The Hobbit
What's New
πStoriedNEWControl three artifacts, legendaries, and/or Sagas while you control a storied permanent and you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.βΆ
- Two things must be true at once: you control a permanent with storied, and you control three or more permanents that are artifacts, Sagas, and/or legendary.
- It's three total in any combination β not three artifacts *plus* three legendaries *plus* three Sagas. WotC calls this the old "historic" batch, even though historic itself isn't in this set.
- The rule counts permanents, not qualities β a legendary artifact is one permanent toward the three, not two.
- Storied is a static ability: it watches the board continuously, uses no stack, and can't be responded to. The moment both conditions are true, you get the designation.
- Nothing takes it back. Per WotC: lose the storied permanent, lose every artifact, Saga, and legend β your story is still written for the rest of the game.
- An enduring story is a designation, not an object, ability, counter, or emblem β and multiple players can each have one at the same time.
| Does getting an enduring story use the stack? | No. Storied is a static ability, so the designation just happens β there's nothing to respond to. |
| Can an opponent stop me from getting it? | Only by answering the spell or ability that would give you your third qualifying permanent. Once you have the story, it's permanent. |
| Do I have to keep the storied permanent around? | No. WotC is explicit: losing the storied permanent, or all of your artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas, doesn't remove the enduring story. |
| Can more than one player have an enduring story? | Yes β any number of players may have the designation at the same time. |
π Official rule text
Card text: (If you control three or more artifacts, legendaries, and/or Sagas, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.)
Rule 702.195a
Storied is a static ability. It means βAny time you control three or more permanents that are artifacts, Sagas, and/or legendary and you donβt have an enduring story, you have an enduring story for the rest of the game.β
Rule 702.195b
Enduring story is a designation that has no rules meaning other than to act as a marker that other rules and effects can identify. Any number of players may have the enduring story designation at the same time.
Rule 702.195c
After a player gets an enduring story, continuous effects are reapplied before the game checks to see if the game state or preceding events have matched any trigger conditions.
Likely interactions
β‘ Board wipe
Sweep away every artifact and creature you control and you still keep your enduring story β anything you cast later that cares about it, like Thorin Oakenshield's ward-granting ability, works immediately.
702.195
β‘ Changeling
The threshold looks for the types and supertypes artifact, Saga, and legendary β not creature subtypes. Changeling makes a creature every *creature* type, and Saga isn't one, so a changeling doesn't count toward your three by itself.
702.195
β‘ Untap denial
Bombur, Gentle Dreamer doesn't untap during your untap step unless you have an enduring story. Because the designation never goes away once earned, Bombur untaps normally every turn from then on β even if the rest of your board is gone.
702.195
β οΈ Ability removal
Storied is an ability printed on a permanent, but the enduring story it grants is a player designation. Effects that strip abilities interact with that split in ways worth confirming before you count your third permanent.
702.195
βοΈ Ask the Judge βπ copy link to this mechanic
πΊRecruitNEWDraw a card, discard a card β and get a 1/1 Soldier if what you pitched wasn't a land.βΆ
- The order is fixed: draw first, then discard. That means you can discard the card you just drew.
- The token only appears if the card you discarded was a nonland card. Pitch a land and you get the filtering but no Soldier.
- The token is always the same: 1/1 white Human Soldier creature token.
- Recruit is a keyword action, not a trigger β it happens entirely during the resolution of the spell or ability that told you to do it.
- With an empty hand, you still draw, and then that freshly drawn card is the one you must discard β nonland means you still get the Soldier.
- Discarding is the act of moving the card out of your hand. Per the dossier, if a replacement effect sends it somewhere other than the graveyard, it was still discarded, so the token check still passes.
| Does recruit use the stack? | No. It's a keyword action performed while the spell or ability that says "recruit" resolves. |
| Can opponents respond in the middle of it? | No. They get priority before the source resolves β not between the draw, the discard, and the token. |
| How many times can I recruit in a turn? | As many times as effects tell you to β there's no built-in limit. |
| Do I have to discard? | Yes. The draw and the discard are both mandatory; only the token is conditional on the discarded card being nonland. |
π Official rule text
Card text: (Draw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a nonland card, create a 1/1 white Human Soldier creature token.)
