Magic Presents: Heart of the Mountain

Friday, September 4 | 4–8 PM

Entry: $10 per player

Casual Commander | Special Arkenstone Scenario | Prize Support

Traditional Foil An Unexpected Party Participation Promo while supplies last

Join us at Purple Dragon Games on Friday, September 4 from 4–8 PM for Magic Presents: Heart of the Mountain, a special The Hobbit Commander event built around one of the greatest treasures beneath the Lonely Mountain: the Arkenstone. This is a casual Commander event where you bring your own Commander deck and play the game you already know, but with one important addition sitting in the middle of the table. Everyone will be fighting for possession of the Arkenstone, and keeping it can actually win you the game. The special scenario gives players another reason to attack, defend, negotiate, and occasionally make an alliance with someone they were trying to eliminate five minutes earlier. You do not need a competitive deck, a Hobbit-themed deck, or previous experience with Heart of the Mountain to participate. We will explain the special rules before play begins, so all you need to do is bring a Commander deck you enjoy and prepare to fight for the treasure.

How Heart of the Mountain Works

Heart of the Mountain is played as a normal multiplayer Commander game with a special Arkenstone emblem added to the table. At the beginning of the game, the Arkenstone starts unclaimed, waiting for someone to make the first move. The first player to deal combat damage to another player claims the Arkenstone and places it under their control. From that point forward, dealing combat damage to the player who possesses it allows another player to steal it. This means the Arkenstone can travel around the table several times as players attack one another and try to protect their claim. Your deck continues functioning normally throughout all of this, including your Commander, creatures, spells, abilities, life total, and regular ways of winning the game. The Arkenstone simply adds another objective that everyone at the table has to watch.

Hold the Arkenstone and You Can Win

Possessing the Arkenstone matters because it creates an additional path to victory during the Commander game. During your upkeep, if you possess the Arkenstone, your ownership count increases by one, and those counts remain with you even if another player later steals it. Once your ownership count reaches three, you win the game through the Heart of the Mountain scenario. That creates some fantastic Commander politics because a player who has already accumulated two counts suddenly becomes a serious threat whenever the Arkenstone comes back into their possession. Players may find themselves attacking someone they normally would have left alone, protecting another player temporarily, or working together to keep the Arkenstone away from the person closest to victory. Combat damage becomes about much more than reducing life totals because even one successful creature getting through can change who controls the most important treasure on the battlefield. The result is still Commander, but with a new strategic problem constantly moving around the table.

Bring the Commander Deck You Already Love

You do not need to build a special deck for Heart of the Mountain because your regular legal Commander deck is exactly what you need. Hobbit and Middle-earth themes are certainly encouraged if you want to lean into the occasion, and this is a great excuse to bring out Hobbits, Dwarves, Dragons, Food, Treasure, legendary creatures, or other flavorful cards. The theme is completely optional, however, and your Commander does not need any connection to The Hobbit. Your deck also does not need to be specially designed to capture or protect the Arkenstone because the scenario is meant to work alongside normal Commander strategies. In fact, part of the fun will be discovering how very different decks respond when possession of the Arkenstone suddenly becomes important. A creature-heavy deck may have an easier time threatening combat damage, while another deck might find clever ways to defend itself or control which creatures can get through. Bring something you enjoy playing and see what happens when your deck gets dropped into the battle for the Lonely Mountain.

Casual Commander, Not a High-Pressure Tournament

Heart of the Mountain is run at Casual Rules Enforcement Level, so this event is designed around social Commander and an enjoyable special-event experience rather than serious competitive tournament play. Newer players, longtime Commander players, Tolkien fans, and everyone in between are welcome to participate. You do not need a highly optimized deck, and we encourage players to have a quick conversation about their decks and expectations when they sit down together. Our goal is to create enjoyable pods where everyone has an opportunity to play their deck, experience the Arkenstone scenario, and have a good game. If you do not understand a card interaction or something unusual happens with the scenario, ask one of our Game Leaders or staff members for help. Mistakes can be corrected, questions can be answered, and nobody is expected to memorize the special Heart of the Mountain rules before arriving. We will walk everyone through the Arkenstone rules before play begins and help keep games moving.

New Commander Players Are Welcome

If you are still learning Commander, Heart of the Mountain is absolutely open to you. Commander can look complicated at first because four players, four decks, and a battlefield full of permanents can create some wonderfully strange situations, but you do not need to know every interaction before you sit down. Tell us that you are newer to the format and we can help you get situated with your pod and answer questions as the game develops. Our growing Commander community has been fantastic about helping newer players understand cards, mechanics, and the rhythm of multiplayer Magic. If you do not own a Commander deck yet, ask us about our loaner deck options before the event so we can see what is available. Loaner decks may be limited, so contacting us ahead of time is the best option if you know you will need one. We want Heart of the Mountain to be something a newer player can experience alongside everyone else rather than an event reserved for players with years of Commander behind them.

The Arkenstone Changes Commander Politics

One of the most interesting parts of Heart of the Mountain is how quickly the Arkenstone can change the normal politics of a Commander table. Commander already asks players to decide who presents the biggest threat, when to attack, when to save removal, and whether another player's offer of temporary friendship is actually worth accepting. The Arkenstone gives everyone a visible objective that can become more urgent than whatever was happening a turn earlier. A player with the strongest battlefield might not be your immediate concern if someone else is one upkeep away from winning through their Arkenstone ownership count. You may even find yourself helping an opponent survive because you need them to keep the Arkenstone away from somebody else. Those shifting priorities can create unusual alliances, unexpected attacks, desperate defenses, and plenty of stories after the game is finished. Every pod will have the same Arkenstone rules, but the decks and players around it can make every game unfold differently.

Traditional Foil An Unexpected Party Participation Promo

Players participating in Heart of the Mountain will also have an opportunity to receive the special An Unexpected Party promotional card while supplies last. Our copies are the traditional foil version, making this a beautiful Hobbit collectible for a deck, binder, or Middle-earth collection. This is a participation promo, so you do not need to win the event to be eligible to receive one. Quantities are limited, however, and once our available copies have been distributed we cannot guarantee additional promos. If receiving the traditional foil An Unexpected Party is particularly important to you, reserving your event ticket early gives you the best opportunity while supplies remain. The promo is another part of the celebration rather than the object everyone has to compete over at the table. Save that fighting spirit for the Arkenstone, because your opponents are going to make you work considerably harder for that one.

What Your $10 Entry Includes

Your $10 entry includes admission to Magic Presents: Heart of the Mountain, organized Commander play using the special Arkenstone scenario, prize support, and eligibility for the traditional foil An Unexpected Party participation promo while supplies last. Purple Dragon Games will provide the special Heart of the Mountain gameplay material and explain how the scenario works before players begin. You simply need to bring a legal Commander deck that you enjoy playing, or contact us ahead of time if you are hoping to use one of our available loaner decks. We will organize players into Commander pods and help everyone get settled so you can spend the evening actually playing Magic instead of trying to figure out how the event works. Whether you come with a carefully themed Hobbit deck or the same trusty Commander deck you bring every week, you will be able to participate in the full scenario. Heart of the Mountain gives familiar Commander games a new objective without asking players to learn an entirely different format. Join us Friday, September 4 from 4–8 PM, claim the Arkenstone, protect it if you can, and discover how quickly the rest of the table decides that your treasure would look much better on their side of the battlefield.