How to Unlock The Secret Hobbit Easter Egg in Arena

Last updated on August 14, 2026

The Arkenstone | Illustration by Gaboleps

If you love freebies on Arena (and who doesn’t?), you’ll want to know this trick to get a free Arena emote from The Hobbit so you can spam a bunch of fish at your opponent for those times “Your Go” just isn’t appropriate.

How To Get The Hobbit Fish Emote

Credit: HolyMTG

This map comes from HolyMTG, who outlines the entire thing. The steps are pretty simple.

When you play on The Hobbit board, which will always appear when playing HOB Limited formats, your opponent has a little fishing rod dangling over the dock to the left of their avatar/life total and just below their hand.

Keep an eye on it while the game progresses. Like proper fishing, patience is key; you’ll eventually see the water splashing and the rod moving—something’s on the hook!

Repeatedly click the fishing rod until you land the fish. Once you’ve done this, your job’s over and everything hands off to the Arena team.

Once your game’s over—win or lose—you’ll receive a message in the mail congratulating you on your fisherman’s prowess and it unlocks the fishing emote.

How To Equip The Hobbit Fish Emote

Once you have the fish emote, equipping it is super simple. On the menu atop the Arena menu, go to your profile.

The profile has a bunch of information, like your current avatar, your Constructed and Limited ranks, and so on. On the bottom of this screen are additional tabs that let you change presets like titles earned from Arena achievements, companions (the Arena companions, not the companion cards), card sleeves, etc. Select the emote tab.

The emote screen contains a bunch of options. If you have the fish, it’ll show up here, alongside any other emotes you’ve purchased or unlocked. All you need to do it select it! Note that you can only have ten stickers equipped at a time, so you may need to remove one to make room for the fish.

Do Other Maps Have Emotes?

Yes! This isn’t the first interactive rewards Wizards have given players who pay attention to the board of new sets. Funnily enough, the two previous interactive rewards came from Universes Beyond sets as well: Avatar: the Last Airbender and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

For TLA, if you encounter the TLA courtyard map, look for a cabbage cart on your opponent’s side of the map, in roughly the same spot as the fishing rob from HOB. Click on it until it shatters and you’ll receive a cabbage companion in the mail, referencing one of the cartoon’s most enduring memes.

TMT also takes a bunch of clicks. There’s an arcade-style video game on the top right corner of the arcade. Clicking on it about 10 times flashes a red GAME OVER screen. Ignore it and keep clicking until the game hits your with a green YOU WIN screen. A Pizza Time emote with a rat chowing down will be mailed to you.

While you always get a set’s unique map when playing in its Limited format, you’ll only encounter them randomly when playing other formats, so keep your eyes peeled for these boards and their freebies!