I first read “The Hobbit” when I was pretty young, and although I finished the book I… was pretty bored. My greater enjoyment only came much much much later; some people may find this opinion anathema, but I actually liked “The Hobbit” movie trilogy more than “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy. Admittedly, much of my amusement came from watching my seven year old daughter sprint out of the movie theater, flapping her arms while screaming, “I AM FIRE! I AM DEATH!” But you can’t help what you love, nor the reasons why you love it.
That’s my roundabout way of saying that I’ve enjoyed both Universes Beyond and small sets. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was both weirdly hilarious and weirdly fun, and I’m quite looking forward to The Hobbit. Let’s see what’s in the set!
Mechanics and Themes
Storied
The exploits of Thorin Oakenshield and his loyal band of dwarves have passed into legend, but there was a time when they were still fighting to make a name for themselves. The Storied keyword reflects this battle: a creature with Storied aims to have three total permanents in play that are any mix of artifacts, Legendaries, and/or Sagas. If that happens, the player controlling the Storied creature immediately gains the “Enduring Story” status for the rest of the game. That status cannot be removed.
And what exactly does “Enduring Story” do? Well… it varies. Oin the Brave becomes more aggressive, while Dain of the Iron Hills gains a protective ability. There’s no common “Enduring Story” effect among Storied creatures; they simply gain in power, and that’s really all they need to do.
Recruit
Draw a card, discard a card, if the discarded card is not a land then… yep, if you’ve played with the Connive mechanic then you’ve heard most of this before. The difference is what happens after the “then”: with Recruit, instead of putting a +1/+1 counter on a target creature, you create a 1/1 white Human Soldier token. Neat!
Recruit is one of those modern Magic mechanics that fits so well in so many different strategies. It supports go-wide, draw two, and graveyard; and you’ll see that HOB supports all these decks to various degrees.
Amass Goblins
Massive hosts of evil are once more marching across the face of Middle-earth - only this time they’re Goblins instead of Orcs. Still, the basic concept behind Amass is the same: when you Amass Goblins X, you either create a 0/0 Goblin Army token and put X +1/+1 counters on it (if you don’t already control an Army); or put X +/+1 counters on an existing Army (if you already control an Army).
Amass allows you to gradually grow a burgeoning threat with stats that are potentially relevant at every stage of the game. Alternatively, small Amass tokens are ideal for the noticeable amount of self-sacrifice effects you’ll find sprinkled throughout HOB. Amass is a seemingly straightforward mechanic with a surprising amount of nuance.
Archetypes
Welcome back to the world of five Limited archetypes! Each Limited archetype contains a two color signpost uncommon, a signpost hybrid uncommon, and a hybrid common. Each archetype is also loosely associated with a creature type; you’ll discover an occasional typal synergy or two scattered throughout the set.
White/Blue: Recruit (Humans)
Surrounded by threats, it’s no wonder that the humans of Lake-town are desperate to bring additional bodies into the fray, and it’s no wonder that their signature mechanic is Recruit, as can be evidenced by Patient Instructor. A 1/1 token may have limited utility, but they play well with cards like Eagle’s Rescue which can repeatedly buff them into true threats. And don’t forget about the draw portion of the Recruit mechanic; card selection is always nice, and there’s a fair number of cards - such as Bard the Bowman - that trigger when you draw two cards in a turn.
Black/Red: Amass (Goblins)
There are games where you’ll drop Goblin Plate Mail on turn 2, and simply Amass upon your Menace threat over and over again until your opponent buckles under. But there will also be games where you’ll have to play more deviously, perhaps by relying upon the archetype’s self-sacrifice subtheme. Creatures like Fearsome Goblin Pair were born to die, and perhaps you can use Bolg of the North to do the dirty deed (while also picking off one of your opponent’s small creatures).
Black/Green: Ferocious (Wolves)
The Ferocious keyword asks you to put creatures with power 4 or greater into your deck, and, well, Large Bear certainly fits the bill (while also being a genuine threat). Beyond that - well, you have cards like The Chief Warg that give you a payoff for Ferocious, and cards like Duskwatch Hunter that help you keep Ferocious online. This archetype is simple, straightforward… and likely very powerful.
Red/White: Storied (Dwarves)
Read the Storied keyword, and it’ll come as no surprise that all three of Red/White’s signpost cards are Legendary creatures. What may come as a surprise is that their abilities don’t really work together: what’s the connection between Thorin Oakenshield’s Ward; Bifur, Melodic Rider’s +1/+1 counters; and Nori, Teller of Tales’ first strike ability? The answer is… they’re just good in an aggressive creature deck. So play your Legendaries, throw in an Equipment or two, and your band of merry Dwarves will resolutely bash their way to victory.
