It’s no secret that Magic: The Gathering is a very expensive game. Outside of budget-focused formats like Pauper, you’ll often have to spend a few hundred dollars on a competitive deck. Unfortunately, there isn’t a flat rate for a good deck either, as older MTG formats are significantly more expensive.
As if competitive MTG decks weren’t expensive enough, there’s also the vast world of collectible MTG cards. Unsurprisingly, old cards from 31 years ago often come out on top here. There’s little trumping the nostalgic might and rarity of a Black Lotus after all. That was the case, at least, until Wizards released The One Ring back in 2023.
Selling for $2,000,000 shortly after it was found The One of One Ring is in a collectible league of its own. Despite this card’s immense value, however, it may not hold the title of move expensive MTG thing for long. A full collection of first-edition artist-proof MTG cards has been finished and listed for sale. The asking price? $2,200,000.
The Mother of All Collections
If The One of One Ring was a golden lottery ticket, this artist-proof collection is the MTG holy grail. Assembled over countless years, this collection contains one copy of every MTG card from First Edition. In case you’re unfamiliar, First Edition comprises the 302 cards in Limited Edition Beta.
On their own, a decent condition set of First Edition MTG cards will always sell for a pretty penny. This collection from eBay user Thelotusvale, however, is so much more. For starters, this collection is comprised of artist-proof cards, which are believed to be significantly rarer than the real deal. Notably, these cards have a blank back and aren’t playable in tournaments.
As Thelotusvale’s eBay listing shows, this blank back is far from a bad thing. It gives the artist plenty of free space, which can be used for a signature or a fresh drawing of the card’s art. This is what really sets Thelotusvale’s collection apart since every artist’s proof card is signed by the original artist. In addition, all but 11 cards have recreation art on the reverse face.
Should this collection somehow not already be enough, the Black Lotus in the collection is one of 50 numbered examples. While other Black Lotus artist proofs do exist, these Chris Rush-signed numbered examples are in a league of their own. As Thelotusvale puts it in their listing “This Lotus AP is not comparable to other non-numbered examples. It is the best of the best.”
Ultimately, this collection may not be perfect since almost everything is ungraded and there are 22 matte back cards. That being said, this collection is nonetheless obscenely rare, impressive, and deservedly expensive as a result. An asking price of $2,200,000 may seem insane, but this collection is likely one of a kind.
Dethroning the King
There’s no denying that $2,200,000 is an awful lot of money. Investing that amount of money sensibly would set you up for the rest of your life. It’s, therefore, pretty difficult to definitely say whether or not this first edition artist-proof collection is actually worth it. Somewhat unsurprisingly, on Reddit, opinions were fairly split on this matter.
Some Reddit users, such as Thoughtsonrocks, commented that “$2M feels like a steal for this.” While others were quick to agree, others like Jojoyojimbitwo stated “I don’t think you understand how much money $2m really is…” Weirdly, both these commenters are probably right.
At the same time, this collection is unfathomably expensive yet also deserving of every pent. As Monkwren states “I don’t think you understand how rare this collection is.” Much like The One of One Ring, this collection is a cut above and likely never to be repeated again. As a result, $2 million might just be the going rate for one-of-one MTG collectibles.
That being said, The One Ring does have a few factors that could keep it in the long-term lead. Being both a Lord of the Rings and MTG collectible gives The One of One Ring a much wider hypothetical audience. The fervor surrounding this card will also go down in history and add to the card’s value. The artist-proof collection, however, will only ever be the holy grail for MTG players.
For MTG collectors, there’s an obscene amount of value here. The artist-proof Black Lotus alone is easily worth a few hundred thousand dollars, for instance. The same will be true for other Power Nine cards, which have previously sold for immense sums of money. If it were pieced apart, this collection could potentially be worth even more, but Thelotusvale doesn’t plan to do that.
A Buyers Market
At the end of the day, the question isn’t about whether or not Thelotusvale’s incredible collection is worth $2,200,000. Instead, the real question is whether or not someone will actually hand over the money to buy it. While MTG players are no strangers to spending a lot of money on a deck, $2,200,000 is no joke.
For better or worse, this collection is going to have very few potential buyers. The only ones who may be considering such a purchase are likely MTG-loving celebrities such as Post Malone. Even these players, however, may look to spend their money elsewhere to build their own dream collection.
As nice and impressive as a collection can be there’s no guarantee of return on investment. Sure, a million copies of Hare Apparent would theoretically be worth $3,730,000, but good luck finding someone to pay that. Even though the value is there, Thelotusvale may struggle with the same problem. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether or not this collection will sell and how much it goes for if it does.