Rule 701.70a
βRecruitβ means βDraw a card, then discard a card. If you discarded a nonland card this way, create a 1/1 white Human Soldier creature token.β
Likely interactions
β‘ Token doublers
Effects like Anointed Procession apply to the token creation as a replacement effect, so one recruit makes two 1/1 white Human Soldiers instead of one.
701.70
β‘ Replaced draw
If something replaces the draw portion β dredge, for example β you still carry out the rest of the instruction: you discard a card, and a nonland discard still makes the Soldier.
701.70
ποΈ Discard triggers
Recruit puts a card in the graveyard as part of resolution, so madness, discard-payoff, and graveyard-watching cards all key off it β but the exact ordering of those triggers against the token creation is worth a ruling before you build around it.
701.70
βοΈ Ask the Judge ββ‘ Empty library
Recruit starts with a mandatory draw, which is a problem with nothing left to draw. What happens next depends on drawing-from-empty-library rules rather than anything in the recruit definition.
701.70
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π‘οΈHone countersNEWEach hone counter on an Equipment gives the equipped creature +1/+0.βΆ
- Every hone counter on an Equipment gives +1/+0 to the equipped creature.
- This is not an ability granted to the Equipment β it's true because of rules associated with the counter itself.
- Various cards place hone counters, including Sting, Bilbo's Sword, which puts them on itself.
- Sting buffs its wielder purely through this systemic rule, without a printed +1/+0 equip ability.
- The counters live on the Equipment, not the creature β move the blade to a new wielder and the bonus moves with it.
- Hone counters are brand-new with The Hobbit β no older card ever used them; their boost comes straight from the game rules.
| Does the +1/+0 use the stack? | No. Placing the counter uses the stack via a spell or ability, but the buff itself is a continuous effect that doesn't. |
| Can opponents respond? | They can respond to the spell or ability placing the counter, or remove the Equipment before your creature attacks. |
| Is there a limit to hone counters? | No β there's no theoretical cap on how many an Equipment can hold. |
π Official rule text
Card text: (Every hone counter on an Equipment gives +1/+0 to the equipped creature.)
Rule 122.1j
A hone counter on an Equipment gives +1/+0 to any creature that Equipment is attached to.
Likely interactions
π Proliferate
Proliferate can add another hone counter to an Equipment that already has one, permanently increasing the power boost to the equipped creature.
122.1j
β‘ Re-equip
The counters sit on the Equipment itself, and the rule boosts whatever creature that Equipment is attached to β so unequipping and re-equipping hands the full bonus to the new wielder.
122.1j
β‘ Animated
If an Equipment with hone counters becomes a creature and is no longer attached, the counters stay on it β but whether the +1/+0 applies to anything when it isn't attached to a creature is worth confirming.
122.1j
βοΈ Ask the Judge βπ copy link to this mechanic
What's Returning
π§AdventureRETURNINGCast the creature normally, or cast its Adventure spell first and cast the creature from exile later.βΆ
- Each adventurer card has a permanent part and an inset instant or sorcery Adventure part.
- As you play the card you choose one path: cast the permanent normally, or cast the Adventure spell.
- If the Adventure resolves, it's exiled instead of going to the graveyard.
- From exile you may later cast the permanent part β but never the Adventure again this way.
- In your hand, library, or exile the card has only the permanent's characteristics, not the Adventure's.
- Searching for a sorcery can't find an adventurer card, even if its Adventure is a sorcery.
| Do Adventures use the stack? | Yes β both the permanent and the Adventure go on the stack like any other spell and can be countered. |
| Can opponents respond? | Yes, with priority exactly as they would to a normal creature, instant, or sorcery spell. |
| Instant or sorcery speed? | The Adventure uses its printed card type for timing; the permanent uses its own printed type. |
π Official rule text
Card text: (As you play an adventurer card, choose to play it normally or as an Adventure. An Adventure spell is exiled instead of going to the graveyard, and you may later cast the permanent part from exile.)
Rule 715.1
Adventurer cards have a two-part card frame, with a smaller frame inset within their text box.
Rule 715.3
As a player plays an adventurer card, the player chooses whether they play the card normally or as an Adventure.
Rule 715.3d
Instead of putting a spell that was cast as an Adventure into its ownerβs graveyard as it resolves, its controller exiles it. For as long as that card remains exiled, that player may play it. It canβt be cast as an Adventure this way, although other effects that allow a player to cast it may allow a player to cast it as an Adventure.
