MTG Landing Party Decklist, Best Cards, Best Reprints, Review, and More

Just like that, after a solid two weeks of previews, spoiler season for MTG Star Trek has essentially come to a close today. Wizards is leaving things off on a high note, at least, with the reveal of the set’s final MTG Commander precon, Landing Party.

While many players are, understandably, a bit sick of lands as a deck theme, this new Bant precon does at least take things in an interesting direction. It also features one of the best reprint suites we’ve seen in a precon deck in a while, making it worth the wallet even if lands don’t tickle your fancy.

Merciful Mandate MTG

While it feels like a bit of an odd inclusion in Landing Party, given that it doesn’t play into the Landfall and Blink themes at all, Merciful Mandate is probably the most exciting card in the deck. Wizards rarely gives us tools to mess with the phases of each turn, and this one is a doozy, letting you skip a combat phase entirely.

In practice, this is a fancy Fog Fog Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn. , shutting down one opponent’s swing turn and leaving them totally defenseless for a turn. It also scrubs the stack clean of spells and abilities, so you can stop Aggravated Assault Aggravated Assault {3}{R}{R}: Untap all creatures you control. After this main phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase. Activate only as a sorcery. combos, or combat tricks like Akroma’s Will Akroma’s Will Choose one. If you control a commander as you cast this spell, you may choose both instead.
• Creatures you control gain flying, vigilance, and double strike until end of turn.
• Creatures you control gain lifelink, indestructible, and protection from each color until end of turn. .

Seasoned players will probably recognize this effect from the similarly-named Mandate of Peace Mandate of Peace Cast this spell only during combat.
Your opponents can't cast spells this turn.
End the combat phase. (Remove all attackers and blockers from combat. Exile all spells and abilities from the stack, including this spell.) , but Merciful Mandate is almost certainly the better card. Trading a niche Silence Silence Your opponents can't cast spells this turn. effect for a full board untap is a fantastic deal, giving you extra uses of your blockers and mana dorks at an absolute minimum.

If you’re game for some shenanigans, Merciful Mandate’s untap effect also lets you pull off some funky infinite combos with Isochron Scepter Isochron Scepter Imprint — When this artifact enters, you may exile an instant card with mana value 2 or less from your hand.
{2}, {T}: You may copy the exiled card. If you do, you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost. . Provided you can make a creature version of Scepter with something like Ultron, Artificial Malevolence Ultron, Artificial Malevolence Whenever another nontoken artifact you control enters, you may pay {2}. If you do, create a token that's a copy of it. If the token isn't a creature, it becomes a 2/2 Robot Villain creature in addition to its other types. , you can skip each opponent’s combat phase with this and a couple of mana dorks.

While it’s unlikely to be a game changer in the literal sense, Merciful Mandate definitely feels like one figuratively. With this in tow, white decks now have much more scope to screw with big swing turns, cementing the Commander hot streak they’ve been on this past year.

Sam Kirk, Xenoanthropologist MTG

If I’ve learned anything from the recent rise in cEDH content, it’s that cards that reward you whenever your opponents take actions are extremely good. Sam Kirk does just that, rewarding you with a fat stack of Clues as the rest of the pod deploys their various creatures.

This will probably trigger less often than its noncreature cousins like Mystic Remora Mystic Remora Cumulative upkeep {1} (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
Whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell, you may draw a card unless that player pays {4}. in high brackets, but it’ll be even better in bracket three and below. With lots of creature-centric decks in lower brackets, Sam Kirk will give a lot of Clues to work with.

In a vacuum, this isn’t hugely exciting, as it’s kind of just overcosted draw, but Clue Tokens have other perks. Clues can make your Thought Monitor Thought Monitor Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs {1} less to cast for each artifact you control.)
Flying
When this creature enters, draw two cards. s cost less, tap to cast spells with Inspiring Statuary Inspiring Statuary Nonartifact spells you cast have improvise. (Your artifacts can help cast those spells. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for {1}.) , and even serve as sacrifice fodder for engines like The Technodrome. Don’t even get me started on its synergy with Fateful Discovery Fateful Discovery Whenever an artifact you control enters, draw a card. , which literally turns your Clues into free card draw.

Otherwise, Sam Kirk is also just great at stacking up a ton of cardboard for scaling cards like Mendicant Core, Guidelight Mendicant Core, Guidelight Mendicant Core's power is equal to the number of artifacts you control.
Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.)
Max speed — Whenever you cast an artifact spell, you may pay {1}. If you do, copy it. (The copy becomes a token.) and Urza’s Saga Urza’s Saga (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)
I — This Saga gains "{T}: Add {C}."
II — This Saga gains "{2}, {T}: Create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with 'This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.'"
III — Search your library for an artifact card with mana cost {0} or {1}, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. tokens. In short, Sam Kirk is just a good addition to a bunch of lower bracket artifact decks, so expect to see a lot of it there.

Pavel Chekov, First Posting MTG

For those who have been following Magic since the ’90s, Pavel Chekov is a real throwback for the books. This is, essentially, a new version of 1998’s Abundance Abundance If you would draw a card, you may instead choose land or nonland and reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card of the chosen kind. Put that card into your hand and put all other cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order. , but this time attached to a Simic creature instead of a Mono-Green enchantment.

