When it comes to Magic: The Gathering and its controversial Universes Beyond branch, players have diverging opinions. While Universes Beyond is an undeniable commercial success, a portion of the Magic audience expresses frustration with the growing range of external IPs appearing in the game. The most common criticism is that these universes often don’t feel like they belong in Magic at all; from ninja turtles lurking in the sewers to spider-heroes swinging over New York’s skyline, it’s a wild leap compared to Magic‘s established fantasy aesthetic.
However, that isn’t always the case. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and Final Fantasy are two of the most popular Magic sets ever, and they both garnered near-universal praise from fans. Both IPs are very popular, and their fanbases overlap with Magic‘s own. More than anything, these sets and the worlds they represent feel like they belong in Magic. The good news: more sets like these are coming.
Starting this August, The Hobbit will bring Magic fans back to the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. During a Q&A panel held at MagicCon Amsterdam 2026, Magic: The Gathering principal designer Gavin Verhey talked about how the game traces its lineage to Tolkien’s work in many ways. “I think that’s why The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are such a natural fit for Magic: The Gathering,” Verhey said. It seems that Wizards of the Coast is acknowledging how fans feel about these sets, too. “For The Hobbit specifically, a lot of our internal testing during development showed that fans wanted to see that ‘Magic house style’ apply to a lot of the cards,” Verhey said.
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