Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Checklist and Details

Magic: The Gathering Returns to Middle-earth with The Hobbit

Magic: The Gathering is heading back to Middle-earth on August 14, 2026, with The Hobbit, a set that begins the story at Bag End and follows Bilbo Baggins east toward the Lonely Mountain. Wizards of the Coast says the release will be the first Tolkien set legal in Standard, making it one of the most notable crossover launches in recent Magic history.

Prerelease events are scheduled for August 7 through 13, while the set arrives on MTG Arena on August 11. The release continues the broader Middle-earth collaboration, but this time the focus shifts to the events of The Hobbit rather than The Lord of the Rings.

Story and Character Focus

The set’s story coverage tracks the major beats of The Hobbit. That includes the unexpected party at Bag End, the trolls, Gollum’s riddles in the dark, the wood elves of Mirkwood, and Smaug sleeping on his stolen treasure hoard. The source material points to a set built around the book’s major locations and character moments rather than a loose fantasy interpretation.

That approach is reflected in the legendary lineup. Smaug the Magnificent leads the mythics as a four mana 4/3 Dragon with flying and haste. According to the source, he creates a Treasure at the beginning of your upkeep and deals damage equal to the number of Treasures you control to any target whenever he attacks. A second version, Smaug, Wicked Worm, gives the Dragon a black-red build centered on Treasure payoffs.

Other highlighted legends include Thorin, Mountain-king, Bard, King of Dale, Thranduil, the Elvenking, Gollum, Riddle Master, Azog, Moria’s Ruin, Bolg of the North, and The Queen of Dale. Bilbo also appears in multiple forms, including Bilbo, Luckwearer and Bilbo, Thief in the Night.

Artifacts also play a major role in the set, with The Arkenstone, Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, and Sting, Bilbo’s Sword among the named cards in the checklist.

New and Returning Mechanics

The Hobbit introduces three new mechanics and brings back two familiar ones. Storied is a static ability that turns on once you control a permanent with storied and three or more artifacts, legendary permanents, and/or Sagas. Once both conditions are met, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game, and it cannot be removed afterward.

Recruit is a keyword action that has you draw a card, then discard a card. If the discarded card was nonland, you create a 1/1 white Human Soldier token.

Hone counters appear on Equipment, and each one gives the equipped creature +1/+0. Adventure returns as well, splitting cards such as Bilbo, Luckwearer into a permanent half and an instant or sorcery half.

Amass also comes back from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, this time building Goblin Armies off cards including Bolg of the North.

No Commander Preconstructed Decks

Players expecting traditional Commander precons will not find them in The Hobbit. Instead, Wizards of the Coast is replacing that slot with two Scene Boxes, Crack the Plates and Treasures of Smaug. A cooperative Battle of Five Armies Co-Op Kit is also planned for 2027.

That product mix makes The Hobbit stand out from many recent Magic releases. Rather than leaning on Commander decks as the main supplemental product, the set emphasizes scene-based collectibles and a future cooperative experience tied to the Battle of Five Armies.

Chase Cards and Special Treatments

The biggest chase card in the set is the gold Smaug the Magnificent headliner card, illustrated by Ted Nasmith. Wizards of the Coast lists it at approximately 500 copies printed, and it appears only in English Collector Boosters.

Below that top-tier pull are 40 borderless Middle-earth classic artist cards, which use art from Tales of Middle-earth. The set also includes five Dwarvish language cards that transliterate famous Magic cards, including Mox Amber and The Reaver Cleaver.

Collectors will also find 10 book cover cards styled after vintage paperback editions and 25 Dragon hoard frame cards, including a red frame version with a missing scale.

Booster and Box Contents

Play Booster

• 14 cards per pack
• 7 Common
• 3 Uncommon
• 1 Wildcard of any rarity
• 1 Rare or Mythic Rare
• 1 Traditional Foil
• 1 Land
• Plus 1 non foil double sided token

Play Booster Box

• 30 Play Boosters per box
• 1 Box Topper featuring a traditional foil Middle-earth classic artist card
• 6 boxes per case

Collector Booster

• 15 cards per pack
• 5 traditional foil Common
• 4 foil Uncommon
• 1 traditional foil Middle-earth journey basic land
• 2 traditional foil Rare or Mythic Rare
• 2 non foil Booster Fun
• 1 foil Booster Fun
• Plus 1 art card or traditional foil double sided token

Collector Booster Box

• 12 Collector Boosters per box
• 1 Box Topper
• 6 boxes per case

Bundle

• 9 Play Boosters
• 4 traditional foil full art seasonal Hobbit basic lands
• 15 traditional foil basic lands
• 15 non foil basic lands
• 1 traditional foil promo card
• 2 reference cards
• 1 oversized spindown life counter
• 1 card storage box

Gift Bundle

• Everything in the Bundle
• 1 Collector Booster
• Surge foil seasonal Hobbit lands instead of traditional foil
• Releasing September 4, 2026

Draft Night

• 12 Play Boosters
• 1 Collector Booster
• 90 non foil basic lands
• 10 non foil double sided tokens
• 1 draft insert

Scene Boxes

• Two designs: Crack the Plates and Treasures of Smaug
• 3 Play Boosters
• 6 traditional foil new to Magic borderless scene cards
• 6 art cards
• 1 display easel

Prerelease Pack

• 6 Play Boosters
• 1 traditional foil Rare or Mythic Rare
• 4 non foil full art seasonal Hobbit basic lands
• 1 deck box
• 1 spindown die

Welcome Decks

• Five 40 card single color decks
• White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green
• Available through WPN stores

Battle of Five Armies Co-Op Kit

• Standalone cooperative product
• Separate from the main release
• Planned for 2027

Rarities and Set Size

The source lists the rarity breakdown as 60 Commons, 55 Uncommons, 53 Rares, and 15 Mythic Rares. That brings the total to 321 cards in the set, including all Booster Fun treatments and variants.

With Standard legality, multiple product types, and a large number of special treatments, The Hobbit is positioned as a major Magic release for both players and collectors. The checklist spans characters, artifacts, locations, and scene-driven variants, while the product lineup gives local game stores, Arena players, and collectors several different entry points into the set.

Magic: The Gathering | The Hobbit Checklists

The source includes checklists for The Hobbit, The Hobbit Eternal, The Hobbit Foil, and The Hobbit Promos. The main checklist features cards such as Long-Bodied Grey Dog, Old Thrush, Troop of Ponies, Belladonna Took, Bilbo’s Gambit, Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills, Fíli the Pathfinder, The Queen of Dale, Bilbo, Luckwearer, Bilbo, Thief in the Night, Elrond, Moon-Reader, Gandalf, Wandering Wizard, Gollum, Riddle Master, Azog, Moria’s Ruin, Smaug the Magnificent, Thorin, Mountain-king, Beorn the Fierce, Bard, King of Dale, Thranduil, the Elvenking, The Arkenstone, Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, Sting, Bilbo’s Sword, The Lonely Mountain, and many others tied to the book’s characters and settings.

Special treatments listed in the source include borderless cards, Dragon hoard frame cards, borderless book cover cards, textless gleaming gold foil Smaug the Magnificent, and surge foil versions of select cards. The checklist also includes seasonal basic lands in spring, summer, fall, and winter versions.

The promo section in the source lists event and participation cards such as An Unexpected Party, Dain Ironfoot, Bilbo, Luckwearer, Riddles in the Dark, Wood Elves, and Tom, Bert and William, along with their associated event notes.

For players tracking the release, prerelease runs August 7 through 13, MTG Arena gets the set on August 11, and the full tabletop release follows on August 14, 2026.