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A while ago I wrote an article on spotting fakes. One of my goals with that articleĀ 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.Ā 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 (mrlubufuĀ 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 theĀ linkĀ 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=pĀ 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 forumsĀ here).
The LED on the left is darker, a problem that also showed up in one of the VisionsĀ 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.
“As for the backs, one thing youāll notice on real Magic cards next to the red dot in the top right corner there appears a ācircleā and an āovalā (hidden in the off coloring).”
-> Could this please be shown in a picture? I have no clue where and what to look for š
Thanks for the comment Sven. I’ve added a picture which hopefully will emphasize the “circle” and “oval”. You have to look closely (it’s really just the different coloration on the back, but it seems to form a pretty clear circle (with oval next to it). (Also it’s important to keep in mind I had to use paint to “draw the circles” so they aren’t perfectly sized/located on the back of the card, but hopefully if you keep looking for it you’ll see the pattern I noticed.
Finding out that it isn’t a fake is a huge relief; regardless, as David points out, examining cards with greater scrutiny is extremely important. The fact that I missed a card that is of different quality–and in other cases could have been fake–is an eye opener.
Somewhat related note: a friend of mine just purchased over a hundred different Chinese fakes recently. They did surprisingly well with the light test (yes, it’s important to do others), and while the majority of them were not that good, the duals and power were incredibly good, but didn’t feel particularly convincing.
I’ll get a list of the cards they are offering and put it in the forums, and I suppose I’ll be sending their information to Wizards. If anyone is interested in scans, I can put some of those up as well. This time, I know for a fact they are fake.
Website people order the fakes from: http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6431773681.html?orderId=65282587713248
The Duals I read about were Revised fakes that looked dark enough to be mistaken for Summer at first glance.
I’d heard on Derek’s article regarding SCG-Indy that he mentioned he thought they were Summer….but I can’t verify (as that’s my only source). I was worried because using something like Summer duals would be a very clever way to get people to agree to trades in a hurry (if you had fake summer duals and priced them at regular the greed of your trade partner might make them rush through to close the deal)
I’ve seen other sources come by saying they looked darker, if you print fake Summer you would also invite exctra scrutiny. Also I believe that many wouldn’t know what Summer is and consider them fake because of it, while others may point out they’re Summer and will not be able to afford them, growing suspicious if they are traded away too easily. I really don’t think printing Summer fakes would be a smart move unless you can make REALLY good fakes.
Also Summer Duals would probably be way more expensive than a foil Delver deck.
I don’t disagree with you guys…but I do think that if some guy was trading fake summer duals at regular dual prices one might think “he doesn’t know what he has” and their greed would get the best of them and they would try to close the trade out quickly..
To have Summer Duals and not know what they are you would have had to open them over 20 years ago and you have likely had to open a significant of Summer product to get them, or you could have gotten them from someone who did. Then in all those years nobody would’ve pointed out they were in fact Summer cards. While not an impossibility it is a very unlikely scenario, probably in the same ballpark as cracking a Revised box only to discover it contains Summer packs. Summer really is extremely rare.
If you trade them as regular Duals it would become so extremely lopsided that people walking by become likely to point it out (assuming they know about Summer) or at least they would wonder about the Dual being so dark, possibly having a closer look and asking about it.
Dereks’ article btw says “from a few feet away and saw what looked like a Summer Edition …”, this doesn’t imply an actual 1994 copyright date.
New vids of latest fakes from this last week :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ksXy6WAJ08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O3G_f4jOnA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umzkVtJnTio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51NKr9kNp4
They’ve already toned down the glossy surface from the last run.
Be aware that WotC have in the past produced cards with black centre.
Always handy to have these articles, nice job.
By the way, it wasn’t me who mentioned the Force of will. It was Sean Johnson.
I just bought a cheap 30x LED Light Jeweler’s loupe on eBay so I can review high end cards I acquire more closely. For $3, it’s a worthwhile investment!
The Natural Order fake has a spelling mistake. Sacifice instead of Sacrifice.
Yea Mats, That was the second or third thing that I noticed. I still have these 3 fakes in my possession that I have been using to who people what a fake magic card can look, feel, and sometimes even smell like lol.
To be honest. I would rather accidentally get a fake modern deck strictly to play and have fun with. Never sell them or trade them. Just. Kinda dont mention it. But. Have that whole deck in real cards for finance purposes and play with fakes to avoid ruining them. Is that wrong?
Yes it’s wrong. Any time you’re playing with essential proxies you should make sure people are aware you are.
As I always believe in making fakes articles as accurate and good as possible, some comments and suggestions now that I have time:
– Why is this on insider? Like the first one: do we really want to withhold fakes information from people?
– Was the fake Tarn itself actually one of the fake cards distributed at SCG Indianapolis?
– The Goyf picture is from before the first fakes article, the text seems to suggest it’s new?
– Which Mirage Starter is the normal one?
Pi,
To answer your questions;
1.) I don’t know, I agree it could/should be on the free side same as the last one, but it’s not my call which side it goes on.
2.) The fake tarn was posted found in a link on reddit from someone, I’m not sure where they were acquired originally.
3.) The tarmogoyf section is a copy of the section from my original writing, with the addition of new cards to the “list” of known faked cards. I want this list to keep growing as new information is supplied.
4.) The bottom Mirage starter is the normal one…as stated the US printers didn’t appear to meet WoTC’s requirements and the top one states that it was made in the USA. (Bottom one says made in Belgium)
Hi,
FYI I received a fake Phyrexian Oblitaror on MKM, spotted it and MKM customer service confimed it was a fake.
If you want you can add it to the list as it is another 20+ ā¬ card.
Thanks for the article
Antoine