Magic: The Gathering's new The Hobbit set adds 5 epic reprints

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