Why Are There No Commander Decks for The Hobbit in Magic: The Gathering?

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There will be no The Hobbit Commander preconstructed decks in the upcoming Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond set. Although the set was expected to release alongside other products, including at least one new Commander precon, no dedicated decks will be included this time. Instead, Wizards of the Coast is introducing a new cooperative game experience set for 2027, which is believed to fill the gap left by the missing Commander decks. Details about this new product are scarce, and it’s unclear whether it will resemble previous cooperative sets like Turtle Team-Up or if it will be a larger-scale project. All that’s known is that it’s scheduled for release next year.

During a MagicCon pre-briefing, it was confirmed that no The Hobbit-themed Commander precon decks will be released. While the set will feature Commander-focused cards, there won’t be any special preconstructed decks centered on The Hobbit story or characters.

For those interested in Tolkien-themed Commander decks, there are four Tales of Middle-earth preconstructed decks released in 2023 that can be sought out.

This isn’t the first time Wizards of the Coast has opted not to release Commander decks alongside Universes Beyond sets, as the same happened with sets based on Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender. It seems the publisher often chooses to skip Commander precons when they feel the set doesn’t require or support them.

There doesn’t appear to be a clear pattern for when sets omit Commander decks, but it’s clear that Universes Beyond products are most likely to skip them. Already this year, eight new Commander preconstructed decks have been released, including from Lorwyn Eclipsed, TMNT, and Secrets of Strichaven, with five more on the way from Marvel Super Heroes and at least one from Reality Fracture. This helps explain why The Hobbit set will be doing something different by not including Commander precons—it’s a move to explore other formats and experiences.

Since there have been previous Lord of the Rings-themed Commander decks, creating new preconstructed decks didn’t seem necessary. The upcoming cooperative gameplay experience offers a new and interesting way for players to engage with the Tolkien universe, providing a fresh take that hasn’t been seen in previous sets.