All products were graciously provided by Gamegenic!
Gamegenic is probably one of the most consistent companies out there for your Magic: The Gathering accessory needs. Its deck boxes and card sleeves are top-notch, and they’re almost always thematic enough to complement whatever deck you’re putting together.
For The Hobbit set of Magic: The Gathering, Gamegenic has created a huge collection of deck boxes, sleeves, playmats, binders, and storage products featuring artwork from across the set. Whether you’re building around Bilbo, Smaug, Gollum, or one of many Dwarves, there’s probably an accessory that fits your deck.
What Is the Gamegenic The Hobbit Collection?
The Gamegenic The Hobbit collection is an officially licensed line of Magic: The Gathering accessories based on the characters and locations from J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic story.
There are products at several price points, ranging from affordable plastic deck boxes to premium storage options and full table-sized playmats. It’s a massive release that may feel like overkill to some players. However, it also means you won’t have to settle for an accessory that only kind of matches your deck.
Design and Artwork
This collection uses a lot of the book cover artwork that I loved from the Magic set. It gives everything a more timeless appearance. These don’t feel like generic licensed accessories that will lose their appeal once the set is no longer Magic’s newest release. They feel like they were made for people who genuinely love The Hobbit.
The artwork also translates surprisingly well across the different products. The colors are vibrant, the images are clear, and the playmats allow you to notice details that are much harder to see on the cards.
Personally, I’m drawn toward the accessories featuring the Shire. They capture the warmth and comfort of the story before Bilbo gets dragged into everything happening outside his front door.
What is available in the Gamegenic The Hobbit Collection?
The lineup includes multiple deck-box styles, Premium Art Sleeves, standard and shiny playmats, two-player mats, table-sized playmats, albums, and larger storage products like the Treasure Trove.
That amount of variety can be overwhelming if you only want matching accessories for one deck, but you certainly don’t need to buy everything.
Deck Boxes and Card Storage
Gamegenic has established a reliable deck-box formula, and this collection doesn’t mess with it. You can choose between simpler products like the Bastion or move into more premium options such as the Squire Plus and Sidekick Pro.
The Bastion remains one of my favorite Gamegenic products because it gets the important things right. It feels durable, keeps your deck secure, and provides enough room for sleeved cards without wasting space. The clear section also makes it easy to identify which deck is inside.
In particular, the Bastion featuring the Shire is my favorite deck box in the collection. It perfectly encapsulates the entire set and the theme you’re probably trying to create. There are flashier options featuring characters like Smaug, but the Shire artwork immediately feels like it belongs to The Hobbit. And I know it says 80+ cards but if you’re a single sleever like me, you’ll have no problem fitting a full commander deck and tokens in there.
The premium boxes offer additional features and more expensive materials, but the Bastion should be enough for most players. Even Gamegenic’s simpler products rarely feel like the cheap option.
Sleeves and Card Protection
The Premium Art Sleeves continue the same level of artwork quality found throughout the collection. The images are sharp, the colors look great, and they make it easy to build a fully themed deck without sacrificing protection.
They also have the smooth shuffle feel I’ve come to expect from Gamegenic. Art sleeves sometimes look fantastic but feel terrible once you start playing with them. That isn’t the case here. They’re comfortable to shuffle, fit cards properly, and don’t immediately feel like they’re going to split. My only “issue” with Gamegenic sleeves gets fixed over time. When they’re still new they have a tendency to slip, especially in commander. But with a bit of play time they’ll stop slipping.
Once again, my favorite design features the Shire. It’s colorful without becoming distracting and works with more than one specific deck. The Smaug sleeves are beautiful as well and would be an obvious choice for anyone building around him. Then there are the My Precious sleeves. The artwork looks great, but I’m not sure I want Gollum staring at me from across the table for an entire Commander game. If somebody showed up with those sleeves, I would immediately assume they were planning to steal my Sol Ring.
Playmats and Table Accessories
The playmats may be where the artwork gets its best chance to shine. They have the smooth surface and rubber grip you would expect, while the larger size lets you fully appreciate each illustration.
The table-sized playmat is probably the best one I’ve seen since the original Magic table mats that still occasionally show up at my local game store. It completely changes the appearance of your playing space and makes the entire table feel ready for a special event.
It’s definitely more of a game-store or dedicated game-room product than something you’ll casually toss into a backpack. However, if you regularly host Commander nights, it gives everyone a consistent playing surface while protecting the table underneath.
The standard playmats are more practical, but the table-sized version is excessive in exactly the way a massive Magic and Hobbit crossover accessory should be.
What Stands Out?
The Shire Bastion is my favorite product from the collection. There are technically more impressive and expensive accessories available, but it offers the best combination of practicality, durability, artwork, and price.
However, the table-sized playmat is the product that impressed me the most. It won’t be right for everyone, but it can completely upgrade a regular game night. If you own a dedicated gaming table or regularly host several players, it’s hard not to want one.
Who Is This Collection For?
This collection is obviously designed for Tolkien fans, but you don’t necessarily need to own cards from The Hobbit to enjoy it. The artwork is strong enough that many of these products could work with other Magic decks.
Commander players will probably get the most out of the collection. There are plenty of 100-card storage options, and matching your commander, sleeves, deck box, and playmat makes it easy to create a complete theme.
You can also choose how far you want to take it. You can grab a single set of sleeves for a new deck or replace almost your entire gaming setup with matching accessories.
Final Verdict
The Gamegenic The Hobbit collection is another strong release from one of the most consistent accessory companies in the space. The deck boxes are durable, the sleeves look and feel great, and the playmats allow the artwork to shine at a much larger scale.
My biggest issue is simply how much is available. There are so many products and designs that the collection can feel overwhelming, while some of the premium options become expensive when you’re already buying cards from the set.
However, you don’t need everything to appreciate the collection. Choose the artwork that speaks to you and the product that fits how you actually play.
For me, that would be the Shire Bastion and sleeves. For someone else, it might be a complete Smaug setup with a shiny playmat. Either way, Gamegenic has given The Hobbit fans plenty of ways to protect their precious cards.
The Hobbit line of Gamegenic product is available now at select retailers, use the Gamegenic shopfinder to find a shop near you that might be carrying your Hobbit needs.
If you’re looking to put your new Gamegenic gear to the test, consider trying out The Hobbit Horde mode!