Green/Blue: Landfall (Elves)
There are aggressive Landfall decks, and then there’s the Green/Blue Landfall archetype in HOB. The Landfall abilities of Silvan Reveler and Thranduil, Sindarian Liege point to a grindy strategy, more focused on long-term advantage than immediate victory. Just make sure you hit your land drops - and the non-Landfall text on these cards will help you do exactly that. There are other ways to keep your land drops coming as well; note that Mirkwood Nurturer can bounce your own lands so you can play them again.
Key Commons and Uncommons
White
Creatures
Dwarven Shortsword: This “creature” comes with a buff that stays on the board - great for both Recruit tokens and for Storied counts.
Eagle of the Great Shelf: It’ll end games quickly in a board stall clogged with creatures. And it the worst case, it’s still an amazing blocker.
Non-Creatures
Celebrate the Mountain-king: As usual, White’s enchantment-based removal hits the spot - plus, as a bonus, you also get a Recruit trigger. And it’s extra good if you’re playing Two-Headed Giant!
Stone by Sunlight: Is it a removal spell or a protection spell? It’s up to you, and it’s nice that you get the choice!
Blue
Creatures
Bilbo Baggins, Burglar // Take a Glance: A creature that nets you a card is always nice. Perhaps the stats aren’t great, but the side benefit of being able to Scry 2 once - well, it’s not nothing.
Long Lake Nuisance: There have been a bunch of recent sets where Blue has had a three mana, two power flyer that also comes with a 1/1 token; those creatures have all been great. This bird isn’t quite that - a little more expensive, a little more powerful, and a little more conditional regarding the 1/1 token - but it still provides a good amount of value.
Non-Creatures
Enchanted River’s Grasp: It’ll do the trick.
Old Fat Spider Can’t See Me: Well, this Saga sure has a lot of text. But at its core, it seems to do exactly what Blue wants: slow down the game by (temporarily) neutering an opponent’s creature while also drawing you some cards. It’s especially great in decks with “draw two” synergies, as it’ll allow you to “draw two” twice.
Black
Creatures
Desolation Prowler: A two drop that can activate Ferocious. It’s also very very very difficult to deal with in combat.
Rage into the Valley: A “creature” that nets you a card is always nice.
Non-Creatures
Bilbo’s Deadly Slice: Sometimes you just need to murder something.
Reverent Howl: This card will always do something you want to do.
Red
Creatures
Bothersome Noisemaker: Weight your deck towards non-creature spells (including the ones that make creature tokens), and you’ll get incredible value out of this, uh, tuba player.
Misty Mountains Raider: If you attack the turn you play this, then you immediately have 6 power and toughness for five mana, and the value just goes up from there.
Non-Creatures
Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern: Maybe you’ll find a use for Chapters II, III, and IV, and maybe you won’t. But Chapter I - well, you’ll always be happy about that one.
Pinecone Strike: I’d play this just for the first half of this spell, and it’s nice to dream that I’ll find a use for the second.
Green
Creatures
Old Fat Spider: Good luck blocking - or attacking through - this thing.
Wilderland Scrounger: It kinda feels like you’ll just win if you attack once with this creature while Ferocious is active.
Non-Creatures
Quarrel: It’ll do the trick.
Troll Negotiations: Four mana for a permanent buff on a creature plus a fight - yeah, I’m down.
Other Commons and Uncommons to Know
Mana Fixing
HOB supports its five archetypes with a cycle of tapped dual lands that you can eventually sacrifice to buff a creature of the correct type:
There’s additional colorless ways to fix your mana:
Of course, Green has some additional - wait, actually they don’t! In HOB, Green is on equal footing with the other colors when it comes to mana fixing capabilities. That’s not to say that splashing is difficult in this set; if you want to dabble a toe or two into a third color, you’ll likely be able to find the tools to do so.
Creatures with Reach
Summation
So what should you keep in mind when playing The Hobbit?
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There may only be five archetypes, but the archetypes have a lot of variation within them. White/Blue Recruit can focus on going wide or on drawing two; Black/Red Amass can go aggressive or rely on a sacrifice theme. There’ll be choices to be made even once you’ve decided upon your two color pair.
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Along those lines… I kind of suspect that HOB may end up with “unofficial” archetypes. There are cards to make a White/Black token-and-sacrifice deck work; you can also jam aggressive Red and Green creatures together and play those colors in a classic Limited fashion.
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That being said, the two color signpost commons and uncommons are quite strong, and may be reason enough to weight your deck towards an official archetype… although the bulk of these signpost cards use hybrid mana, so perhaps the color restriction isn’t as restrictive as it seems…
There’s a lot of intriguing options in The Hobbit, and I can’t wait to start exploring the possibilities. Good luck!
