The Hobbit is here! Are we destined for great fortune or just a crappy GoPro barrel ride?

Trophy Selesnya Agro

A radical twist on our usual white tempo decks - this time we're playing green!

The usual proactive gameplay worked out well. We would've loved some more two-drops and some fallback targets for Stoneforge Mystic, but the Mox carried us through.

Though we basically could've been mono-white, newcomer Okoye has been a solid threat. I was ruminating on the tools Selesnya decks have access to in the cube - these fair decks are generally disadvantaged - and the monarchy definitely lets them punch up.

Trophy Jund Reani-midrange

I love these Jund-y graveyard decks, but they never ever do well! Very pleasant surprise to get the trophy on this one.

(spoilers: we do snag a couple more!)

I've mentioned before, I prefer the midrange decks that splash into reanimator over the all-in ones and this is a near Platonic ideal: solid threats, all-rounder reanimates, and some fatties we can cast. We even left the DT in the board - I dunno, probably wrong, but it wasn't really a combo deck and I didn't want to tack an extra two mana onto any of our threats.

Our most embarrassing win was doing stone nothing until turn seven, then hardcasting Vaultborn into Etali. Hey, sometimes you just need to cast a Dreadmaw!

Trophy Nogreen Stuff

Four-colour no-green cards? Barely even good cards.

This isn't the sort of deck that usually gets there and it's more a sign of a trainwreck draft than a sound strategy. Still, a win's a win and we can thank Recall, Bowmasters, and solid fixing for getting us there.

Relatively new card King T'Challa was decent. He's no Aang, but triggering off your own cantrips is pretty messed up. I never flipped him, but I could see that being a decent mana sink in the very long game.

Trophy Mardu Bad Lurrus

I've been happy to post good Lurrus decks before - this is definitely not one of those.

More than anything, this is the poster child for why Lurrus is a trap - we've got Minsc & Boo, Fury, and Big Elspeth warming the bench. I actually pivoted off Lurrus in the second round, where we needed to bring out the big guns and beat a Phelia/PWave deck.

Still, as far as Lurrus decks go, this was fine. Crypt, Ajani, and even a Bauble. Moxite is definitely below the bar for the cube, but it was a decent inclusion here.

Trophy Jund Midrange

Even less of a reanimator deck than our previous one, this was a solid Jund midrange deck that occasionally lined up to reanimate a Deathclaw.

There's a Titania package hanging out in the board. With just one fetch, it felt too narrow to run, but just a couple would've got us there. I do like the flexiblity of these decks that aren't all in - we even sided in the Gaak for what looked like a long, grindy game.

Outside of that, just a lot of stomping - boy, Gut is a messed up card - Rumbling into a 4/1 is crazy work. Likewise, Sentinel feeding tokens to Bomba is busted.

Trophy White Mardu Agro

I've been hankering to put together a black/white hatebears-y deck since getting worked over by a Cloak and Dagger deck.

Our first few picks here started us down that direction, but the black dried up quick, so we pivoted over to more like mono-white Mardu. Anyway, didn't really matter what the deck was - we were cruising along on the back of Lotus and Crypt.

New-ish card Jennifer Walters has been okay. Pretty low on the list of white two-drops, in part since she doesn't make a token to trigger Staff and the like, but definitely playable. I haven't ever flipped her, but maybe I should've played a cheeky Temple Garden here. Could've even dropped black for Okoye, but we were hard up for interaction.

7-1 Jund Reani-midrange

Switching over to Arena, we've got another one of these Jund reanimator-light decks.

Troll and Oliphaunt are perfect for these kind of decks; cards you're always happy to play that can you can reanimate early as beefy beaters. Minsc, Chariot, and Sheoldred round out our castable threats.

The big reanimation targets here are definitely harder to cast than that first Jund deck, especially big daddy Griselbrand. I'm pretty low on the demon - very high upside, but without an ETB, it's so easy for him to do stone nothing - paying seven life after a Life // Death isn't exactly where you want to be.

7-2 Grixis Light Reanimator

The blue counterpart to the previous deck - another deck with a very fair reanimation plan.

This deck was desperate for a blue/red dual, but outside of that, it ran pretty smoothly. Cards like Doc Oc and The Rizzler are castable, but game-deciding if you can get them out early.

Relatively new card Traumatic Critique continues to be solid and this is a great deck for it - instant-speed interaction that bins a threat. After being burned out by Critique a couple times now, I'm happy to pick it up whenever the deck can run it.

