Updated Oct 21, 2026. Wizards explained face a dilemma in its Star Trek mechanics article on Oct 20. The Star Trek release notes and the Comprehensive Rules update are not out yet, so rulings marked "SparkMTG's reading" are our reading of the current rules, not an official ruling.
Face a dilemma is the new rules term in Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek for choosing modes. Any time you choose one or more modes for a spell or ability, you face a dilemma, and cards like Seven of Nine pay you for it. Modal spells are old. The name is new, and it turns every Charm, Command and "choose one" trigger in Commander into fuel.
This guide covers what counts as a dilemma, what does not, the cards that care, and how to build around it. For the decks themselves, see all four Star Trek Commander decks. [HUB LINK SLOT: every Star Trek mechanic in one place]
Face a dilemma key facts
What it is | A rules term for choosing one or more modes of a modal spell or ability |
Reminder text | "You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a spell or ability." (Seven of Nine) |
How many per spell | One. Choosing several modes, or the same mode more than once, is a single dilemma |
Does the spell need to resolve | No. Choosing the modes is enough |
Payoff cards so far | Seven of Nine (draw a card), Captain Benjamin Sisko (make Officer tokens) |
Where it appears | The Star Trek main set (release Nov 13, 2026). No Commander-only label |
Official sources | Wizards' Star Trek mechanics article (Oct 20, 2026). Release notes pending |
What does face a dilemma mean in MTG?
You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. Wizards' Star Trek mechanics article (Oct 20) puts it simply: all that is needed is to choose one or more modes. Seven of Nine carries the reminder text: "You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a spell or ability."
A modal spell or ability is one with two or more bulleted options and an instruction to choose some of them, such as "Choose one" or "Choose two" (CR 700.2). Each bullet is a mode. So Command Decision (destroy a big creature, or draw a card), Cryptic Command, Esper Charm and a creature with "When this creature enters, choose one" all make you face a dilemma.
Facing a dilemma does nothing by itself. It is an event that other cards look for. Without Seven of Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko or a later payoff on the battlefield, choosing modes plays the same as it always has.
When exactly do you face a dilemma?
You face it at the moment you choose the modes, which the rules already pin down:
Spells: as you cast the spell, while announcing it (CR 601.2b, 700.2a).
Activated abilities: as you activate the ability (CR 602.2b, 700.2a). Tea, Earl Grey, Hot has one: pay {2}, tap and sacrifice it, then choose one.
Triggered abilities: as you put the trigger on the stack (CR 603.3c, 700.2b). Seven of Nine sees Constable Odo's enters trigger, Captain James T. Kirk's attack trigger and a landfall Retreat.
That timing matters for Seven of Nine. She triggers during casting, and her trigger goes on the stack above the modal spell (CR 603.3), so you draw first, before the spell resolves. [VERIFY RULE] for the stack order against the release notes.
How does face a dilemma work with "choose one or more" and other modal spells?
Every common modal pattern counts once you choose at least one mode. The number of dilemmas stays at one per spell or ability.
Card text | Dilemmas | Status |
|---|---|---|
"Choose one" (Command Decision, Esper Charm) | 1 | Confirmed, Wizards Oct 20 |
"Choose two" (Cryptic Command, Austere Command) | 1 | Confirmed: multiple modes count as a single dilemma |
"Choose one or more" (Sublime Epiphany, Black Market Connections, Kirk with an empty hand) | 1 | Confirmed |
"Choose three. You may choose the same mode more than once." (Mystic Confluence) | 1 | Confirmed: repeating a mode is still a single dilemma |
Spree (choose one or more modes and pay each mode's added cost, CR 702.172a) | 1 | [VERIFY RULE]. Spree spells are modal under CR 700.2 |
Escalate and entwine (CR 702.120a, 702.42a) | 1 | [VERIFY RULE]. Entwine lets you choose all modes, still one choice |
"Choose up to one" or "choose any number" with zero modes chosen (Hullbreaker Horror, Rankle, Master of Pranks) | 0 | [VERIFY RULE]. No mode chosen means no dilemma. A modal trigger with no mode chosen is removed from the stack (CR 603.3c) |
A modal trigger with no legal mode | 0 | Confirmed, Wizards Oct 20: no mode chosen, no dilemma |
Face a dilemma rulings and edge cases
From Wizards' mechanics article (Oct 20, 2026), confirmed:
Choosing one or more modes is all it takes. What happens to the spell or ability afterward does not matter.
Choosing multiple modes, including the same mode more than once, counts as a single dilemma.
If a modal triggered ability has no mode that can legally be chosen, no mode is chosen and you did not face a dilemma.
Captain Benjamin Sisko counts dilemmas from modal spells and abilities that resolved earlier in the turn, ones that were countered, and ones that did not resolve because their targets became illegal, as long as you chose modes for them.
