5 TESTS TO FIND COUNTERFEITS! Real Card Examples to Learn How! 

Bro, your foil Tarmogoyf is totally fake! Lemme show you. “Rrip” Uh oh

The way you can tell a counterfit is the counterfit will have a higher quality card stock. Lmao.

there's no reason to do the rip test. with a 60x jeweler's loupe, you can clearly see the blue core when you look at the side of the card

brilliant video, dude.

Also, good on the person you were trading with for immediately admitting the cards were counterfeits.

My liliana of the veil passed the rip test, how do I put it back together?

I’m glad you clarified that the discoloration doesn’t absolutely mean it’s fake because I’ve opened packs before with cards that had an identical discoloration I’ve run into quite a few

The best counterfeits...have never been caught...and sit in dealers cases, indistinguishable from the real thing.

I'd like to add a 2021 update to this counterfeit test. The light test normally is a very easy way for cards to show their authenticity. However, cards printed in 2020+ have started to become much more red, through the light test. More recent cards are also much more rigid to bending, but still pass the bend test. This is just a forewarning to anyone attempting to test cards that were printed in 2020 and beyond -- you may flag real cards as counterfeits just because the print stock is of worse quality. Noting this, one last thing to point out are cards in "The List". These cards' dates have not been updated, but are actually printed on the 2020+ print stock. So, a card with a printed date of 2007 may look much different and feel more stiff than other cards from 2007, but this wouldn't actually be a fair comparison if it was printed in this special way. Luckily, there is an easy way to tell which cards were printed in "The List" as a small icon on the bottom left of the card. Good luck to all MtG players and traders out there!

What happens when the fakes become better quality than the real cards

I was going to buy mtg cards by the bulk and now this guy has me questioning if they are legitimate. Play Magic they said, it will be fun they said.

Yaaay! :D Our annual GG Degree video!

Board game manufacturer here: The reason why so few counterfeiters have access to blue core cardstock is because, I am told, that the manufacturers of the stock are very particular about who they will allow to buy it because they are aware of this problem. I was actually very surprised to learn TheGameCrafter was able to purchase Blue Core cardstock for their cards, because it is actually a superior product to Black Core stock or Ivory Core stock. If they were not extremely careful, someone could use TheGameCrafter to counterfeit magic cards, but TGC has a quality control process that won't permit any printing of copyrighted content that actually false-flagged me more than once so I'm not especially worried. Awesome channel, btw. Subbed.

"It's guaranteed to be fake." Unless it's an Ixalan transform misprint.

Thank you for releasing this. I needed a break from the drama.

It is a really bad mistake and shows poor research if you fail to categorize the bend test as a destructive test.

Ah! When you bent that thought seize, I cringed

The fakes are made from much better stock. That's why light doesn't pass through. I personally believe that proxies are a good thing. Making someone pay insane amounts of money for cardboard is crazy.

Okay this is 4 years old so I'm gonna assume things just don't apply the same as they use to because the light test doesn't really work on Innistrad midnight hunt unless I got two sealed and fake booster boxes.

As i watch this, my mouse cursor is hovering over the dislike button and that button must be pressed if he mentions the bend test in any positive way.

i was startled to see TCC's video on cardstock quality, having recently returned to MTG after a long break. Anecdotally my Ixalan and C17 cards look to be inferior cardstock than my old cards. Interested in comparing old/new/counterfeit cardstock quality with science? precise dimensions, precise mass, how they tear, how they react to water and fire...

Use counterfeits for your play decks, or give them out for free full disclosure.

Three problems: Your loupe images were inconsistent. While it was easy to tell some examples between others, you seemed to have a problem with making sure the two images all had an identical distance between the card, loupe, and camera lens at all times. This made some images of the counterfeit card look more real than the _real_ card. Foil cards are more opaque than normal cards, so by this explanation *all* foil cards are by definition counterfeit making the light test vaguely consistent at best with normal cards, but utterly useless on foils. Besides, light tests are only accurate if there's a standard light value to test with, like say 80 lumens or something. Current cards are almost always warped when they come out of the package, meaning that they take a crease much more easily, therefore all magic cards produced after 2015 must be counterfeit even if purchased directly from the WOTC printing factory itself.

