“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
— J.R.R. Tolkien
Can you believe it's already been three years since we had the Lord of the Rings set? It feels much longer ago… in a galaxy, wait, wrong franchise.
The long-awaited The Hobbit set is almost here, and as a huge Tolkien fan, I couldn't be more excited. In this article, we'll take a look at the mechanics, both new and returning, that you'll encounter in the set.
As a smaller release, there are only five mechanics to cover: three new mechanics and two returning favorites.
Storied
Storied is most comparable to The City's Blessing from Rivals of Ixalan. While The City's Blessing checked whether you controlled ten or more permanents for a permanent effect, Storied asks you to control three or more artifacts, legendary permanents, and/or Sagas.
Once you meet that condition, you gain an Enduring Story, unlocking additional abilities on certain cards for the rest of the game.
Balin always lets you discard your hand and draw a new one, but if you have an Enduring Story, he'll also deal damage when that ability resolves.
Recruit
Recruit is a simple mechanic with a lot of upside.
Whenever you Recruit, you draw a card, then discard a card. If the discarded card wasn't a land, you create a 1/1 white Human Soldier creature token.
It's a clean way to filter through your deck while steadily building a board presence. Here's my personal favorite card from the set:
Hone
Hone appears on only two cards in the set, so it won't come up very often, but it's still worth knowing.
Hone introduces a new type of counter that is placed on Equipment. At the moment, hone counters do one thing: each hone counter gives the equipped creature +1/+0.
Simple, effective, and a neat way to make your Equipment scale throughout the game.
Adventure
Adventure returns once again, and it's hard to imagine a more fitting set for it. After all, The Hobbit is one of the greatest adventures ever told.
Cards with Adventure can first be cast for their Adventure cost. Once that spell resolves, the card is exiled, allowing you to cast the creature side from exile on a later turn.
Just remember: once the creature is on the battlefield, you can't cast its Adventure again.
Amass
The final returning mechanic is Amass, which first appeared in our previous visit to Middle-earth.
This time, however, you're Amassing Goblins instead of Orcs.
Whenever you Amass X, you put X +1/+1 counters on an Army you already control. If you don't control an Army, you first create a 0/0 black Goblin Army token, then place the counters on it.
Rather than making a new creature every time, Amass keeps building one ever-growing Army, making it a flavorful and powerful mechanic.
Join Us for Prerelease!
The Hobbit Prerelease Weekend kicks off on August 7, and we'll have events running all weekend long.
This set has one of the shortest lifespans of the year, with Reality Fracture Prerelease arriving on September 25. To make the most of our time in Middle-earth, we'll be running The Hobbit Drafts every week starting August 14 right up until the next set arrives.
We can't wait to see everyone there. Whether you're chasing powerful new cards, reliving Tolkien's world, or just looking for a fun weekend of Magic, this is shaping up to be a fantastic release.
