Fans of Wizards of the Coast’s long-running collectible card game Magic: The Gathering may want to grab a few extra Collector Boosters next time they’re at their local game store, as this is an extremely rare card made for the new Lord of the Rings: Tales The Middle-earth set is probably the most valuable MTG card ever created. Earlier this year, Wizards of the Coast added a new card type to Magic: The Gathering for the first time in 15 years, showing that the company isn’t afraid to experiment with the popular card game.
The brainchild of creator Richard Garfield, Magic: The Gathering became an almost immediate hit with gamers upon its release in 1993. Relatively easy to learn but difficult to master, publisher Wizards of the Coast has improved the game over the past 30 years through a steady stream of expansions that add new cards, abilities, and game mechanics. Pop culture properties like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things have appeared in MTG through limited-edition card releases in recent years, but The Lord of the Rings : Tales of Middle-earth set represents the most high-profile cross-coast between wizards to date and existing IP.
A new story from Magic: The Gathering fan site MTGRocks lists the value of various cards from the Lord of the Rings : Tales of Middle-earth series, revealing that a variant of The One Ring is now the most valuable MTG card ever. Based on the J.R.R. Center’s McGuffin’s Legendary Artifact Card. For the Tolkien series, the chances of finding one pack are extremely low. To up the ante of this card, Wizards of the Coast also made a one-time serialized variant. Although no one has yet claimed ownership of the one-of-a-kind card, the highest online bid for the rare collectible has already reached 2,000,000, or roughly $2,168,830.
Since no one has yet proven to own The One Ring card, let alone express an interest in selling it, its status as the most valuable Magic: The Gathering card of all time remains largely theoretical. However, if the card sells for the price offered, it will break the record for the highest price paid by an MTG card. The current record was set in 2021, when a brand new Alpha Black Lotus card sold for $511,100 on eBay. While the Black Lotus card holds an iconic place in MTG history and in the hearts of many players, the one-off nature of the One Ring card currently makes it worth more than four times as much in the eyes of at least one bidder.
Whoever finds this one-of-a-kind collectible among their latest Magic: The Gathering cards will be rewarded handsomely. Lucky players who find it should follow the Wizards of the Coast example of hiring Pinkertons, and consider getting some protection for their precious cards.