Where can I buy cheap proxies? Like $2 each. I need a lot of them.

When it comes to playing person idc if you faked your entire deck. The only thing that's wrong is selling a card as real to unexpected noob. But if I have to take your card out of a sleeve then magnify glass the back to find out its fake that's a pretty convincing fake.

funny cause the fake one in this video is the actually garbage print quality of WoTC today... and the "real" is the quality of the "fakes" but regardless there is no such thing as real or fake pieces of cardboard.

super interesting. thanks for making this

tbh I don't care if the card is fake. I play the game for fun. The reaction i go from some people in the shop when I said that. If I could join a tournament with fakes I would. Can't see how it affects the game

This is an exceptionally good video. I know most of your videos, but this one stood out. It has a very clear, informative tone. One topic, well researched, you combined into one video what needed more research and different videos from different sources before. And in comparison to most other content creators, you did not include the usual 5-10minutes of "air" - nonsense talking to increase video length. Loved the straightforward approach. will actually share this with all my playgroups.

I'm already subscribed to Tolarian Community College.

good video. Thank you. I think the loupe will stay useful for a while, until and unless the counterfeiters can obtain original art to prepare the layer separations from. At the moment they have to scan the card, which inevitably introduces errors that will break the roseate pattern.

Shame on people for not taking out a second mortgages. Let's get those monsters banned from tournaments.

Are you 100 % that you are sure which of them are fake? Those rosett patterns looks real to me, but still gets categorised as fake. 5:53 all my cards look like that one to the left.

Sad that the fakes are better quality.

I only buy counterfeits.

Every time my friend does the bend test, he permanently creases the card... We’ve lost a foil rare and an Avacyn..

Thank you for this! Just helped me find out I've been ripped off on buying an Old Gnawbone (full art)! So angry I've been ripped off but so glad this video helped me find out before it was too late to do something about it!

I'm disagree, different press (USA, Belgium) can make different gloss. Just recieved a THEROS BEYOND DEATH (satyr) token...Gloss is different, it's thin. Just decided to break the card....No blue pattern between FRONT and BACK....Conterfeit? on a token?

Crap, I failed to find most of these counterfeits. I'm screwed aren't I? :p

Thank you for this video. Are you 100% sure you got the images right? For example, the 2nd card shots you show at 4.10 I can not tell the difference. How are you telling the difference between the real and fake?

AAhh, hearing that intro music really takes me back.... Sniff, we missed you man!

I heard the reason counterfeits are black and not blue, is because of something to do with availability. Its like paper with money, it’s extremely hard to find the exact paper type, its just not for sale, the original printers (in this case wizards of the coast) own the rights to the specific type of mix needed for a magic card.

How about cards like Chandra, Pyromaster (SDCC 2013) is it possible to apply the same methods?

I have enjoyed your videos. Thank you. As much as I enjoy playing Magic. (We started way back in the 90s when a friend gave a bunch of cards to me and my wife). I really always disliked the way it devolves into an arms race for the "best" and most rare cards. I completely understand why counterfeit cards need to be eliminated from competition and how it's bad for Wizards of the Coast. But when we play at home everyone just has to play from the same stock of cards. And I'd almost welcome a few counterfeit cards to back up the few highly valued singles (or cards where we simply need more of to go around). Not that I think we have any high dollar cards hanging out in a shoebox in the living room. Anyways thanks for the channel. I enjoy hearing your take on different deck builds.

When counterfeit money become impossible to distinguish from real money it's call superdollar, superbill or supernote. Have there been made any mtg supernote like someone got there hand on an original printing press and plates? Got any stories?

Most of these tests don't really work anymore, counterfeiters are much better these days. Best way IMO is to compare the color and detail with a known real card. Fakes usually have less detail in them than real ones, fine lines and objects are not defined. The color can vary (by a little) but the amount of detail should not.

