SINGAPORE – Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) author J.R.R. Tolkien once said of the elves in his epic fantasy series: “Their ‘magic’ is Art, delivered from many of its human limitations.”

His elves, along with other beings from the world the English author created, are making magic in another fantasy universe, with the launch of the LOTR crossover set for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game.

The collaboration between the two fantasy franchises has strengthened Magic’s cult following here, creating excitement among veterans and drawing in both new fans and lapsed ones, such as hobbyist Zulfadli Mohd Amin.

The 39-year-old used to immerse himself in Magic’s fantasy universe – full of goblins, wizards, angels, demons and dragons – as a youth, but stopped playing after his collection was stolen in school.

After an announcement by Magic’s publisher Wizards Of The Coast (WOTC) in March gave fans a first detailed look into the LOTR collaboration, his love of Magic was rekindled and he decided to restart his collection.

“I was a fan of LOTR ever since the movies came out,” he says, adding that he is drawn to the crossover as it marries both franchises.

Released in 1993, Magic is the world’s first modern trading card game, according to the Guinness World Records, and has grown into a billion-dollar brand with more than 50 million players worldwide.

During gameplay, players assume the role of powerful entities who cast spells and summon creatures to defeat their opponents by reducing their predetermined life points to zero.

In line with LOTR lore, the crossover set also features a single, uniquely printed copy of The One Ring card, which was randomly inserted into a particular range of booster packs – known as Collector Boosters – that are sold for about $50 locally.

This drew offers from celebrities, collectors and stores alike, reaching as high as €2 million (S$2.96 million), setting it up to smash the previous record of the most valuable Magic: The Gathering card, which was held by an artist proof copy of Black Lotus that sold for US$615,000 (S$829,000).

The worldwide gold rush for The One Ring – comparable with the search for Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets in Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory – was further spurred by more randomly inserted limited-print cards featuring other rings from LOTR lore.

“The probability of getting the booster pack containing (the special printing of) The One Ring is 0.00003 per cent, or one out of roughly three million Collector Boosters,” says Mr Zulfadli.

Although he ordered several boxes of Collector Boosters, he did not bank on striking it big with The One Ring. “I am more of a fan of the lore, and I knew that the art would be amazing,” he says.

The One Ring card was eventually found by a retail worker residing in Toronto, Canada, reported CBC News, with the development kept under wraps until an official announcement was made on June 30.

Over the July 1 weekend, LOTR-themed welcome parties were held across three game stores in Singapore, with more than 400 new players in attendance, according to numbers from WOTC.

At these welcome parties, players invite friends to learn how to play Magic, with both parties receiving introductory gifts from participating stores.

“I love the world of LOTR, and watching the announcements and advertisements made me interested in (the set),” says Mr Wesley Tan, 35, who attended one such party and is now keen to get a set of cards for himself.

“From talking to people in stores, comments on my (and other creators’) videos and community chatter, it’s clear that people (especially LOTR fans) are interested in starting to learn Magic or collect the new cards,” says local content creator Esmond Heng.

Mr Heng’s Magic-focused YouTube channel Quintessential MTG boasts nearly 31,000 subscribers from across the world, with his videos clocking a combined five million views.

While the official number of Magic players and collectors here is unavailable, Singapore comes second only to Australia for having the most accredited stores selling Magic cards per capita within the Asia-Pacific region, at 31, according to WOTC.

An estimate by Mox & Lotus director Chapman Sim puts the total number of trading card game stores and retail locations across Singapore at about 100.

“The Magic fanbase has seen steady growth in the past decade,” says Mr Sim, who has been playing the game for more than 25 years.

“Recently, we’ve had customers who have never played a trading card game before come in with their spouses and children to inquire about Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle Earth products, and we’ve done several Magic demos.”

Mr Matthew Yee, an assistant operations manager at Games Haven, notes that The One Ring serves as a talking point between existing players and their peers, but it is the crossover itself that serves as the main draw.

“The intellectual property is strong, and by all accounts from invested consumers, there has been much effort spent in the flavour and feel of the set, so we are excited and confident that we will see an increase in players – casual ones, if not competitive,” he says.