Magic: The Gathering - The Hobbit releases on August 14, 2026 as a Universes Beyond set and the first Tolkien-universe expansion legal in Standard
A separate team from Verhey and his designers chooses which recognizable properties to pick, and one of their filters is deciding whether its possible to bring to Magic in the first place
The goodest of boys
While it can result in you going down a card if you get caught in a board wipe, the ability to nab Shroud at instant speed is incredibly valuable nonetheless
There is not much that can block a big Deaths Shadow, however, many of the common removal spells of the format can take care of it, until Lurrus Deaths Shadow and the namesake deck are emblematic for how Magic is played today, interrupt your opponent, play a cheap strong threat and counter whatever your opponent tries to play against you
Quarum Trench Gnomes ability is extremely topical, but also annoying to the point of getting the right opponent to ragequit