Made this for myself before my own prerelease. Take it if it helps. Prints as one sheet, black ink only — no color cartridge required.
“Complete Guide To The Hobbit Prerelease!” — every mechanic explanation on this page is his, including the bit most people miss: an enduring story sticks around even after the permanent dies.
youtube.com/watch?v=KDNr-raXpVg“The COMPLETE Hobbit Prerelease Guide” — the sorting method, the threat test, the removal and creature counts, and the archetype difficulty ranking are all his calls.
youtube.com/watch?v=-jAEevRL-8gDates, kit contents, the five archetypes and the 23 + 17 curve targets come straight from the official guide — that's where the numbers on this page were verified.
magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/the-hobbit-prerelease-guideDraw a card, then discard a card. If the discarded card wasn't a land, make a 1/1 white Human Soldier. It's connive that goes wide — and nothing stops you from pitching a land when the card in hand is better than a token.
While a storied permanent is out, if you ever control 3+ artifacts, Sagas or legendary permanents, you get an enduring story for the rest of the game. It sticks even if the permanent dies. Every storied card is legendary, so it counts itself.
Make one 0/0 Army token and put that many +1/+1 counters on it. Already have an Army? Just add the counters. In The Hobbit every Army is a Goblin Army — so goblin payoffs matter.
Checks whether you control a creature with power 4 or greater. In this set it triggers at the beginning of combat or on attack, so it wants you swinging, not sitting.
Triggers when a land enters under your control — any land, not just your land drop. Effects that fetch a land out of your library trigger it too.
Cast the spell half, the permanent goes to exile, cast it later. A natural 2-for-1. Curve rule: slot it at the half you'll cast first, usually the cheaper side. You can also just cast the creature from hand.
A new counter that goes on equipment: each one gives the equipped creature +1/+0, permanently. Only two cards in the set have it and both are rares.
Cast something big, then attack. Ordinary bears with no abilities — and in this deck, no abilities is the ability. The cleanest aggro in the set. Watch your curve: don't stack so many four-power beaters that you can't act on turns 2 and 3.
Draw, discard, make a soldier, repeat. Go wide and proactively tap out on your own turn. It's mostly a better connive, and the payoffs that pump the whole team are what turn a pile of 1/1s into a clock.
Legendary dwarves, equipment and Sagas all feed the same counter. It turns on almost by accident — just count your artifacts and legends as you build. Play equipment for the storied count, not for the equipment's sake.
Amass reads confusing and plays easy: one Army token you grow all game. Either build it huge and keep swinging, or feed cheap bodies to sacrifice outlets for value.
Draw lands, play extra lands, get paid for it — and ramp into bigger spells than everyone else. Most decisions per turn at the table. Powerful, but you're signing up for the thinking. It's also the easiest base to splash a third color.
Each pair has a hybrid common, a hybrid uncommon and a gold uncommon — and the common dual land names the creature type. The other five color pairs have almost no support: don't force them. Difficulty order is Joel are Magic's call.
Whoever spends the most mana across a game usually wins. Twos and threes let you spend every turn.
Once your 23 spells are picked, count every colored mana symbol in their casting costs — the icons in the top-right corner. Hybrid symbols: count the half you'll actually pay. The split keeps your lands proportional to what your spells demand.