The Hobbit is coming, and starting next week, the Middle-earth collaboration will begin proving its potential on digital platforms, both on Magic Online and MTGArena.Both are the spaces where Pioneer lives today, as the community awaits updates on the format, and the expansion gives us room to experiment with new ideas. Hammer Time gained a new enabler, Elrond, Moon-Reader looks like a card waiting for the right home to break competitive environments, The Queen of Dale is solid support for Humans and Legends, while Desolation of Smaug and Smaug the Magnificent offer a fresh look at Boros Dragons.Below, we present five Pioneer decklists featuring cards from The Hobbit to try out with the set's release!Five Pioneer Decklists with The HobbitBoros DragonsBoros Dragons has put up some results in Standard and still needs to prove its value in Pioneer. The archetype gained two important tools. Desolation of Smaug clears the board of smaller creatures while generating mana to sequence a dragon on the same turn, which could be a Magmatic Hellkite for mana disruption or the new Smaug the Magnificent, which has immediate impact and interacts with Goldspan Dragon and its treasure generation ability.This is a classic Midrange deck that cheats a bit on mana with Momo, Friendly Flier and Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant. The core is mostly the same as Standard's, but Fable of the Mirror-Breaker does an excellent job of filtering your hand and causing headaches if it copies Magmatic Hellkite or Goldspan Dragon. Not to mention the value Clarion Conqueror brings in a Metagame with Professor Dellian Fel and Parhelion II.Boros Hammer TimeWe are once again asking for a competitive Hammer Time. The deck has fallen off significantly since Cori-Steel Cutter's banning and has since received additional support. The new Kili the Resourceful replaces Kemba, Kha Enduring because it makes a strong impression as a Puresteel Paladin and enables more explosive turns with Legends and Artifacts. Hammer also received The Lonely Mountain, and while we only run one copy to avoid failing to cast Cloud, Midgar Mercenary on turn two, it is the closest we have ever had to an Urza's Saga for the archetype.Humans & TaxesThe Queen of Dale is very efficient when we have enough fuel to discard and generate tokens. Many decks could run her, but nothing beats a Legends strategy to turn her into card advantage. We tried an Orzhov Humans version that blends Legends with tribal interactions and synergies, mixing additional resources with Dark Confidant, powerful one‑drops like Cecil, Dark Knight and Kytheon, Hero of Akros, and some "hatebears" like Jirina, Dauntless General, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Mai, Scornful Striker.Simic Elrond RampElrond, Moon-Reader is potentially broken, and nothing beats a list packed with mana dorks to test this thesis. Simic Rhythm / Devotion has put up some results in Leagues, taking advantage of infinite mana interactions with Badgermole Cub, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and Formidable Speakers to generate an absurd number of tokens with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Elrond guarantees more resources each turn, and his Blink ability, though expensive, protects creatures from removal and lets you reuse Kang the Conqueror's extra turn each turn cycle, practically giving you two turns for every opponent turn.Izzet BirdsWhat if we mix Izzet Phoenix with a bird subtheme to play The Lord of the Eagles? The idea would sound absurd if Most Decrepit Old Bird were not such an efficient mill enabler that grows at a low cost, and if Ledger Shredder were not already a creature used in the archetype. With two Arclight Phoenix in the graveyard, we already have six power to turn the Lord into an 8/8 with Flash and Flying for three mana. The question is whether a bomb of this size is redundant in the format and how consistently we could cast it against a Rest in Peace.Wrapping UpThat's all for today!If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!Thanks for reading!
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