The Best Chase Cards from MTG The Hobbit
Posted by Magic Madhouse on 21st Aug 2026
The Hobbit expansion for Magic: the Gathering dropped a week ago. In that time, eager players have had a chance to comb through the set and figure out the biggest bombs, the splashiest spells, and the most exciting enchantments. Seven days into The Hobbit's lifespan, here are the key cards that have gotten players talking...
The Hobbit expansion for Magic: the Gathering dropped a week ago. In that time, eager players have had a chance to comb through the set and figure out the biggest bombs, the splashiest spells, and the most exciting enchantments. Seven days into The Hobbit's lifespan, here are the key cards that have gotten players talking...
Appropriately enough, the most desirable card from the set is Smaug looking over his heaped treasure hoard. Gleaming Splendor is The Hobbit's take on Smothering Tithe. This splendid card creates treasure tokens each time an opponent draws two or more cards during any turn, and also has an ability that enables its controller, and another player to draw a card. When combined, these two abilities guarantee that you can pay three mana on any turn to draw a card and generate a treasure token.
Gleaming Splendor can comfortably slot into essentially any white Commander deck. If you've got it out on the battlefield for long enough, you'll be able to build up a stash of loot so legendary that Smaug himself will be jealous.
As the main antagonist of The Hobbit, and one of the most powerful beings on Middle-Earth, Smaug deserved an awesome MTG card, and Smaug, the Magnificent certainly doesn't dissapoint.
If you're a regular reader of Magic Madhouse's articles, then you'll remember that we had Smaug, the Magnificent listed as our favourite card from the set during the prerelease period. Now that it's out, it definitely lives up to the hype, generating treasure tokens every turn and translating that token generation directly into damage that can be used to burn away the life totals of opponents, or to remove their creatures.
As the main character of The Hobbit, it's only appropriate that Bilbo, Thief in the Night is also one of the set's most sought after cards.
Bilbo was invited to join Thorin Oakenshield's company to serve as a burglar, and this card shows off his talent for thievery perfectly. Whenever Bilbo attacks, he sneaks an instant, sorcery, or artifact from your graveyard straight back into play, allowing you to cast it at a reduced cost. Whether they're a thief in the night, or an unexpected adventurer, you should never underestimate a hobbit.
The second white two drop on this list, just like Gleaming Splendor, The Queen of Dale doesn't let her low cost hold her back. Whenever an opponent casts their first noncreature spell in a turn, The Queen of Dale Recruits. This means that she allows her controller to draw and then discard a card. If the card thrown into the graveyard by this effect is not a land, then The Queen of Dale creates a 1/1 human soldier token.
The Queen of Dale can assemble an entire army single handidly, while also allowing her controller to curate the cards in their hand, and load up their graveyard with useful cards to be flashed back and reanimated.
Another card that managed to get featured both here and on our prerelease favourite cards list, Orcrist, Goblin Cleaver is easily the most exciting piece of equipment from The Hobbit.
What's your favourite creature type? Whether you're into elves, goblins, dwarves, zombies, if you slip Orcrist into a typal deck, then you'll gain the ability to pump out treasure tokens incredibly quickly. The more creatures of a certain type that you have in play, the more treasure tokens Orcrist can create, and the more treasure tokens Orcrist creates, the more creatures you'll be able to cast. It's a delightful feedback loop that'll help to build up your board, and leave you with treasures to spare.
Conclusion
That's our list of five key chase cards, but would yours be different? Maybe you're a Thorin superfan, a massive advocate of The Arkenstone, giddy about the chance to cast The Great Goblin. Let us know your favorite cards from the set in the Magic Madhouse Discord.
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