ReprieveReprieve | art by Warren Mahy

The Hobbit previews have recently concluded, and, as is par for the course in recent Universes Beyond sets, there are a bunch of new legendary creatures that take time to digest and ponder their uses.

I'm here to help with that! I've got over 30 years experience playing multiplayer Magic, and nearly 18 years playing and writing about EDH/Commander. I combed through the list and leveraged my expertise to highlight new legends that stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of power, fun, or both.

So let us pause on our trek to Erebor and consult the map on which legends you want to be aware of!

Balin, LoremasterBalin, Loremaster

There's no doubt the text box of Balin, LoremasterBalin, Loremaster is incredibly powerful: being able to both discard a bunch of cards and draw a bunch of cards over and over can lead to explosive turns and big plays. You don't even need to worry about getting an enduring story in deckbuilding, but if you do you'll have a potentially potent end game doing damage to each opponent. One deckbuilding restriction I'd think is mandatory though is play enough Dwarf cards to get that trigger often, especially since The Hobbit does a good job padding the number of Dwarves you can add to the deck!

Bard, King of DaleBard, King of Dale

The two special abilities of Bard, King of DaleBard, King of Dale are very worthy of attention. There's that extra card draw with conditions that are quite easy for Azorius to trigger on both your own turn and the turns of your opponents'. And then there's the token-doubling ability that Magic players absolutely love, which makes me a bit sad this is a mythic rare and will likely keep this card's price quite high.

Belladonna TookBelladonna Took

Belladonna TookBelladonna Took has the low low mana cost of two and a pretty solid collection of abilities: a little bit of life gain, a little bit of card draw, and a little bit of +1/+1 counters on each of your creatures. This is another card that cares about tokens, and in this case I'd probably focus primarily on creature tokens.

Beorn the FierceBeorn the Fierce

Beorn the FierceBeorn the Fierce is going to be strongest leading a Bear typal deck to reliably unlock that last ability to draw a whopping two cards at the beginning of your combat. A more interesting approach might be to have Beorn be the only Bear (or one of just a few) in your deck and instead play other creatures that benefit from the trample counter at the beginning of combat and Beorn's static size boost to other Bears. You'll only need two other creatures and two combats to find yourself with three or more Bears to get that card draw.

Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night

Bilbo, Thief in the NightBilbo, Thief in the Night is an honest burglar indeed, only plundering your own graveyard and doing a pretty awesome Snapcaster MageSnapcaster Mage impression each time he attacks, but expanding the range of plunder from instants or sorceries to artifacts, too. Bilbo even gives you a discount for casting spells from anywhere other than your hand! Be sure to check out my deck tech on Bilbo here.

Dwalin, WeaponmasterDwalin, Weaponmaster

For just two mana, Dwalin, WeaponmasterDwalin, Weaponmaster provides an excellent addition to Equipment decks, using the hone counter mechanic to make each Equipment you have on the battlefield hit that much harder each time Dwalin enters or attacks. Dwalin's own first strike ability appreciates honing Equipment that's attached to him: imagine casting Dwalin and putting hone counters on Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves, then equipping Dwalin with Lightning Greaves and attack, adding more hone counters and making Dwalin a 4/2 first striker. Now think about all the extra combat spells available in Boros and things get really exciting!

Elrond, Moon-ReaderElrond, Moon-Reader

Elrond, Moon-ReaderElrond, Moon-Reader has that "draw a card" everyone loves on a commander text box, but its condition is quite intriguing being tied to a creature activated ability. You'd definitely start with creatures that tap for mana, like Ornithopter of ParadiseOrnithopter of Paradise and Silver MyrSilver Myr, and then move on to something like GingerbruteGingerbrute that you can activate during each player's turn. What's really interesting is thinking about Elrond's own activated ability and its whopping seven mana cost. Adding a Training GroundsTraining Grounds to the 99 seems like a must!

Radagast of RhosgobelRadagast of Rhosgobel

The abilities of Radagast of RhosgobelRadagast of Rhosgobel aren't very (ahem) flashy, but they are quite interesting and I'll be curious to see what people might do with this card. It's a bit funny how similar this ability is to the card FlashFlash itself. I also find it a little bit of a flavor clash that the best creatures you'd want to flash out are colorless artifact creatures that cost one or two mana, given that Radagast's character is so close to nature.

Smaug, Wicked WormSmaug, Wicked Worm

It's cool design that the enters ability of Smaug, Wicked WormSmaug, Wicked Worm scales (heh) with how hard your opponents are leaning into artifact synergies, but you'll want plenty of other sources of Treasure in your decklist since that last ability is a banger: each time you cast a spell, if mana from a Treasure was spent to cast it, you draw a card and lose a life.

The Master of Lake-townThe Master of Lake-town

The Master of Lake-townThe Master of Lake-town is a little risky to run in random Commander pods since you just might accidentally turbo-charge someone's graveyard deck, but sometimes it's fun to puzzle your way out of a challenge. The milling power of this card is formidable and can fuel all sorts of shenanigans outside of straightforward reanimation strategies.

The Notary HobbitsThe Notary Hobbits

The Notary HobbitsThe Notary Hobbits is going to lead on a merry deckbuilding adventure! Start with token doubling-cards, like Doubling SeasonDoubling Season and Parallel LivesParallel Lives, then sprinkle in the nine or so Halfling cards you can put in a mono-green deck, round out with Shapeshifters with changeling, and top off with Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus! What in the world will you do with all the mana that The Notary and its copies produce? The end of that adventure is up to you, but since they produce colorless mana I'm thinking Rise of the EldraziRise of the Eldrazi.

