?Yes — if no mode can legally be chosen, usually because every mode needs a target and none are legal, no mode is chosen and no dilemma is faced.
📖 Official rule text
Card text: (You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a spell or ability.)
Likely interactions
☠️ Countered
A dilemma trigger is already independent of the spell that caused it. Counter the modal spell all you like — the choice was locked in at cast time.
⚡ Modal abilities
It isn't only spells: modal activated and triggered abilities count too, so a creature with a "choose one" trigger can feed dilemma payoffs every turn.
🪞 Copy
Copying a modal spell usually carries the original mode choices along rather than asking you to pick again, which would mean no new dilemma unless the copy effect lets you choose new modes.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Choice cards
Cards that merely offer a choice on resolution — "an opponent chooses" effects, voting cards, and similar — look like dilemmas but may not be modal in the technical sense.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
🖖FederationNEW
Ability word for abilities that count creature types among the non-Borg creatures you control.
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  • Federation is an ability word — it has no rules meaning by itself, it just marks abilities that care about the same number.
  • That number is the count of creature types among non-Borg creatures you control, and each federation card uses it differently, so read each one.
  • You count types, not creatures: one Human Scientist Officer contributes three types all by itself.
  • WotC's example: Hoshi Sato plus Captain Benjamin Sisko gives three creature types — Human, Scientist, and Officer.
  • Borg creatures are excluded entirely: none of a Borg creature's other creature types are counted for federation abilities.
  • Those same types can still count if they appear on a non-Borg creature you control, so the Borg only blank out their own contribution.
When is the federation count checked?Whenever the ability uses it — for a triggered or activated ability, that's typically as it resolves, so opponents can respond first.
Can an opponent shrink my federation number?Yes. Removing creatures in response to a federation spell or ability can lower the number of creature types you control before it's counted.
Do duplicate types stack?No. It's the number of creature types, so a board of five Humans is still one type.
Is there a limit on how often federation abilities work?No inherent limit — these are ordinary triggered, activated, or static abilities that happen to use the federation count.
Likely interactions
⚡ Borg
A creature with the Borg type contributes nothing to the federation count, not even its non-Borg types — the exclusion covers the whole creature.
⚡ Assimilate
Assimilating a creature makes it a Borg artifact creature, so a creature you steal with assimilate stops helping your federation abilities even though it joined your side.
⚡ Changeling
A creature with every creature type also has Borg, which would appear to switch it off for federation counting entirely — the opposite of how changelings usually behave with type-matters cards.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Type granting
Effects that grant your creatures extra creature types could raise your federation count — or crater it, if the granted set includes Borg.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
🪐Strange New WorldsNEW
Ability word for abilities that count the number of differently named lands you control.
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  • Strange new worlds is an ability word highlighting abilities that count differently named lands you control.
  • Each name counts once, no matter how many copies of that land you control.
  • WotC's example: three Forests, an Island, and a Breeding Pool means The Traveler's power is 3.
  • The number is used differently by each card — The Traveler turns it into power, while Deep Space Scan uses it for the magnitude of its effect as it resolves.
  • It rewards a diverse mana base rather than a big one: a pile of basics of one type is worth exactly one.
When is the count taken?When the ability uses it. Deep Space Scan, for example, determines the size of its effect as the spell resolves.
Can opponents change my count in response?Yes — removing a uniquely named land in response to a strange new worlds spell can lower the number before it's counted.
Do dual lands count twice for having two land types?No. The ability counts land names, not land types — Breeding Pool is one name.
Does a tapped land still count?Yes. It counts lands you control; nothing in the mechanic asks them to be untapped.
Likely interactions
⚡ Land destruction
Because each name is worth a full point, a single targeted land destruction effect aimed at a uniquely named land can shrink a strange new worlds number mid-combat.
⚡ Basics
Stacking extra copies of the same basic land never raises the count — only a new land name does.
