Tyler The Great Warrior has now set an official record as the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh card ever to be sold.
The one-of-a-kind card was recently put up for auction where it eventually sold for over $300,000. The bespoke card has an interesting backstory as it was created specifically for a single person. The design was a collaboration between Tyler Gressle, who, in 2002, was battling a rare form of liver cancer, and the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kazuki Takahashi. As the sole byproduct of Konami, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and 4Kids Entertainment, at the height of the trading card game's popularity, fans thought that this was a priceless gem that would never be sold.
However, Gressle parted ways with the card so it could find a home that could truly value "the history and everything that kind of game to create it."
Tyler The Great Warrior was put up for sale on April 19 as the selling price quickly ballooned from a more modest $0.99 to more than $100,000 within an hour. From there, a battle of attrition began among several bidders for the next few weeks until the card's pricing was capped out at $311,211 after some serious back and forth between two bidders within the closing hours of the auction.
This represents the first Western sale of a card Yu-Gi-Oh! for such figures and it could be just the second to reach such a price point worldwide.
The "other" Yu-Gi-Oh! card to have sold for roughly the same amount is the Asia Championship 2001 Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon prize card. Conflicting reports claim that the special card had sold for 45 million yen, or more than $300,000, depending on when the deal closed.
It's also believed that a different card, the stainless steel Black Luster Soldier, holds the record for the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! card ever sold at $2 million. The card was handed out as a prize at the inaugural Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship in 1999.
In any case, as the only Yu-Gi-Oh! card publicly sold for more than $300,000, Tyler The Great Warrior has made history.
We're pretty sure Tyler the Great Warrior will sell for even more in the future. It's a special card made for a specific situation. It's the only card designed for a single person and based on their own artwork. Not to mention, it's a bespoke collectible by a legendary figure who has since, unfortunately, passed away.
According to Gressle, he will donate a portion of the sale proceeds to Make-A-Wish while he'll keep the rest to support himself and his family.
Ultimately, all is well that ends well. The sale will benefit Gressle, who's been officially cancer-free for years, and the buyer will have a cool story to go with his new collectible. It's a shame though that Takahashi is no longer around to celebrate this moment.