Thranduil, the ElvenkingThranduil, the Elvenking

Thranduil, the ElvenkingThranduil, the Elvenking provides an interesting twist on the typical Elf decks by wanting to have Elves in your graveyard with interesting activated abilities, and also by wanting a good number of legendary Elf cards to get that super-looting ability trigger. I feel like shenanigans start with a Devoted DruidDevoted Druid in the graveyard!

Tom, Bert, and WilliamTom, Bert, and William

Tom, Bert, and WilliamTom, Bert, and William provides an incredibly powerful card draw engine reminiscent of Greater GoodGreater Good, and if Tom, Bert, and William die as a creature, it comes back to the battlefield as an artifact. I love this card so much I wrote up a deck tech you can find here.

The Hobbit Eternal

Unfortunately there are no Commander preconstructed decks attached to The Hobbit, but there are a bunch of "extra" products that feature new legendary cards that I've gone over. Here are ones you should be aware of too.

Bard, Heir of GirionBard, Heir of Girion

Bard, Heir of GirionBard, Heir of Girion has the phrase "draw a card" in the text box, which instantly ups its power. The trigger for that isn't tied to Bard himself attacking, just having an attacker available when Bard is on the battlefield, which is incredibly easy to set up. "Other creatures you control get +1/+1" is a good static ability that gets better and better the more other creatures you deploy onto the battlefield, which makes Bard quite a good leader of a token creature strategy. Plus, Bard is a 4/4 creature with reach and vigilance. All of this for just four mana makes it a strong and efficient package that is priced to move.

Bilbo, Unexpected AdventurerBilbo, Unexpected Adventurer

Bilbo, Unexpected AdventurerBilbo, Unexpected Adventurer has a conditional evasion ability that you can improve with deckbuilding choices (such as ways to boost the power of any target creature), and the combat damage trigger resembles Sun TitanSun Titan if you squint... but notably, you'll get to return target nonland permanent card with mana value three or less to the battlefield from any graveyard, including from an opponent's graveyard. It will be under an opponent's control, so this card has good opportunities for multiplayer politics.

One fascinating thing to note: Bilbo's combat damage triggers off opponents or battles taking damage. Battles? There aren't any battles in The Hobbit or recent sets, so I presume this must be heralding an upcoming set or product that marks the return of battles.

Bolg, Erebor's ReckoningBolg, Erebor's Reckoning

While Bolg, Erebor's ReckoningBolg, Erebor's Reckoning mentions Orcs, too, it's definitely a Goblin typal commander since Bolg is a Goblin. Bolg gives a sizeable +2/+2 boost to each other Goblin and Orc you control but only during combat (including on your opponents' turns), so you'll want to be aware that damaged marked on your creatures during combat might turn lethal after combat is over.

What really kicks Bolg up a notch is the ability that creatures your opponents control get -1/-1 until end of turn. This also triggers at the beginning of each combat, so it does a nice job of sweeping away a bunch of one-toughness potential blockers, and make it easier for your creatures to survive combat. I've got a vision of the wild turns you'll have alongside Goblin SharpshooterGoblin Sharpshooter!

Chief of the WildsChief of the Wilds

Chief of the WildsChief of the Wilds is a nifty commander for a Wolves typal deck that will lead you down a fun rabbit hole while researching Wolf cards that have triggers you can double up with Chief on the battlefield. And not just Wolf cards, but also battle cards: here we have another card mentioning battles. It's going to be really fun to see what people cook up around this card!

Dáin of the Ancient HallsDáin of the Ancient Halls

Dáin of the Ancient HallsDáin of the Ancient Halls is a powerful commander for a Dwarves deck, dishing out damage to each opponent equal to the number of Dwarves you control. In addition to adding more Dwarves, add more combat steps and the tide of your Commander battle can turn real quick!

Gandalf, Party GuestGandalf, Party Guest

With Gandalf, Party GuestGandalf, Party Guest we have another typal commander, this time a spin on Wizards. Gandalf's ability is quite powerful: at the beginning of combat on your turn, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell with mana value X or less from your hand without paying its mana cost, where X is twice the number of legendary Wizards you control. A quick check on Scryfall shows 161 legendary Wizards available in the Jeskai color combination, and that will only increase as the years pass. Now you get to decide which wild and crazy instant or sorcery spells you want to cast for free once you get two or three other legendary Wizards on the battlefield!

Gandalf, Shadow's FoeGandalf, Shadow's Foe

Gandalf, Shadow's FoeGandalf, Shadow's Foe is expensive but has a wild text box to make up for it: there's a powerful landfall ability that lets you draw a card and put a +1/+1 counter on Gandalf; and when Gandalf enters you get to "blink" up to three target lands you control and put them back on the battlefield tapped. So Gandalf basically lets you draw three cards immediately when he enters, and then keeps the good times rolling with each landfall trigger you get afterwards. I love this card!

Smaug the ImpenetrableSmaug the Impenetrable

Smaug the ImpenetrableSmaug the Impenetrable is expensive to cast, but wow, does it pack a punch! It's got flying and haste, is indestructible, and turns any noncombat damage dealt to it into Treasure! The first thing that sprung to mind is Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act for a whopping thirteen Treasure tokens, but the more insidious move is to put PyrohemiaPyrohemia and PestilencePestilence into the deck to wipe out any non-indestructible creatures. He is truly the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities!

Which new legendary cards are you most excited about building around or putting in the 99 of your Commander decks?

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Read more:

Deck Tech: Gandalf, Goblins' Bane

The Case for Universes Within Masters