Magic: The Gathering already has a lot on its plate for the remainder of 2025, with Spider-Man officially releasing in three days alongside WotC's MagicCon Atlanta panel about next year, and the Avatar set is also coming in November, just a few days after the Banned and Restricted post. With six main sets throughout the year, some fans feel like it's hard to keep up with all the news regarding Magic: The Gathering, and this can be especially true for those who play Standard and/or juggle multiple formats. Yet, Wizards of the Coast's marketing for new sets is not slowing down soon, and the third UB set for next year may now be clear.

One of the driving factors for Universes Beyond sets is that they should be tied to IPs that are very popular and about to release something new, such as a movie, a game, or maybe a specific product line. Yesterday was Hobbit Day, and Wizards of the Coast released a short animated video on Twitter with the caption "Happy Birthday Mr. Baggins!," which may very well just be a nod to Bilbo's birthday. However, the animated video contains all-new art that's not from MTG's Lord of the Rings set, and at the end, one can see runes on Bilbo's house door that Gandalf carved to tell the dwarves where to go before the events of The Hobbit.

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Magic: The Gathering's Lorwyn Eclipsed May Finally Reset a Long-Running Pattern

Magic: The Gathering's 2026 schedule starts with Lorwyn Eclipsed in January, and it will most likely break a trend lasting since August of 2024.

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Why a Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Set Makes Perfect Sense

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Magic: The Gathering's Commander decks for LotR included a card called Bilbo, Birthday Celebrant, after all, so it would make sense for Wizards to simply make an appreciation post for the beloved character. However, Wizards rarely makes new art or even videos dedicated to something for no apparent reason other than celebration, and there are a few reasons why it would make perfect sense for this to be a teaser for a set dedicated to The Hobbit. These are:

  • 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • A new LotR movie called Hunt for Gollum was tentatively scheduled for December 2026 before a new date of December 2027 was announced.
  • 2026 marks the 49th anniversary of the publication of The Silmarillion, first published in 1977.
  • The original LotR set for Magic: The Gathering was extremely popular and sold equally well, so a new set dedicated to Middle-earth is a matter of when rather than if.
  • Wizards of the Coast (and thus MTG) is owned by Hasbro, which has already partnered with Warner Bros. Multiple times to make Lord of the Rings toys.
  • The animated video shared by Wizards on Twitter specifically references The Hobbit with never-before-seen art that is not tied to the LotR set and wouldn't fit its timeline.
  • Similar videos have not been made in the past, even though the original LotR set came out in June 2023. Wizards could have released such a video in September 2023 or September 2024, but didn't, which further cements this as a teaser rather than a celebration video.
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Considering that LotR was one of the most well-received Universes Beyond sets in Magic: The Gathering, if not the best, or at least on par with Final Fantasy, it's a no-brainer for Wizards to capitalize on it with a second one that follows the new Standard-legal formula. This is also very likely to be a teaser, considering that the roadmap for next year will be released shortly.

Predicting Magic: The Gathering's 2026 Release Schedule

If true, then MTG's 2026 release schedule will most likely look like this:

  • January - Lorwyn Eclipsed (in-multiverse)
  • February/April - Secrets of Strixhaven (in-multiverse)
  • February/April - First UB set between Avengers/X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Hobbit
  • June/September - Ziplining (in-multiverse)
  • June/September - Second UB set
  • October/November - Third UB set
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Magic: The Gathering
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Original Release Date
August 5, 1993
Designer
Richard Garfield
Player Count
2+
Age Recommendation
13+
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