Rule 715.4
In every zone except the stack, and while on the stack not as an Adventure, an adventurer card has only its normal characteristics.
Likely interactions
β οΈ Countered
If your Adventure spell is countered it never resolves, so whether it still reaches exile β and whether you can cast the creature later β hinges on the exile-on-resolution rule.
715
βοΈ Ask the Judge βπ Flicker
Blinking the permanent exiles and returns it as the permanent. Whether you get a fresh crack at the Adventure afterward depends on how the exile-and-return is treated.
715
βοΈ Ask the Judge ββ‘ Bounce
Returning an adventurer permanent to hand puts a fresh card back where you can play either half β confirm you may again choose the Adventure once it's back in hand.
715
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βοΈAmassRETURNINGMake a 0/0 black Goblin Army token if you don't have an Army, then pile +1/+1 counters onto one Army you control.βΆ
- First the game checks whether you control an Army creature. If you don't, you create a 0/0 black Goblin Army token β the added subtype can change, but the token is always black.
- Then you choose one Army you control and put N +1/+1 counters on it. Control several Armies and you pick which one grows.
- The chosen Army becomes a Goblin in addition to its other types if it wasn't one already β relevant for cards like Along the Crooked Way that pump Goblins and Orcs.
- You can't stack up extra tokens: if you already control an Army, amass never makes a second one, it just adds counters.
- Army is a normal creature type. A nontoken Army β a changeling, for instance β satisfies the check, so no token is created and the changeling takes the counters.
- You have "amassed" once the whole sequence is done, even if parts of it were impossible β and "the amassed Army" means the creature you chose, counters or not.
| Does amass use the stack? | No. It's a keyword action carried out during the resolution of the spell or ability that says to amass. |
| Does amass target the Army? | No. You choose an Army on resolution, so opponents don't know which creature grows when they respond. |
| What if my only Army is killed in response? | On resolution you control no Army, so you create a fresh 0/0 token and put the counters on that instead. |
| Can I split the counters between two Armies? | No. All N counters go on the single Army creature you chose. |
π Official rule text
Card text: (To amass Goblins X, that player puts X +1/+1 counters on an Army they control. It's also a Goblin. If they don't control an Army, they create a 0/0 black Goblin Army creature token first.)
Rule 701.47a
To amass [subtype] N means βIf you donβt control an Army creature, create a 0/0 black [subtype] Army creature token. Choose an Army creature you control. Put N +1/+1 counters on that creature. If it isnβt a [subtype], it becomes a [subtype] in addition to its other types.β
Rule 701.47b
A player βamassedβ after the process described in rule 701.47a is complete, even if some or all of those actions were impossible.
Rule 701.47c
The phrases βthe Army you amassedβ and βthe amassed Armyβ refer to the creature you chose, whether or not it received counters.
Likely interactions
β‘ Changeling
A changeling creature is already an Army, so amass skips the token entirely and dumps the counters onto it β a way to keep your Army counters on a body you'd rather have.
701.47
β‘ Token doublers
If a doubler makes two 0/0 Army tokens instead of one, only the one you choose gets the counters. The other is a 0/0 and dies immediately as a state-based action.
701.47
β οΈ Removal
Killing an Army in response to an amass spell doesn't blank it β amass simply builds a new 0/0 token and loads the counters onto that. Removal is better spent after the counters have piled up.
701.47
πͺ Copy
Copying a heavily amassed Army is a trap in the making, because a copy starts from the token's printed 0/0 body rather than the counters sitting on it.
701.47
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Set Timeline
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Archived β
Secrets of Strixhaven
Archived β
Marvel Super Heroes
Archived β
The Hobbit
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Reality Fracture
Upcoming
Star Trek
Upcoming
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Ask StackCaster β free βAll sets: Wilds of Eldraine Β· The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Β· Murders at Karlov Manor Β· Outlaws of Thunder Junction Β· Bloomburrow Β· Duskmourn: House of Horror Β· Foundations Β· Aetherdrift Β· Tarkir: Dragonstorm Β· Final Fantasy Β· Edge of Eternities Β· Marvel's Spider-Man Β· Avatar: The Last Airbender Β· Lorwyn Eclipsed Β· Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Β· Secrets of Strixhaven Β· Marvel Super Heroes Β· The Hobbit Β· Reality Fracture Β· Star Trek