Even Non-serialized The One Ring Cards Climb To Insane Prices
Even since the serialized One Ring card was found, I've been saying "with The One Ring behind us" and similar statements when I mention it. However, as time passes, it becomes clear that the Lord of the Rings set, expressly specific printings of The One Ring
, is still significantly affecting the game/market. Today, I'd like to talk about the insane prices for even non-serialized versions of The One Ring. Let's jump right in.
The One Ring Rundown
To kick things off, I want to review which versions of The One Ring exist and where you can get them. This will help paint a picture of the supply and demand elements causing the crazy prices were seeing. Here is a quick refresher on the variations and where they can be gotten.
| Main Set Version | Bundle Alternate Art Version | Extended Art Version |
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Available In:
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Available In:
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Available In:
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Current Price:
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Current Price:
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Current Price:
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The One Ring Supply & Demand
The Demand
Let's talk about demand first. If no one wants to buy something, the available supply doesn't really matter. So, why do people want The One Ring? Well, it's a really strong card! Like, incredibly powerful. And people are playing it in many decks in every format where it's legal. I've got an article in the works covering why I think it's the best card in Modern.
Beyond the playability, it's highly collectible for MTG and LOTR fans. Even though it just came out, it's part of Magic: The Gathering history. The Tales of Middle-Earth set, specifically, the serialized 001/001 One Ring, took the world by storm and was/is unlike anything we'd ever seen. Playable and collectible is the perfect storm of demand, leading to high prices when the cards are scarce. Let's look at the supply side of the equation.
The Supply
With that info out of the way, let's look at some finer details of the supply—first, the main set version. This is essentially the regular mythic rare version that you can possibly get from any LOTR product. $66 and some change (and $75 for the foil version) isn't cheap, but it isn't abnormal for a mythic powerhouse. That said, this is about where the standard behavior ends.
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Next, every bundle has an alternate art version as the promo - This is the one you see in the middle of the table above. These bundles come with a promo, eight set boosters, 40 basic lands, and some accessories, usually costing around $50. Obviously, given that the promo card alone is worth that, the prices have risen to around $90. These bundles don't typically rise this high right after release, and the promo being this high is pretty rare.
Now, on to the extended art version - Perhaps you noticed the massive discrepancy between the standard printing and the foil version. Here's why. First, this extended version is generally harder to get because it comes in fewer packs. You can't get this version in draft or set boosters, and it doesn't come in the regular version of the bundle, either. If you're keeping track, it only comes in the gift bundle and collector boosters. But there's a catch - You can only get the non-foil versions here.
So, where do you get the foil versions? Those only come in the collector booster sample packs that come with the LOTR commander precons. And each one only comes with two cards. This makes the foil version of the rarest variation in circulation extremely scarce. And that scarcity, or lack of supply, for a card that's very much in demand, drives the price to nearly $500. And these things show no sign of going down any time soon.
Wizards of the Coast can reprint this as a skinned "non-universes beyond" card at any time, increasing the overall supply. This would drop the price of the regular version for people who want the card to play with. That said, even a reprint won't touch the value of the original LOTR extended art version in foil.
Conclusion
As I mentioned above, despite the 001/001 One Ring being found, it seems we're still not done talking about the card in general. The other versions continue to spike in price and see extensive play/success in every format where they're legal. WOTC has created a perfect storm of supply and demand with the rings that continue to work. I hope this clears up some of the info on what the prices are doing and why. If you have any thoughts, questions, or comments on the subject, put them below.
