Three years after paying $2 million for the one-of-one The One Ring, Post Malone took the card out of its protective slab and put it on the battlefield in a real game of Magic: The Gathering, Polygon reported. The musician brought it to a recent episode of The Command Zone's Game Knights and played it during a Commander match rather than simply showing off one of the rarest cards in the game's history.
I'm taking it out of the obnoxious big block. It would ruin game night.
High-value trading cards are normally kept graded and sealed to preserve their condition. Malone's copy plays exactly like the common printings of The One Ring: entering the battlefield, it grants protection from everything until its controller's next turn, and it can then be tapped to draw cards at the cost of accumulating burden counters that eventually drain life. What sets his copy apart is the serial number.
Why the card is worth $2 million
The card comes from 2023's The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, for which Wizards of the Coast printed a single serialized 001/001 version of The One Ring, reflecting the unique Ring at the centre of J.R.R. Tolkien's story. Its rarity made it one of the biggest prizes in the set, and collectors hunted it from release. Canadian collector Brook Trafton found it; the card was authenticated by PSA and graded Mint 9, and Malone bought it directly from him for $2 million in August 2023.
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.
Magic back in Middle-earth
Magic has since returned to Tolkien. A new The Hobbit set was released Aug. 14, built around Bilbo Baggins' journey to the Lonely Mountain and featuring characters including Gandalf, Thorin and Smaug. It includes a new treatment of The One Ring, but Malone's serialized copy from Tales of Middle-earth remains the only one of its kind.
