Magic: The Gathering is returning to Middle Earth in August with a Standard set based on The Hobbit, and I for one am hoping to see some great new dwarf cards. Despite being one of the most prolific fantasy races across all media, dwarves have never got as much attention in Magic as they deserve. It's not just that they play second fiddle to elves; compared to the pointy ears, they're barely part of the orchestra. At most, they get a triangle.
But that could all be about to change with this new set. There has to be at least some new dwarves coming, as the adventuring party that travels to the Lonely Mountain is 13/15ths dwarvish. To be honest, I wouldn't be too shocked if the creature type got a whole precon to itself.
If you're anticipating building a dwarf deck when this MTG set arrives, you should probably pick up the best dwarf cards before everyone else is grabbing them and driving up the prices. So here are our recommendations for the top dwarves to buy before the Hobbit comes out.
Giott, King of the Dwarves
This is a great low-cost dwarf legend that can go in the command zone or the 99 in a dwarf/equipment deck. However, since he's an uncommon in the best-selling Magic set of all time, it's safe to assume the price isn't going to move, so Giott is the lowest priority.
Seven Dwarves
A fun card from Throne of Eldraine, Seven Dwarves suffers compared to the likes of Relentless Rats or Templar Knight. Only being able to have seven copies in your deck is some good flavor, but in EDH, it means it's almost impossible to build up the critical mass that you need.
Still, there aren't many great dwarves, so currently this card still sees some niche play. If you're hoping to make this gimmick work, you should probably grab up a playset now rather than later. Since you need seven copies, even the tiniest of price rises could be annoying.
Tataru Taru
A fun little cantripping dwarf that also spits out plenty of treasures. Since Gloin, Dwarvish Emissary has treasure synergies, and the entire mission in The Hobbit is about reclaiming lost gold, I expect dwarves in MTG The Hobbit will care about treasure too, so Tataru seems like a good one to pick up.
Torbran, Thane of Redfell
I could've sworn this card had been reprinted in a precon somewhere, but apparently not. This is one of the best MTG dwarves around, with a damage-increasing effect that any red deck can use. It's worth pointing out that legendary creatures like Torbran are less likely to get a (price-lowering) reprint in a Universes Beyond set, since they refer to original Magic characters.
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Moving now from one of the best dwarves to the best MTG dwarf, Magda is a mainstay in cEDH, with her ability to create tons of treasure and cheat any artifact onto the field helping her defeat decks with way less restrictive color identities.
While I don't think The Hobbit will lead to a load of new Magda decks, this card is an obvious inclusion in the 99 for literally any dwarf-themed Commander strategy. My only reservation is that WotC might find a way to reprint her, perhaps as a reskinned card?
Magda the Hoardmaster also seems pretty great - a less busted version of the same premise.
Dwarven Recruiter
Now we're talking. A retro card with few copies in circulation and low demand, Dwarven Recruiter is 40 cents right now, but that's mainly thanks to the dearth of other good dwarfs worth fetching up - its counterpart Goblin Recruiter is an $8 card.
While it's not possible for dwarves to get as good as goblins in just one set, If dwarf decks did become popular thanks to The Hobbit, Dwarvish Recruiter will surely be a popular inclusion.
It's not a legendary card though, so perhaps this is one that WotC actually will reprint. I don't know if the designers would want this effect to be in Standard, necessarily, but it could potentially be slipped into a Commander precon deck?
The Lady of Otaria
Now this is what I call a typal/tribal commander, The Lady of Otaria can be cheated into play from your hand or the command zone with just a few dwarves on your team, and she fetches up more when you crack an Evolving Wilds. I'm not sure if The Hobbit's dwarves will be Gruul or Boros, but even if it's the latter, a load of good, new, red dwarf cards could see this legend becoming much more popular.
Did I miss any top-notch dwarf cards from this list? Let me know over on the Wargamer Discord. And you can see when The Hobbit, and every other announced set releases on the MTG release schedule.