“…a nasty, dirty, wet hole…”
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
“The Enormous, pungent…lobster”
-David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster
On August 7, 2026, Magic: the Gathering presents The Hobbit prereleased at stores across the globe, one week after the full visual spoiler was released by Wizards, and then subsequently uploaded to scryfall so that people can actually view, read, and search the cards. A full seven days, or 168 hours, for the cards to be legible, easily sorted and ready for my intense scrutiny.
Normally, this is where I would mention all the time and effort I spent going through the cards for this set looking desperate for the tracks of Phelddagrif to you, loving and kind reader who has been working so hard and really deserves a vacation. Normally I’d describe the salty sweat on my brow trickling down my cheeks, mixing with my tears, as they slowly drip to my keyboard as I type query after query of variations of “Phelddagrif“, “Questing Phelddagrif“, “Garfield, Ph.D” and, in desperate moments, “Garfield”.
I may even include a little detail in setting up a scene, describing the evening sun beams slowly fading, capturing dust motes in their twilight dance. A cup of coffee sits on my desk, prepared earlier in the day to give one energy for an onerous task sits in cold solitude, the cream separated from the mud. This instills a sense of hopelessness, preparing you, careful reader who makes sure not to step on any cracks in the sidewalk, for the disappointment that is to come. I would include some dialogue too, because I think it’s funny when writers attempting to portray “real” events do that to heighten the drama of the scene: “No, it can’t be. It’s not…” I whisper while shaking my head.
Then, and only then, I finally reveal that, despite my hours of looking at every card in The Hobbit, Phelddagrif has eluded us once again and is not in the set.
Normally I would write all of that because it’s a big deal that Phelddagrif hasn’t shown up in another Magic set.1 But I won’t this time, reader, whose time I respect, so I’ll keep this thing moving.
I quickly scrolled through the image gallery, didn’t see Phelddagrif, and moved on.
What Went Wrong!?
Nothing, this was all according to plan. To Wizards’ plan, at least. This is because The Hobbit is a content set. And that has nothing to do with the set delivering a feeling of satisfaction, despite the name. In fact, it is quite the opposite. A content set is one that is meant to create content. The cards and design of The Hobbit generate intense feelings quickly and in rapid succession without leaving room for any sense of resolution. From the set’s initial previews immediately revealing plagiarism on the headliner boxtopper card, to the rise in cost of Collector Boosters, The Ambassador Program leaking cards early, the “reaction” to the ambassador program and content creators, the $25,000 Smaug card and “bounties” being placed…None of these are about the cards, the theme, the story and setting of the hobbit. Nothing about the limited environment, the excitement of how certain cards will play, how they may alter or change formats.
It’s hard to avoid the “content” of The Hobbit, and difficult to take the time to see the artistry in designing and creating a Magic set. It feels difficult, especially when you’re in a tiny Phelddagrif-shaped bubble.2 It feels that this is a set meant to generate a constant stream of reactions, one where you imagine yourself in these scenarios and form opinions on imaginary scenarios of wealth and notoriety. It’s a set that generates questions: What if you opened a Plagiarism One Ring? What if you opened that Smaug? Booster packs become not a way to transport oneself to the ludonarrative depicted on the cards, but throw us through a portal to a counterfactual universe, the same spells cast on us when we buy lottery tickets.
This is no climate for Phelddagrif to thrive. A set that agitates, rattling our brains like a gerbil in a cage, is no place for Phelddagrif. Phelddagrif needs a calmer climate, like a jungle, or maybe a patch of green grass that’s glows at night.
Or even the controlled chaos of the plane of Bablovia, the steampunk un-plane where Phelddagrif was last seen (on the card Hydradoodle). And, while this plane was full of in-jokes and was science/steampunk themed, I think it could have still fit on the classic fantasy setting of The Hobbit. I’m sure Tolkien put some jokes in there.
Anyways, that’s why there was no Phelddagrif in The Hobbit! Onto the next set!
Mystery Booster Commander: Sic Semper Homaridae
On August 2nd, 2026, the Dearest Magic players (and not you) were invited to join a special event held by designer Gavin Verhey. This group of Dearest Magic Players3 went on to draft the newly announced convention product: Mystery Booster Commander Edition. This product, like other Mystery Booster products, has a staggering cardpool of thousands of cards with some sought after reprints and special editions of cards in a future sight border.
On August 3rd, the full card image gallery for Mystery Booster Commander Edition was uploaded, 60 new legendary commanders included in this set, none of them were Phelddagrif.
