Final MTG Stardates Dump Reveals Multiple $35+ Reprints With Dubious Artwork

Today’s WeeklyMTG stream was absolutely packed with new MTG Star Trek content. Not only did we get a full look at both of the set’s Scene Boxes, but we also got the final reveal dump for the MTG Stardates reprints as well. As with most recent Universes Beyond bonus sheets, this one is a mixed bag both aesthetically and financially, with some great reprints and questionable art alike.

The Heavy Hitters

While we only saw a few seriously expensive reprints from Stardates today, they are undeniably bangers. Leading the pack at $42.50, we have Bruvac the Grandiloquent Bruvac the Grandiloquent If an opponent would mill one or more cards, they mill twice that many cards instead. (To mill a card, a player puts the top card of their library into their graveyard.) , a real modern classic for Mill decks. By doubling all your mill effects on a reasonably-costed body, this card is not only a staple in the 99 of most Mill decks, but also one of the best Mill Commanders in its own right.

Bruvac aside, the rest of today’s big Stardates reprints are all lands. Talon Gates of Madara Talon Gates of Madara When this land enters, up to one target creature phases out.
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add one mana of any color.
{4}: Put this card from your hand onto the battlefield. gets its first-ever reprint here after its debut in Modern Horizons 3, adding a $36 card to the pool. This has quickly become one of the best utility lands in high-level Commander, serving as a flexible combo piece in Gaea’s Cradle Gaea’s Cradle {T}: Add {G} for each creature you control. -focused decks like Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy Whenever you tap a nonland permanent for mana, add one mana of any type that permanent produced.
{5}{G}{U}: Look at the top five cards of your library. You may put a non-Human creature card from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. . The card also shines in lower brackets, with over 244,000 decks running it by current EDHREC numbers. Beyond Commander, Workshop decks in Vintage and Cradle Control decks in Legacy also love Talon Gates, making it a real multi-format all-star.

Though not quite a first-time reprint, Shizo, Death’s Storehouse Shizo, Death’s Storehouse {T}: Add {B}.
{B}, {T}: Target legendary creature gains fear until end of turn. (It can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.) is also making another appearance in Stardates, after only one reprint on The List since its 2004 debut. This is a surprisingly powerful land, granting reliable evasion for just a single black mana, which helps out a ton in decks like Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow Commander ninjutsu {U}{B} ({U}{B}, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand or the command zone tapped and attacking.)
Whenever a Ninja you control deals combat damage to a player, reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. Each opponent loses life equal to that card's mana value. and Kaalia of the Vast Kaalia of the Vast Flying
Whenever Kaalia attacks an opponent, you may put an Angel, Demon, or Dragon creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that opponent. . It’s also an untapped black source, meaning that, like the Kamigawa Channel lands, it’s essentially a free include in most black decks that want it. As a result, it’s currently sitting at a very respectable $35.

Rounding out the bangers from today’s final Stardates dump, Phyrexian Tower Phyrexian Tower {T}: Add {C}.
{T}, Sacrifice a creature: Add {B}{B}. is a very welcome reprint. This is a stone-cold classic in Commander, appearing in a staggering 490,000 decks across all brackets. Whether it’s a casual graveyard deck like Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver Whenever another Zombie you control dies, if it didn't have decayed, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token with decayed. (It can't block. When it attacks, sacrifice it at end of combat.)
At the beginning of your end step, you may sacrifice a Zombie. If you do, draw a card. , or a serious cEDH list like Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh First strike, menace, trample
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) and Silas Renn, Seeker Adept Silas Renn, Seeker Adept Deathtouch
Whenever Silas Renn deals combat damage to a player, choose target artifact card in your graveyard. You may cast that card this turn.
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.) , Phyrexian Tower can generate tons of value, triggering sacrifice synergies while powering you ahead by two mana. Factor in its considerable play in Modern after a Modern Horizons 3 reprint in 2024, and it’s no wonder this classic land is sitting at $30.50 on the low end.

The Solid Reprints

After this, things drop off considerably for the Stardates bonus sheet value-wise, but you can still find some decent hits. Legendary creatures, in particular, are well-represented here, with old cEDH favorite Arcum Dagsson Arcum Dagsson {T}: Target artifact creature's controller sacrifices it. That player may search their library for a noncreature artifact card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. leading the charge at $15.50. We’re also getting a reprint of Empress Galina Empress Galina {U}{U}, {T}: Gain control of target legendary permanent. (This effect lasts indefinitely.) at $14.60, and a first-time reprint of Thada Adel, Acquisitor Thada Adel, Acquisitor Islandwalk (This creature can't be blocked as long as defending player controls an Island.)
Whenever Thada Adel deals combat damage to a player, search that player's library for an artifact card and exile it. Then that player shuffles. Until end of turn, you may play that card. at $10.30. These are joined by the notoriously unfun Sen Triplets Sen Triplets At the beginning of your upkeep, choose target opponent. This turn, that player can't cast spells or activate abilities and plays with their hand revealed. You may play lands and cast spells from that player's hand this turn. at $9.20, and Captain Sisay Captain Sisay {T}: Search your library for a legendary card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle. , which currently sits around $13.60. Sisay is notably already available for just $5.70 as an Avatar Source Material reprint, so this alternate art version could be worth a similar amount.

