While we’re still reeling from all the amazing cards in Reality Fracture, it’s already fading from the spotlight. The official debut for the MTG Star Trek set has just happened, revealing tons of new main set and Commander gems. Alongside these, Wizards also revealed a quartet of new Stardate reprints, one of which is an absolute bomb.
Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
Originally released over two decades ago in Champions of Kamigawa, Minamo, School at Water’s Edge is a real blast from the past. Beyond just being a classic card, this land is a massive bomb, seeing huge competitive and Commander play. This is all down to its untap ability, which is effortless to abuse to fuel and create combos.
In Modern, for instance, Minamo, School at Water’s Edge is a common inclusion within Grinding Emry and Izzet Metalcraft lists. Here you can untap
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.)
When Emry enters, mill four cards.
{T}: Choose target artifact card in your graveyard. You may cast that card this turn. (You still pay its costs. Timing rules still apply.)
for extra graveyard shenanigans or draw extra cards with
Loki, God of Mischief
Loki, God of Mischief
Whenever a player or permanent becomes the target of an ability you control, draw a card. This ability triggers only once each turn.
. Meanwhile, in Commander, Minamo, School at Water’s Edge is hugely popular in cEDH, not to mention alongside powerful tap abilities like
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
{1}, {T}: Draw two cards, then discard a card. Create a 1/1 colorless Pilot creature token with "This token crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater."
Crew 8 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 8 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
.
To date, Minamo, School at Water’s Edge appears in over 225,000 Commander decks, so calling this card a staple would be underselling it. Thanks to this, and it only being reprinted in the Lord of the Rings Box Topper, it’s seriously expensive. If you wanted to pick up a copy right now, you’ll have to pay at least $58.
Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
As a much more recent addition to MTG, Bristly Bill, Spine Sower hasn’t hesitated to make a major multiformat impact. Since its release in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, the card has become a flex slot in Standard’s Mono-Green Landfall archetype. Beyond this, Bristly Bill is hugely popular in Commander, appearing in over 157,000 Commander decks so far.
Beyond being a fantastic support piece in Landfall and Counters Matters decks, Bristly Bill, Spine Sower is also a solid Commander. As a result, it has long been the most expensive MTG card from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. With an average price of $32, this Plant Druid certainly doesn’t come cheap, but there is a $24 Secret Lair printing.
Prosper, Tome-Bound
Selling for between $5 and $7 on average, Prosper, Tome-Bound is still a fairly decent reprint to find in a Play Booster. Sadly, your odds of this actually happening are pretty grim, as Star Trek Stardates cards only appear in one out of 25 Play Boosters. Collector Boosters don’t even guarantee a slot for them, either, with only a meager 5% chance of finding a foil one.
With this in mind, Prosper, Tome-Bound may still end up feeling like a letdown, compared to some of the other pulls. Thankfully, the card itself is very solid, at least, being a fan favorite in Commander, especially in the command zone. This is thanks to Prosper’s exile-based synergies, which can quickly churn out Treasure Tokens en masse.
Kenrith, the Returned King
As one of the most popular Commanders in the entire format according to EDHREC, Kenrith, the Returned King hardly needs an introduction. This card can really do it all, providing Haste, buffs, life, card draw, and reanimation where needed. Admittedly, each of these abilities does come with a cost, but the flexibility here is obscene.
With this flexibility, Kenrith can run tons of Commander archetypes and can still compete at competitive tables. While this card is a staple, however, it’s a remarkably affordable one. Thanks to being reprinted as a Multiverse Legend, and more recently in Mystery Booster 2, copies now sell for just $0.50.
Notably, while Kenrith can be picked up for cheap, specific variants can command a pretty price tag. The Final Fantasy-themed reprint, for instance, goes for closer to $5, while the Multiverse Legends printing is $3. Due to this, it’s unclear where the final resting price of this new reprint might be, but the outlook isn’t fantastic.
An Incoming Crash?
As much as a couple of the reprints revealed today are rather exciting, I wouldn’t get your hopes up about hitting it big. Not only are the prices of Bristly Bill and Minamo being limited by low supply, but the art here is… well, it sure is something.
If you’re a Star Trek fan, this art may really resonate with you, making these the variants you want to play. For others, however, the faces of real-world actors being front and center is incredibly jarring and off-putting. Due to this, many MTG players will likely gravitate toward the original printing instead.
The silver lining here is that undesirable art should make these new reprints far cheaper than past printings. While we’ve seen this trend happen before with the TMNT cards, the rarity of Star Trek Stardates cards is rather concerning. With no guaranteed slot in any product, these reprints may end up being surprisingly chase, even with their dubious art.
Ultimately, as usual with MTG finance, we can only really wait and see what happens. Hopefully, these cards will put a real dent in their sky-high current prices, but that’s unfortunately not guaranteed. For now, all we can really do is wait for MTG Star Trek’s release and admire the remaining 25 Stardates cards as they’re revealed.
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