Now that the dust has settled, it’s safe to say that today’s MagicCon preview panel more than lived up to the hype. Not only did we get a ton of information about Magic’s upcoming sets, but we got a boatload of new card reveals to pore over as well. In particular, August’s MTG The Hobbit set got a bunch of spoilers here, showing off potential playables, gorgeous art treatments, and some very spicy reprints.
Riddles In The Dark
As one of The Hobbit’s most iconic chapters, it’s only fitting that Riddles in the Dark got a truly powerful card to match. This is essentially a better Fact or Fiction, a card which used to be banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. While you get one less card to work with, this also costs one less mana, and you get the advantage of assembling the piles yourself.
As if this wasn’t enough, the fact that you can hide one of the piles here is another big advantage. This lets you play mind games with your opponent, nudging them into making sub-optimal decisions due to lack of information. Even if you do end up getting the worse of the two piles, three mana to ‘draw’ two cards, and put two cards into your graveyard, is a pretty great deal at instant speed.
While there’s a ton of competition in the blue draw department right now between Stock Up and the new Flow State, I could still see Riddles in the Dark seeing play. Instant speed is massive, and the fact that it fuels your graveyard is ideal for the Izzet Lessons and Spellementals decks currently tearing it up in Standard. Even if things in Standard change before August, it seems like a very solid draw spell in Commander at the very least.
Bilbo, Thief In The Night
As with all Universes Beyond sets, The Hobbit features different versions of important characters at different rarities. Bilbo, as the story’s protagonist, naturally gets a few cards himself, with his mythic version being an absolute doozy. If you can get an attack in with this sneaky Hobbit, even if it doesn’t connect, you’ll essentially get a better Snapcaster Mage trigger to work with.
Since Bilbo’s ability specifies that you cast the chosen spell then and there, it gets around timing restrictions, letting you cast sorceries during combat. Bilbo’s discount is also much broader than it looks, discounting spells cast by his own ability but also those cast from exile with cards like Expressive Iteration, or via Flashback. The fact that he can grab artifacts for a more permanent advantage is a nice bonus, too.
Sadly, Bilbo’s lack of protection and attack requirement probably preclude him from serious constructed play. In Commander, on the other hand, it seems like both an interesting build-around and a potent piece for the 99 of Spellslinger lists.
The Arkenstone
In a flavorful move, Wizards is bringing the Adventure mechanic back for The Hobbit, as showcased beautifully by The Arkenstone here. While this new Tolkien MacGuffin is, thankfully, less pushed than The One Ring, it still feels fairly interesting as a Commander card.
Three mana to tutor up any legendary creature is a nice effect, letting you grab utility pieces like Loran of the Third Path and Skrelv, Defector Mite, depending on what you need. The artifact side is decent here too, offering a generic anthem effect and consistent card draw.
Neither side of The Arkenstone feels fantastic for the cost, so you’ll mainly want to run it in decks that can properly leverage both. Token decks, where you can grab Mondrak, Glory Dominus and buff all the extra tokens it gives you, feel like the best home for it at present. Even then, it’s not an incredible card, but it definitely has its place, particularly in lower brackets.
Smaug The Magnificent
Smaug is one of the most iconic Dragons not just in Tolkien, but in fantasy in general, so it’s great to see it getting a powerful card here. As a Hasty 4/3 Flier for four with more text on top, it feels very pushed for the cost right out of the gate. While it feels a touch too clunky for current Standard even so, so it could have a chance if the format slows down a bit.
In Commander, however, Smaug feels like much more of a sure thing. It’s a slam-dunk in Treasure decks, and it’ll likely make the cut in a lot of Dragon Typal lists, too, as a cheaper Dragon that ramps you into bigger ones. Thanks to its double-synergy with Magda, Brazen Outlaw, it could even find a spot in that deck in cEDH, though slots are so tight there that it’s far from guaranteed.
Smaug is, notably, also the Headliner card for The Hobbit, appearing in a stunning ‘Gleaming Gold Foil’ treatment in Collector Boosters. The exact rarity of this version is unknown at present, but we can likely assume it’ll be about as rare as the Raised Foil Avatar Aang and cards like it.
My Precious
After The One Ring and Bilbo’s Ring, My Precious marks the third time Tolkien’s iconic artifact has been made into a Magic card. While this version is definitely weaker than the former, it is better than the latter, and looks to have a lot to offer in Commander.
The Adventure here, Allure of Power, is honestly pretty solid in itself. Cards like Village Rites and Deadly Dispute see huge amounts of play in Commander, and Allure is very much in the same camp. While it’s not as efficient up front, it gives you a whole other card, essentially a slightly worse Whispersilk Cloak, to make up for it. Cloak sees a ton of play in the format as well, so you’re essentially getting two staples in one card slot here.
