The Hobbit (HOB) Draft Night Strategy Guide

Tap any card name to preview it, tap the name again to close. All card data from Scryfall set HOB (321 cards, released 2026-08-14).

Format basics

Pick-Two, 4 players: 3 packs each, take 2 cards per pack, pass (left → right → left). Build a 40-card deck, ~17 lands (WotC recommends 17).
Each pack wheels multiple times, so reading signals is easier and more important than in 8-player draft.
Small set: only 5 supported archetypes, all enemy color pairs (, , , , ). Do NOT draft an allied pair (e.g. ). No duals or signposts exist for it. The only common duals are these five pairs, plus colorless Hobbit Hole (fetch) and Giant's Boulder (mana rock).
Winner takes the box's Collector Booster as the prize.

Mechanics

Storied: control 3+ artifacts, legendary permanents, and/or Sagas → enduring story for the rest of the game (sticky even if you lose permanents later). Equipment, legendary dwarves, Sagas all count.
Recruit: draw 1, discard 1; if you discard a nonland, create a 1/1 Human Soldier token. Fuels the "draw two" theme.
Amass Goblins X: create/grow one Goblin Army token. Sac the army for value (e.g. Bolg of the North5/5), then re-amass.
Ferocious: power 4+ matters (). Landfall (). Adventures: always premium 2-for-1s. Hone counters on Equipment give +1/+0 each.

The 5 archetypes

: Humans of Dale ("draw two" + Recruit)

Signpost

Bard the Bowman1/3 (second draw each turn = +1/+1 + lifelink).

Key cards

Patient Instructor2/2
Lake-town Lookout1/1
Long Lake Nuisance3/1 (recruit commons)
Bilbo Baggins, Burglar2/1 (best blue common)
Great Gilded Boat
Bard's Company2/3 (flash anthem)
Belladonna Took2/2
Lakeshore Apothecary1/2
Ravenhill Flock1/2
Master's Councillors1/3

Capstone

Bard, King of Dale3/5 (doubles all extra draws and token creation).

: Goblin army (Amass)

Signpost

Bolg of the North5/5 (ETB sacrifice → damage + amass the excess).

Key cards

Fearsome Goblin Pair1/1 (dies → amass 4)
Rhovanion Rampager3/2 (best build-around)
Bothersome Noisemaker2/2
Misty Mountains Raider4/4
Gathering of Darkness
Down, Down to Goblin-town
Goblin-town Flunkies1/1
Tidings of War
The Great Goblin3/2
Azog, Moria's Ruin1/3 (ETB kill + amass)
Smaug, Wicked Worm5/5 (flyer)

: Wargs (Ferocious, power 4+)

Signpost

The Chief Warg3/3 (attack with a 4-power creature → draw, lose 1).

Key cards

Large Bear5/5 (trample haste)
Nighthowl Pursuer1/1
Ravening Warg2/2
Wargling2/2
Wilderland Scrounger3/6
Desolation Prowler2/2 (firebreather)
Bejeweled Warg3/2
Old Fat Spider6/7 (reach)
Head of the Hunt4/3 (their dying creatures become your 2/2 Wolves)
Chief Warg's Company5/3 (free 2/2s every upkeep)

: Elves (Landfall)

Signpost

Silvan Reveler3/2 (looter that cheats lands into play and self-recurs via landfall).

Key cards

Thranduil, Sindarin Liege2/3 (landfall → 1/1 Elves)
Thranduil's Company3/4
Elven Raft-Steerer3/2
Mirkwood Pathmaker*/* (P/T = lands)
Wood Elves1/1 (land fetch)
Woodland Weavemaster1/2
Beorn's Hospitality
Down in the Valley
Elven Passage
Cantankerous Keepers4/3

Play 18 lands here.

: Dwarves (Storied + Equipment)

Signposts

Thorin Oakenshield3/2 (ward 1 when storied) and Bifur, Melodic Rider R/W R/W 4/5 (doubles Dwarf triggers when storied).

Key cards

Iron Hills Blacksmith1/1 (double strike + free Axe token)
Fíli the Pathfinder2/2
Kíli the Resourceful1/2
Dáin Ironfoot1/4
Dwalin, Weaponmaster2/1
Dáin's Company2/2
Dwarven Mauler2/1
Dwarven Mattock
The Lonely Mountain
Thorin, Mountain-king3/4 (bomb)
Ori, Keeper of Songs3/3 and Óin the Brave1/3 (cheap legendary dwarves that enable Storied by themselves)

Snap-pick bombs

The Arkenstone (colorless mythic): +1/+1 team AND a card every end step. Fits any deck.
An Unexpected Party (X 2/2 Dwarves adventure + team-wide +2/+2 anthem). Best white card.
Settle the Wreckage: exile all attackers. A 4-mana Plague Wind.
Head of the Hunt4/3 (opponents' dying creatures become 2/2 Wolves under your control).
Beorn the Fierce6/6 (trample, Bears +2/+2, draws 2)
Gigantic Big Bear10/7 (hexproof haste)
Smaug the Magnificent4/3 (flyer-haste, attacks = damage per Treasure, makes a Treasure each upkeep), the set's Headliner.
Stone-Giant of High Pass7/7
Desolation of Smaug (3 dmg to all non-Dragons + ramp)
Thorin, Mountain-king3/4
Gandalf, Goblins' Bane2/3
The Lord of the Eagles8/8 (flash flyer, cheaper per your flyers)
Thranduil, the Elvenking5/6 (all your dead Elves' abilities)
Tom, Bert, and William5/5 (value engine)
Chief Warg's Company5/3
Bard's Company2/3
Smaug, Wicked Worm5/5
My Precious (colorless: unblockable + hexproof)
Bilbo, Luckwearer1/1 (best uncommon: unblockable looter)

Trap cards: don't maindeck these (initial community ratings, 0 or 1 out of 10)

Gleaming Splendor
Fateful Discovery
Supper for Spiders (very situational)
Through the Forest Gate
Part in Friendship
Getaway Barrel
Bilbo's Gambit
Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills2/2
Esgaroth Garrison*/5
Confusticate and Bebother
Wizard's Staff
Gollum, Silent Slinker4/3
Great Fierce Bee2/2
Balin, Loremaster4/4
Last Light of Durin's Day
Warg Tactics
Old Thrush1/2
Key to the Side-Door
Sting, Bilbo's Sword
Glamdring, Foe-hammer
Moment of Glory

Mostly Commander/Constructed designs; the set is new, so treat as strong priors.

