Halfling
| Halfling | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 | |
Halfling is a creature type used in Dungeons & Dragons sets[1] and in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Halflings resemble small humans.
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. The creature type was adapted from Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn took its inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien's hobbits. In the Tolkien-inspired The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set, hobbits are 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.[2]
In the Magic Multiverse
Halflings have yet to appear in Magic-IP sets, except for Prosperous Innkeeper, which was reprinted into a Bloomburrow Commander deck 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.[3][4]
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.[5][6][7]
Notable Halflings
Tokens
| Token name | Color | Type line | P/T | Text box | Source | Printings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfling | 
|
Creature — Halfling | 1/1 |
The Halfling tokens from Lord of the Rings Commander are typed as "Tolkien Creatures" as a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien.[8]
Gallery
-
"Tolkien" Creatures" — Halfling
References
- ↑ Adam Styborski (May 6, 2021). "Welcome to the Summer of Legend". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06.
- ↑ Cards with the type Halfling. Scryfall search. Scryfall (June 23, 2025).
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 24, 2021). "What does "halfling" becoming a supported creature type mean for Kithkin?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 13, 2021). "If/When on the following creatures from AFR showing up in a conventional Magic expansion?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 4, 2023). "What should the creature type for Kithkin be?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 9, 2024). "In your opinion, do you think the Kithkin creature type should be absorbed into the newer Halfling type?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 2, 2024). "Have you considered errating Kithkin to Halfling?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Paige, The Untouchable (June 8, 2023). "That typeline!! **TOLKIEN** CREATURE - HALFLING!!". Twitter.
