The bounty for the ultra-rare The One Ring card from the Magic: The Gathering and The Lord of the Rings crossover set Tales of Middle-earth reached a new milestone, to the tune of $1 million.

My precious! Bids for The One Ring card from the MTG x The Lord of the Rings crossover Tales of Middle-earth reach the

The bounty for the ultra-rare The One Ring card from the Magic: The Gathering and The Lord of the Rings crossover set Tales of Middle-earth reached a new milestone, to the tune of $1 million.

million mark. (Images: Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro and Middle-earth Enterprises)

Anticipation is extremely high for the Universes Beyond crossover set that brings together the collectible card game and J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy world. Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro are banking on Tales of Middle-earth to continue the success of Magic: The Gathering with crossing over with popular franchises. Previous Universes Beyond sets featured The Transformers, Warhammer 40K, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, and WoTC’s own Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons.

The search for the one-of-its-kind The One Ring foil card has become a literal bidding war that would make the Dark Lord Sauron blush. Things kicked off when NFL veteran Cassius Marsh Sr., who also owns Cash Cards Unlimited, posted a bid of $500,000 to get The One Ring.

I needs the precious #mtg #cashcardsunlimited pic.twitter.com/JU4wjJ0mUy

— Cassius Marsh Sr. (@KingCash_7191) June 7, 2023

But not long after, Dave & Adam's Card World raised the stakes by bidding a cool million bucks for the much sought after Universes Beyond MTG card.

🚨$1 MILLION BOUNTY 🚨

We are officially announcing our
$1 million bounty on the 1/1 The One Ring Card 💰💰

Bounty expires July 17th 2023…

Good luck 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6OmhxCjdsG

— Dave & Adam's (@dacardworld) June 7, 2023

While it’s not unheard of for a Magic: The Gathering card to fetch six figure bids in the aftermarket, these cards have the benefit of age and scarcity. Many of the highest valued Magic: The Gathering cards were part of the Alpha edition, the very first set released of the game back in 1993. Cards like the Black Lotus, Shivan Dragon, Lord of the Pit, Time Walk, the Moxes, and Ancestral Recall are just some of the examples of these high value, collectable pieces from that limited edition set.

However, The One Ring from Tales of Middle-earth has a couple of key factors that contribute to its desirability in the eyes of collectors. First is the deliberately induced rarity. With The One Ring designed specifically to be the only one of its kind that will ever be officially printed, that gives it built-in scarcity.

The second equally important factor is the connection to the Tolkien mythos. The most famous fantasy setting in the world has influenced countless other properties, including Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering itself. Given how long it took for the crossover with The Lord of the Rings and MTG to come to fruition, who knows when something similar will happen again, if ever.

But is this the highest the bounty for this extremely collectible MTG card can go? While the bounty of $1 million placed by Dave & Adam’s Card World is impressive, there are individuals with deep pockets out there who can match or surpass that. One example is music artist and hardcore Magic: The Gathering fan Post Malone, who paid $800,000 for his mint condition Black Lotus card signed by artist Christopher Rush. Post Malone could certainly match that $1 million bounty and then some.

Regardless of whoever ultimately winds up with The One Ring ultra-rare MTG card, the hype already has an effect on the demand for the Tales of Middle-earth set. Preorders for the Collector Boosters are already commanding hundreds of dollars in the back market prior to the set’s official street release. Given that the Collector Boosters are the only packs that will have a chance at The One Ring, prices for these boxes will likely continue to skyrocket.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth for Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond will be released in physical stores and on Magic: The Gathering Arena on June 23, 2023. Pre-orders are still available through the official Wizards of the Coast store and via Amazon.