Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night | Art by Nia Kovalevski

"If ever you are passing my way, don't wait to knock! Tea is at four; but any of you are welcome at any time!" - Bilbo Baggins

The recent MagicCon: Las Vegas featured sneak peek at cards from upcoming sets this year, and like many of you I was excited to see some cards from The Hobbit! You can see all the cool things revealed that weekend here, but today I'm excited to bring you a Commander deck tech built around Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night!

We've seen a few more, older versions of Bilbo in the previously released (and the lengthily named) The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, which raises the question: why isn't this upcoming set called "The Hobbit: Tales of Middle-earth?"

Both Bilbo, Birthday CelebrantBilbo, Birthday Celebrant and Bilbo, Retired BurglarBilbo, Retired Burglar portray a very elderly Bilbo who is retiring and leaving his belongings to his nephew Frodo. Naturally, The Hobbit features young Bilbo on his first adventure, learning that he's much more capable than he dreamed of being. This Bilbo's moniker "Thief in the Night" comes from the name of Chapter 16 in the book, where Bilbo takes a rather priceless treasure from the Dragon Smaug's hoard as his "14th share" with some rather political implications; I'm being vague in case anyone is planning on reading the book before this set's release. The card's flavor text is paraphrasing what Bilbo says in that chapter: "I may be a burglar...but I'm an honest one, I hope, more or less."

What Does Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night Do?

Bilbo has two abilities that interlock quite nicely. First: "Spells you cast from anywhere other than your hand cost less to cast."

Second: "Whenever Bilbo attacks, you may cast an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell from your graveyard. If an instant or sorcery spell cast this way would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead."

So when Bilbo attacks, you get to effectively "flashback" an artifact, instant, or sorcery spell from the graveyard right away, which breaks the typical timing to cast most artifact and sorcery spells, and since you're not casting from your hand, you get to cast them at a discount; huzzah! The downside, of course, is this requires little 2/2 Bilbo to attack, and since he doesn't naturally have evasion, I've got ways in the deck to help him not get squished in combat.

Notably, instant and sorcery spells you cast from your graveyard this way will be exiled, so if you want to recur something over and over, you'll want to have a good number of artifacts in the deck that can jump in and then back out of the graveyard.

Key Cards for Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night

If you're a fan of The Hobbit (the book) like me, you'll want to have a lot of flavorful inclusions in the deck. I expect once the full set is revealed that this deck list will change, but for now I've peppered in some of the cards from the upcoming set that we know about.

Bilbo, LuckwearerBilbo, Luckwearer has a cool Adventure attached, letting you exchange control of two target nonland permanents that share a card type. Notably in multiplayer you could do this swap between two opponents if you want to strike an alliance. I'm running Liquimetal TorqueLiquimetal Torque to make a nonland permanent an artifact temporarily if that helps with the swap.

Riddles in the DarkRiddles in the Dark is another cool new card with roots from the mini-game card Fact or FictionFact or Fiction. Notably, this is an instant card you could cast again from the graveyard with Bilbo, and the cards that get put in the graveyard will often be able to cast from the graveyard with Bilbo. Bilbo's RingBilbo's Ring is a wonderful flavor inclusion with a cheap equip cost for Halflings that is the perfect way to give Bilbo evasion. Mithril CoatMithril Coat is another flavor win that protects Bilbo from dying in combat.

I presume there will be a version of Gandalf and Elrond in The Hobbit that I'll want in this deck, but for now I've got Gandalf, Friend of the ShireGandalf, Friend of the Shire and Elrond, Lord of RivendellElrond, Lord of Rivendell. These versions of Gandalf and Elrond work pretty well together in the meantime! Soothing of SméagolSoothing of Sméagol's the Ring tempts you ability can also help give Bilbo evasion against bigger blockers.

Inherited EnvelopeInherited Envelope and Birthday EscapeBirthday Escape both also have the Ring tempts you ability to give Bilbo evasion, and RivendellRivendell is a favorite locale for both young and old Bilbo.

The abilities of Sting, the Glinting DaggerSting, the Glinting Dagger don't really synergize with Bilbo, but this was originally Bilbo's weapon so I put it in, and you can't have a Wizard show up in your village without bringing along Wizard's RocketsWizard's Rockets... and they make a good thing to bring back with Bilbo to draw extra cards. "Gandalf, let's fire these off again!"

