Magic: The Gathering's Star Trek Set Features a Brutal Two-Card Combo

Among the numerous weapons, starships, and dastardly villains featured in Magic: The Gathering's upcoming Star Trek expansion, one of the most effective ways to eliminate an opponent involves the decidedly unthreatening act of letting them draw a bunch of cards. An unusual pairing between Spock, Strangely Human and the sorcery spell Make It So creates a potentially game-ending infinite combo, and it could even occur during the set's prerelease events beginning November 6.

The interaction allows players to repeatedly force their opponents to draw cards until their libraries are exhausted, triggering one of Magic's fundamental loss conditions. It's a rather undignified way to meet your maker, especially at the hands of someone renowned for his restraint and impeccable logic. Of course, executing this little maneuver requires considerably more than possessing a pair of cards and a passing familiarity with Vulcan philosophy.

Spock's Infinite Combo Turns Card Advantage Into a Liability

Experienced Magic players generally welcome opportunities to draw additional cards. After all, having more options tends to improve one's chances of winning, provided those options aren't all lands (which, somehow, they strangely often are). But when Spock, Strangely Human enters the equation, an otherwise generous gesture becomes a Vulcan death grip

The three-mana, Izzet (red/blue) Human Rogue is actually Stella Lee, Wild Card, a formidable legendary creature currently ranked No. 200 among all commanders according to EDHREC, from 2024's Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Spock is among 30 Stardates cards appearing in Star Trek, which give familiar Magic cards new identities inspired by the celebrated sci-fi franchise.

Beneath his Vulcan makeover, Spock is a 2/4 creature that rewards casting multiple spells. Casting a second spell in one turn exiles the top card of your library for later play, but his considerably more dangerous ability allows him to tap and copy an instant or sorcery you control, provided you've cast at least three spells that turn.That's where Make It So comes online.

This blue four-mana modal sorcery presents two options. The first untaps a permanent you control while allowing target player to draw two cards; the second creates a 1/1 red Officer creature token and draws two cards just for you. Both are perfectly serviceable effects, though the former becomes downright diabolical alongside Spock.

To initiate the combo, players must cast two spells before playing Make It So as their third, choosing Spock as the permanent to untap and their opponent as the unfortunate recipient of two cards.

With Make It So still on the stack awaiting resolution, Spock can tap to copy it. That copy resolves first, untapping Spock and forcing the opponent to draw two cards. The original sorcery remains on the stack, allowing Spock to tap again and repeat the process.

Now, rinse and repeat: Spock can continue copying Make It So indefinitely without spending another mana or casting another spell.

Eventually, the opponent will attempt to draw from an empty library, which results in an automatic loss under Magic's rules. Their life total, creatures, and carefully assembled defenses offer no protection against this unexpected calamity.

Apparently, the legendary Vulcan death grip has taken on an entirely new meaning.

The Odds of Pulling Off Spock's Infinite Combo Are Astronomical

For all its destructive potential, this peculiar interaction is hardly something players should expect to encounter regularly during Star Trek's upcoming prerelease events.

The primary obstacle is Spock himself. According to Wizards of the Coast's official collecting guide, a Stardates card replaces a common in approximately one out of every 25 Play Boosters. With 30 different Stardates cards and just six Play Boosters in each prerelease kit, finding this particular Vulcan requires some extraordinary luck.

And with just six Play Boosters included in each prerelease kit, hoping to open Spock is an exercise in considerable optimism.

Make It So, thankfully, is an ordinary common from the main set. Its versatility makes it a reasonable addition to a blue deck regardless of whether Spock shows up. The same cannot be said for building an entire Limited strategy around a mythic rarity reprint that might never materialize.

Even players fortunate enough to acquire both cards must navigate a fairly demanding series of circumstances. Spock needs to remain on the battlefield long enough to use his tap ability, and casting two additional spells alongside a four-mana sorcery in a single turn isn't exactly trivial in Limited formats.

Then there's your opponent, who presumably isn't just waiting around to be ceremoniously dispatched by excessive card draw. Removal spells and counterspells can interrupt the combination, while each additional card drawn potentially gives the defending player another opportunity to find a suitable response to the combo.

Star Trek's Most Unexpected Combo Has Roots in Commander

Although the pairing might astonish unsuspecting prerelease participants, the mechanics behind this infinite loop should look familiar to Commander enthusiasts. Stella Lee has been enabling outrageous combinations since her 2024 debut, though assembling them in a carefully constructed 100-card deck is considerably easier than relying on the contents of six Play Boosters.

Despite Stardates cards not being legal in Standard Constructed, Wizards specifically permits players to use those opened from Play Boosters in the set's Limited formats. That creates the unusual prospect of an established Commander combo turning up in a 40-card Sealed deck, provided players are fortunate enough to find both pieces.

Between Star Trek's new Commander mechanics, its unusual alternate loss conditions, and familiar television adventures adapted into Magic cards, the expansion already offers plenty of opportunities for entertaining interactions.

For a character who prides himself on logic, Spock has devised a wonderfully illogical way to win a game of Magic.