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The fourth day of previews for The Hobbit has arrived.
Today has some really awesome cards and even some that might just have some real Competitive heat behind them.
New Cards
Let's get things started by looking at the brand new cards revealed throughout the day.
First up is the powerful new spell, Bilbo's Gambit.
A Reprieve - or Remand - that sort of counters a spell is a pretty big deal for Constructed play. Historically, we've only seen these effects in Blue, so seeing it in White for Standard and Pioneer that don't have easy access to these effects is a pretty big deal.
Equally exciting is the ability to stop any other spells from being cast that turn if you Gift a Treasure. While you do need to be careful since this also stops you from casting spells too, it can really hit the brakes for your opponents.
There's a lot of buzz around this one, and for good reason. So far, it looks like it'll be one of the best Constructed cards in the set.
Next up is Belladonna Took, a great payoff for any Token-heavy deck. The first time you make a token, you gain one life, then the second you draw a card, and the third you supercharge your board.
This is extra powerful with Voice of Victory, which has not only made a splash in Standard but is strong enough to be played in older formats as well. If you attack with just one Voice of Victory, you'll get one life and draw a card. If you can somehow get the other token, you can go wide with plenty of +1/+1 counters.
Token decks are fan favorites in Commander, and we'll probably see this become an instant staple there, too.
Belladonna Took isn't the only card that cares about tokens, though. The Sackville-Bagginses are a great way to generate value for sacrificing your tokens. The more you sacrifice, the more damage you can deal to your opponents.
If you can find an efficient way to sacrifice tokens, this becomes a really powerful card that can end games out of nowhere. In Commander, where sacrifice strategies - aka Aristocrats decks - are popular, this is sure to be a staple as well.
If you're in the market for a decent way to make tokens, the new Recruit mechanic is for you. Not only does it allow you to sift through your deck, but it can reward you with tokens for it.
Great Gilded Boat is excellent for this. Whenever you attack, you get to Recruit, though only once per combat. Even better, though it's a Vehicle, you don't need to Crew it for its ability to activate. If you do Crew it, though, a 4/4 is quite a threat for your opponents to contend with.
Fans of Young Pyromancer can also get excited about the freshly-previewed Bothersome Noisemaker.
This card uses the Amass Goblins mechanic to turn a classic Creature on its head. Rather than making a wide spread of 1/1 tokens to overrun board, you can make one really big guy.
Given how much play the many Young Pyromancer variants have seen over the years, there's a lot of buzz about this one. It's an exciting card that's sure to be a heater in Limited.
Spelljack is a classic Rare spell from Judgment that makes it fun to counter spells and turn them into your own. Thranduil's Decree takes this same concept and brings it down to Uncommon.
Rather than taking control of any spell, this one only gives it to you if it's a permanent. That means you can't copy an opponent's Expropriate or Insurrection, but it still counters them if you need to. If you counter a powerful permanent, though, you'll be swimming in value.
We also got a small 1/1 Menace creature in Nighthowl Pursuer.
Typically, these don't do all that much and are easy to pick off. Here, though, if you're able to turn on its Ferocious ability, getting a 3/3 attacker that's difficult to block is a solid deal. It'll take some work to make it happen, but there could be some potential in the right environment.
Finally, a Japanese version of a new Uncommon Gandalf was previewed.
The translated text appears to be that it has Reach and deals three damage divided among one, two, or three targets when it enters. This makes Gandalf little more than a solid Limited Creature in this context. That might be a little disappointing for some, but we already have several great Gandalf cards as is.
Today's Booster Variants
Next, let's have a look at some of the cool alternate treatments you can find for some of these cards.
Today, we got to see a few more of the Dragon Hoard frame cards. This includes the new Belladonna Took and the previously revealed Azog, Moria's Ruin, which showed up in today's Card Image Gallery update.
This includes the super fancy Surge Foil treatments that you can only find in Collector Boosters.
A handful of Extended Art frame cards also showed up. With no other fancy variants available, this classic alternate style appears on Bilbo's Gambit, The Sackville Bagginses, and Great Gilded Boat. Much like Surge Foils, you'll only be able to get these in Collector Boosters.
More Classic Artist Cards
Finally, let's take a look at some of the awesome Classic Artist cards. These are the special box toppers that come with every Play Booster Box and Collector Booster Box. Each one is from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth or an accompanying Commander release.
First up is The Gaffer, a popular way to draw lots of cards in Commander. Thanks to the strong amount of play, its price has been going up steadily over time, making this a perfect chance for fans to get their copies.
Chuck Lukacs brings his signature style to this card. He's been doing art for Magic since our first trip to Lorwyn and it's clear this art evokes some of that beloved plane's atmosphere.
The second card shown today was Elven Chorus, a popular way to cast Creatures and have them generate even more mana for you. It's modest value-wise, but it's still a very welcome reprint with new art.
In fact, the art is quite special. Stephen Walsh has done exactly two cards ever: Harvest Wurm and Fallow Wurm, both from Weatherlight, making this a super deep pull for Wizards to go with.
These cards, like any Classic Artist box toppers, will be available in special Surge Foil treatments. Just like the Surge Foil Dragon Hoard and Book Cover frames, these ones will only be available in Collector Boosters.
An Unexpected Preview
Trekkie Magic players got a huge surprise today.
"Things are only impossible until they are not," - Captain Jean-Luc Picard
May these wise words inspire you as you seek out this unique #MTGxStarTrek Headliner!
— Magic: The Gathering (@magic.wizards.com) July 23, 2026 at 2:35 PM
[image or embed]
Despite being deep into The Hobbit previews, Wizards also unveiled the third of seven autograph headliner cards for Star Trek. This one depicts Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard with the video showing the actor signing the card.
As with all headliner cards, this one will only be available in a select number of Star Trek Collector Boosters.
Conclusion
This brings a surprisingly full day of previews to an end.
Today, we got some very strong cards for tournament play, fun token enablers, and even more fancy Classic Artist cards along the way.
You can start a journey of your own by ordering singles, sealed products, and supplies for The Hobbit right here on CoolStuffInc. Prerelease events begin on August 7th and we start shipping cards that day!
With every preorder, you'll get a free Treasure token featuring Jim Davis and some other hobbits.
Paige Smith
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