Wizards of the Coast has released the official first look at the Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek set, and the chase at the very top is one we haven't seen from the game before: Headliner cards hand-signed by the actors who originally played the characters. The set beams onto tabletops worldwide on November 13th.
Seven Star Trek actors individually signed the set's Headliner cards, which Wizards says gives players "a chance to bring a piece of galactic history to their collections." There are approximately 250 copies of each signed card, each one a portrait set against a cosmic background. They only show up in Collector Boosters, and while those boosters ship in every language, the signed card itself is always printed in English.
Two of the seven are confirmed so far. Captain James T. Kirk carries William Shatner's signature, and Captain Kathryn Janeway carries Kate Mulgrew's. The other five are still under wraps, and there's no guarantee they're all captains. The guessing game between now and November should be half the fun!
The timing lines up with a big anniversary! The original Star Trek premiered back in September 1966, which puts this set right in the franchise's 60th anniversary year. If Wizards wanted a moment to hand fans something signed by Shatner himself, this was the year to do it.
Four preconstructed Commander decks launch alongside the main set: "Federation Fleet", "Landing Party", "Klingon Fury", and "We Are the Borg". Standard versions run $74.99 each, with a pricier Collector's Edition of each deck at $159.99.
The early card previews cover a lot of ground as well. "Borg Queen, Perfection Manifest" debuts the new assimilate mechanic, "U.S.S. Enterprise-D, Galaxy-Class" warps in as a spacecraft, and "Crystalline Entity" looks like both a top-end artifact threat and a board-clearing nightmare for artifact-heavy tables. Wizards hasn't posted that card's full rules text yet, so treat the specifics as preview-stage for now. The set also packs 30 stardates cards, reprints of powerful Magic staples redrawn with Star Trek artwork, plus surge foil treatments that are exclusive to Collector Boosters. On the gameplay side, the reveal pairs assimilate with another new mechanic called face a dilemma, and it brings back spacecraft and stationing from Edge of Eternities. Early previews even show all ten shock lands returning.
- Wizards posted the full MSRP lineup with the reveal:
- Play Booster - $6.99
- Collector Booster - $37.99
- Bundle - $69.99
- Beam Me Up Bundle - $99.99
- Commander Deck - $74.99
- Collector's Edition Commander Deck - $159.99
So what's a hand-signed Kirk going to be worth? Nobody knows yet! What we do know is the supply: roughly 250 copies of each signature, somewhere around 1,750 signed cards for the entire planet, pulled from $37.99 Collector Boosters. Sports cards built an entire industry on pack-pulled autographs at print runs like that, and signatures from beloved players routinely command hundreds or thousands of dollars on the secondary market. William Shatner signing Kirk is about as beloved as it gets.
When Wizards printed a one-of-one "The One Ring" card for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Post Malone reportedly paid over $2 million for it. Crossover money moves fast in both directions. "Doctor Octopus, Master Planner" jumped close to 400% in a matter of days once a Doctor Doom Commander deck made it a staple, while plenty of Marvel Super Heroes singles cooled just as quickly once the hype moved on. A signed Headliner sits closer to memorabilia than to a tournament staple, and memorabilia prices track the fandom, not the metagame.
Autograph markets also run on authentication, condition, and how many of those 250 copies get cracked out of packs versus staying sealed. Wizards hasn't published pull rates, and a card that's been hand-signed raises grading questions collectors usually handle case by case. We'll get our first real answers when November sales start showing up.
As someone who started playing and collected Magic back in the 90s, before all of the collectible cards and crossovers were a thing, it's mind blowing to see what Wizards of the Coast have done. Fantasy crossovers with Dungeons & Dragons, The Lord of the Rings make sense. Comic book crossovers with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Deadpool, Spider-Man, and the new Marvel Superheroes. Now we have Star Trek? How long before we get Star Wars, Halo, and The Chronicles of Narnia crossovers? I'm not sure if I should be excited or worried at this point…
OK, enough meandering and back on topic! Which five actors do you think round out the seven signatures? Are you chasing a Shatner in November, or grabbing a "We Are the Borg" deck and calling it a day?
Sound off in the comments below!
Other Stories Worth Your Time