The bulk of the other somewhat valuable cards here are legendary creatures as well, with Drivnod, Carnage Dominus Drivnod, Carnage Dominus If a creature dying causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.
{B/P}{B/P}, Exile three creature cards from your graveyard: Put an indestructible counter on Drivnod. ({B/P} can be paid with either {B} or 2 life.) at $6.30, Mogis, God of Slaughter Mogis, God of Slaughter Indestructible
As long as your devotion to black and red is less than seven, Mogis isn't a creature.
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Mogis deals 2 damage to that player unless they sacrifice a creature of their choice. at $5.80, and Stella Lee, Wild Card Stella Lee, Wild Card Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, exile the top card of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play that card.
{T}: Copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy. Activate only if you've cast three or more spells this turn. at $4.60. This is actually Stella Lee’s first ever reprint after the Thunder Junction Commander decks, so this is a great add, especially since the card is fringe cEDH playable. Other notable legends, specifically Torbran, Thane of Red Fell Torbran, Thane of Red Fell If a red source you control would deal damage to an opponent or a permanent an opponent controls, it deals that much damage plus 2 instead. , Isshin, Two Heavens as One Isshin, Two Heavens as One If a creature attacking causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time. , and Sisay, Weatherlight Captain Sisay, Weatherlight Captain Sisay gets +1/+1 for each color among other legendary permanents you control.
{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}: Search your library for a legendary permanent card with mana value less than Sisay's power, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle. round this batch out at $4.50, $3.85, and $2.60, respectively.

One interesting anomaly among these mid-value cards is Flare of Fortitude Flare of Fortitude You may sacrifice a nontoken white creature rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Until end of turn, your life total can't change, and permanents you control gain hexproof and indestructible. , one of Magic’s more balanced ‘free’ spells, which clocks in at $5.90. This is a proper Commander staple in white, showing up in over 195,000 decks as a budget alternative to cards like Teferi’s Protection Teferi’s Protection Until your next turn, your life total can't change and you gain protection from everything. All permanents you control phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. They phase in before you untap during your untap step.)
Exile Teferi's Protection. . It’s also a first-time reprint here, which is great to see, even if its original Modern Horizons 3 appearance was only two years ago at this point.

The Regrettable Duds

As is always the case with bonus sheets in Magic, a lot of the reprints on offer in Stardates are, essentially, bulk duds. The most valuable card left at this point is Ertai Resurrected Ertai Resurrected Flash
When Ertai Resurrected enters, choose up to one —
• Counter target spell, activated ability, or triggered ability. Its controller draws a card.
• Destroy another target creature or planeswalker. Its controller draws a card. at $1, and things go quickly downhill after that price-wise. That said, while there’s not a ton of value on offer here, there are at least some pretty playable cards.

Green Landfall players, in particular, are eating quite well here, with both Loot, Exuberant Explorer Loot, Exuberant Explorer You may play an additional land on each of your turns.
{4}{G}{G}, {T}: Look at the top six cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card with mana value less than or equal to the number of lands you control from among them and put it onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom in a random order. and Tatyova, Benthic Druid Tatyova, Benthic Druid Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, you gain 1 life and draw a card. getting reprints. Counter-based Commander decks also get a couple of playable reprints in Rishkar, Peema Renegade Rishkar, Peema Renegade When Rishkar enters, put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.
Each creature you control with a counter on it has "{T}: Add {G}." and Mikaeus, the Lunarch Mikaeus, the Lunarch Mikaeus enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
{T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on Mikaeus.
{T}, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Mikaeus: Put a +1/+1 counter on each other creature you control. , both of which are, notably, the first alternate-art versions of these classics. None of these cards are worth more than $1, however, so they’re not exactly moving the value needle much.

Similarly, Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain Whenever you cast a historic spell, draw a card. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.) and Riku of Many Paths Riku of Many Paths Whenever you cast a modal spell, choose up to X, where X is the number of times you chose a mode for that spell —
• Exile the top card of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play it.
• Put a +1/+1 counter on Riku. It gains trample until end of turn.
• Create a 1/1 blue Bird creature token with flying. are both very playable Commanders, but price-wise duds at $0.40 and $0.30, respectively. Add in Hull Breach Hull Breach Choose one —
• Destroy target artifact.
• Destroy target enchantment.
• Destroy target artifact and target enchantment. and Decree of Pain Decree of Pain Destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated. Draw a card for each creature destroyed this way.
Cycling {3}{B}{B} ({3}{B}{B}, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle this card, all creatures get -2/-2 until end of turn. , two fairly underwhelming removal spells by current standards, and that’s all she wrote on the Stardates bonus sheet.

Overall, as always with MTG bonus sheets, Stardates is a bit of a mixed bag. There are certainly some great hits, but your chances of pulling one are low, especially now that Stardates aren’t guaranteed in Collector Boosters anymore. There’s also the added complication of the artwork, which is a bit uncanny given all the real-world actors involved, but could have the benefit of lowering prices considerably on some of the pricier reprints. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out once these cards hit the market.

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