⚡ Planet tokens
Token lands such as the set's Planet tokens all share one name, so a fistful of them would seem to add just one to the count — worth confirming given how the set makes them.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Name changing
Effects that change a land's name, or copy effects that make one land a copy of another, directly manipulate the count in ways the published article doesn't address.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
🤖AssimilateNEW
Take a creature, give it a +1/+1 counter, and turn it into a Borg artifact creature.
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  • Assimilate is a new keyword action that brings a creature over to your side of the table.
  • Most cards assimilate a card that isn't on the battlefield: put it onto the battlefield under your control with a +1/+1 counter on it.
  • If you're told to assimilate a creature already on the battlefield, you first gain control of it, then put a +1/+1 counter on it.
  • Either way, the creature becomes a Borg artifact creature and loses all its other creature types.
  • It keeps any supertypes, other card types, and subtypes that aren't creature types — so a legendary enchantment creature stays legendary and an enchantment.
  • Since assimilated creatures are Borg, they stop contributing to your federation count.
Does assimilating from the graveyard give me a counter too?Yes. Assimilating a card that isn't on the battlefield puts it onto the battlefield under your control with a +1/+1 counter on it.
What's the order for a creature already on the battlefield?Gain control first, then put the +1/+1 counter on it.
Does it keep its old creature types?No. It loses all other creature types and is a Borg artifact creature.
Does it keep being legendary, or an enchantment?Yes. Supertypes, other card types, and non-creature subtypes all stay.
Likely interactions
⚡ Federation
Assimilation is an anti-synergy with your own federation cards: the stolen creature becomes Borg, and Borg creatures contribute no creature types to the federation count.
⚡ Tribal payoffs
Losing all other creature types means an assimilated creature no longer answers to type-based lords, type-based removal, or type-matters triggers on either side of the table.
⚡ Control duration
Gaining control of a creature already on the battlefield raises the usual questions about how long that control lasts and what happens if the assimilating permanent leaves.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Type setting
A later effect that sets or adds creature types to an assimilated creature collides with the Borg-only typeline, and the outcome depends on rules text that isn't published yet.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
⚔️BattlefrontNEW
Commander-only ability word for abilities that count how many opponents you attacked this turn.
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  • Battlefront is an ability word appearing on the Commander cards, marking abilities that care about the number of opponents you attacked this turn.
  • To attack an opponent means to declare one or more creatures as attacking that opponent — declaring attackers is the whole requirement.
  • Creatures that enter the battlefield attacking don't count, so myriad token copies fanned out at other opponents don't raise the number: attacking one opponent with a myriad creature is still one opponent.
  • With multiple combat phases, battlefront remembers everyone you've attacked earlier in the turn.
  • WotC's example: Worf attacks one opponent in the first combat and exiles one card; attack the other two in a second combat and the trigger exiles three.
  • An opponent you attacked twice in a turn counts only once — attack a repeat plus one new opponent and Worf exiles two.
When does an opponent start counting?When you declare one or more creatures as attacking that opponent.
Do extra combats reset the count?No. Battlefront abilities remember opponents you attacked earlier in the same turn.
Does attacking the same player twice count twice?No. Each opponent you attacked counts once per turn, no matter how many times you attacked them.
Do creatures put onto the battlefield attacking help?No. They weren't declared as attackers, so they don't add an opponent to the count.
Likely interactions
⚡ Myriad
Myriad token copies enter attacking other opponents, which does not increase your battlefront count — a single myriad attack is still one opponent attacked.
⚡ Extra combats
Extra combat phases are the real engine: each new opponent you declare attackers against adds to a running total that lasts the whole turn.
⚡ Planeswalkers
Attacking a planeswalker or battle an opponent controls isn't the same as declaring attackers against the opponent themselves, and the article only spells out attacking opponents.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Removed attackers
If the creatures you declared are removed, or the attack is fogged or redirected after declaration, the question is whether the opponent still counts as attacked for the rest of the turn.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
🔍Seek OutNEW
Commander-only ability word for triggers that fire whenever you draw your second card each turn.
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  • Seek out is an ability word on the Commander cards that highlights triggered abilities that trigger whenever you draw your second card each turn.
