The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Open one box and you'll get $327.30 of cards, on average. A box costs $298 right now, so that means you're +$29.40 ahead.
Cards inside
$327.30
Everything in the box, at today's prices
Box costs now
$298
TCGplayer market · from $281
Difference
+$29.40
In your favour
Packs in the box
30
Each holds at least one rare or mythic
Box price from TCGplayer, checked October 12, 2026 · Card prices from Scryfall (TCGplayer market data) · last updated October 16, 2026
This is an average. A few very expensive cards pull it upward, so most individual boxes land below it. Opening one box is closer to a lottery ticket than an investment — the number below tells you whether the lottery is priced fairly.
$327.30 is what the cards are worth to a buyer. It is not what you would be paid for them.
Worth to a buyer
$327.30
Every card at market price
What you'd keep
$161.70
About 49% of it, sold card by card
Stuck as bulk
30%
Cards worth more by the thousand than listed
Two things separate the two figures. Fees take 10.75% commission plus 2.5% and $0.30 on every order, and postage on a single card runs about $1.10 — a bite a cheap card cannot absorb. And 30% of the box's value sits in cards below roughly $1.66, the point where a card is worth more thrown into a bulk lot at $0.04 a rare than listed, packed and posted. Selling the whole box to a buylist in one go pays less again.
Assumes one card per order, which is the cautious reading — a buyer taking several cards at once splits the fixed costs between them. Fees are TCGplayer Marketplace rates as of February 2026; bulk rates are current cash buylist.
We start from what a box costs right now. Put in the price you're actually being asked to pay and the answer updates.
+$29.40
per box, in your favour
The cards are worth more than the box
At $298 a box you'd come out about $29.40 ahead on average. Over many boxes that edge is real — but any single box can still be a dud.
Break-even price
$327.30
Pay less than this and you're ahead on average.
Every pack has a few fixed positions — a guaranteed rare, a wildcard, a foil. Here's what each one is worth across the whole box.
Rare or mythic
The one guaranteed rare or mythic in every pack. This is where most of a box’s value sits.
Per pack
$4.29
Whole box
$128.70
$86.10 kept
Share
39%
Uncommons
Three per pack. Occasionally one is worth real money.
Per pack
$1.57
Whole box
$47.10
$18.90 kept
Share
14%
Wildcard
An extra card of any rarity. Most of the time it is a common or uncommon, but it can be a second rare.
Per pack
$1.57
Whole box
$47.10
$22.80 kept
Share
14%
Foil incl. showcase
A foil version of this slot.
Per pack
$1.36
Whole box
$40.80
$21.90 kept
Share
12%
Commons
The bulk of the pack. Individually worth very little.
Per pack
$0.84
Whole box
$25.20
$2.10 kept
Share
8%
The List
A reprint pulled from a rotating list of older cards. It replaces a common in a small share of packs.
Per pack
$0.57
Whole box
$17.10
$9.90 kept
Share
5%
Basic land
The basic land. Worth essentially nothing unless it is a full-art foil.
Per pack
$0.30
Whole box
$9.00
$0.00 kept
Share
3%
Common uncommon showcase
A special treatment — alternate frames and art that appear at a lower rate.
Per pack
$0.29
Whole box
$8.70
$0.00 kept
Share
3%
Foil basic land
A foil version of this slot.
Per pack
$0.12
Whole box
$3.60
$0.00 kept
Share
1%
The ten most valuable cards a Set Booster can produce, and roughly how often one shows up.
#1 most valuable
The One Ring
$140.88
You'll open one about 1 every 4 boxes
#2 most valuable
Orcish Bowmasters
$56.89
You'll open one about 1 every 17 boxes
#3 most valuable
Orcish Bowmasters
$49.57
You'll open one about 1 every 2 boxes
Nazgûl
$45.82
Nazgûl
$43.57
Blightsteel Colossus
$42.98
Sword of Feast and Famine
$42.47
Nazgûl
$41.07
Nazgûl
$40.14
Nazgûl
$35.97
320 cards. “Copies per box” is how many of that exact card you'd expect from one box on average — under 1 means you usually won't see it at all.
| The One Ring | mythic | $109.97 | 0.27 |
| Orcish Bowmasters | rare | $49.09 | 0.06 |
| Blightsteel Colossus | mythic | $42.98 | 0.03 |
| Sword of Feast and Famine | mythic | $42.47 | 0.03 |
| Orcish Bowmasters | rare | $40.97 | 0.55 |
| Mycosynth Lattice | mythic | $35.07 | 0.03 |
| Mithril Coat | rare | $25.25 | 0.55 |
| Dolmen Gate | rare | $24.88 | 0.03 |
| Delighted Halfling | rare | $24.33 | 0.55 |
| Last March of the Ents | mythic | $22.21 | 0.03 |
| Last March of the Ents | mythic | $21.29 | 0.27 |
| Sea of Clouds | rare | $20.91 | 0.03 |
| Elvish Champion | rare | $19.42 | 0.03 |
| Sauron, the Dark Lord | mythic | $18.71 | 0.03 |
| Palantír of Orthanc | mythic | $18.35 | 0.27 |
| Witch-king of Angmar | mythic | $18.08 | 0.01 |
| Ketria Triome | rare | $17.75 | 0.03 |
| Sauron, the Dark Lord | mythic | $17.69 | 0.27 |
| Gandalf the White | mythic | $15.83 | 0.01 |
| Gandalf the White | mythic | $14.62 | 0.01 |
Sets released around the same time, so you can see how this one stacks up.
