One of Yu-Gi-Oh’s rarest cards the, Tyler the Great Warrior, has finally been sold for a humongous amount — USD 311,211 (PHP 17,232,219.89) through an auction on eBay on April 29, 2023. This cements the status of the one-of-kind card as one of the most expensive purchased single cards in the history of Yu-Gi-Oh.
Back in 2015, the owner of the card Tyler Gressle was offered USD 75,000, but declined the offer. But on April 19, 2023, he decided to sell the card so he can start his own business and support his family.
What even further added value to the card is its grade, as Tyler decided to authenticate the card and have it graded by Beckett Grading Services, and they gave it a “Near Mint” status with a score of 7/10.
Image source: ravegrl
Not only was Tyler the Great Warrior’s value determined by its Near Mint status, it is also the only known print of the card. Plus, the story behind it is the reason made it special. Tyler, who was 14 was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Through surgery, Tyler managed to beat the cancer and became healthy, at that time the Make-A-Wish Foundation heard of Tyler’s story and informed 4Kids Entertainment, who gave him the chance to design his own card.
Tyler submitted a drawing of what the card would look like taking heavy inspiration from Dragon Ball Z’s Future Trunks, and then after receiving the initial design of the card Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, refined the drawing and made two concept artworks based from Tyler’s design.
It was then decided that the card’s final design would be based on Kazuki’s second sketch and will be named Tyler the Great Warrior after Tyler Gressle himself.
Furthermore, Tyler Gressle is also giving a portion of the proceeds to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, while all three original drawings of the concept art of the card are now framed and are still in Tyler’s possession. These also helped with the authentication process of the card, and he will keep it for himself as a memento of that childhood story.
Source: YGOrganization, Cimoooooooo