7-1 Wet Jund

The classic Minsc & Boo/Psychic Frog slop deck.

I don't really enjoy drafting these goodstuff piles and the goods aren't particularly good in this one, but a glut of proactive threats can still go the distance. Okay, maybe a Sol Ring and a Mana Crypt helped a little.

These homogenous piles are the worst decks for Demonic Tutor and I would've cut it if I could, but our sideboard was pretty lean after picking up a bunch of lands. I will say, even a six mana Minsc & Boo still hits like a truck.

7-2 Boros Lutri

I feel like the Boros decks are more contested these days and losing Ajani is a blow, but they still rule the roost.

Lutri isn't incredible in most Boros decks and especially one like this with a paucity of spells. Still, a free card's a free card and at the worst, he pitches to Fury.

I can't believe they added Forth Eorlingas to the cube. Though I think the monarch can be interesting, this card is mind-numbingly strong. Still, hey, not going to complain if we're the ones running it!

7-2 Triple-Power Wet Mardu

Another goodstuff deck, this one trading green for white.

Three pieces of power this time around - double Mox and a Lotus - so it didn't matter too much what we played. Still, pretty happy with a low curve and occasionally Renimating a Carnosaur.

As far as monarch cards go, Aragorn is more my speed. Very, very strong, but definitely a commitment. I've enjoyed Jeskai tempo and this a welcome addition to the archetype.

7-1 Jund Reani-midrange 2

Yet another Jund midrange deck with a reanimation angle. I really enjoy these decks and I'll soft force them when I can, so it's a real treat we scored some wins.

Recurring Nightmare is probably the worst reanimation piece in general, but these sorts of decks are good home for it. Unlike the all-in reanimator decks, here we have plenty of creatures to start looping. Trading up a some Pests or a Spawn feels unreal.

This is, what, the third time Minsc & Boo made it into a trophy deck? I think he's easily the best planeswalker and it's buck wild that he makes Oko feel quaint. With Karakas out, there's some discussion to be had about trimming the upper echelons of power, but like Forth, I'll keep taking this guy as long as I can.

7-2 Triple Power Boros

Speaking of Forth, we've got another Boros deck. This is a nice clean one, with a very light red splash.

This time we're souped up with Lotus, Sol Ring, and a Mox. I'm not super high on Stoneforging for Kaldra, but deck could simply power it out.

I think there's some game to a fair Stoneforge. This deck's running Glimmer Lengs (great!) and Lion Sash (mediocre!), which adds some reasonable value. I'd love for them to re-add Chainsaw to the cube!

7-2 Jund Lands

An assertive Jund deck with a Strip Mine/Wasteland angle of land attack.

This deck would've loved an Icetill (goes hard with Kroxa!), but Wrenn and Titania were enough to grind out the games. We were also hard up for removal, but Witherbloom Command was surpisingly good at fighting things like Retrofitter while digging for our Strip.

Speaking of Titania, I did pass over a Zuran Orb. Not sure that was the right call, but like the reanimator decks, we're happy to play a midrange game and here especially, we didn't really have a way to line up the combo.

7-1 Jund Lands

Now here's a lands deck. Less assertive, but we got everything we could've dreamed of: Strip, Waste, even that Icetill.

Absolutely disgusting to play. We ground people into the dirt. Could've used some more removal, but it doesn't matter too much if they don't have any lands.

The one unsightly blemish in this deck is the Archon. Definitely should've cut that one. Still, not a bad out to hardcast it!

7-2 Minsc & Boros

Our very last draft of the season and a nice one to end on: a very clean Boros deck with a very light green splash.

We were prioritizing our mana, so we're a hair shy on premium threats, but like we keep seeing, it doesn't get any better than Forth and Minsc & Boo.

Back Again

And that wraps up the Hobbit! A polar opposite of Turtles - I wish the MTGO team had tested out more new cards this time around. We did get to play with some in Arena at least.

Bilbo had some neat play patterns. Gollum, Gandalf, and Queen of Dale were mediocre fillers. Beorn was a baffling inclusion, but I appreciate the swing!

Outside of the Hobbit cards, the monarchy is the big shakeup for the Arena cube. Like I said, Forth is a little too strong for my taste, but I think Jailer is a cool inclusion. More than that, it's great to see them bringing the pool up to parity with MTGO - one step closer to the Gaak!

Anyway, on the whole, a decent set! Nothing too crazy, but we're better off without another Bowmasters. What a journey!