SparkMTG's reading, pending the release notes ([VERIFY RULE] on each):
Copies do not face a dilemma. A copy of a modal spell or ability copies the modes already chosen, and its controller cannot choose new ones (CR 700.2g, 707.10). No choice, no dilemma. This covers Twincast and Reverberate style spell copies and effects that copy triggered abilities.
Whoever chooses the modes is the one who faces the dilemma. Some cards let a player other than the controller choose the mode (CR 700.2e). The reminder text ties the dilemma to choosing, so that player is the one who faces it.
Modal double-faced cards are not dilemmas. Picking which face to play is a choice of face, and the card has no bulleted modes (CR 700.2, 712.3).
Council's dilemma and Prisoner's Dilemma are not dilemmas. Council's dilemma is an older ability word for voting (CR 207.2c). Votes and Prisoner's Dilemma's silence or snitch choice are not modes.
Seven of Nine has to be on the battlefield when you choose. If Seven of Nine and Junji, the Midnight Sky die to the same board wipe, Junji's "choose one" trigger goes on the stack after Seven is gone, so she does not draw. Only leaves-the-battlefield triggers look back in time (CR 603.10a).
Your own Seven of Nine does not see opponents' choices. "Whenever you face a dilemma" means you. An opponent's Cryptic Command draws you nothing.
Lands with a modal enters trigger only count when they enter untapped. Federation Outpost, Quark's Bar and The Unicomplex say "When this land enters untapped, choose one". A tapped entry means no trigger and no dilemma.
Which cards have face a dilemma or reward it?
Payoffs (Scryfall preview data, Oct 21):
Card | Cost and type | Text that matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Seven of Nine (TRK #252, uncommon) | {2}{U}{B}, Legendary Artifact Creature, Human Scientist, 2/4 | Whenever you face a dilemma, draw a card. | |
Captain Benjamin Sisko (TRK #6, rare) | {1}{W}, Legendary Creature, Human Officer, 2/2 | At the beginning of your end step, create a 1/1 red Officer creature token for each dilemma you faced this turn. A {2}{W}{U}{B}{R}{G}, {T} ability exiles the top five cards and casts spells with mana value up to your Officer count for free. |
These two are the only Star Trek cards on Scryfall that mention dilemmas as of Oct 21 (a search of all Oracle text for "dilemma" returns them plus older council's dilemma cards and Prisoner's Dilemma). Scryfall shows 165 of the set's 325 main-set entries so far, so more payoffs may appear in the Oct 26 to 29 previews.
Star Trek modal cards that make you face a dilemma (Scryfall preview data, Oct 21):
Color | Cards |
|---|---|
White | Command Decision (common), Federation Field Medic (common), Set Phasers to . . . (common) |
Blue | Consider the Prime Directive (common), Federation Probe (common), Kobayashi Maru Scenario (mythic), V'Ger, the Intruder (uncommon) |
Black | Resistance Is Futile (uncommon), Rogue Artificial Intelligence (common) |
Red | Captain James T. Kirk (mythic), Perils of the Past (common) |
Green | Dathon and Picard at El-Adrel (common) |
Multicolor and hybrid | Constable Odo (W/U hybrid, uncommon), Lore, Positronic Provocateur (U/B hybrid, uncommon) |
Colorless | Tea, Earl Grey, Hot (common) |
Lands | Federation Outpost, Quark's Bar, The Unicomplex (rares, only when they enter untapped) |
Two of them earn a closer look:
Captain James T. Kirk makes you choose one mode whenever he enters or attacks, and one or more if your hand is empty. Every attack is a dilemma.
Kobayashi Maru Scenario makes you choose a mode at each upkeep that was not chosen before, and the fourth mode is "You lose the game." With Seven of Nine that is three free cards and a clock. Plan to remove it before the fourth upkeep.
Is face a dilemma in the Star Trek Commander decks?
Not that anyone can confirm yet. Wizards' Commander decklist page (Oct 20) names only the four commanders, and the full lists come later. Of the 53 Star Trek Commander cards on Scryfall as of Oct 21, none mentions a dilemma and none is modal. Wizards' mechanics article tags battlefront and seek out as Commander-only and does not tag face a dilemma, so it reads as a main-set mechanic. [CONFIRM LIST] when the decklists post.
What fits each deck's colors today:
Deck | Colors | Face a dilemma fit |
|---|---|---|
We Are the Borg (The Borg Queen) | Esper | Seven of Nine fits. The best home among the four. Esper also has Esper Charm, Austere Command and Black Market Connections. |
Federation Fleet (Jean-Luc Picard, Luminary) | Jeskai | Captain James T. Kirk, Command Decision and Constable Odo fit. Seven of Nine does not (black). |
Klingon Fury (Worf, Defiant Commander) | Mardu | Captain James T. Kirk fits, and every attack is a dilemma. Seven of Nine does not (blue). |
Landing Party (Commander Spock) | Bant | Federation Probe, Constable Odo and modal landfall enchantments such as Felidar Retreat fit. Seven of Nine does not. |
Captain Benjamin Sisko fits none of the four. His activated ability costs all five colors, so his color identity is all five colors (CR 903.4, confirmed on Scryfall), and a Commander deck can only run him under a five-color commander (CR 903.5c).
