Having existed since 1993, it is no secret that MTG can be a seriously expensive card game. Not only can decks cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, but even single cards can be tremendously expensive. Fetching price tags of $800,000, MTG has long been famed for its highly prized collectible cards.
While MTG is the oldest trading card game around today, it’s far from the only one with expensive cards. Pokémon, for instance, has the illustrious First Edition Holographic Charizard, which was sold for $420,000. As if that wasn’t expensive enough already, Pokémon’s most expensive card is said to be worth over five million dollars!
For better or worse, the other big TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh!, doesn’t have a card to match that immense price point officially. That was until recently, when it was announced that Tyler the Great Warrior was going up for sale. As a one-of-one card steeped in legend, TCG players across the world were understandably expensive this card to be expensive. In reality, however, Tyler the Great Warrior is surprisingly cheaper than expected!
Tyler the Great Warrior Has Been Sold
As we covered when the sale was first announced, the Tyler the Great Warrior card has long been steeped in legend. Created in 2005 by Make-a-Wish recipient Tyler Gressle, this card was literally one of a kind. Thanks to this unbeatable rarity, Tyler the Great Warrior has long been viewed as the crown jewel of Yu-Gi-Oh! collectibles.
Since it was created for and owned by Tyler Gressle, however, few players ever expected they’d be able to get their hands on this prized card. That all changed recently, however, when Gressle decided, after eighteen years, to put the card up for sale. Filming a documentary with YouTuber Alex “Cimoooooooo” Cimo, Tyler the Great Warrior was finally listed on eBay.
When this decision was first announced, TCG fans understandably expected this card to be seriously expensive. After all, Tyler the Great Warrior has long been treasured by the Yu-Gi-Oh! community for both its rarity and story. Subsequently, it seemed guaranteed it was going to sell for an immense amount of money, setting a baseline for future one-of-one card sales.
After being listed for sale on the 19th of April, Tyler the Great Warrior quickly became one of the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! cards ever printed. Rocketing up past the $100,000 mark in under an hour, the sky appeared to be the limit. Unfortunately for Gressle, however, after reaching a $165,000 bid on day one, new offers would slow down significantly.
Sitting at this already incredibly expensive bid for over an entire week, the bidding war would only resume on the last day. Hours before the auction closed, Tyler the Great Warror’s price began rising again at quite the rate. This eventually led to the card selling for $311,211.00.
Baseline Below Expectation
Obviously, $311,211 is not a small amount of money by any means. After all, you could easily purchase a house or 1,559,173 rubber ducks with that kind of money. Despite this, however, when reacting to this immense sale, some TCG players seemed to be rather apathetic. On the MTGfinance subreddit, for instance, several MTG players didn’t think much of Tyler the Great Warrior’s price tag.
As a Yu-Gi-Oh! card, Tyler the Great Warrior is obviously not playable in MTG. Saying that, however, the sale of this card was still viewed as being incredibly important by MTG fans. This is thanks to the upcoming release of the one-of-one serialized The One Ring. Matching the rarity of Tyler the Great Warrior, it was initially believed these two cards could sell for a similar amount.
Following the sale of Tyler the Great Warrior being completed, however, many MTG aren’t convinced the prices will match. After all, compared to past MTG card sales, $300,000 isn’t too exceedingly expensive. Subsequently, taking to Reddit, many players such as u/Hebron00 theorized the one-of-one One Ring’s price will be much higher.
Initially stating that $311,000 would be the “baseline price for The One Ring,” Hebron00 also noted that MTG is older, more popular, and historically more expensive than Yu-Gi-Oh! Subsequently, there are plenty of reasons why The One Ring should be even more expensive once sold.
Despite MTG’s pedigree, Tyler the Great Warrior does have one major selling point over The One Ring: the card’s story. Thanks to being created by Make-a-Wish, this one-of-one card has long been a truly legendary collectible. The One Ring, on the other hand, is merely a tie-in card that thematically fits its serialized printing.
Three Million to One
Despite The One Ring’s lack of story, many MTG players nevertheless still expect it to exceed Tyler the Great Warrior’s price. Players such as u/Zombuido, for instance, claimed $500,000 is the baseline price. “There’s actual lore behind this card, almost more to others. Diehard fans will see it as an investment.”
Similarly, while they didn’t state an exact price, u/LordTetravus mused that The One Ring was going to be leagues more expensive than Tyler the Great Warrior. “I would be absolutely astonished if The One Ring 1/1 didn’t leave this price point in the dust. We’re talking Captain America “On your left” to Falcon levels of lapping the field here. The LOTR franchise is orders of magnitude larger in terms of popularity and fanbase.“
Ultimately, at the end of the day, there’s no guarantee The One Ring will sell for more than $100,000. It’s possible that this card may never be found at all, let alone posted online and sold! After all, the one-of-one serialized The One Ring is being placed within one out of three million The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Collector Boosters. Thanks to this exceptional rarity, there’s a very real chance The One Ring may be locked away or lost for years, if not forever.
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