How do you spot fake MTG cards?

It's every collector's nightmare: you buy a beautiful card, and it turns out to be a fake. The secondary market has been flooded with counterfeits for years, and their quality is constantly improving. Good news: with a few simple tests and some attentiveness, you can easily spot most fakes. In this guide, I'll walk you through them — from free checks to using a magnifying glass.

Two types of "fake"

Before you start testing, it's helpful to know what you might encounter:

• Completely fake cards (proxies/counterfeits) — printed from scratch on fake cardstock. Formerly easy to spot, but the newest "blue core" proxies come frighteningly close to the real thing.
• Modified genuine cards — a real card that has been "upgraded" to appear more valuable, or two cards glued together ("rebacked"). The latter almost always betray themselves by abnormal weight and thickness.

Checks without tools

Always start here — free and often sufficient:

Compare with a real one. By far the best first step. Place the suspicious card next to a guaranteed genuine card from the same set and compare color, sharpness, font, and size. Discrepancies will immediately stand out.

Feel the card. Real Magic cards have a recognizable texture and stiffness. Does a card feel too smooth, too glossy, almost plastic-like, or noticeably thinner or thicker than normal? Then suspicion is warranted.

Look closely with the naked eye. Blurry text, dull or overly bright colors, a slightly incorrect font — counterfeiters often stumble on the details.

Trust your gut (and the price). An expensive card for a rock-bottom price at a flea market or from a dodgy online seller? If a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Checks with simple tools

If you want to be more certain, these two help immensely — and they cost almost nothing:

The light test. Shine a bright phone flashlight closely through the card. A genuine Magic card has a blue glue layer in its core, which gives the transmitted light a bluish tint. Fakes often fail in one of two ways: they are completely opaque (no light passes through) or too thin and wash out completely. Note: this test works poorly on foils, and some legitimate cards (such as certain Ixalan double-sided cards) fail it because they are printed on different cardstock. And the best modern fakes can now pass this test — so never use it as the sole proof.

The green dot test. Grab a magnifying glass (a 30x jeweler's loupe costs about €10) and examine the green circle on the back of the card. In its light core, a genuine card has four small red dots in an L-shape — part of the rosette printing pattern. That exact pattern is almost impossible for counterfeiters to reproduce. Note: wear and tear can obscure the pattern on a genuine card, so this test isn't completely foolproof either.

The weight. A genuine Magic card weighs approximately 1.7 to 1.8 grams. Do you have a precise (kitchen) scale? Weigh the suspicious card next to a known genuine one. A clear difference is a strong signal — although small deviations can occur due to wear or moisture.

The back reveals a lot

The card back, in particular, is full of details that counterfeiters miss. With a magnifying glass, you'll see:

• The "T" in "The". Look at the words "Magic: The Gathering" on the back. For the "T" in "The," the left edge is a straight, clean line, while the bottom and right edges are wavy. On fakes, all edges are often identical.
• The "horns" on Deckmaster. Above each of the two E's in "Deckmaster" are small crescent shapes (horns). These are often missing on counterfeits.
• The print pattern. Genuine cards are printed in a fine CMYK dot pattern, with sharp black edges and text. Under a magnifying glass, you can see tiny dots in the white parts of letters. If everything is too solid, too dark, or blurry, something is wrong.

Real vs. fake at a glance

The most important differences at a glance, so you quickly know what to look for:

The destructive last resorts

The rip test. Tear the card in half to see the core: a genuine one will show the blue (sometimes black) glue layer. The bend test does something similar by bending the card. But honestly, these methods are outdated. Modern "blue core" fakes can pass them, and ANY card creases if you bend it often enough. We therefore advise against them — the non-destructive tests above are almost always enough.

How reliable is each test?

Not every test carries the same weight. They stack up against each other — always use several together:

Remember: a test that FAILS is often much more telling than a test that passes. If a card fails the green dot or light test, that's a strong signal. But if it passes, it's still not a guarantee — the best fakes can pass individual tests.

Still in doubt?

If you can't figure it out yourself, you don't have to go it alone. The community r/RealOrNotTCG on Reddit is specifically for this: post a few sharp photos of both the front and back, and experienced collectors will often give you a second opinion in no time. A goldmine if you're unsure about a purchase — and a great place to learn what real and fake cards look like side-by-side.

And the very best protection? Buy from sellers you trust. Sealed product (unopened boosters, displays, and bundles) is by definition authentic, and a reliable store stands behind what it sells.

Also read:

• How to protect and store your Magic cards?
• Has Magic become too expensive?
• All MTG booster types explained

Written by Omèr Cremers
Owner of SpellArmory, social worker and full-time father. Avid MTG player and collector from Maastricht — Commander is my favorite format. Questions about which product suits you best? Feel free to send me a message.