YuGiOh card sold at $315,000 has a sad story

Tyler the Great Warrior has broken the record for the most expensive YuGiOh card ever at $315,000, but its origins are equally eye-catching.

YuGiOh has never quite been able to reach the same level as Magic: The Gathering when it comes to eye-watering card prices, but it made a giant lead towards it today. On April 29, 2023, the card Tyler the Great Warrior officially sold for $315,000, making it the biggest deal in the game’s history.

The sale was conducted on eBay, first going up for auction on  April 19. The bids started small but slowly climbed over ten days up to $315,000. The auction ended on April 29. The one-of-a-kind card is now on its way to a serious collector, through their identity and plans for the card are currently unknown. 

That price tag makes Tyler The Great Warrior the most expensive card in YuGiOh history, though there is at least one card that is theorized to be more valuable. A stainless steel version of Black Luster Solider was given out to the winner of the first-ever tournament in 1999. It’s never been sold, but it’s been appraised at over $1 million by some collectors. A perfect-grade Blue-Eyes White Dragon from 1999 once sold for $85,100 in late 2020, but it’s now a distant second to Tyler.

Most expensive YuGiOh card comes with a tragic backstory

Tyler the Great Warrior’s unique design and single printing have made it the most expensive card in YuGiOh.Tyler the Great Warrior is a single copy of a unique monster card that has never been reprinted in any way by Konami. The card was a special request for Tyler Gressle, who was stricken with rare cancer as a child.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation coordinated with Konami to make a custom card just for him. Tyler wound up beating his cancer, and the card wound up becoming a very nice investment for him. He held onto it along with a set of concept art, which he has since framed.