MTG’s Hobbit set size draws comparisons to the Spider-Man crossover

Image: Wizards of the Coast

The same could easily be said for the Spider-Man set, which is even smaller. While there are some interesting cards, particularly as potential Commanders, the set’s overall identity doesn’t feel all that cohesive. Yes, there is an overabundance of spiders, heroes, and villains in it, but their abilities vary wildly. The set has more than 100 creature cards, with roughly 70% of them being legendary. That ultimately makes Spider-Man at large feel like a character gallery you might flip through, rather than play for their strategic value. Despite the fact that the set is legal in Standard, you don’t see any of the pros playing a single Spider-Man card. That’s pretty telling.

The Hobbit might be hampered by a similarly small set size, but there are reasons to remain cautiously optimistic. During a press Q&A session at MagicCon, Magic senior executive producer Mike Turian explained that the set emphasizes narrative first rather than focus on showing off iconic characters. “One of the things I really enjoy that the team has done — and we even tried to show it yesterday at the preview panel — was sort of visit every chapter of The Hobbit, right?” Turian said. “Because The Hobbit, as a book, it follows a progression.”

An Unexpected Party, for instance, highlights the early moment when the band of dwarves gather at Bag End and meet Bilbo Baggins for the first time. The Tom, Bert, and William card showcases a sequence not long after when the party encounters a trio of hungry trolls. Riddles in the Dark focuses on the moment when Bilbo and Gollum engage in a battle of wits. The cards were designed to service the story, as is the case in most Magic sets, but more often than not, Universes Beyond sets lack that kind of rich narrative identity. Yet with The Hobbit, various cards hone in on rich moments that might make you think, “Hey! I remember that scene from the book.” Here’s to hoping we get a card where Bilbo and the dwarves cruise downriver in a bunch of wine barrels.

If that focus holds across the full release, then The Hobbit may avoid the same trap that hurt Spider-Man and TMNT. Those sets often felt like assortments of recognizable characters and references first and cohesive Magic experiences second. That makes them both pretty forgettable. The Hobbit, at least so far, appears more interested in recreating the feeling of Tolkien’s journey itself. That may matter far more than whether the set has 193 cards or 300.