Mystery Booster Commander is filled with nostalgic callbacks to characters in Magic that had not received cards before, like Nivea, Zagorka, and Worzel, as well as updates to previous legends such as Joven and Chandler, Selenia, and Greensleeves. Even the Lord of Tresserhorn (who is part of the original tri-color rare cycle from Alliances, read my Phelddagrif 30th birthday article to learn more!) got a new card so that you can play it at the table and hang with the rest of contemporary commanders.4
With Joven and Chandler being spoiled, I thought that there might be a good chance that Phelddagrif would appear in this set. Joven and Chandler’s art already pillages from Amy Weber’s past work, putting both Joven’s Ferrets and Ebony Rhino on the card. I’m not sure the status of the rights for the art of these cards, but if Wizards was willing to push the boundary here, they might print a new Phelddagrif without the original artist having a say. Worzel makes Scryb Sprites tokens, another card with only Amy Weber art.5
But we got Feroz as the Bant legendary instead. Great for Feroz for finally getting a card. It looks terrible just like Feroz’s Ban. And I’m happy Phelddagrif did not show up.
What Went Right?!
You read correctly, keen-eyed and well-coiffed reader! I’m happy Phelddagrif did not appear in Mystery Booster Commander. Mystery Booster Commander sets a dismal precedent for creature types going forward.
Rikala, while a Homarid, is typed as a “Lobster Noble”, officially retiring the Homarid type. Presumably, this was done ahead of next year’s underwater set Nauctus while bringing Homarid’s in line with the current templating for creature-folk typing conventions (Cephalids and Viashino becoming octopus and lizards were the last victims of this new templating). It wasn’t to help out the homarid/lobster typal decks, as this new change to type only added two new creatures to the “homarid” family: Ragost, who is well outside Homarid colors in red and white; and Rock Lobster which is silver bordered, but basically a vanilla creature and I doubt would warrant being brought up in a rule 0 conversation.
Prior to this change, there were no cards before that cared about the Homarid typing, not even the new Homarid King. The only card that cares about the lobster v. homarid typing is Homer the Hermit, also a new card from the Commander Mystery Booster, which adds a new “batch” of creature types (Crabs, Lobsters, Nautiluses, Starfish, and Trilobites). Ironically, the only card that cares about homarids is Old Fogey: Another silver-bordered card.
Maybe there’s no use crying over spilled milk, the type change is going to happen and Homarid’s will be dead in all but name.6 But I do think something is lost with this change. Come, reader, and follow the following flight of fancy. You’ve already read so far:
Imagine a player looking at a homarid card, a newer one like Deepmuck Desperado or Homarid Explorer, and see that creature type is “Homarid”. While this may create some friction in the player’s mind-they thought it was a lobster but it doesn’t say “lobster” anywhere on the card- they thought one think but it was actually something else, it might also intrigue that player to learn more about Homarids. Maybe these cards resonate with the player, and they begin to collect them, and look at cards like Shore Up and wonder if there are more homarids out there for their collection.
And say this player is going through the bulk at a store or looking through trade binder, and finds the card Homarid Spawning Bed, or even Homarid itself? They learn this isn’t a new creature type, that this is something that has history behind it. The vista of possibility opens up for this player, there’s an ocean full of Homarids for this player to explore. Wouldn’t this be exciting for this player? Wouldn’t this be a bit more exciting than, if the type is changed to lobster, and seeing the old cards as unplayable, since they will still read not only “Homarid” but “Summon Homarid”? Without that clear hook to the typeline, will players bother looking for that Homarid history? Will they blow over it without caring?
Sure, this is a made up scenario, but Magic is a growing game, with new players joining every set release, and most of these players aren’t enfranchised and have access or know how to use tools like Scryfall, so I don’t think this is entirely unrealistic. I recognize that this is hard to measure, so it’s unlikely that the “thrill of discovery” would matter. And I suppose we’ll still see the word “homarid”, maybe in the name of the card instead of the type-line (although this isn’t a guarantee with none of the Capenna Cephalids having “cephalid” in their name). The only benefit I can see is that this typeline change makes the game easier for universes beyond. Other properties have lobsters, but only Magic had Homarids.
That was a fine screed, but what does this have to do with Phelddagrif?
Oh, yeah. If they’re fixing to get rid of unique Magic types even when there’s zero typal support already present in the game, it seems very likely that “Phelddagrif” would be changed to support Magic’s vast bestiary of hippo cards.
I’m fine with waiting on Phelddagrif for a little longer. I can hold off until Reality Fracture.
- again. ↩︎
- Of my own making, to be fair. I could care about other formats or other parts of Magic beyond how Phelddagrif could fit into anything, but I’m not looking to expand how I think about Magic. ↩︎
- not you ↩︎
- They made it a draw engine ↩︎
- Except for the one MtG:O only Scyrb Sprites are by Brian Snoddy which would have been cool to see. ↩︎
- Literally, we’ll only see it in the card name! ↩︎
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