MagicCon Amsterdam gave us a wealth of new announcements. We got updates for the next year of releases and new future MagicCon dates and locations, as well as near-future news for Reality Fracture and Star Trek. But the mainline set, releasing August 14, is The Hobbit. This serves as a sort of “sequel” to the previous Universes Beyond expansion, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth. Much of the art, lore, and mechanics are similar to what we got in that set, but you can expect the same level of detail when adapting this novel as before, as well as a handful of new mechanics. The full product suite was also discussed, and there are notably no preconstructed Commander deck this time around.

The Hobbit is a comparatively smaller set than other main sets, with 198 cards to pull from Play booster packs. As with all other Magic sets in recent years, there will be plenty of rare alternate chase cards to collect, many of which are detailed below. But The Hobbit is also introducing a few new mechanics, as well as a slightly altered take on a returning ability.

New Mechanics

• Recruit: This functions similar to Connive. You’ll draw a card, then discard a card. If you discard a nonland care, make a 1/1 white human soldier token.

• Storied: A permanent becomes Storied if you control three or more artifacts, Legendaries, and/ or Sagas. Once the Storied status is achieved, it’s there for good even if you have less than three of the requisite card types.

• Hone Counter: Hone counters go on Equipment artifact card and give +1/+0 for each counter for the equipped creature.

• Amass Goblins: This works just how Amass and Amass Orcs does. But this time, you guessed it, it’s Goblins.

Main Set

The main set brings back a few older mechanics as well. You can find cards with Kicker and Landfall, and true to the lore, the Adventure mechanic is back on a few. With no preconstructed Commander decks, you can surely expect a nice collection of Legendary creatures to find when you open packs.

Box Toppers

Any time you purchase a Play or Collector booster box, you’ll receive one random Box Topper promo cards. These are alternate art and borderless versions of cards present in the main set in traditional foil. You can also find these as non-foil and surge foil in Collector booster packs.

Book Cover Cards

These might be some of the coolest alternate special treatment art cards Magic has done since it started Universes Beyond. Book Cover cards are cards from the main set that look as though they jumped straight from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel.

Dragon Hoard Frame Cards

This collection fof 25 cards can be found in both Play and Collector boosters, with surge foil versions only appearing in Collector boosters. The frames are unique and feature the scaly hide of a dragon as an homage to the dragon Smaug, who also has a version of his card in this style.

Dwarvish Language Cards

Only five of these Dwarvish language cards are being printed, many of which are Commander format staples like Arcane Signet. These can be found exclusively in Collector booster packs.

Scene Boxes

At this point, Scene Boxes are a staple for Universes Beyond sets. With the Hobbit, we’ll get two collections of cards that depict pivotal moments from Tolkien’s novel. The Crack the Plates box is a fun and colorful retelling of the first meeting of Frodo, Gandalf, and the Dwarves’ first meeting. The Treasures of Smaug box recreates the tense meeting between Bilbo and the Smaug, locked in a battle of wits. Each box comes with six alternate art cards. When placed together, they form one larger image.

Magic: The Gathering’s The Hobbit set releases August 14. For even more Magic coverage, check out our first look at the Star Trek expansion.