Sphere of Influence: August 7th, 2026

Tireless Provisioner | Art by Josu Hernaiz

It's officially prerelease day for The Hobbit set, and I have to admit that I'm pretty excited for this one. As the weeks have gone on and we saw more of the set, my hype level continued to grow. There's been a lot of interesting card designs, and the flavor of Middle-earth feels alive and well on our return visit.

So, now that we finally have the opportunity to build with these new cards, it's time to look at a few singles that might start rising in price and playability. With all that being said, join me Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, as we enter the Sphere of Influence!

Monumental Henge - $1

One of the main mechanics from The Hobbit set is called storied, which can be found on cards like Bifur, Melodic Rider. The card types that are mentioned in that reminder text are the same grouping of types that historic cares about. Since they have that comparison, I believe that a card like Monumental Henge may start rising in price. If you have a deck that's looking to get as many artifacts, legendaries or Sagas into play as possible, having help with finding them will be important.

Tireless Provisioner - $3.50

Another returning familiar draft archetype we're seeing in this set is landfall, which is primarily found on the Elves of Middle-earth. Tireless Provisioner not only has that creature type, but it also offers up some very powerful effects whenever a land hits your battlefield. This Scout has always been useful, but it's about to get a major boost as more players build new Elven lands-matter decks, especially those who're looking to brew around Thranduil the Strategist.

Homunculus Horde - $1.50

When it comes to the white/blue portion of the set, it's all about drawing your second card per turn. Homunculus Horde really loves when you do that since it'll multiply when you get that additional draw. What makes this creature so great is the fact that the more copies you get, the quicker they'll fill your board: since one becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight, and so on. These guys help turn your value into a board presence, which is incredibly useful for any format they can be played in.

Outcaster Trailblazer - $2

Finally, we're looking at a creature that works well with the Golgari theme from the set, which is ferocious (power four or greater matters). Outcaster Trailblazer works incredibly well with that strategy since it offers up card advantage and has four power itself while only costing three mana. That helps it fit right into that big power matters playstyle, so if you've been waiting for this card's moment in the sun, now might be the time.

Until Next Time

So there you have it, four singles that may start rising in price and playability. Now that players are starting to get the new Hobbit cards into their hands, a whole lot of decks are about to be brewed, so be on the lookout if these ones begin rising in value.

If you have any of these in your collection, you might want to consider adding them to your Haves list here on Cardsphere. As people start to work on decks, you may get a lot of good opportunities to trade them in for credit!