The Gathering’s The Hobbit set reprints 5 Tales of Middle-earth cards

Magic: The Gathering’s 2023 set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth was a huge success, breaking records by earning more than $200 million in revenue for Wizards of the Coast owner Hasbro over the course of six months. The company will return to Tolkien’s world on Aug. 14 with the release of The Hobbit, bringing back some familiar faces and fan-favorite cards.

Tolkien wrote The Hobbit for kids, and it’s served as a gateway to the fantasy genre for generations. Wizards likewise sought to use Tales of Middle-earth to welcome new players to Magic, releasing a starter kit with a pair of preconstructed decks representing Sauron’s forces attacking Gondor. Meanwhile, veteran players could pick up four different Commander decks.

There won’t be any pre-cons in The Hobbit, which will include play and collector boosters, a Draft Night kit, and scene boxes. A Battle of the Five Armies co-op game that’s similar to the Turtle Team-Up mode released in March will drop next year, providing another potential entry point to the game.

The Hobbit will feature cards for the book’s iconic heroes and villains, like the dragon Smaug and the Dwarf King Thorin Oakenshield, along with new versions of characters from across Tolkien’s work, like Gandalf and Bilbo. You can also expect these five reprints from Tales of Middle-earth and earlier sets.

1

Wood Elves

Magic: The Gathering was heavily influenced by Tolkien’s work. You can see that inspiration in Wood Elves, a green ramp staple first introduced in Exodus in 1997. The solid common has been reprinted many times, and can find a home in Commander decks along with its doppelganger Farhaven Elf. The flavor text on the creature pays tribute to its origins with a quote about Wood Elves from The Hobbit.

2

Arcane Signet

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Tolkien invented his own languages, which Wizards paid tribute to in Tales of Middle-earth by printing some classic cards like Sol Ring in Elvish. A selection of Dwarven language cards can be found in The Hobbit collector’s boosters. The Commander staple Arcane Signet will be getting that treatment, with art depicting the sign Gandalf left on Bilbo’s home to let Thorin and his band know where to gather.

3

The One Ring

Image: Wizards of the Coast

There won’t be a reprint of the gold foil, Elvish Black Speech-etched version of The One Ring that Post Malone bought for $2 million back in 2023, but a new treatment of the legendary artifact will be a box topper for The Hobbit. The set will also include another version of the ring as owned by Gollum, which uses the Adventure mechanic to convey how the Precious found a new wielder.

4

Tom Bombadil

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Creative set lead Nick Marcantal said the legendary five-color god bard was one of the first cards he chose for the Tales of Middle-earth reprints, because he’s so beloved. Beyond coming with fresh art and a new treatment, The Hobbit version provides an excuse to retool your Commander decks with Sagas that have been released since 2023, like Final Fantasy’s Summon: Bahamut and Summon: Primal Odin.

5

Sauron, the Dark Lord

Image: Wizards of the Coast

The One Ring is back, and so is the Lord of the Rings himself. The Hobbit concludes with the Battle of the Five Armies, and those new Army cards representing the elves, dwarves, men, goblins and wargs will also serve Sauron’s purposes by bringing him The Ring. Expect to see more deeply evil and thematic Commander decks.