MTG x The Hobbit

This card is here because I like its art.

I don't always remember this, but The Hobbit is actually the oldest published text in the tales of Middle Earth (a fact that failed to calcify in my brain, likely due to the success of the Lionsgate trilogy.) While the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Silmarillion benefit from the maturation of the author, as they chronicle history and examine scope, but they wander away from the mischievousness of myth that is perhaps best reflected in that Ur-Text. The Hobbit feels like a fairy tale almost, closer to legend lore of a picaresque novel, or a series of interwoven Grimm stories, where the immersion in magic and of realms tinged by such. Perhaps it is this nearness to our world's tales of old that makes it feel "right" in this world of external IP's, or more likely it is because The Hobbit and much of Tolkien's legacy is what the Western Fantasy canon is drawn from, and such is the well that early Magic drank from in those salad days, when we were green in judgement.

"I'm old, Gandalf. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart."

The Hobbit is the 5th of 7 Magic sets to be released in 2026. I am not having a week that allows me to be comforted by the nostalgia of the property, but I do earnestly feel that this is the most appropriate Universes Beyond pairing we'll see this year. Maybe that makes it the best time to review a set, when you're not tinted by those rose-colored glasses, but can acknowledge the merits of a merger made in heaven?

I don't know, but I bet the Thrushes do.

This feels like a very cute prison card, limiting your opponent's choices of play in both the early and late game without you gaining more advantages. I think that this card dodges a lot of the pain points folks have been feeling around Legendary creatures as of late by essentially being a series of triggers that can be reset with a recast, much in the way players could cycle through copies of The One Ring during its tenure in Modern.

I'm really pleased that the amass mechanic is back, and that it can now make Goblins. I don't know if its any good, but the Timmy in me really enjoys the glee of go tall mechanics. Additionally this card caring about Orcs and Goblins and Armies means that whatever cross-synergies you can find in Commander are all welcome in whatever monstrosity you wind up making. While Goblins and Orcs aren't much known for their +1/+1 counters, there are at least 40 who do (at time of writing) and there are plenty of incidental instances of the counters that getting the strategy online shouldn't be too hard. If there's anything to worry about, it may be how good Goblins are at dying, since if you end up going too wide, you have a decent chance of decking yourself with the Great Goblin's second pseudo-draw ability.

It's been a while since Snapcaster Mage has been strong enough to really be relevant in beloved formats like Modern, and since power creep has overtaken it so handily, we're seeing variations of it popping up here and there. Stingcaster Mage is a red version of the card coming out in this year's Reality Fracture set, and it does the flashback trick at sorcery speed, but Bilbo here has it tied to his attack trigger, and expands the usual arsenal of instants and sorceries to include artifacts too. Maybe this is the beginning of a Snapcaster typal deck, with this as it's lord, given its blanket cost reduction for anything you cast from not your hand. Did Izzet need more gas in any format? No! Are we happy to see Bilbo pour gas on the fire? No, but we respect the heck out of a cool little card like this one!

One of the issues Magic has dealt with in the era of Universes Beyond is the Legendary supertype bloat. In this latest episode of putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound, we have the Historic type grouping remixed as a City's Blessing mechanic, meaning that if you control 3+ artifacts, legendaries, or sagas while controlling a storied permanent, you gain an enduring story for the rest of the game. It's not much to write home about, but it's relatively easy to turn on, and Fili's static +1/+1 aura is nothing to sneeze at. I feel like this is probably a good example of exploring smaller niches of design space, even if I'm being cheeky about it existing, and as long as the abilities turned on by having an enduring story are kept in check Storied should be a useful tool going forward.

Also, Fili is a dwarf doubler. That's pretty neat.