Drafting process & pivoting

Stay flexible early: with only 5 archetypes, first-pick bombs/removal over signposts; don't commit until a signpost wheels or a second one shows up.
Pick-Two technique: take "1 for power, 1 for curve" per pack. When unsure, hedge: dual lands, Giant's Boulder, Thrór's Map, Troop of Ponies2/1, and Equipment keep you open (Storied cards are splashable anywhere: artifacts/legendaries/Sagas are colorless-compatible).
Read wheels: a Bolg of the North5/5 or Bard the Bowman1/3 coming back 5th or 6th pick = that archetype is open. Zero amass cards by pack 2 = abandon .
Contention check: with 4 players and 5 pairs, at least one pair will be fought over. If two neighbors draft dwarves (), pivot; and are easiest to slide into if you already have big creatures.
Splashing is real: Thrór's Map, Wood Elves1/1, Elven Passage, Hobbit Hole, Giant's Boulder, Troop of Ponies2/1 support a light third color, especially for the 3-color golds (Tom, Bert, and William5/5, Thranduil, the Elvenking5/6).
Because packs wheel repeatedly, you can infer opponents' colors from what's missing when the pack returns.

Deckbuilding numbers

40 cards, 17 lands (18 for landfall / heavy splash), 15 to 17 creatures.
2-drops are scarce at common (White has exactly one: Dwarven Provisioner2/2). Uncommon 2-drops (Desolation Prowler2/2, Bilbo, Luckwearer1/1, Iron Hills Blacksmith1/1, Nighthowl Pursuer1/1, Bofur, Reliable Guardian1/1, Dwarven Mauler2/1) are worth more than usual. Take them early.
Take removal highly. It's thin (commons):
- Bilbo's Deadly Slice
- Stir Up Trouble
- Magnificent End (5-damage when the creature is tapped!)
- Pinecone Strike
- Quarrel
- Enchanted River's Grasp
- Uneasy Partings
Uncommons:
- Stone by Sunlight
- Gnashing of Teeth
- Troll Negotiations
- Celebrate the Mountain-king
One or two finishers + one sweeper if you can: Desolation of Smaug, Settle the Wreckage, The Eagles Are Coming!, Glóin the Mighty4/3's adventure Easy Pickings.

In-game tips

Play around common tricks: Pinecone Strike (3 dmg), Vow to Erebor (+2/+2), Reverent Howl (+2/+2 lifelink), Smaug's Fury (+3/+0 reach), Thorin's Last Stand (team +2/+1), Quarrel (fight).
Counterspells are narrow but punishing: Sound the Trumpets (counters and recruits if the spell was MV ≤ 2), Thranduil's Decree (steals the spell!). Be careful tapping out mid-game.
Don't overcommit into Settle the Wreckage. It exiles ALL attackers. White player holding up 4 mana and blocking timidly = warning sign.
Amass math: one Army token at a time. Sac-and-re-amass beats growing one huge army against removal. Rhovanion Rampager3/2 and Bolg convert it into value.
Storied is permanent. Trigger it early with cheap legendaries/equipment; it never turns off.
The Eagles Are Coming! is an instant: your board bounces, 4/4 flyers arrive next upkeep. Don't walk into it; it's also a combat blowout enabler.

Expensive cards to keep an eye out for

Top 20 by TCGplayer Market price (US$) among cards you can open in Play Boosters (HOB 1–248). The list below is regenerated on every site build; tap Refresh prices for a live recompute. Collector-exclusive treatments (Surge Foil, Dwarven-language, Headliner) of these cards are worth far more, and the winner's Collector Booster can contain them. Value ≠ playability: several of these are traps in draft (see above) — still take them and sit on them.

Top 20 by TCGplayer Market price · generated 2026-08-26 ·

Gleaming Splendor — $53.88 (mythic · trap)
Smaug the Magnificent4/3 — $31.35 (mythic · Headliner)
The Queen of Dale — $23.34 (mythic)
Bilbo, Thief in the Night — $18.23 (mythic)
Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver — $16.27 (mythic)
The Arkenstone — $11.32 (mythic)
Dancing from Dark to Dawn — $9.14 (mythic)
Gandalf, Goblins' Bane2/3 — $8.08 (mythic)
Beorn the Fierce6/6 — $7.77 (mythic)
Bard, King of Dale3/5 — $6.61 (mythic)
Fateful Discovery — $6.17 (mythic · trap)
Wizard's Staff — $4.96 (rare · trap)
Thorin, Mountain-king3/4 — $4.49 (mythic)
Belladonna Took2/2 — $4.04 (rare)
Radagast of Rhosgobel — $3.35 (rare)
Elrond, Moon-Reader — $2.93 (mythic)
Inside Information — $2.89 (mythic)
Gollum, Riddle Master — $2.61 (mythic)
Smaug, Wicked Worm5/5 — $2.59 (rare)
Bilbo's Gambit — $2.31 (rare · trap)