Magic: The Gathering’s The Hobbit set adapts more of Middle-earth, and we have an exclusive preview of an Enchantment ahead of the set’s release. The latest in the game’s Universes Beyond sets, The Hobbit adds to the already prolific Tales of Middle-earth set, which brought the world of Tolkien into the trading card game.
Made to have synergy with the first beloved Universes Beyond set, The Hobbit set is embracing every facet of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, from Smaug to King Thranduil and Thorin, and of course The Lonely Mountain, entered only with the last light of Durin’s Day.
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When we spoke with the designers behind The Hobbit set at MagicCon Atlanta, their passion for the property and Tolkien himself stood out. From the smallest of details, like the missing dragonscale on Smaug’s showcase treatment to the love of Hobbit comfort with the full art lands, every new card released showcases the depth of Middle-earth for players who favor red; there is a lot to love.
After a stellar MagicCon Amsterdam where Magic: The Gathering revealed more spoilers, Secret Lairs, and chase cards for The Hobbit Set, the previews have started. We’re happy to share an exclusive new card that brings players into The Lonely Mountain. If you’re avoiding spoilers, here is your chance. For those looking to pre-plan their decks for the new set, you can see the card below the break.
Watch Our MagicCon Atlanta Interview for The Hobbit Set
The Dwarves are known for unique ways to enter their mountains. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “Speak ‘Friend’ and enter” is the riddle that the Fellowship must solve to enter the Mines of Moria. And it also has become a phrase plastered on many Tolkien fans’ doormats. But it’s not just “Mellon” that can open a mountain passage. For The Hobbit’s Erebor (also called The Lonely Mountain), the only way to enter is through a door only revealed through the last light of Durin’s Day.
“Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the key-hole.” As the sun sets, the final ray of light on the Dwarven New Year gives way to the first light of the last Autumn moon, revealing the key-hole to The Lonely Mountain. It’s a rare occurrence and one that adds to the grandeur of Biblo’s journey, and now, it’s in Magic: The Gathering.
Last Light of Durin’s Day
Cost: 1 Colorless Mana, 1 Red Mana
Type: Enchantment
Whenever a Mountain you control enters, put a quest counter on this enchantment. If it has six or more quest counters on it, sacrifice it. If you do, search your hand and/or library for a Dragon card and put it onto the battlefield. If you search your library this way, shuffle.
Mountaincycling 2 Colorless mana (Pay 2 colorless mana, Discard this card: Search your library for a Mountain card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
Last Light of Durin’s Day (Showcase)
How will Last Light of Durin’s Day play in a Commander deck?
The beauty of The Hobbit set is how well it adapts the Red of the color pie for both Dwarves and dragons, in terms of creature type. Much like The Tales of Middle Earth set, Dwarven grit and tempers make them perfect for the aggressive nature of Red-based decks. While the Dwarves lean more toward Boros than anything else, what we’ve seen from The Hobbit set is an investment in showcasing the world of Middle-Earth as it existed for Bilbo.
A great example is that the Mirkwood elves are more Golgari than the Simic cards we saw from Elrond’s elves in Rivendell, with the designers of the set commenting on this in the interview featured above. When you factor in the Rakdos version of Smaug, and the possibility of running a Mardu Commander deck with what we’ve seen in The Hobbit Set, Last Light of Durin’s Day will easily be a staple (even for those making theme-based decks that just want to Smaug for that).
With its Mountaincycling and cheap cost, there are two paths for using Last Light of Durin’s Day that give the player options: choose aggression or use it to ramp if you’re properly mana-screwed. The choice is yours. That said, Last Light of Durin’s Day will work in any dragon deck, on theme or not. While a good dragon is great to add to any battlefield, entering Erebor thematically can lead directly to making your table meet Smaug.
While someone with removal can take care of this, or you can fix a broken mana curve through Mountaincycling, the low cost of the card allows you to play some of the most expensive (by mana-cost) dragons in your deck. At only two mana, this Enchantment makes it easy to play early, accumulate a wealth of quest counters, and ensure a dragon hits the table.
That dragon can be one of the Smaugs that come in the Hobbit set, like Smaug the Magnificent (4-cost dragon, with haste that allows you to deal damage equal to the treasures you control, while also adding treasure tokens with every attack) or the more expensive Smaug the Impenetrable (7-cost with indestructible and haste that creates Treasure tokens for noncombat damage it takes). Which, on their own, showcases how quickly you can pull one of your most serious offensive threats.
Still, the ability to summon dragons directly lends to all of the dragon-deck girlies, and those like me who keep an Ancient Copper Dragon in my Kaalia of the Vast Commander deck. Throw in Desolation of Smaug (deals 3 damage to non-dragon creatures and adds 4 mana to cast dragon spells) and The Hobbit standing to be a big set for players looking to be flying menaces.
Not to mention that the dragon that Last Light of Durin’s Day lets you summon isn’t tapped. This means that you can pull a dragon with haste for an immediate attack behind Kaalia with another one you’ve summoned from your hand with her triggered ability, or it can be a necessary blocker to keep you alive as well.
Last Light of Durin’s Day bolsters the combinations of lethality anyone who runs it will have at the table. That said, if your Commander pod knows what ancient Treasure-making threats are in your deck, you’ve also dropped a 6-turn timer onto the battlefield and probably have become a target.
Still, while The Hobbit set is built on synergy with The Tales of Middle-earth set, cards like Last Light of Durin’s also highlight a world untouched by Magic: The Gathering’s last foray into Middle-Earth.
