MTG’s Hobbit set size draws comparisons to the Spider-Man crossover
Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Hobbit crossover set, revealed at MagicCon: Las Vegas 2026 for an August release, is drawing concerning parallels to last year’s Spider-Man Universes Beyond set—widely regarded as one of the worst MTG sets in recent memory. The Spider-Man set’s primary flaw was its significantly smaller card pool compared to other major Universes Beyond crossovers, and early analysis indicates the Hobbit set is following the same problematic pattern.
Set size in Magic: The Gathering is determined by card numbering visible in the bottom-left corner of each card face. In recent years, full art basic lands appear immediately after the main set cards in the collection sequence, with plains appearing first. By analyzing the numbering on full art basic lands in the Hobbit set, the community site Draftsim determined that this upcoming crossover will also be considerably undersized.
The repetition of undersized crossover sets across consecutive Universes Beyond properties concerns the community, as it marks a departure from standard set sizes that players expect for major licensed properties. This trend raises questions about production constraints or strategic decisions at Wizards of the Coast regarding these premium crossover sets, and whether smaller set sizes might become standard for future Universes Beyond properties.