A while ago I wrote an article on spotting fakes. One of my goals with that article was to keep it a "living document" to add to when new information regarding anything fake in the world of Magic came up. Today I'd like to update the original article with some more information that has come to light.

Recently we've been hearing about a lot more fakes being printed and sold/traded away. A lot of the fakes are being auctioned off on eBay, but what's scary is that the list of fakes is continuously expanding.

One story out of SCG Indianopolis was a player who traded away a full foil Modern Delver deck for some fake dual lands (I've heard they were fake Summer duals, but I can't confirm). One of the people at SCG Indianapolis (mrlubufu on Reddit) was kind enough to post some high resolution pictures of a fake tarn next to a real one.

Fake:

Real:

Fake:

Real:

Fake:

Real:

As you can see in these pictures there is still a noticeable visual difference between the real and fakes. The fakes aren't as "crisp" as real ones (given the equipment Carta Mundi uses it's not surprising they can go into far more detail). The coloration is also a bit off on the fakes so continue to use that as an indicator (though we'll talk a bit later on about why that isn't always 100%).

We also had a QSer post in the forums about some fake Natural Orders he'd received off of eBay (and Sigmund even mentioned he'd had a similiar issue with a fake Force of Will). Below you'll see pictures of those Natural Orders (and here's the link to the forum posting).

It's important to note that any reputable online sales outlet cracks down on fakes and those who peddle fakes will find themselves under investigation (both by the online sales outlet and possibly the authorities). That being said, it's still far "safer" for these criminals to operate online where they can maintain more anonymity than at large events (though as SCG-Indy and GP:NJ show the lure of easy money is often too much).

If you come across someone with a large number of fake cards at an event consider it your duty to the MTG community to alert the TO as quickly and subtly as possible. The best way to fight this activity is to allow the judicial system to punish them accordingly (and don't think WoTC won't press charges, they have the most stake in catching perpetrators of anyone).

The first picture shows the real card on the right and the fake on the left. Now, the first major noticeable difference was the texture/feel (according to TargetAcquired who was the purchaser)--unfortunately outside of telling you that I can't actually show you. However, given the counterfeits still have this issue (thank God) it's more important than ever to pull cards you're trading for out of sleeves and perfect fits and really review them.

Luckily I can show you that they messed up on the ellipsis in the flavor text. The next thing to focus on is the font itself. Notice that while the font styles appear to match up accordingly, the spacing is a bit off. You can really notice it between the 'h' in "Search" and the edge of the text box. The fake has a much larger noticeable gap.

As for the backs, one thing you'll notice on real Magic cards next to the red dot in the top right corner there appears a "circle" and an "oval" (hidden in the off coloring). You can actually see them on the lower card (though I don't know if that's the real Natural Order or if they did manage to fake that as well). I've verified this pattern on an alpha Lance I have at my desk (as well as a random RtR common I happened to have sitting around). As you might guess, the best "security features" are the ones most people don't notice (only because if they are obvious then anyone faking them will know to mimic them). Below is a picture with the circles emphasized (it could honestly just be a coincidence, but the fact that I keep seeing it makes me consider it a useful feature).

Addendum to Original Article

Some additional information came to light a little bit after the publication of the original article, Spotting Fakes, which was added as an addendum. In case you missed that addition to the article, you can find it reproduced below.

New Fakes

Recently a new, much more pressing concern has arisen. Apparently there are printing shops in China which have no qualm illegally printing Magic cards (http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1532783589/wholesale_Gatherer_Magic_The_Gathering_for.html?s=p is the one that was found by fellow facebookers with relative ease).

It is expected that these cards will fail many of the tests above, however, the fact that this has popped up so recently means that fakes are branching out from just power and other high-end cards to encompass just about anything.

This picture was posted on the MTG Misprints/Oddities Facebook Page. The Tarmogoyf on the top is the fake. The letters are spaced out more and the paintbrush next to the artist's name is obviously a bit different. This Tarmogoyf was purchased online.

This is a huge problem for all of us who buy and sell cards online.

First, smart buyers will ignore cards without crisp, clear photos. Thus if you don't have a high-end camera (many of us use our phones), you'll risk reaching a smaller population who wants to buy from you.

Even more concerning is when you trade for cards in person you'll have to look much more carefully at the cards, especially the highly desirable, more valuable ones.

