Which Star Trek Commander deck fits your playstyle?
Choose by what you enjoy doing at the table: building a fleet, exploring lands, attacking or assembling the Borg.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
Federation Fleet emphasizes historic permanents and Spacecraft; Landing Party rewards differently named lands; Klingon Fury supports aggressive combat; We Are the Borg builds an artifact-creature engine. Choose the play pattern first. There is no independently tested “best deck” ranking here.
Sources below
Image: Wizards of the Coast · Original image 1 · Original image 2 · Original image 3 · Original image 4
- Four decks
- 100 cards each
- Standard MSRP
- $74.99 each
- Collector’s Edition
- $159.99, surge foil
Pick the decisions you want to make
A Commander precon is a way into a particular style of game, not just a box of potential resale value. The official decklists make the four Star Trek options distinct enough to choose by play pattern before considering individual upgrades. [1]
The complexity notes below are editorial assessments of the decisions those lists ask you to make. They are not results from Cardboard playtests, win-rate estimates or a competitive power ranking.
| Deck / colors | Core plan | Main decision load |
|---|---|---|
| Federation Fleet · U/R/W | Historic permanents, draw and Spacecraft | Sequence your engine and charge counters |
| Landing Party · G/W/U | Differently named lands and exploration | Manage lands and top-of-library value |
| Klingon Fury · R/W/B | Combat pressure and battlefront | Choose attacks and preserve momentum |
| We Are the Borg · W/U/B | Artifact creatures and assimilation | Coordinate engine pieces and assimilation |
Federation Fleet: build the ship around the crew
Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary is the face commander. Wizards describes a plan that strengthens creatures and charges Spacecraft, with Captain Janeway, Endgame offering a more aggressive alternative. This suits players who enjoy assembling a board that produces repeated value. [1]
For early upgrades, first identify whether your games are constrained by cards, mana or time to deploy your ships. Keep enough enablers for the historic and draw plan rather than replacing every supporting card with a large threat. This is a direction to test, not a published optimized list.
Landing Party: turn exploration into resources
Commander Spock rewards the number of differently named lands you control, including the possibility of casting revealed spells without paying their mana costs. Captain Kirk, Boldly Going offers an alternative Spacecraft approach. Choose this deck if you like lands to do more than produce mana. [1]
The upgrade question is whether your land package consistently supports the commander while still casting spells on time. Adding more distinct land names is not automatically an improvement if too many enter tapped or fail to supply the needed colors.
Klingon Fury: make combat count
Worf, Defiant Commander supports battlefront and an aggressive game. Kor, Cause of Vengeance offers a sacrifice-oriented alternative. This is the clearest thematic fit for a player who wants attacks to move the game forward rather than waiting behind an engine. [1]
Start upgrades by testing recovery after board wipes and the balance of threats, protection and card flow. A combat plan still needs resources after the first wave; replacing every utility slot with another attacker can make that problem worse.
We Are the Borg: assemble the collective
The Borg Queen leads the white-blue-black artifact-creature deck, with Locutus of Borg as an alternate commander. Its official list includes artifact support such as Unwinding Clock and Skullclamp. This fits players who enjoy combining permanent-based systems and tracking counters. [1]
For an initial upgrade pass, keep the engine’s requirements visible: artifact density, reliable mana, interaction and recovery. Test the deck before choosing expensive replacements. A familiar staple is not useful if it weakens the specific machine you are building.
Standard or Collector’s Edition?
The Collector’s Editions keep the same ready-to-play decks but use surge foil cards. Wizards lists $74.99 for a standard deck and $159.99 for a Collector’s Edition. That premium buys presentation, not a different strategic list. [1], [2]
Check delivery separately. Wizards warned that North American Commander decks may arrive after tabletop release, with additional regional delays elsewhere. Decide on the deck and finish you want before comparing seller offers. [3]