My Precious will shine brightest in decks that can leverage both of its modes, specifically Aristocrats decks like Teysa Karlov that need to keep their Commander around. With how efficient both halves are, however, I could see it showing up in pretty much any black deck. Most decks want card draw and Commander protection, after all, and this offers both in one neat package.
An Unexpected Party
Typal decks are some of the most popular strategies in Commander, especially in the lower brackets, and An Unexpected Party gives any of these decks in white a chunky double anthem effect. With this enchantment in play, even a middling board can easily become a lethal threat.
With At the Door in the mix as an Adventure, this card is clearly aimed at players building Dwarf Typal decks. Beyond this, popular typal decks like Humans and Angels can make great use of this card, treating the enchantment as the main event and the Adventure as a nice bonus if there’s time. Though it’s pretty much only for typal decks in Commander, An Unexpected Party is a great addition to its niche.
Tom, Bert and William
The Hobbit’s trio of humorously-named Trolls makes a stellar showing here, as a fantastic new card draw engine for Aristocrats decks. While it’s slow to get going at five mana, with more mana needed to activate, the fact that it comes back as an artifact on death is huge. This puts it in a similar spot to the Enduring cycle from Duskmourn, the entirety of which sees a ton of Commander play due to its resilience.
Tom, Bert and William is great for turning small creatures into minor draw, but it works just as well with bigger creatures. This makes it excellent in Reanimator decks, letting you convert a heavy hitter into cards while also discarding to fuel future shenanigans.
Thorin, Mountain-king
Thorin, Mountain-king is the very definition of a ‘niche but nice’ MTG card. It’s an obvious auto-include in Equipment and Voltron decks in Commander, letting you gear up for free while also removing pretty much anything from the board. Outside of that, however, the card has very limited appeal. Running this in a normal Commander deck, for instance, with just a handful of protection pieces to hit, feels like a bad move.
Bilbo, Luckwearer
In addition to the mythic version discussed earlier, we also got to see the uncommon Bilbo during today’s MTG The Hobbit spoilers. Naturally, this is far less impressive, but it does still have some tricks worth talking about. The Adventure here, Burglar’s Plot, is the clear highlight, offering the most flexible Switcheroo effect we’ve ever seen. This can trade 1/1 tokens for opposing Commanders, but it can also turn Treasures into The One Ring, or Role tokens into Rhystic Studies.
Burglar’s Plot would probably be worth running alone in some decks, but Bilbo, Luckwearer is undeniably a nice bonus. It’s essentially a slightly worse Norman Osborn, providing an unblockable platform for Auras and Equipment, and a consistent source of looting. It could well see play in Discard and general graveyard decks for this reason, but for the most part, I see uncommon Bilbo being run mainly for Burglar’s Plot shenanigans.
Tales Of Middle-earth Box Toppers
On top of today’s main set spoilers, quite literally in fact, we also got to see some of the new Box Toppers for The Hobbit. These will all be cards from Tales of Middle-earth, and so far, the lineup is looking stacked. The One Ring, as expected, will be available as a Box Topper here, representing a $95 value add right away. With the card still seeing a huge amount of play in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage, this is a very welcome reprint, even if it likely won’t affect the current price much.
The One Ring is joined by a couple of iconic legendary creatures here, specifically Sauron, the Dark Lord and Tom Bombadil. Sauron is one of the most popular Commanders of all time, not just from Lord of the Rings, and its price reflects that, creeping up to nearly $30 recently. Tom Bombadil is considerably less exciting at just over $3, but it’s a popular Commander in its own right, with nearly 19,000 players running it. These three cards mark a strong start for this Box Toppers lineup, so we’re hopeful for other bangers like Orcish Bowmasters and Delighted Halfling to join them soon.
More Wonders To See
As if all of that wasn’t enough, The Hobbit still has more to offer. Today’s stream also revealed that the set will include new Dwarven Language cards, in a similar vein to the Elvish cards from Tales of Middle-earth. So far, all we know is that Arcane Signet is one of these cards, and that they’ll be available exclusively in Collector Boosters. Serialized versions, as we got before, haven’t been mentioned yet, so we likely won’t get those this time around.
Throw in some exclusive Seasonal lands, available only in Bundles or at Prerelease, and a Battle of Five Armies co-op product releasing in 2027, and The Hobbit is looking absolutely stacked. Whether you’re a Tolkien fan or not, I’m sure you’ll agree that August can’t come round soon enough.
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