While it has always been a part of the game, the collectibility of Magic: The Gathering is front and center nowadays. Not only do we have Headliner cards and showcase treatments aplenty, but we’re getting more Secret Lair drops than ever before. Even some of the new bonus cards are pushing the bounds of collectibility one step further than before.
As much as collectible MTG cards and products might not be anything new, it’s hard to deny their success. Chase bundles have been selling like hot cakes, and collectible card prices are consistently obscene. As lucrative as they might be, these products are nothing compared to The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Boosters
Not content with just having the One-of-One Ring, five months on from the original set, Wizards released The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth Special Edition. Initially, this product looked pretty awful, honestly, with dubious card styles and collectibility all around. On the surface, it simply looked like a way to sell more Collector Boosters after the One-of-One Ring was found.
While we weren’t too keen on the Special Edition’s contents, especially the showcase scrolls treatment, they weren’t total duds. The Brothers Hildebrant cards were utterly gorgeous, for instance, and are deservedly expensive. Likewise, while they weren’t to everyone’s tastes, the striking borderless poster cards quickly demanded obscene price tags.
In addition to impressive art, the Special Edition Collector Boosters also included a bunch of serialized cards. With Borderless Poster cards, as well as Realms and Relics, getting 100 serialized copies each, there was huge potential for big money. Over time, as more packs have been opened and only some of these cards have been found, prices have only increased.
For better or worse, these rapidly increasing prices have only made opening boxes more lucrative. Not only have the prices of the cards inside been consistently climbing, but there’s spectacle in opening them, too. Thanks to this, some YouTubers, like MoistCr1tikal/Skill Check, have been consistently cracking packs and boxes, searching for serialized cards.
Thanks to this self-imposed serialized quest increasing hype and decreasing supply, demand for these Collector Boosters has never been higher. This, in turn, has caused the price of Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Boosters to go absolutely ballistic recently. Following a sales spike, these packs are now selling for an all-time high, and they might not come down anytime soon.
$1000 Per Pack
Right now, if you want to open a Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Booster yourself, it’ll cost you $1000. Whether you’re buying an individual Collector Booster or an entire box, that’s the least you can expect to pay right now, based on unopened listings. Miraciously, people have even been paying this ludicrous price, with Collector Booster Display sales peaking at $11,999.97.
While this is a hell of a lot of money to pay, the potential pulls do make it surprisingly worthwhile. If you manage to get lucky and pull any of the serialized borderless poster cards, for instance, you’ll instantly pay for your box. With serialized copies of The Watcher in the Water going for $1,000 and The One Ring going for $3,500 and $7,500, there’s definitely money to be made.
Should you miss a serialized card, you’re not entirely out of luck either, as non-serialized copies of The One Ring sell for $978. With Sauron, the Dark Lord at $900, and Tom Bombadil selling for $250, strong non-serialized hits do exist. That being said, prices do drop off rather quickly, so you’re hardly guaranteed a return on investment.
Number Goes Up
As much as this key detail may make actually cracking packs rather dubious, the price is unlikely to come down anytime soon. Realistically, this product isn’t for MTG players anymore, as collectors and investors have long taken over. That being said, while these groups do have tight control of the market, basic market principles will still apply.
For starters, supply and demand will naturally dictate the price of Tales of Middle-earth Special Edition Collector Boosters. Right now, the price is obviously insanely high; however, there are reportedly tons of boxes in storage. Technically, the value of these increases whenever a pack without a serialized card is opened, but there’s still a limit.
Even if only packs with guaranteed serialized hits remained, you still need buyers for those serialized cards. Currently, it’s unclear how many of these buyers actually exist, as plenty of serialized cards remain unsold. In theory, cards refusing to sell could eventually cause a price crash as sellers liquidate their investment, but that’s unclear.
Ultimately, the future, much like these prices, is all up in the air right now. For now, we’ll just have to watch the price of Special Edition boxes and the cards inside closely while looking out for any potential deals. After all, if you can snag one of these packs on the cheap, you could make some serious money.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!