Bolg's CompanyBolg's Company | Art by Michele Giorgi

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 There and Back AgainThere and Back Again as the game returns to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, with The Hobbit. 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.

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.

The List

Elven Raft-SteererElven Raft-Steerer

The first card on the list is occupying a newish piece of game real estate with a mono-blue Elf. Elven Raft-SteererElven Raft-Steerer might not look that impressive, but that's where you would be wrong. Green is obviously the "lands" 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.

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.

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.

Lake-town MarinersLake-town Mariners

Half-Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker and half-Illusionist's StratagemIllusionist's Stratagem, combined with a 6/5 body with vigilance and ward . Mix it all, and you end up with Lake-town MarinersLake-town Mariners. 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.

Head of the HuntHead of the Hunt

Discounting how good this card will be in a multitude of 60-card formats, Head of the HuntHead of the Hunt should be a solid role-player in many Commander decks. A 4/3 threat with flash for 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.

Think back to the years when Kalitas, Traitor of GhetKalitas, Traitor of Ghet was running around all the tournament tables, then adjust your setting for a multiplayer table. Wolves got a decent amount of support in both and with The Hobbit, and killing creatures and making creatures are two things that the color combination does well.

Rhovanion RampagerRhovanion Rampager

Speaking of Wolves getting a power-up, another spot on the list goes to this specific Wolf, Rhovanion RampagerRhovanion Rampager. 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 Lupine PrototypeLupine Prototype, or a pumped-up Wall of BloodWall of Blood.

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.

Desert Were-WormDesert Were-Worm

Big red Dragons. 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 Desert Were-WormDesert Were-Worm 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 Big Red or a Gruul Dragons deck or anything close to that, the power is trivial.

Bothersome NoisemakerBothersome Noisemaker

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. Bothersome NoisemakerBothersome Noisemaker 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.

The Noisemaker allows you to not only get yet another body for a Goblin deck, but any spell you cast, such as a Krenko's CommandKrenko's Command or a Door of DestiniesDoor of Destinies, gives you a larger and larger token that benefits from everything else in the list.

Bejeweled WargBejeweled Warg

The last Wolf on the list, and this one is a very good boy. The Bejeweled WargBejeweled Warg 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 , this creature should get into the red zone without much trouble.

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.

Bard's CompanyBard's Company

All of the cards in the set referencing Bard the BowmanBard the Bowman 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.

This card fits very well with all the other white cards featuring the recruit mechanic, such as The Queen of DaleThe Queen of Dale. Sadly, this card doesn't have the best rate when it comes to mana value and stats, but if you are an Azorius Humans deck that wants to prioritize tokens, it still could make the cut.

Bolg's CompanyBolg's Company

To me, this is one of the best cards in the set for a very specific deck: Rakdos Goblins. Bolg's CompanyBolg's Company is almost always doing the best impression of a Burning-Tree EmissaryBurning-Tree Emissary unless you cast it on a naked board on turn two. For most Goblin decks, they have to rely on Skirk ProspectorSkirk Prospector 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.

Rakdos Goblins also have a list of commanders that love this new addition.

I'm much higher on this card than most of the Company cards from the set.

Thranduil's CompanyThranduil's Company

Adding to the list of Companies and the last card on the list, we have Thranduil's CompanyThranduil's Company. Controlling another Elf, even in a non-Elf deck, is very easy when dealing with lands.

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.

As no surprise, it also fits into the most well-established home, Simic Lands, without doing much work.

Wrap Up

The Hobbit 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.

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.

Don't forget to check all the other great articles on all things Hobbit 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.