Smaug is the main antagonist of The Hobbit. The archetypal fantasy dragon sitting on a tremendous horde of loot, and burning any interlopers who wander into his lair alive using his fearsome fiery breath. There are no less than four cards depicting Smaug in the upcoming MTG The Hobbit expansion. Three of them are incredibly powerful, and are sure to redefine any game that they appear in. Then there’s Smaug, the Great Calamity.
Despite its intimidating name, this version of Smaug is far closer to being a calamity than it is to being great. For seven mana, Smaug is a 5/5 flyer, which just doesn’t pass muster in 2026. Having an additional five mana removal spell bolted onto itself can’t change that fact. Smaug, the Great Calamity is simply too expensive to see play in any of MTG’s 60 card competitive formats and not impactful enough to be usable in Commander.
The one place Smaug’s weakest variant may see some play is in The Hobbit’s limited environment. Most MTG limited formats contain an expensive common red removal spell that deals a large amount of damage, to help red decks get rid of threatening creatures. Red also usually gets a large common creature that’s designed to help draw long game to a close. Smaug, the Great Calamity combines both of these roles into a single card, and while you’d never want to take it pack 1, pick 1, it’s versatile enough that you won’t regret having it in a particularly grueling attritional matchup.
Despite its mediocre might, Smaug, the Great Calamity has one thing going for it, and that’s its remarkable artwork. Chris Cold has done fantastic work here to make Smaug look like a terrifying force of nature, sweeping out of the smog and igniting Lake Town with his burning breath. It’s just a shame that this dragon is a lot easier to slay than its artwork implies.
Are you looking forward to the prerelease for The Hobbit? Let us know about the cards you’re hoping to crack in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
