<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolg&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Bolg&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://michelegiorgiillustrator.com/">Michele Giorgi</a></em></p>
<p>The time is upon us again to return to Middle-earth for the first time. Yes, you read that correctly; we are trying to go <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="There and Back Again" href="#" target="_blank">There and Back Again</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as the game returns to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, with <em>The Hobbit</em>. There's no shortage of cool cards in this set, though with that comes a multitude of legendary cards (especially creatures). Today, however, we take a look at the lesser cards.</p>
<p>Not lesser because the cards are bad, but lesser because they may contain fewer words. Together we will take a look at the best nonlegendary creatures in the set. Let's jump in.</p>
<h2>The List</h2>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elven Raft-Steerer" href="#" target="_blank">Elven Raft-Steerer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elven Raft-Steerer"></div></div>
<p>The first card on the list is occupying a newish piece of game real estate with a mono-blue Elf. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elven Raft-Steerer" href="#" target="_blank">Elven Raft-Steerer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might not look that impressive, but that's where you would be wrong. Green is obviously the "<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/lands-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lands</a>" color, but in my opinion, if you are trying to do combo shenanigans, blue is the color you want to make sure is included in your color identity.</p>
<p>While it would be great if this card said untap target land you control to synergize with more common Landfall synergies, there are plenty of ways to make creature lands in a lands-based deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Badgermole Cub"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashaya, Soul of the Wild"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yedora, Grave Gardener"></div></div>
<p>Most players might overlook it, but the ability on this card to tap down creatures on the opponents' boards will win you games when you least expect it.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lake-town Mariners" href="#" target="_blank">Lake-town Mariners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lake-town Mariners"></div></div>
<p>Half-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Flicker" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Flicker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and half-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Illusionist&#039;s Stratagem" href="#" target="_blank">Illusionist&#039;s Stratagem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, combined with a 6/5 body with vigilance and ward <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Mix it all, and you end up with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lake-town Mariners" href="#" target="_blank">Lake-town Mariners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Is this the best blink spell ever made? Not at all, but it does fit into a small section of cards that allows you to blink your own lands. This is another new direction for blue cards in the set and one I am very interested in exploring.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Head of the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Head of the Hunt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Head of the Hunt"></div></div>
<p>Discounting how good this card will be in a multitude of 60-card formats, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Head of the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Head of the Hunt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> should be a solid role-player in many Commander decks. A 4/3 threat with flash for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> is an okay rate. What makes this card earn a spot on this list is the fact that you're able to turn any wrath effect or a matchup against a sacrifice deck into all the 2/2 Wolves you could ever want.</p>
<p>Think back to the years when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet" href="#" target="_blank">Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was running around all the tournament tables, then adjust your setting for a multiplayer table. Wolves got a decent amount of support in both <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> with <em>The Hobbit,</em> and killing creatures and making creatures are two things that the color combination does well.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhovanion Rampager" href="#" target="_blank">Rhovanion Rampager</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rhovanion Rampager"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of Wolves getting a power-up, another spot on the list goes to this specific Wolf, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhovanion Rampager" href="#" target="_blank">Rhovanion Rampager</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The biggest knock against this card is the lack of an evasive keyword such as menace or trample, but that's okay. This puppy can get big, fast, by throwing away a creature that is barred from attacking, ones with downside like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lupine Prototype" href="#" target="_blank">Lupine Prototype</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or a pumped-up <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wall of Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Wall of Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Eventually this creature will have to get answered, and if that answer isn't bounce or exile, then you still win thanks to the amass Goblins X on the card.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Desert Were-Worm" href="#" target="_blank">Desert Were-Worm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Desert Were-Worm"></div></div>
<p>Big red <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/dragons/mono-red">Dragons</a>. There are so many of them in the game. They love Mountains, and they love to attack for big damage. Usually they love to fly as well, but the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Desert Were-Worm" href="#" target="_blank">Desert Were-Worm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is fine burrowing through the sand. Extra combat cards continue to get more interesting, and the best part about this one is it doesn't need to be involved in the attack depending on your board. Twelve power seems like a big number, but when you are running a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/dragons/mono-red">Big Red</a> or a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/dragons/gruul">Gruul Dragons</a> deck or anything close to that, the power is trivial.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bothersome Noisemaker" href="#" target="_blank">Bothersome Noisemaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bothersome Noisemaker"></div></div>