Sage of the BeyondSage of the Beyond has double Bilbo's cost reduction ability; combined that's a whopping three mana discount! Osgood, Operation DoubleOsgood, Operation Double's paradox ability will generate Clue tokens when Bilbo casts cards from the graveyard. Archmage of RunesArchmage of Runes gives instant and sorcery spells a one-mana discount and lets you draw a card whenever you cast an instant or sorcery.

I've got more ways to give Bilbo evasion, particularly artifacts that you can conceivably get back from the graveyard if they get blown up. Brotherhood RegaliaBrotherhood Regalia is quite powerful, especially with the added ward ability. Key to the CityKey to the City requires a discard to activate and make a creature unblockable, but if Bilbo attacks you could cast that card if it's the right type. Oh, and there's card draw attached! Rocket-Powered Goblin GliderRocket-Powered Goblin Glider has graveyard synergies, can give Bilbo flying, and if you squint you can pretend this is a glider from the Misty Mountains Goblins.

InvisibilityInvisibility and Rogue's PassageRogue's Passage are flavorful choices to give Bilbo evasion.

I really like cheap spells like Artful DodgeArtful Dodge, Enter the EnigmaEnter the Enigma, and Slip Through SpaceSlip Through Space to give Bilbo unblockability, and you can cast them again from the graveyard.

I don't go hard on filling up my graveyard with this deck, but I did want a little bit of it to increase options with Bilbo's ability. Exhibition TidecallerExhibition Tidecaller can give you just enough value by milling yourself, and potentially milling out an opponent who's gotten too greedy with their card draw or their own milling. Emry, Lurker of the LochEmry, Lurker of the Loch gives a one-time self-mill, then helps recur artifacts.

Mishra's BaubleMishra's Bauble, Soul-Guide LanternSoul-Guide Lantern, and Aether SpellbombAether Spellbomb are fantastic artifacts to recur with Bilbo for zero mana!

Cryogen RelicCryogen Relic is fun to jump in and out of the graveyard, stunning a problem creature along the way. The Reality ChipThe Reality Chip and SpellskiteSpellskite are artifacts that find themselves destroyed quite often, so Bilbo can filch them back from the graveyard.

Sacrificing Mind StoneMind Stone to draw a card and then casting it with Bilbo for just one mana is going to feel really good. Waterbending ScrollWaterbending Scroll is an incredibly powerful artifact in a mono-blue deck with lots and lots of IslandIslands, and Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum can go get you an extra Island.

Crystal Skull, Isu SpyglassCrystal Skull, Isu Spyglass lets you cast historic spells from the top of your library, so they're eligible for the Bilbo five-finger discount. Having a bunch of artifacts makes Thought MonitorThought Monitor an excellent card to cast and cast again from the graveyard, and Throne of EldraineThrone of Eldraine is an awesome artifact in a mono-color deck.

Looking for instant spells to play a second time with Bilbo? High TideHigh Tide can set up a really big and explosive turn. Thirst for KnowledgeThirst for Knowledge is fantastic card draw when you discard an artifact you can get back with Bilbo. Plus, we've got to run Fact or FictionFact or Fiction here, too!

Blue has a few really good removal spells in Reality ShiftReality Shift, PongifyPongify, and Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization, so why not cast them a second time with Bilbo?

For sorcery spells, Chart a CourseChart a Course is cheap card draw when you want to attack with Bilbo, and even if you don't the card you discard can be recurred with Bilbo later. Playing this with Bilbo is going to be awesome for just one blue mana, and will see that you attacked this turn. RavenformRavenform is another quality removal spell.

Stock UpStock Up is premium card draw, and casting it for just with Bilbo makes it even more awesome! There's enough artifacts in this deck that should make ThoughtcastThoughtcast cheap to cast too.

How Does This Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night Commander Deck Win?

Honestly, this deck is going to mostly try to keep a low threat profile and let your opponents knock each other down before you'll be in a position to angle for victory. That said, I do have a few strong finishers that are artifacts and thus pretty resilient to removal with Bilbo fetching them back from the graveyard.

Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged is going to make unblockable Bilbo a commander damage machine, while Kappa CannoneerKappa Cannoneer is poised to take huge chunks of life totals out of your opponents. Finally, Auton SoldierAuton Soldier lets you copy the biggest and scariest monster on the battlefield, but with myriad!

Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Like most of my decks, this is built legal for Core (Bracket 2) Commander pods. It's going to thrive in longer, more laid-back games with lots of interaction that swing back and forth. Being a blue deck, you can certainly juice the power level with a lot of Game Changers if you want faster games.

Which other cards would you put in your own Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night deck?

Read more:

Tom, Bert, and William Commander Deck Tech

The 10 Best Colored Artifacts in Commander