Magic the Gathering’s One-of-a-Kind Lord of the Rings Card Is Already Worth $1 Million

Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Lord of the Rings expansion includes a one-of-a-kind One Ring card that collectors are already willing to pay $1 million for.

Trading card buying and collecting company Dave and Adam’s Card World has issued an unprecedented $1 million bounty for the special One Ring card, doubling the $500,000 offered by fellow collector and investor Cassius Marsh Sr.

Announcing their $1 million bounty on Twitter (below), if this amount is actually paid for the One Ring it will easily become the most expensive and sought after Magic: The Gathering card of all time. The record is currently held by a Beta set Black Lotus which sold for $540,000 in March.

CARD NEWS NOW for 06/07/2023!

• Dave & Adam’s Issues a $1 MILLION Bounty on the 1/1 The One Ting MTG Card
• Friday’s New Releases
• & more!

Watch today’s #CardNewsNow & Subscribe To the Channel ➡️ https://t.co/40ONhUAJyX pic.twitter.com/879Yz7SbTk

— Dave & Adam’s (@dacardworld) June 7, 2023

There are caveats, however, that don’t guarantee the One Ring will become the most expensive card of all time. This may seem obvious, but the transaction has to actually happen first. Someone has to pull this card from the upcoming Lord of the Rings set and have enough knowledge of the game to reach out to Dave and Adam’s Card World to claim their prize.

Though turning down $1 million is probably a hard thing to do, the person who pulls the One Ring may also see the value themselves. If collectors are willing to may $1 million now, what will they pay in five, ten, or twenty years time?

This being a random card available in booster packs also means that it may never get opened at all. It could sit sealed in a warehouse somewhere if the set doesn’t prove popular for one local seller.

And finally, though card game (and money) fans will cringe at the thought, it could also be opened by a random child who likes The Lord of the Rings but has no concept of what Magic: The Gathering is. The One Ring could be opened with Cheeto-laden fingers, put unprotected into a backpack, and thrown around the playground. It might get sticky or ripped or boring and thrown away, lost forever.

Needless to say, a lot has to go right before someone pays $1 million for the One Ring card, though it will spur some excitement in the Magic: The Gathering community as players wait for it to be opened.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set was announced by Wizards of the Coast in August 2021 and will finally be released on June 23. IGN revealed the first handful of cards from the set in March alongside the announcement of the special One Ring card.

Image Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.