<p>When a deck makes a multitude of tokens, we call it "going wide"; when a deck makes a single token that continues to get bigger, we call it "going tall." Normally in Commander I would say you want to go wide more than go tall, but when it comes to Goblins I think there is room for both. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bothersome Noisemaker" href="#" target="_blank">Bothersome Noisemaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows you to go tall and wide at the same time in a strange way. In a Goblins deck, there are already so many ways to make tokens and go wide. Without the Goblin lords, those tokens often stay as 1/1s.</p>
<p>The Noisemaker allows you to not only get yet another body for a Goblin deck, but any spell you cast, such as a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko&#039;s Command" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko&#039;s Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Door of Destinies" href="#" target="_blank">Door of Destinies</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, gives you a larger and larger token that benefits from everything else in the list.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bejeweled Warg" href="#" target="_blank">Bejeweled Warg</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bejeweled Warg"></div></div>
<p>The last Wolf on the list, and this one is a very good boy. The <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bejeweled Warg" href="#" target="_blank">Bejeweled Warg</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can make your Wolves bigger or allow you to cast more Wolves as long as it gets into the red zone. As a 3/2 with trample for only <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this creature should get into the red zone without much trouble.</p>
<p>If you can give this creature double strike or make copies of it, suddenly the cute pile of puppies your opponents thought they were facing is suddenly a hungry pack of alphas baring their fangs.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bard&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Bard&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bard&#039;s Company"></div></div>
<p>All of the cards in the set referencing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bard the Bowman" href="#" target="_blank">Bard the Bowman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are pretty solid, and his Company is no slouch either. Bard's Company should be easy enough to cast at flash speed since Humans are the most common creature type in the game. Being a creature anthem is good and allows you to filter cards, while making more humans is consistently great.</p>
<p>This card fits very well with all the other white cards featuring the recruit mechanic, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Queen of Dale" href="#" target="_blank">The Queen of Dale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Sadly, this card doesn't have the best rate when it comes to mana value and stats, but if you are an <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/humans/azorius">Azorius Humans deck</a> that wants to prioritize tokens, it still could make the cut.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolg&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Bolg&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bolg&#039;s Company"></div></div>
<p>To me, this is one of the best cards in the set for a very specific deck: <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/goblins/rakdos">Rakdos Goblins</a>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolg&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Bolg&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is almost always doing the best impression of a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Burning-Tree Emissary" href="#" target="_blank">Burning-Tree Emissary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> unless you cast it on a naked board on turn two. For most Goblin decks, they have to rely on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skirk Prospector" href="#" target="_blank">Skirk Prospector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as their way to make mana, and while that is fine and great, this allows you another, possibly single-use effect when you need it.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/goblins/rakdos">Rakdos Goblins</a> also have a list of commanders that love this new addition.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Great Goblin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wort, Boggart Auntie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Great Goblin, Foul-Hearted"></div></div>
<p>I'm much higher on this card than most of the Company cards from the set.</p>
<p><strong><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thranduil&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Thranduil&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thranduil&#039;s Company"></div></div>
<p>Adding to the list of Companies and the last card on the list, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thranduil&#039;s Company" href="#" target="_blank">Thranduil&#039;s Company</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Controlling another Elf, even in a non-Elf deck, is very easy when dealing with lands.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tireless Provisioner"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oracle of Mul Daya"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elvish Reclaimer"></div></div>
<p>So you should always be able to get the additional land drop. With a 3/4 stat line, this card is good enough to put the two +1/+1 counters on and swing with vigilance, if you don't have any other creatures lying around. To me, this is the best of the Companies and one of the best nonlegendary cards in the entire set.</p>
<p>As no surprise, it also fits into the most well-established home, <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/lands-matter/simic">Simic Lands</a>, without doing much work.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p><em>The Hobbit</em> has so many cool legendary creatures in the set, and I'm sure that we will see a great many new decks built around them. But it isn't always about leading the 99; sometimes being a part of it is just as important.</p>
<p>This set looks like another great one, and time will tell if it has the same impact as the first time we visited Middle-earth. What is your favorite card on the list? What card do you think I should have added? Whose Company is your favorite in the set? Let me know over on Bluesky and Instagram @nicnax96.</p>
<p>Don't forget to check all the other great articles on all things <em>Hobbit</em> coming out before, after, and during the time of this article's release. Hope to see you at Bilbo's birthday, but if not, I will try to catch you at second breakfast.</p>


bards company

The Hobbit's Best Nonlegendary Creatures