  • The permanent doesn't need to have been on the battlefield for the first draw — it only needs to be there when the second draw happens.
  • WotC's example: draw Jean-Luc Picard, cast him, then draw a second card that turn and his seek out ability triggers.
  • It isn't limited to your own turn — draw two cards during an opponent's turn and the ability triggers again.
  • Your normal draw step draw is one of the two, so a single extra draw per turn turns these on.
Does the permanent have to see the first draw?No. Seek out triggers even if the permanent wasn't under your control as you drew the first card.
Can it trigger on an opponent's turn?Yes. If you draw two cards during an opponent's turn, the ability triggers again that turn.
Does a third or fourth draw trigger it again in the same turn?No — the trigger condition is drawing your second card each turn, so it's once per turn per permanent.
Can opponents respond to the trigger?Yes. It's an ordinary triggered ability that uses the stack.
Likely interactions
⚡ Draw step
Your draw step covers the first card, so any single cantrip, loot effect, or opponent-turn instant can switch seek out on without building a dedicated draw engine.
⚡ Flash
Landing a seek out permanent after you've already drawn one card still works — it only needs to be in place when the second draw happens.
⚡ Multiple draws
An effect that draws several cards at once, such as drawing three in one instruction, needs a ruling on whether the second of those cards sets off the trigger.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Replacement draws
Effects that replace a draw with something else, or that have you draw in place of another action, may or may not count toward your card-draw total for the turn.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
What's Returning
🚀Spacecraft and StationRETURNING
Artifact Spacecraft charge up with counters from tapped crew until they permanently unlock a bigger text box.
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  • Spacecraft is an artifact subtype, returning in this set. A Spacecraft starts as just an artifact with the abilities in the topmost striation of its text box.
  • Station is an activated ability that can be activated only as a sorcery — your main phase, stack empty.
  • To activate it you tap an untapped creature you control other than the Spacecraft itself; it can be any other untapped creature, including one that just came under your control this turn.
  • As station resolves, put charge counters equal to the tapped creature's power on the Spacecraft.
  • Once the Spacecraft has counters equal to or greater than the number in the circle on the left of a striation, it becomes an artifact creature with the power and toughness on the right and gains that striation's abilities — Enterprise-D at seven counters becomes a 4/5 with flying and vigilance, keeping its trigger and station.
  • Some Spacecraft have no power and toughness listed in a striation: reaching that threshold only grants the abilities there, and the Spacecraft doesn't become a creature.
Can I station at instant speed to ambush an attacker?No. Station can be activated only as a sorcery — your main phase with an empty stack.
Can a Spacecraft crew itself?No. You must tap another untapped creature you control, other than the Spacecraft.
Can I tap a creature that just arrived this turn?Yes. The article specifically allows any other untapped creature you control, including one that just came under your control this turn.
Does a stationed Spacecraft stop being a creature at end of turn?No — unlike crewing a Vehicle, this is driven by charge counters, so it stays a creature as long as it has enough of them.
📖 Official rule text
Card text: (Tap another untapped creature you control: Put a number of charge counters on this permanent equal to the tapped creature's power. Activate only as a sorcery.)
Likely interactions
⚡ Board wipes
Below its threshold a Spacecraft isn't a creature, so creature-only removal misses it; once it crosses the threshold and becomes an artifact creature, creature removal can hit it. Artifact removal works either way.
⚡ Crew chaining
A Spacecraft that has already become an artifact creature is "another untapped creature you control" for a different Spacecraft, so a finished ship can crew the next one — a reading worth confirming with your judge while the rules are unpublished.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
⚡ Crew removed
Opponents will respond to station by killing the creature you tapped. The earlier set's rules handled this with last known information for the creature's power, but that detail isn't in print for this set yet.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
📈 Proliferate
Charge counters are just counters, so anything that adds counters without tapping crew looks like a shortcut to a Spacecraft's threshold.
⚖️ Ask the Judge →
🔗 copy link to this mechanic
Set Timeline
Marvel Super Heroes
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The Hobbit
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Reality Fracture
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Star Trek
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