Magic has always been a game that you're meant to play, but it was the world's first collectible card game.

What sets it apart from traditional board games in Hasbro's portfolio is Magic cards offer an element of long-term value. That tradition is alive and well with the newest set to hit store shelves, The Hobbit.

As usual, there are a handful of exciting, powerful cards that have risen to the top from a demand and value standpoint.

Gleaming Splendor: The One Card to Rule Them All

Move aside, The One Ring, The Hobbit has a new fan favorite card making waves in Middle-earth.

By a landslide, the most valuable card out of the gate is Gleaming Splendor, a White Enchantment that combines a card-draw engine and Treasure token generator.

The card can truly warp a game in the right matchup. If your opponent is playing Prowess, for example, and casting a boatload of cantrips, this card will make them think twice about casting those Opts and Boomerang Basics on their turn.

Beyond that matchup, however, this card's utility is best maximized in Commander.

Retailers offering preorders are largely sold out of this card. Ordering on the secondary market will run you close to $90. Unless this is the second coming of Jace, the Mind Sculptor, there's no way this card can hold the elevated price tag.

Should you open a copy at your local Prerelease or Release events, do your silent celebratory cheer to the sky, then cash out immediately while the card continues to sell for nearly double the next most valuable cards in the set.

Legendary Favorites Return

If WOTC is releasing a second set in Middle-earth, there must be a lineup of fan-favorite Legends. Not only did they deliver on this expectation, but they also made some true powerhouses that are making waves on the secondary market already.

Smaug, the Magnificent

Topping the list is Smaug the Magnificent, currently preselling for as much as $50 on some sites.

Francisco Miyara delivers with a fantastic piece of art for this iconic Creature. Four mana makes for a fantastic curve-topper in aggressive decks, and Smaug can attack over your opponent's nonflying blockers the turn it hits the battlefield. But the power doesn't stop there.

When you inevitably attack with him, he can ping any target for each Treasure you control. Don't have any Treasures? No worries, Smaug the Magnificent is a dragon, after all, and will provide you with Treasure tokens during your upkeep.

The Queen of Dale

While never named in The Hobbit, Bard the Bowman's wife appears on the next most valuable card in the set (at release), The Queen of Dale, preselling for close to $40.

This Legendary lady is a 2/1 for that features one of this set's new keywords, Recruit. She'll punish your opponent the first time they case a noncreature spell each turn (even yours) by providing you with a loot effect and then some.

If you can spare a nonland card to discard, you create a handy 1/1 Human Soldier token. This can create an army if kept unchecked -- a powerful effect for a very cheap casting cost.

Beorn the Fierce & Bilbo, Thief in the Night

The next two most valuable Legendary Creatures have an inconsistent spread of preorder pricing across various sites. Beorn the Fierce and Bilbo, Thief in the Night have both been selling for north of $30 up until recently, despite a recent taper in price.

So far, Bilbo, Thief in the Night has held up a little more consistently. No matter where they net out, these are two more mythic rare, Legendary Creature cards you'll want to keep a lookout for in your sealed pools.

Beorn the Fierce is a Bear Lord, pumping other Bears +2/+2 and turning your other Creatures into giant, Trampling Bears. Beorn even draws you cards once he has at least two friends. Because this is already a popular Creature type, Beorn the Fierce is likely to supercharge Bear decks in Commander.

Bilbo, Thief in the Night takes a different approach. He's a two-mana 2/2 (coincidentally, the same as the OG Bear, Grizzly Bears) with tremendous upside.

Bilbo reduces the cost of spells you cast from anywhere other than your hand by . This means your Flashback spells and Red's exile-based card draw effects are much better. Bilbo can also help you cash in that savings when he attacks, bringing back an Artifact, Instant, or Sorcery spell from your graveyard.

Admittedly, he's fragile but, left on the board, Bilbo, Thief in the Night can drive significant advantage throughout the game.

In addition to these, other valuable Legendary Creatures in The Hobbit include

• Gandalf, Goblin's Bane ($20)
• Bard, King of Dale ($15 - $20)
• Gollum, Riddle Master ($12 - $18)
• Elrond, Moon-Reader ($10 - $20)

Other Noteworthy Mythic Rares

While a significant portion of the valuable mythic rares in The Hobbit are iconic Legendary Creatures, there are a handful of other noteworthy spells worth highlighting.

Inside Information

The most notable card thus far is Inside Information, a Black Sorcery preselling for as much as $20.

Inside Information costs and exiles the top X cards of your opponent's library. Reminiscent of Outrageous Robbery, you can play those exiled cards. Unlike Outrageous Robbery, you only have that turn to play the exiled cards, which is a significant drawback.

Inside Information makes up for this limitation, however, by allowing you to pay life equal to the cards' mana values rather than paying the mana cost. This allows you to cash in life for spells, a powerful exchange in the right environment.

Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver & The Arkenstone

Then there are two Legendary Artifacts preselling for $15-$20: Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver and The Arkenstone.

Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver has the same vibes as cards like Sword of Fire and Ice. The casting cost is the same, though the equip cost is one mana higher. The equipped Creature gets +2/+2, too.

Instead of gaining protection from a pair of colors, the Creature instead gains Trample. Lastly, when the creature deals combat damage to a player (easier to do with Trample), you choose a Creature type and create Treasure tokens for each Creature you control of that type.

It'll be interesting to see if this Equipment is good enough for constructed play.

The Arkenstone is a rare instance of a non-Creature Adventure Card. For , you can cast Seek the Heart, a Sorcery that lets you tutor for a Legendary Creature.

Then for five mana, The Arkenstone pumps your entire team +1/+1 and draws you an extra card each turn. This will make waves in Commander, but it's unclear if the card is fast enough for the current Standard environment.

Honorable Mentions

Virtually all the most valuable normal printing, non-foil cards in The Hobbit are mythic rares.

Through the Forest Gate & Wizard's Staff

It's worth shouting out the most valuable rare cards, too. Through the Forest Gate and Wizard's Staff are the top contenders we've seen so far. Pricing on these varies widely, but both can be preordered for between $6 and $12.

It is difficult to predict where these rares will net out once the set is released, but for now they remain the only two rares clearly worth more than a Play Booster Pack. Smaug, Wicked Worm and Bilbo's Gambit come close.

On the other side, there are the ultrarare, Collector Booster Pack-only printing of cards that pre-sell for over $100. This list consists of special borderless showcase versions of the iconic mythic rare cards.

If you're lucky enough to open one of these in your Collector Booster pack, you have a shot at selling it for as much as $450 (in the case of Thranduil, the Elvenking Surge foil). These will surely settle in price once a few more hit the market, but they're definitely worth watching for.

Conclusion

Magic is a CCG through and through, and the latest set release, The Hobbit, follows the same formula as always. There is a smattering of high-dollar mythic rare cards that'll pay for your entire Sealed pool if you're lucky enough.

Beyond that, there are definitely a handful of cards worth more than the booster pack they came in.

Remember, prices are always volatile during preorder season. Once the set is released, prices will settle as the supply and demand picture clears up. Regardless of where the numbers end up, there are plenty of exciting, iconic mythic rares to find in The Hobbit.