Source transparency: This Digest item is based primarily on reporting from Wizards of the Coast. TMF summarizes and interprets the news; original reporting remains credited and linked.
Star Trek introduces several new rules concepts, and Wizards' October 20 mechanics guide explains how they interact with existing Magic cards.
Beam me up lets a qualifying instant or sorcery be cast from the graveyard for its alternate cost, including returning a creature you control to its owner's hand. That return is a cost: opponents cannot wait for the spell to be cast and then kill the chosen creature to stop payment. Normal timing restrictions still apply, and the spell is exiled when it would leave the stack, including after being countered.
Facing a dilemma means choosing one or more modes on a modal spell or ability. Choosing several modes for one spell is still one dilemma, and the choice counts even if the spell is countered. Existing modal cards can therefore enable Star Trek payoffs; the mechanic is not confined to the new set.
Federation counts distinct creature types among non-Borg creatures. A creature with Borg among its types contributes none of its types to that count. Strange new worlds instead counts differently named lands, rather than basic land types.
Assimilate is the Borg's new action. It brings a specified card onto your battlefield, or takes control of a specified permanent, adds a +1/+1 counter and makes it a Borg artifact creature. Its other creature types disappear, while other card types are retained.
Spacecraft and station return. Station uses another untapped creature's power when the ability resolves, and newly cast creatures can help station. Commander adds battlefront, tracking opponents attacked that turn, and seek out, triggering on your second card drawn each turn. These definitions make declaration, timing and card identity important when building around the new captains.
Beam me up lets a qualifying instant or sorcery be cast from the graveyard for its alternate cost, including returning a creature you control to its owner's hand. That return is a cost: opponents cannot wait for the spell to be cast and then kill the chosen creature to stop payment. Normal timing restrictions still apply, and the spell is exiled when it would leave the stack, including after being countered.
Facing a dilemma means choosing one or more modes on a modal spell or ability. Choosing several modes for one spell is still one dilemma, and the choice counts even if the spell is countered. Existing modal cards can therefore enable Star Trek payoffs; the mechanic is not confined to the new set.
Federation counts distinct creature types among non-Borg creatures. A creature with Borg among its types contributes none of its types to that count. Strange new worlds instead counts differently named lands, rather than basic land types.
Assimilate is the Borg's new action. It brings a specified card onto your battlefield, or takes control of a specified permanent, adds a +1/+1 counter and makes it a Borg artifact creature. Its other creature types disappear, while other card types are retained.
Spacecraft and station return. Station uses another untapped creature's power when the ability resolves, and newly cast creatures can help station. Commander adds battlefront, tracking opponents attacked that turn, and seek out, triggering on your second card drawn each turn. These definitions make declaration, timing and card identity important when building around the new captains.
Original source: Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Mechanics ↗Wizards of the Coast