This means that Pavel is a fantastic way to smooth out your draws, guaranteeing you either action or land drops as needed. It goes particularly hard with burst draw effects like Brainstorm Brainstorm Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order. for maximum selection, and Sylvan Library Sylvan Library At the beginning of your draw step, you may draw two additional cards. If you do, choose two cards in your hand drawn this turn. For each of those cards, pay 4 life or put the card on top of your library. for two free, sculpted draws each turn.

Some combo lines are even possible, most notably dropping Cultivator Colossus Cultivator Colossus Trample
Cultivator Colossus's power and toughness are each equal to the number of lands you control.
When this creature enters, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. If you do, draw a card and repeat this process. to put every land from your deck into play. In most cases this won’t win you the game on the spot, but it can generate a ton of value with cards like Field of the Dead Field of the Dead This land enters tapped.
{T}: Add {C}.
Whenever this land or another land you control enters, if you control seven or more lands with different names, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. .

Unlike Abundance Abundance If you would draw a card, you may instead choose land or nonland and reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card of the chosen kind. Put that card into your hand and put all other cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order. , Pavel is a legendary creature, allowing you to run him in the command zone, which is great for setting up combos. You can also tutor it up out of the 99 with ease, with everything from Neoform Neoform As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature.
Search your library for a creature card with mana value equal to 1 plus the sacrificed creature's mana value, put that card onto the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it, then shuffle. to Formidable Speaker Formidable Speaker When this creature enters, you may discard a card. If you do, search your library for a creature card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
{1}, {T}: Untap another target permanent. .

Solid Blink Support

It turns out the title ‘Landing Party’ actually has a sneaky double meaning, referring not just to the many Landfall synergies in the deck, but also to your creatures landing in play. The latter part is represented in the deck’s sizable suite of new blink cards, many of which look destined for success in many brews.

Balance of Terror is the big highlight here, giving you some ever-useful artifact and enchantment removal on top of two blinks for any permanents. Sadly these are end-of-turn blinks, which prevents any kind of combo shenanigans: a theme we’ll see with the rest of the blink cards here.

Temporal Tribulation is another very solid card in this lineup, being a more flexible Ghostly Flicker Ghostly Flicker Exile two target artifacts, creatures, and/or lands you control, then return those cards to the battlefield under your control. that trades immediate blink returns for Flashback. While this is a bit of a bummer downside, you can still pull off infinite turn combos with this and cards like Mystic Sanctuary Mystic Sanctuary ({T}: Add {U}.)
This land enters tapped unless you control three or more other Islands.
When this land enters untapped, you may put target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard on top of your library. and Archaeomancer Archaeomancer When this creature enters, return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand. .

Last but by no means least, The Guardian of Forever is one of the most unique blink cards we’ve ever seen, arguably so unique that it’s not a blink card at all. For a steep four-mana investment, this sacrifices a creature of your choice, then brings it back at end of turn, letting you recycle both its enters and dies triggers. This is better than traditional blink in graveyard decks and with bangers like Solemn Simulacrum Solemn Simulacrum When this creature enters, you may search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
When this creature dies, you may draw a card. , and it can even create some pseudo-combos with Mana Echoes Mana Echoes Whenever a creature enters, you may add an amount of {C} equal to the number of creatures you control that share a creature type with it. , too.

Best Reprints

In addition to some new-to-mtg bangers, Landing Party has some killer reprints. You’re getting an absolutely stacked lineup here, headlined by Exploration Exploration You may play an additional land on each of your turns. , a $32 Commander Landfall staple that also sees a ton of play in Legacy and Premodern.

It’s rare to see a card this pricey in a precon, and it’s supported nicely by Ancient Greenwarden Ancient Greenwarden Reach (This creature can block creatures with flying.)
You may play lands from your graveyard.
If a land entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time. at $13 and Guardian Project Guardian Project Whenever a nontoken creature you control enters, if it doesn't have the same name as another creature you control or a creature card in your graveyard, draw a card. at $12. Add in classic Battlebond land Sea of Clouds Sea of Clouds This land enters tapped unless you have two or more opponents.
{T}: Add {W} or {U}. at $20, and powerhouse Timetwister Timetwister Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, then draws seven cards. (Then put Timetwister into its owner's graveyard.) retrain Echo of Eons Echo of Eons Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, then draws seven cards.
Flashback {2}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.) at $10, and there’s at least $87 in high-end reprint value here.

This doesn’t even factor in the many valuable sub-$10 cards on this list, like Lotus Cobra Lotus Cobra Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, add one mana of any color. at $6 and Mutavault Mutavault {T}: Add {C}.
{1}: This land becomes a 2/2 creature with all creature types until end of turn. It's still a land. at $4. For bang for your buck, this is probably the strongest Star Trek precon at a base level, especially if you can find it at its $74.99 MSRP.

Overall, for both new cards and reprints, Landing Party feels like one of the better MTG Star Trek Commander precons out of the box. While I’m personally more drawn to Klingon Fury’s aggressive playstyle, it’s hard to deny the appeal of blinking your high-value face Commanders and drowning your opponents in Landfall triggers.

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