This is the type of issue that can potentially kill card values. Were some unscrupulous people to purchase a large quantity of fake cards and then trade or sell them for profits, it could absolutely devastate the secondary market. If people are afraid to buy and trade cards lest they receive a fake, card values (both real and fake) will plummet.

The sellers in China have been offering a 55-card pack of the following cards, with presumably one of each in a pack. Nobody knows if these complete packs made it over, but Jaces, Domri Rade and Tarmogoyf have all been spotted. Be very careful when trading for the following cards on this list:

• Tropical Island
• Temple Garden
• Stomping Ground
• Overgrown Tomb
• Scared Foundry
• Breeding Pool
• Misty Rainforest
• Celestial Colonnade
• Flooded Strand
• Arid Mesa
• Wasteland
• Inkmoth Nexus
• Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• Tarmogoyf
• Cavern of Souls
• Domri Rade
• Scalding Tarn
• Hallowed Fountain
• Polluted Delta
• Surgical Extraction
• Sol Ring
• Underground sea
• Marsh Flats
• Reflecting Pool
• Mutavault
• Wooded Foothills
• Windswept Health
• Watery Grave
• Godless Shrine
• Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• Savannah
• Blood Crypt
• Verdant Catacombs
• Kalonian Hydra
• Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• Thassa, God of the Sea
• Jace, Architect of Thought
• Swords to Plowshares
• Chalice of the Void
• Goblin Guide
• It That Betrays
• Sword of War and Peace
• Sword of Fire and Ice
• Purphoros, God of the Forge
• Sun Titan
• Sensei's Divining Top
• Demonic Tutor
• Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• Thoughtseize
• Pernicious Deed
• Sword of Feast and Famine
• Goblin Lackey
• Goblin Piledriver
• Inquistion of Kozilek
• Engineered Explosives
• Kokusho the Evening Star
• Bonfire of the Damned
• Ral Zarek
• Stoneforge Mystic
• Iona, Shield of Emeria
• Spellskite
• Karn Liberated
• Tundra
• Path to Exile
• Figure of Destiny
• Aether Vial
• Vampiric Tutor
• Snapcaster Mage
• Academy Ruins
• Batterskull
• Force of Will
• Leyline of Sanctity
• Intuition
• Sphinx's Revelation
• Reanimate
• Natural Order*
• Foil Onslaught Fetches
• Foil Dark Ritual
• Foil Wrath of God (7th ed)
• Foil Glorious Anthem (7th ed)
• Foil Lord of Atlantis (7th ed)
• Summer Duals* (dual lands with a 1994 printing date)

*New Februrary 2015 additions to the list include an astrix

This list will continue to grow as people post fakes they are finding. Note that this list includes any recent fakes that have come up. The goal is to make it as inclusive as possible (i.e. to include any and all cards we've found to be faked), however it's most likely not 100% complete so remain wary even on cards not on this list.

Legitimate Alternate Printings

Just because things look a bit off doesn't always mean they are fake/counterfeits.

Next up we have an LED picked up at GP: New Jersey by QS's own (Wes Berghahn). Below is a nice high res scan Wes made for us (and you can find his story in the forums here).

The LED on the left is darker, a problem that also showed up in one of the Visions print runs. If you don't have time to read the full post (though you really should as there's a lot of useful information), SCG's own Ben Bleisweiss shed some light on this particular issue.

It appears that back in the days of Mirage, Carta Mundi was opening a US printer in Dallas and was trying to mimic their printing process in Belgium on some of the first runs of the Mirage set. At the same time WoTC contracted the Shepard Poorman company to do a print run of Mirage. Neither printer could get the print run correct and WoTC discontinued their relationship with Shepard Poorman. Below is a picture of the two different starter decks.

A picture of some "Dark Visions" cards are shown below:

I mention these particular two print runs because it's important to keep in mind (especially with older cards) that the technology and knowledge 22 years ago was very different than it is today, so variation did occur. Don't go destroying older cards just because they look different...or you'll end up like me and destroy two legitimate, but odd-feeling and -looking older cards (both had a sort of "pock marked" look to the back and felt a bit more "rough").

The point is that despite WoTC's efforts to crack down there's just too much financial incentive for unscrupulous people to counterfeit MTG cards. When a little piece of cardboard that was printed 20+ years ago is worth more than $50 it doesn't take long for people to realize that the cost of ink, cardboard, and practice can be lucrative, so this won't be going away anytime soon.