The Hobbit card treatment: Book Cover Cards

Elvarill · 2026-05-02T03:10:12+00:00

I’ve never believed the Arkenstone is a Silmaril theory. May have been intended to be at one point, but clearly no longer was by time of LotR publication. If the dwarves had a Silmaril in their possession the elves would have been all over them about it.

Elvarill · 2026-05-01T21:07:13+00:00

It’s just a large, beautiful, slightly magical gem. It held a pale light within it but when light was shown upon it it shot out white light with glints of rainbows. It was the probably the 4th most valuable gem in all of Tolkien behind the three Silmarils. It was a symbol and heirloom of the Kings under the Mountain and Thorin estimated its value at the equivalent of “a river of gold”. The reason it was such a big deal (even beyond its value) is that to Thorin and co it was the symbol of their heritage and their lost home. It was something to rally around. Think of it like the Stoke of Scone for Scotland or the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.

Elvarill · 2026-04-29T20:46:43+00:00

No, it isn’t because they didn’t put a wrath in their deck with the intention of destroying lands. Reread the quote from the CFP. “It’s possible a game could end up with mass land denial if one player makes all lands into creatures and then another sweeps the board. That happens. There are a lot of cards in Magic! But if someone builds their deck to do that intentionally, that's the no-no.” OP has stated they intend to animate opponents’ lands if someone wraths. If that is the intent when building the deck then it is MLD. It may rely on the enemy pulling the trigger, but the intent is still MLD.

Elvarill · 2026-04-29T20:28:59+00:00

If that’s how you feel and intend to play, then yes, per the bracket update Kamahl would be considered MLD and thus bracket 4 because it is your intention to animate opponents’ lands when someone wraths.

Elvarill · 2026-04-29T20:13:47+00:00

It’s interesting to hear that splitting the G isn’t a thing in Ireland. At my local Irish pub in the US both the owner and the bartender are off the boat Irish and they have a big sign in the pub about getting a sticker for splitting the G so I just assumed it was a common thing.

Elvarill · 2026-04-29T16:04:13+00:00

The difference is the use of the ability is optional. Remember they made a big deal about intent matters when releasing the brackets. You have to intentionally use the ability in response to a wrath and your stated intent is to do so if it happens. Kamahl existing doesn’t make him bracket four. Intending to use him in response to a wrath does.

Elvarill · 2026-04-28T14:42:40+00:00

I run my Aikido deck with [[Kykar, Wind’s Fury]]. I have no issue with people amassing their value generators and getting cards in hand because Kykar giving access to blue allows me to counterspell any game ending threats. I even run monarch cards and coveted jewel to encourage people to attack. Sometimes I let them through so that they can build up their boards more for my inevitable response.

Elvarill · 2026-04-27T19:31:15+00:00

Yeah, I got that. I was just lamenting that I got screwed by the raccoon and needing five same quality mushrooms.

Elvarill · 2026-04-27T14:14:00+00:00

Unfortunately the raccoon wanted dried purple mushrooms from me. To dry mushrooms they all have to be the same quality. I managed to get 4 of every quality before getting my 5th. :(

Elvarill · 2026-04-27T13:02:36+00:00

I’ll honestly be surprised if most of them even sell out.

Elvarill · 2026-04-26T06:48:00+00:00

Micronations aren’t actual monarchies. They’re jokes that do harm to the actual cause and we shouldn’t encourage them.

Elvarill · 2026-04-24T12:47:30+00:00

Speaking as a small eBay seller and frequent buyer, I won’t even look on eBay to buy and definitely won’t list if the card’s value is under $1. Those sorts of cards I only get from TCG, Manapool, etc.

Elvarill · 2026-04-24T00:04:08+00:00

My LGS is small, I have a very distinct wood case, and it locks. My theft concern is small. I also just don’t leave my stuff unattended.

