The Universes Beyond crossover for Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth was an undeniable success. The One-of-One Ring made Magic a mainstream sensation, and players everywhere got the opportunity to engage in the rich fantasy that is Lord of the Rings.
While an incredible IP had a lot to do with Lord of the Rings’ success, the set also deviated away from what MTG players are used to. For the first time ever, Lord of the Rings hosted a second release of sorts. A full five months after the official release of the set, a new Special Edition Collector Booster box with new treatments, serialized cards, and themed reprints hit the market.
This particular release had an incredibly short supply. Considering that all of the cards released in the Special Edition Collector Booster boxes are very collectible, it was only a matter of time before supply dried up.
Many exclusive cards from the Special Edition Collector Booster boxes are extremely expensive, as a result. It appears that the Hildebrandt cards are now seeing price spikes across the board.
What are the Hildebrandt Cards?
The Hildebrandt MTG cards from the Lord of the Rings: Special Edition Collector Booster boxes are a series of skinned reprints utilizing artwork from Greg and Tim Hildebrandt’s The Lord of the Rings Calendar illustrations. Notably, these cards do not appear in the original release of the Lord of the Rings set, making them difficult to collect. 20 different reprints appear with this treatment in non-foil and Silver-foil treatments.
In the Lord of the Rings: Special Edition Collector Boosters, you have about a 25% chance to find a Brothers Hildebrandt card, and an 11.1% chance to find a foil copy of one. This means that these weren’t even a guaranteed hit in Special Edition Collector Booster packs.
In terms of individual card spikes we’re concerned about, there are a few different cards we will be highlighting today. The biggest price spike making headlines, however, is undeniably Diabolic Intent.
A two-mana tutor that requires a sacrifice, anyone running Diabolic Intent is up to no good. This will always find you the perfect answer to any situation, or the perfect card to end the game. In terms of formats, Diabolic Intent sees play in almost exclusively Commander and Commander variations.
According to TCGplayer, non-foil copies of Diabolic Intent currently go for about $100, while foil Diabolic Intents with art from the Hildebrandt brothers go for as much as $200! That’s an incredible premium over other copies of the card.
For reference, non-foil copies of Hildebrandt Diabolic Intents were only worth about $33 3 months ago.
Other Hildebrandt Spikes
Because Hildebrandt cards seem to be spiking across the board due to a lack of availability, Diabolic Intent is far from the only notable spike to discuss. Kenrith, the Returned King reskinned as Theodin, Strength Returned has also seen a significant price spike. Similar to Diabolic Intent, Kenrith really only sees play in Commander.
While Kenrith only holds a secondary market price of about $1.50, the Theodin reskin appears to be worth about $80 for its non-foil variant and over $100 for its foil one. Persistent shoppers can grab Theodin for even less, but $50 sales for this card are few and far between.
Three months ago, the market average for Theodin, Strength Retuned was just $33. Now, the market average has spiked to $54, but sales are far above that.
Another example of one of these huge spikes is Pact of Negation. Three months ago, Pact of Negation’s Hildebrandt variant had a secondary market price of only $26. Now, the average is around $50. Unlike the other cards featured so far, Pact of Negation sees constructed play. Thanks to being a free counterspell, the card occasionally appears in combo decks across Modern and Legacy. While Pact of Negation basically commits the player to winning in the same turn they cast it, it usually clears the way for a combo win on that turn. Additionally, the new MTG card Consign to Memory can counter the Pact trigger if your win attempt fails.
Unlike previous discussions, the prices for Pact of Negation are very inconsistent. The card has sold from anywhere between $23 to $130, making it difficult to pin down. Generally, the foil copies of Pact of Negation appear to have a premium over the non-foil ones. At the time of writing, the cheapest available Pact of Negation on TCGplayer is $50.
Not Every Hildebrandt Card is Expensive
Looking at prices across the 20 Hildebrandt cards that appeared in the Lord of the Rings: Special Edition Collector Boxes, not every Hildebrandt card is worth the big bucks. Elvish Harbinger, for example, is only worth around $4. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous and could be a fantastic addition to your Elf Commander deck. Despite seeing constructed play, Explore is only worth about $2-$3. Doran, the Seige Tower reskinned as Treebeard is only worth about $2.70.
That said, almost every Hildebrandt card doubled in price over the last three months, even the ones that aren’t worth much. Sylvan Tutor may be the only exception to this, but that card still has a secondary market price of $40. Anything related to the Special Edition Lord of the Rings Collector Booster boxes is exploding in value thanks to a distinct lack of supply. If you’ve picked up a few cards from the set, you could sell them for a generous profit.
