Battle Hymn: Standard Dwarven Mountain King

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Introduction

The Hobbit tells the story of the young hobbit Bilbo Baggins, and the magnificent chapter of adventure he wove together with Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of the Lonely Mountain he led. The dwarf heroes of the Company have all become cards in this new set, so what will their valiant performance in the story look like in Magic games?

Deck Analysis

Whether in Tolkien’s original setting or in Magic’s worldbuilding, dwarves are a people skilled at smithing and fighting, so “Equipment interaction” naturally becomes the core soul of this deck.

Decklist

This deck is built around low-cost legendary Dwarves and Equipment. With Leyline Axe, which starts on the battlefield, plus a one-mana legendary creature or Equipment, you can meet the Storied condition as early as turn two and tear through your opponent’s lines with a single heavily equipped Dwarf Warrior.

• Chronicles of the Ages: Kíli, the Resourceful, Óin, the Brave, Bofur, Reliable Guardian, and Dáin Ironfoot

Kíli, the Resourceful: The deck’s resource engine. Once Storied is achieved, you can activate an equip ability for free once per turn, building a supply line without interrupting your attack rhythm.

Óin, the Brave: Once the Storied condition is met, it is a two-mana 2/3 haste beater, and depending on the situation it can also filter away extra lands through its loot ability.

Bofur, Reliable Guardian: The one-mana curve piece essential for reaching Storied on turn two, and drawn in the mid to late game it can also be used as a protection spell.

Dáin Ironfoot: Comes with Equipment, a backup Storied plan when you lack Leyline Axe in your opening hand; when attacking it grants double strike to all creatures wielding Equipment, letting it double as a main beater.

• Fearless Fighters: Dwarven Mauler, Dáin’s Company, Dwalin, Weaponmaster, and Thorin, Mountain King

Dwarven Mauler: The Equipment beater that drew the most attention during preview season. It has an equip cost reduction effect, and at the fastest, on turn two, it puts on Lavaspur Boots and picks up Leyline Axe, hitting your opponent hard with an overbearing 4/2 haste, double strike, trample.

Dáin’s Company: A lifelink beater that brings its own resources, working wonders when both sides are trading blows.

Dwalin, Weaponmaster: When it enters or attacks it gives Equipment a permanent power bonus, and with its own first strike you can attack with confidence, forcing opposing creatures to block and die.

Thorin, Mountain King: The final trump card for clearing the way and finishing the game. When it enters it attaches all your Equipment to a target creature and deals direct damage to kill a blocker; if Lavaspur Boots is also equipped, it can go on to deal a lethal blow to your opponent.

• Dwarven Armaments: Leyline Axe, Lavaspur Boots, and Ragged Short Spear

Leyline Axe&Lavaspur Boots: Leyline Axe starts on the battlefield from your opening hand, and the one-mana boots Lavaspur Boots, besides satisfying the Storied condition, provide double strike, trample, haste, and ward, all key keyword abilities for knocking out your opponent quickly.

Ragged Short Spear: A filler Equipment that doesn’t cost you a card, mainly for card flow to improve the deck’s consistency, and the +2 power is not without use for damage output.

• Journey’s End: The Lonely Mountain

The ruins of the dwarf kingdom occupied by the wicked dragon Smaug, “The Lonely Mountain,” is the Company’s ultimate goal. The Lonely Mountain can keep creating Dwarf tokens for staying power in the game; with Leyline Axe in your opening hand it can enter untapped on turn one, and it has the Mountain type, satisfying Sunbillow Verge’s color condition, so it’s absolutely worth a full playset.

Gameplay Demo

With Leyline Axe in the opening hand, the best start, this deck has the potential to kill your opponent on turn three, with speed that definitely reaches top-tier aggro level. Even in the mid to long game, it can rely on Kíli, The Lonely Mountain, and Ragged Short Spear to refill resources, never falling into a passive position of gambling on the top of your library. It’s a deck with both power and fun.

Conclusion

Since the Equipment mechanic debuted in Mirrodin, the Equipment theme has appeared in Standard many times, but because Equipment relies so heavily on creatures to carry it, it easily becomes a dead card if there is no creature to wield it, and so constructed performance has always been underwhelming: either it can only be a small supporting piece, or it’s so extreme that it’s easily targeted. This time, the Dwarf Equipment theme in The Hobbit has found a pretty good balance. In fact, after I built it on Friday night and started testing in best-of-three, including early version adjustments, over one weekend I climbed from Platinum 3 to Mythic, for a total of about five hours, which to some extent validates the deck’s strength. I highly recommend it to players who love the Equipment archetype!