Halfling

"Hobbit" redirects here. For the upcoming set, see The Hobbit.

This article or section discusses story elements that are not considered canon.

External franchise This article or section discusses story elements that are not considered canon. The story discussed here is based on Dungeons & Dragons & The Lord of the Rings. “Let the others bicker over their little worlds and stars. I have an empire of knowledge, and it encompasses all others.”

Halfling is a creature type used in Dungeons & Dragons sets and in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Halflings resemble small humans.

Prosperous Innkeeper
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/kindred cards)
Introduced	Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Last used	The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Crossover	Dungeons & Dragons
Scryfall Statistics
47 cards 21.3% 8.5% 17% 17% 36.2%
4 token creation cards 75% 25%
4 typal synergy cards 25% 25% 25% 25%
274 artworks 20.4% 14.6% 12% 12% 5.8% 15.7% 19.3%

Description

Halflings are humanoid creatures similar in shape to humans, but around half their size. They are not quite as stocky as the similarly-sized dwarves. For Magic: The Gathering, the creature type was adapted from Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn took its inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien's hobbits. In the later Tolkien-inspired The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, hobbits (246 cards) were represented with the Halfling type.

Card characteristics

A large majority of Halfling cards are from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, with only a handful printed in Dungeons & Dragons sets. The characteristics of Halflings are therefore heavily skewed by their Lord of the Rings treatment. They appear in all five colors, although they are centered in green and white. They are small (including in D&D sets), with median power, toughness, and mana value of 2. They often create or synergize with Food. Most Halflings are rare, and most are legendary.

In the Magic Multiverse

Halflings have yet to appear in Magic-IP sets, except for Prosperous Innkeeper, which was reprinted in Bloomburrow Commander with alternate art. Asked about Halfling becoming a supported creature type, Mark Rosewater stated that creature types being in Adventure in the Forgotten Realms doesn’t necessarily mean they’re being added to larger Magic.

Kithkin somewhat resemble halflings, being small human-like creatures. Rosewater has run several Blogatog polls asking whether the Kithkin subtype should be retired, and kithkin given the Halfling subtype instead; for every poll, a majority of respondents (or a plurality where "No preference" was an option) were against the proposed change. Although the level of influence, if any, these polls had on internal decision making is unknown, the Kithkin type was kept separate from Halfling as of the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed.

Notable Halflings

Dungeons & Dragons

• Alora (7 cards)
• Erinis (2 cards)
• Gretchen Titchwillow (2 cards)
• Mazzy Fentan (2 cards)

Universes Beyond

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth & The Hobbit

• Bilbo Baggins (19 cards)
• Elanor Gardner (4 cards)
• Farmer Cotton (1 card)
• Frodo Baggins (95 cards)
• The Gaffer (1 card)
• Gollum (Sméagol) (28 cards)
• Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (3 cards)
• Lotho Sackville-Baggins (3 cards)
• Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) (48 cards)
• Peregrin Took (Pippin) (53 cards})
• Rosie Cotton (2 cards)
• Samwise Gamgee (Sam) (56 cards)
• Saradoc Brandybuck (1 card)

Tokens

Token name	Color	Type line	P/T	Text box	Source	Printings
Halfling		Creature — Halfling	1/1		Farmer Cotton Field-Tested Frying Pan Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit Saradoc, Master of Buckland

The Halfling tokens from Lord of the Rings Commander are typed as "Tolkien Creatures" as a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Gallery

• "Tolkien" Creatures" — Halfling