Magic: The Gathering is set to return to Middle-earth with its upcoming expansion, The Hobbit, and GameSpot has the exclusive reveal of two new Rare cards from the set. The expansion, which revisits J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved universe, is slated for release on August 14. Prerelease events at local game stores will begin a week earlier, on August 7.
One of the revealed cards is the green enchantment 'Part In Friendship.' This card costs four generic and one green mana. Its ability triggers whenever a nontoken creature controlled by the player dies. When it does, players reveal cards from the top of their library until a creature card is revealed. If that creature's mana value is less than or equal to the number of lands controlled, it is put onto the battlefield. Otherwise, it is placed into the player's hand. The remaining revealed cards are placed on the bottom of the library in a random order. This ability can only trigger once per turn. The card's mechanics are inspired by the solemn scene of Bilbo visiting Thorin on his deathbed, offering a way to replenish a fallen creature or gain a card for future use, particularly beneficial in longer games or when strategically sacrificing a creature to bring a more powerful one into play.
The second exclusive card is 'The Master of Lake-town,' a Legendary Creature - Human Advisor. It costs one generic and two black mana, with 3 power and 2 toughness. This creature possesses Deathtouch. Its ability states that whenever a player loses life, that player mills that many cards, with damage counting as loss of life. Additionally, when 'The Master of Lake-town' dies, the controller draws a card for each graveyard containing seven or more cards. This card is designed to synergize with mill strategies, rewarding aggressive plays with milling mechanics for the opponent. Upon its demise, it can also provide card advantage by drawing cards based on the number of cards in graveyards, making it a valuable addition for decks focused on depleting an opponent's library.