For nearly 30 years, Magic: The Gathering has entertained fans around the world. One of the biggest fans of the trading card game is Post Malone.
The rapper put that fandom into play recently with the purchase of the rarest and most valuable Magic: The Gathering card ever made.
What Happened: Owned by toy company Hasbro Inc HAS, Magic: The Gathering has now become a billion-dollar brand annually and expanded its offerings with a Lord of the Rings set launched in 2023.
The Tales of Middle Earth Magic set included a rare One Ring card, numbered as a one-of-one, meaning there is only one card in existence.
The card was part of a promotion from Magic: The Gathering, with the one-of-one card having raised gold foil and Elvish script, differing itself from other ring cards with English text.
The rare card sent fans of the game and collectors on a frenzied hunt, opening boxes in hopes of finding the card. Bounties ranging from $1 million to $2 million were placed on the card for whoever managed to pull it.
Brook Trafton is the lucky person who pulled the rare card, and he recently revealed that he sold the card.
On TikTok, Trafton said Post Malone was the first person who came to mind when he opened the card in a pack.
“When I found the One Ring, the first person who came to mind was Post Malone. I have played MTG since I was a kid and obviously it would be amazing to keep this card. But for a guy like me, being able to sell it is life-changing. I just really hoped it would go to someone who would appreciate it as much as I do. This is my dream come true, meeting Post Malone and him buying the One Ring card from me is literally a moment straight out of a fairytale,” Trafton said.
Trafton added that “things like this don’t happen to people like me, I guess it’s magic.”
The card was previously graded by PSA, a leading authentication company, which shows a Mint 9 rating on the card, the second highest a card can receive from the company behind a 10 Gem Mint.
“Congratulations, Brook! We’re honored we could be just a small part of this incredible story,” PSA tweeted.
Video captured the moment Trafton sold the card to Post Malone at a special event in a local gaming store in Toronto, Canada, as shared by Dextero.
Trafton said he plans on using the proceeds “to invest and set up my future.”
Trafton and Post Malone have not confirmed the purchase price by the rapper. Game Rant is sharing a reported purchase price of $2.6 million. Post Malone previously spent $800,000 on a rare Black Lotus Magic: The Gathering card and has received his own custom Magic cards in the past.
Dextero previously interviewed Trafton, who was anonymous at the time, shortly after the card was pulled.
Trafton said he pre-ordered a Tales of Middle Earth Collectors Box set for a pickup date on June 17, but for some reason went to a local store on June 16 to see if there were any boxes available.
“I bought two. I opened the extra boxes at home, and there it was, in the 6th pack of the second box!” Trafton said.
The collector said it was “complete and utter shock” when he saw the card.
“I knew it was a life-changing moment.”
Related Link: 100% Upside: What A Wizards Of The Coast Spinoff Could Mean For Hasbro
Why It’s Important: A lifelong Magic: The Gathering fan, Trafton said the hunt for the card was good for the community.
“It brought new players and brought back some of the old ones. The set is fun to play and collect. I hope they continue to bring more of these collaborations and more of these hunts,” Trafton said.
The success of the Tales of Middle Earth comes as Magic: The Gathering is seeing strong sales growth for Hasbro. The company reported Magic: The Gathering segment revenue was up 16% year-over-year in the first quarter.
“Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming delivered strong fan engagement,” Hasbro CEO Chris Cooks said of the first quarter.
The company noted that Tale of Middle Earth saw record pre-orders in March and had a second quarter debut.
Hasbro reported that Magic: The Gathering became the company’s first-ever billion-dollar brand in 2022, something that G.I. Joe and Transformers never accomplished.
Magic: The Gathering will celebrate its 30th anniversary on August 5.
Read Next: Could Hasbro Stock Get A Boost From NFTs, Wizards Of The Coast Growth?
Photo: Hasbro and Shutterstock
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