Magic: The Gathering Fans Could Be Going on an Adventure When 2026’s Third UB Set Arrives

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With new releases coming quickly, it can be a lot for fans to keep up with everything happening in Magic: The Gathering. Spider-Man cards are launching in just three days, and Wizards of the Coast will be revealing more about 2026 at MagicCon Atlanta. The Avatar set is scheduled for November, shortly after the list of banned and restricted cards is announced. Some players, especially those who focus on the Standard format or play multiple formats, are finding it hard to follow all the news. Despite this, Wizards of the Coast is continuing to heavily promote upcoming sets, and details about a potential third black/blue themed set for next year are starting to emerge.

A key idea behind the ‘Universes Beyond’ product line is to feature popular franchises that have upcoming releases, like movies, games, or new merchandise. Yesterday, on Hobbit Day, Wizards of the Coast shared a new animated video on Twitter wishing Bilbo Baggins a happy birthday. While seemingly a simple birthday greeting, the video includes original artwork not seen in the Magic: The Gathering Lord of the Rings set. Notably, the video ends with a shot of runes on the door of Bilbo’s house – runes Gandalf carved for the dwarves before the story of The Hobbit begins.

Why a Magic: The Gathering The Hobbit Set Makes Perfect Sense

Considering that *Magic: The Gathering* previously released Commander decks featuring *The Lord of the Rings*, including a card dedicated to Bilbo Baggins, a simple celebratory post about the character from Wizards of the Coast seems unlikely. They rarely create new art or videos just for fun. It’s more probable this is a hint towards a future *Magic: The Gathering* set based on *The Hobbit*. Here’s why:

  • 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the debut of The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • A new LotR movie called Hunt for Gollum was tentatively scheduled for December 2026 before a new date of December 2027 was announced.
  • 2026 marks the 49th anniversary of the publication of The Silmarillion, first published in 1977.
  • The original LotR set for Magic: The Gathering was extremely popular and sold equally well, so a new set dedicated to Middle-earth is a matter of when rather than if.
  • Wizards of the Coast (and thus MTG) is owned by Hasbro, which has already partnered with Warner Bros. multiple times to make Lord of the Rings toys.
  • The animated video shared by Wizards on Twitter specifically references The Hobbit with never-before-seen art that is not tied to the LotR set and wouldn’t fit its timeline.
  • Similar videos have not been made in the past, even though the original LotR set came out in June 2023. Wizards could have released such a video in September 2023 or September 2024, but didn’t, which further cements this as a teaser rather than a celebration video.

As a huge fan of both *Magic: The Gathering* and Tolkien’s world, I wasn’t surprised at all to hear about another *Lord of the Rings* set. The first *LotR* Universes Beyond set was incredibly popular – many consider it the best, or at least as good as *Final Fantasy* – so it just makes sense for Wizards of the Coast to build on that success with a new, Standard-legal set. Honestly, I think this announcement is a bit of a hint – we’ll probably get a look at their plans for the next year very soon, and this is just getting us excited!

Predicting Magic: The Gathering’s 2026 Release Schedule

If true, then MTG‘s 2026 release schedule will most likely look like this:

  • January – Lorwyn Eclipsed (in-multiverse)
  • February/April – Secrets of Strixhaven (in-multiverse)
  • February/April – First UB set between Avengers/X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Hobbit
  • June/September – Ziplining (in-multiverse)
  • June/September – Second UB set
  • October/November – Third UB set

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2025-09-24 00:17