All cards shown during The Hobbit preview panel at MagicCon Amsterdam

We're officially in preview season for The Hobbit following the latest preview panel at MagicCon Amsterdam. This new Magic: The Gathering set is set to launch on August 14, 2026, but we've just been given a look at a bunch of new cards, including some awesome variants.

I'll take you through every card we've seen from this Universes Beyond set and go into a little extra detail on what makes each one interesting, either from a purely visual design standpoint or a mechanical one.

Bard, King Of Dale

Human Noble Archer

Bard is a six-mana (1W, 1U, 4B) creature with Vigilance and Reach. This card allows you to draw two cards instead of one any time you draw a card outside your initial draw step.

A similar trigger applies to tokens, where if one or more tokens are to be created under your control, you instead double that number.

Throw in a power and toughness of 3/5, and this is an incredibly versatile creature that comes with a high casting cost to limit its ability to influence the game too early on.

Gandalf, Goblin's Bane

Avatar Wizard

Next up is a mythic rare Gandalf card called Gandalf, Goblin's Bane. This three-mana (1R, 2C) creature also comes with the Adventure sorcery Flameshape attached. Flameshape costs two mana (1R, 1C) and exiles the top two cards of your library face down. Then, so long as you control a Wizard, you may cast these cards from exile.

As for the Gandalf creature, he's a 2/3 that gets a +1/+1 counter until the end of the turn whenever you cast a noncreature spell. He also deals one damage to each opponent when this triggers.

Gollum, Riddle Master

Halfling Horror

Gollum, Riddle Master is up next, a two-mana (1B, 1C) 3/1 who, when it enters, has you choose odd or even. Then, whenever a spell is cast with the mana value of the chosen quality, you may choose one of the three options on the card that hasn't already been chosen during that turn. The options are:

• Put a +1/+1 counter on Gollum
• Each opponent loses two life, and you gain two life
• Draw a card

This card has the feel of a black Monument to Endurance to it in some ways. Only it's a creature that can get very dangerous if left on the battlefield, and it only costs two mana!

The Queen Of Dale

Human Noble

The final mythic rare revealed from The Hobbit in this drop was The Queen of Dale, a two-mana (1W, 1C) 2/1 who, whenever your opponent casts their first spell of each turn, Recruits.

This is a new mechanic being introduced in The Hobbit that lets you draw and discard a card, then if you discard a nonland card, you create a 1/1 Human creature token. It's basically a less villainous Connive.

Thranduil, The Elven King

Elf Noble

The only rare creature card revealed today is Thranduil, the Elven King, a five-mana (1B, 1U, 1G, 2C) 5/6 Elf who has all the activated abilities of every Elf card in your graveyard.

On top of this, whenever a legendary Elf you control enters, you draw two cards and discard a card. Given the Universes Beyond tendency to stack a set with legendary creatures, this ability is going to get quite a bit of use in Limited play as well as Commander.

Uncommon Creatures

There are six uncommon creatures revealed during today's preview panel at MagicCon Amsterdam; they are:

• Thorin Oakenshield
• The Chief Warg
• Silvan Reveler
• Bolg Of The North
• Bifur, Melodic Rider
• Bard The Bowman

Standout features of Thorin and Bifur are the inclusion of the new Storied mechanic, which gives a game-long positive effect once you hit a total of three legendaries, artifacts, or sagas on the battlefield while a card with the mechanic is also in play.

Silvan Reveler comes with Landfall, which lets you pay three mana (1U, 1G, 1C) to return it to your hand from your graveyard. The Chief Warg also sees the return of Ferocious, meaning whenever you attack with a creature you control that has four or more power, you draw a card and lose one life.

Noncreature Reveals

From the main set, there are six new noncreature cards, including a new saga, artifact, land, and then instants and sorceries; they are:

• Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern
• The Desolation of Smaug
• Sting, Bilbo's Sword
• Supper for Spiders
• The Lonely Mountain
• The Eagles Are Coming

The Desolation of Smaug feels like a lock for any Dragon tribal decks because its damage targets non-Dragon creatures, and you get four mana back in any color combination to then cast another dragon; it's effectively a free spell.

Sting is a great Flash artifact that is best played when your opponent's board is stacked with tapped creatures, but with a two-mana cost and a three-mana attach fee, it really could do with something else, like granting First Strike, to be a lock for competitive play.

The Lonely Mountain is also a very notable land given that it can tap for five mana (1R, 4C) to create a 2/2 red Dwarf token, but the colorless cost is reduced by one for each piece of equipment you control. It also enters untapped so long as you control an equipment.

Scene Cards & Dwarven Language Cards

The remainder of the card reveals are from the two Scene Boxes and the Dwarven language variants. These cards are all typically geared towards Commander and other Eternal formats.