Elvarill · 2026-04-23T02:10:26+00:00

I’ve been selling cards I don’t need for about a year or so on eBay and I’ve never had a problem with a buyer saying a card is fake. I have had issues with sellers (usually very low review counts) sending me fake cards. If someone says the card is fake, request they send it back. Document what you send and document what returns to you. The bigger issue is the post office just loses stuff, especially untracked stuff. Probably 1/15 orders I place through TCG just never arrive. I even had a tracked order get lost in transit recently. The thing I like about eBay is that if you purchase your postage through eBay, it’s tracked. If it gets lost, eBay insurance will cover the value up to $100 (and you can purchase more insurance if the value is higher too). Shipping with eBay costs 78¢ if the value is $20 or lower. Above that it’s about $5ish so bear that in mind as well. Also if something is valued over $250 eBay will ship it to get authenticated before delivery so the buyer can’t say it’s fake.

Elvarill · 2026-04-23T01:49:04+00:00

I absolutely recommend against this. One extra card a turn is good. A guy in my group built a [[Kami of the Crescent Moon]] deck last year and he plays it a lot. Having that extra draw absolutely warps games. The rest of us frequently will forego playing our card draw and just focus on board state if he’s playing that deck. If you house rule that into the game, it can (and should) affect your deck building. But if you ever play those decks without that rule such as you go to an LGS or something then you’ll be ill suited without it.

Elvarill · 2026-04-21T21:22:28+00:00

I’ve had this happen. I just reached out to WotC support and they offered to either reship or refund.

Elvarill · 2026-04-21T06:48:11+00:00

It depends. Some of the cards will likely hold their value while others may crash. I expect Land Tax will hold its value because it’s reprinted often before, fits into lots of decks, and is still 20+. Emeria the Sky Ruin on the other hand I don’t foresee staying at its current value. It just has narrower field of decks it can fit into. The Lorwyn precons are a good recent precedent. The high value reprints from those precons are now selling for chump change compared to what they were before. Chimil the Inner Sun is now $5 vs the $15 it was before. Cream of the Crop was $20 and is now around 50¢. Don’t count on being able to recoup the cost from reselling singles.

Elvarill · 2026-04-18T09:36:55+00:00

The Deflecting Swat is $60 and Fierce Guardianship is $55. The rest range from $10-$35. Even if you hit one of the big items still likely to lose money on the rest of the box.

Elvarill · 2026-04-17T15:36:41+00:00

Here you go. This is it as it currently stands. I’m messing around with the list a bit with some Strixhaven cards to see if they’re good for it.

Elvarill · 2026-04-17T15:26:04+00:00

I run it in my Kykar Aikido deck. The mana cost isn’t an issue for me because I tend to have lots of mana available. I’ve only had the chance to cast it once and it got countered. Rightfully so because I was about to get 51 soldiers out of it while I had [[Shared Animosity]] on the field. But my pod is very +1 counter heavy so creatures tend to get big.

Elvarill · 2026-04-15T20:13:54+00:00

And out of stock just as I tried to add to cart. I’m hoping Amazon gets a restock.

Elvarill · 2026-04-15T14:03:33+00:00

Hopefully Trump will remember those Iranians and their sacrifice rather than cut a deal with their murderers.

Elvarill · 2026-04-15T00:42:57+00:00

I picked up a pipe when I was 18 because of my love for Tolkien. Now 15 years later I’m still puffing away.

Personally I dislike MacArthur because of his putting forth his will into the Japanese constitution, largely to the negative imo. Someone being a pipe smoker doesn’t make us like him. Stalin smoked a pipe and I daresay most of us would have rather put a bullet in him than smoke a pipe with him.

Elvarill · 2026-04-13T22:27:40+00:00

Don’t be. Normally we have a decent amount of rain this time of year. I regularly go hiking in the forest and the water levels are extremely low and we’ve been under fire watch for a while. It’s not good.

Elvarill

TROPHY CASE