On the subject of neat, I think its cool when cards nod at eachother. Desolation of Smaug is a boardwipe who after dealing 3 damage to each non-dragon creature provides you with enough mana to cast Smaug the Magnificent who has flying and haste and can probably attack face since your opponent is now likely out of fliers and reachers. This is a cute little live-the-dream/magical-christmas-land combo, but it scratches something unguarded in me, and like some silly old dragon, I'm falling for it. Smaug himself is designed well too with the incidental Treasure generation and the on attack zapping any target with the power of hoarded wealth being both flavorful and powerful. The pair are also just very loud, insisting that they be used together. While some might find it a little heavyhanded, the directness of communication is important especially when Universes Beyond sets draw in new players. Even if the Hobbit is a double dip in terms of courting LOTR fanatics, I'm sure we'll have plenty of new friends dipping their toes, and its clearly connected ideas like this that help get them all the way wet.

Secretly The Hobbit is a Bear set.

Well, maybe it's not such a secret, because everyone seems to be thrilled about bears, and they've latched onto this set like a bear does a beehive. The community at large has received some charming commanders in recent years, but Ayula, Doc Aurlock, and Kudo don't have the gas to make bears happen in the way that Beorn can. As a beefcake lord who bestows beardom on others and refuels once his cohort is big enough, Beorn is a sticky commander who really is a bear to deal with.

I love a little "I split, you choose" to spice up my game. A variant of Fact or Fiction, but with two twists: where you split the cards and one pile you make is a secret. Sure you're drawing less cards, but it's a good mini mind-game that can fuel your hand or your yard or both (if you play your cards right.)

 The Bee has been shotcalled as the most important Pauper format card of the set, it beeing a shoo-in for aristocrats decks that can count past two mana. Great Fierce Bee (great name btw) basically has Viscera Seer's ability simply trigger whenever any creature dies, and that's great already, but that 2 toughness takes it out of pinger range, making it a durable engine piece for black+ decks to abuse the heck out of it. Also, did we mention it's a freaking bee? And that its adorable?? And that its name is amazing??? There are so many great names in the set, and its a shame we don't have more time to explore that. Tag Yourself; I'm "Old Fat Spider," or "Great Ugly-Looking Goblin" depending on the day.

One of the unsung Pauper cards I'm kinda keen on though is the Lake-town Lookout, who is Hunted Witness, but you get to Connive on the death trigger, and if you discard a nonland card, you get a 1/1 white human soldier. Good filter effects, especially in aristocrats colors, are always welcome in this house, and LTL is no exception!

Four slow blinks in a row? Don't tempt me with a good time! Ok do! You know what your favorite slow-blink etb/ltb abilities are. If you're cool with waiting until eot to get your treat (or getting your treat right after your draw,) this saga is who you're gonna want to call. Roll-Roll-Roll-Roll is also great for removing counters, statuses, or evil enchantments from creatures or lands you'd like to keep using, so in case that takes priority over your trigger treats, that's another handy use too.

The very last thing before I go; My Precious.

Adventures are back and that's fun. We have an allusion to Gollum's birthday betrayal with an instant speed Skulltap, and then the extant of Gollum's imaginative use of the ring's powers with the legendary equipment part of the card, which is a soft retooling of Bilbo's Ring. I think this card epitomizes my overall feelings about this set, and so it's fitting that it's the last one we read today.

This set looks really good but perhaps it has been tarnished by its company (the other Universes Beyond,) and so I feel more bad for it than being excited for it.

But I do like this set (no lie, no cap,) and you know what, I might even play some of it

Bless that Himbo Baggins, and all of his wild and wacky adventures.

If you're excited about MTG x THE HOBBIT, feel free to check out our Preorders and our Prerelease Events! We'll be hosting Sealed events from the 7th through the 11th, and also on the 13th! Oh, except for the 11th when we have our TWO-HEADED GIANT!

+++++

Ben Doane has been a member of the Pandemonium Team since 2019, and has been playing wargames, rpgs, and tcgs since 2004 and earlier. When not blogging, Ben runs the wargames and mailing departments and also makes the newsletters. Her current favorite Hobbit is this one.

^he's in the corner here.

Ok, goobye!