Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary draws you a card whenever another historic permanent with mana value 3 or greater enters under your control (artifacts, legendaries and Sagas are historic). Whenever you draw your second card each turn, seek out puts a +1/+1 counter on another creature and two charge counters on a Spacecraft, which powers the station cards the deck is built around. The precon is full of legendary creatures and Spacecraft, so most of what it plays already counts.
Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from those decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in them than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Federation Fleet precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Situational spells that do little here
Chronomantic Escape, Fractured Identity and Promise of Loyalty are each played in only about one Picard deck in six to ten. A suspend fog, a one-sided copy trick and a sacrifice-most-creatures effect are not what the Spacecraft and seek out cards are asking for.
Too few historic permanents
Inspirit, Flagship Vessel, The Seriema, Uthros Research Craft and Kilo, Apogee Mind are all historic permanents with mana value 3 or more, so each draws a card the turn it enters. Inspirit and The Seriema are the two highest-scoring cards the precon leaves out.
Cards that do their own thing
Tuvok, Ezri Dax and Temporal Tribulation are each played in about one Picard deck in six or seven. Tuvok redirects attackers, Ezri Dax copies a creature that died this turn, and Temporal Tribulation blinks two permanents, none of which feeds the deck's counters.
The 7 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Chronomantic Escape is a {4}{W}{W} sorcery with suspend 3 for {2}{W} that stops creatures attacking you until your next turn. It is played in about one Picard deck in ten.
Inspirit, Flagship Vessel is a 5/5 Spacecraft for {U}{R}{W}. From 1 charge counter, at the beginning of combat it puts a +1/+1 counter or two charge counters on another artifact, and at 8 it becomes a flier that gives your other artifacts hexproof and indestructible. It is a legendary artifact with mana value 3, so it draws a card from Picard the turn it enters.
Fractured Identity is a {3}{W}{U} sorcery that exiles a nonland permanent and gives every other player a token copy of it. It is played in about one Picard deck in six.
The Seriema is a 5/5 Spacecraft for {1}{W}{W}. When it enters, you search your library for a legendary creature and put it into your hand. It is a legendary artifact with mana value 3, so it draws a card from Picard too, and in a deck of legendary creatures it finds one every time.
Promise of Loyalty is a {4}{W} sorcery in which each player keeps one creature and sacrifices the rest. It is played in about one Picard deck in six, and it takes your own board apart.
Uthros Research Craft is a {2}{U} Spacecraft. Once it has 3 charge counters, whenever you cast an artifact spell you draw a card and add a charge counter. Picard's seek out puts charge counters on a Spacecraft, and as an artifact with mana value 3 it also draws a card from Picard.
Temporal Tribulation is a {2}{U} instant that exiles two permanents you control until the next end step, with flashback {5}{U}. It is played in about one Picard deck in six.
Kilo, Apogee Mind is a 3/3 haste artifact creature for {U}{R}{W}. Whenever it becomes tapped, it proliferates. Picard's counters, station counters and Spacecraft charge counters all grow when it attacks or is tapped to station, and as a legendary artifact with mana value 3 it also triggers Picard.
Stonespeaker Crystal is a {4} artifact that taps for {C}{C} and can be sacrificed with {2} to exile graveyards and draw a card. It is played in about one Picard deck in seven.
The Eternity Elevator is a {5} legendary Spacecraft that taps for {C}{C}{C} before it has any counters. It is a better mana rock, a historic permanent that draws a card from Picard, and a place to put charge counters.
Tuvok is a 2/3 flash creature for {2}{U} that redirects up to two attackers if it enters during the declare attackers step. It is played in about one Picard deck in seven.
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain is a 3/3 for {2}{U}{R}. Whenever you cast a historic spell, you draw a card. The deck is full of historic spells, so she draws on top of Picard's own draws.
Ezri Dax is a 2/2 flash creature for {1}{W} that can enter as a copy of a creature that went to your graveyard from the battlefield this turn. It is played in about one Picard deck in seven.
Surge Conductor is a 3/2 artifact creature for {3}. Whenever another nontoken artifact you control enters, it proliferates. Every Spacecraft and artifact creature in the deck grows the counters already on the board.
The full swap list
Cut
- Chronomantic Escape
- Fractured Identity
- Promise of Loyalty
- Temporal Tribulation
- Stonespeaker Crystal
- Tuvok, Chief Tactical Officer
- Ezri Dax, Newly Joined
Add
- Inspirit, Flagship Vessel
- The Seriema
- Uthros Research Craft
- Kilo, Apogee Mind
- The Eternity Elevator
- Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
- Surge Conductor
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Chief Miles O'Brien$4.66
Played in 74% of Picard decks. Seek out doubles the counters on an artifact or creature, which doubles a Spacecraft's charge counters. - U.S.S. Enterprise-E, Sovereign$9.95
Played in 71% of Picard decks. Destroys all tapped creatures when it enters and becomes a 7/7 flier at 8 charge counters. - U.S.S. Prometheus, Prototype
Played in 65% of Picard decks. A {5} Spacecraft that becomes a flying creature at 4 charge counters. - Data, Exploring Humanity$7.60
Played in 61% of Picard decks. Seek out makes it discover 4, so a second draw casts a free spell. - U.S.S. Stargazer, Here and There$13.84
Played in 58% of Picard decks. A cheap Spacecraft that makes a tapped and attacking 4/3 flier each time it attacks, from 6 charge counters.
If you want to spend more
These are strong cards that cost more than the swaps above. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Simulacrum Synthesizer$18.27
Simulacrum Synthesizer ({2}{U}) scores 26: it is in 28% of Jean-Luc Picard decks with 25% synergy. It reads: When this artifact enters, scry 2. Whenever another artifact you control with mana value 3 or greater enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
The precon's engine is already close to what the first Picard decks play: its best cards, Chief Miles O'Brien and Enterprise-E, are played in about seven decks in ten. The upgrade is more historic permanents to draw off Picard, in place of situational spells. These seven swaps cost about $14 in total, keep the deck's identity intact, and are based on early data that we will update after release.
Want a full 100-card list built around Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Federation Fleet precon?
Using data from 397 Jean-Luc Picard decks, the highest-scoring additions are Inspirit, Flagship Vessel (for Chronomantic Escape), The Seriema (for Fractured Identity) and Uthros Research Craft (for Promise of Loyalty). The full list has 7 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Federation Fleet?
All 7 swaps cost about $13.75 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-11-03). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Simulacrum Synthesizer ($18.27).
What should I cut from Federation Fleet?
The weakest cards for this commander are Chronomantic Escape, Ezri Dax, Newly Joined and Stonespeaker Crystal. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Federation Fleet?
Keep Chief Miles O'Brien, U.S.S. Enterprise-E, Sovereign, U.S.S. Prometheus, Prototype, Data, Exploring Humanity and U.S.S. Stargazer, Here and There. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Jean-Luc Picard do?
Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary draws you a card whenever another historic permanent with mana value 3 or greater enters under your control (artifacts, legendaries and Sagas are historic). Whenever you draw your second card each turn, seek out puts a +1/+1 counter on another creature and two charge counters on a Spacecraft, which powers the station cards the deck is built around. The precon is full of legendary creatures and Spacecraft, so most of what it plays already counts.
More Star Trek Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary decks (397 of them when this was written, 2026-11-03) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Jean-Luc Picard decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. And lift is very high for many Star Trek cards because they are new and rarely played outside Star Trek decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.