The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is a Magic: The Gathering set based on the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novels. The cards feature iconic characters and moments from the book trilogy, along with notable text that may have outed those who only watched the film adaptations.
However, among all the cards in this set, there is one that stands above the rest — “The One Ring.” According to Wizards of the Coast, one fortunate collector had the chance to acquire a truly unique copy of “The One Ring,” written in the Black Speech of Sauron.
It wasn’t long until this rare serialized card, of which no other copies exist, was found, but it took a while for the identity of this lucky person was revealed.
Who found the One Ring Magic: the Gathering x Lord of the Rings card?
Since the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth back in June 2023, several individuals claimed to have come across the elusive One Ring. However, a mere seven days after the set’s launch, the card grading company PSA took to Twitter to announce that an authentic copy of “The One Ring” was found, and gave it a Mint grade of 9.
For a time, the owner remained anonymous. The only details about this fortunate collector were mentioned in an old Polygon article, revealing that is was “a cousin of a regular customer” who intended to sell it through an attorney at an initial price of $1 million. It was not until the start of August that the identity of the fortunate Magic: The Gathering enthusiast emerged into the public eye.
Brook Trafton is the person who pulled the one-of-a-kind copy of “The One Ring.” He released a video back in Aug. 1, showing the card without the PSA case. He was clearly shaken the moment he got the card, so it made sense that he didn’t want anyone to know it’s him. Trafton has been playing Magic: The Gathering since he was a kid, and wanted to keep the card to himself. But he knew that selling the card would change his life.
And it did; when he was given the opportunity to sell it to Post Malone.
He and the rapper met up recently to do the exchange, which ended up becoming a very emotional affair. It’s currently unknown for how much the card was sold, but there was speculation that Post Malone paid $2.6 million, making “The One Ring” the most expensive Magic: The Gathering card ever sold.
Trafton claimed that this meetup with the rapper was like a fairytale, and thanked Magic: the Gathering and Post Malone for the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Trafton may have been the owner of “The One Ring” for a short period of time, but he has made MTG history as the one who found the one card to rule them all.