Not sure which deck to start with? Read which Star Trek precon to buy.
How to build around face a dilemma in Commander
Count your dilemmas per turn cycle, not your modal cards. One modal spell is one card from Seven of Nine. Repeatable modal permanents are the engine:
Black Market Connections ({2}{B}) chooses one or more modes at the start of each of your first main phases. A dilemma every turn, before Seven draws you anything else. $12.34 (Scryfall, Oct 21, 2026).
Landfall modal enchantments (Felidar Retreat, Retreat to Coralhelm) make each land drop a dilemma.
Modal attack and enters triggers (Captain James T. Kirk, V'Ger, Constable Odo, Junji, the Midnight Sky) turn combat and creature drops into dilemmas.
Cheap modal interaction (Drown in the Loch, Sheoldred's Edict, Archmage's Charm, Esper Charm) replaces itself with Seven of Nine out.
Seven of Nine as a commander. She is a legendary creature, so she can lead a Dimir (blue-black) deck (CR 903.3). A deck of instant-speed Charms and Commands plus modal triggers draws a card on nearly every play. Her 2/4 body blocks well in the early turns.
Sisko as a five-color commander. Captain Benjamin Sisko costs two mana and has a five-color identity. The end-step Officers reward many dilemmas in one turn, and the activated ability needs seven mana including all five colors. Expect him in casual five-color "good stuff" builds more than in focused ones. [VERIFY RULE] that he is legal as a commander on Nov 13 (Scryfall lists Star Trek cards as not yet legal before release).
Watch the brackets. Farewell is the one Game Changer among the most-played Esper modal cards on Scryfall (Oct 21). Austere Command and Crux of Fate are not Game Changers, but a deck full of modal board wipes still deserves a Rule 0 mention.
Other Star Trek mechanics
Face a dilemma is one of several Star Trek mechanics in Wizards' Oct 20 article: beam me up (a keyword ability on two main-set commons), Federation and strange new worlds (ability words), Spacecraft and station (returning from Edge of Eternities), assimilate, the Borg keyword, and the Commander-only ability words battlefront and seek out.
Frequently asked questions
What does face a dilemma mean in MTG?
You face a dilemma as you choose one or more modes for a modal spell or ability. It is a rules term from Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek. On its own it does nothing. Cards like Seven of Nine and Captain Benjamin Sisko reward it.
Does choosing more than one mode count as more than one dilemma?
No. Wizards' Star Trek mechanics article says choosing multiple modes, even the same mode more than once, counts as a single dilemma. Cryptic Command and Mystic Confluence each draw one card off Seven of Nine.
Do you still face a dilemma if the spell is countered?
Yes. You face the dilemma when you choose the modes, so it does not matter whether the spell or ability resolves, is countered or loses its targets. Captain Benjamin Sisko still counts it at your end step.
Which cards care about facing a dilemma?
As of Oct 21, 2026, Scryfall lists two: Seven of Nine (draw a card whenever you face a dilemma) and Captain Benjamin Sisko (an Officer token at your end step for each dilemma that turn). Any modal spell or ability, old or new, makes you face a dilemma.
Is face a dilemma in the Star Trek Commander decks?
No Commander deck card confirmed so far mentions it. Wizards lists face a dilemma as a Star Trek set mechanic without a Commander-only tag, and the full decklists are not out yet. Seven of Nine fits the colors of We Are the Borg.
Does copying a modal spell make you face a dilemma?
SparkMTG's reading is no. A copy keeps the modes chosen for the original, and its controller cannot choose new ones (CR 700.2g), so no one chooses a mode. Check the Star Trek release notes when they publish.
Is face a dilemma the same as council's dilemma?
No. Council's dilemma is an older ability word for voting cards from Conspiracy: Take the Crown. Votes are not modes, so council's dilemma cards do not trigger Seven of Nine, in SparkMTG's reading.
Can Seven of Nine or Captain Benjamin Sisko be a commander?
Yes, both are legendary creatures. Seven of Nine leads a blue-black deck. Captain Benjamin Sisko has a five-color color identity because his activated ability costs all five colors, so he leads a five-color deck.
Sources: Wizards of the Coast, "Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek Mechanics" (Matt Tabak, Oct 20, 2026), https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/star-trek-mechanics. Wizards, Star Trek Commander decklists (Oct 20, 2026), https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/star-trek-commander-decklists. Comprehensive Rules effective Sep 25, 2026, https://media.wizards.com/2026/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020260925.txt. Scryfall card data (queried Oct 21, 2026).
SparkMTG is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Paramount.