This helped me to be certain that a card I bought was fake. It failed the light test spectacularly, had slightly different coloration and line quality, was noticeably harder to bend when I did a blind test comparing it to real cards from the same set, and the gloss/texture of the card was slightly different too. The fake was glossier- this might be a less clear but still helpful test. Thank you! REPLY

What about foils and using the light test? Similar in how much light passes through to nonfoil or should it be darker?

Hey man, good vids Weirdly enough, without background music or anything of the sort, your "mono-tone" voice is actually delightful to listen to. It's probably because you're really passionate about MTG and you put a lot of effort into the vids. Keep it up man

Some of the flip cards from Ixalan were printed on the wrong card stock (token card stock) and will fail the light and tear test.

I purchased a Commander deck, seems 100% real, but the Glen Elendra Archmage seemed super dark. Just the image/artwork. But all else seems fine. Just interesting to see a 100% legit product contain a card that's not exactly like the previous print

Last night I tried the light test on some cards that look a little dingy and discolored. The light sort of shined through, but it was a bluey red purple and fairly dim. I then tried the light yest on an older card from rise of eldrazi. It past the light test. I could see right through it. Then I tried the light on a newer card that I know came out of a booster. It did the same as the original. Bluey red purple color and dim. Do older cards react differently to the light test than newer cards?? Serious enquired cause I've got a Guide of Souls that feels papery on the front and a bit glossy on the back, and it's bluey red purple and dim when I tried the light. It's also dark compared to one that I opened out of a booster. Help?

If you have access to a jewellers loope you can actually see the "core" glue along the sides of the card. All cards will have at least one area where the glue is visible along the edge.

Blue core paper is made by a french company who only sell to wotc. Thats why counterfit use blackcore

The Bend Test is not a real test! It's just cardboard. Eventually, and especially on older and played cards, the structural integrity wears out and real cards will bend. You can test this yourself by taking a real NM card and bend it back and forth multiple times and at some point, it will just fail. I think my last test was around 15 bends.

Genuine Ice Age cards were notorious for having discolored print runs. Some of them have borders that are so discolored they're almost a dark blue.

hi all I hope someone tell me even if the video is a bit old: I have a problem with some brothers war cards. I bought boosters one week apart: in the first the cards pass the light test perfectly, in the second they don't; the cards are much less transparent and the light that passes is not clear, blue. I took a look with a lens I had (unfortunately only a 4x) but everything seems ok, I also tore off a card: inside is the blue layer, very marked. is it possible that for printing reasons a real paper does not let light through? if someone let me know I would be very grateful ... in the meantime I ordered a microscope ...

I think instant gratification has ruined magic people kill me with proxies I want a 2000 dollars deck I'll just print one that's bullshit if a card isn't legit shouldn't be able to play it keep it a 100 real cards only proxies should be banned all formats get them out of here they are ruin the game I'm just saying

I have two Growing Rites of Itlimoc that I pulled from Ixalan packs myself. One of them doesn't have that inner blue lining, but the other does. I plan on holding onto them both (and eventually putting them into a deck) but, this is clearly a case of a misprint.

So you are going to open a REAL iconic Masters box? ;)

these counterfeints and all the content around only exist because of the price politics of wotc and their fear of the mtg collectors community. reprints on mythic rarity is just not what a reprint is meant to be. if you are an average person with other financial responsibilities tryin to netdeck into mtg there's a lot you gotta spend in there. At least on this part of the game konami is doin a way better job makin the yugioh game financially accessable so there will never be any room for a counterfeint market in the game. They would just reprint the thing many times and not as rare as a mythic in mtg and itll be affordable to anyone.

Great tips. Tried the light test with my phone. Simple and effective. Thanks!

I feel like as long as you're not trying to sell them as real, its fine. Who wants to pay hundreds or thousands to get some of the rarer cards when i can get a proxy for like $10?

Be super funny if they were all real... Just different printers and quality control.. Would Be Hilarious...

Thanks for your video. After watching it once and traiing myself with a proxy and real card. I believe I can now tell a fake w/o a scope even. Good skill to have

I have a card that is discolored. Its not fake 100% real but all the collors on it are fucked. Almost like ita been sun bleached.

about the non consistent older cards back when revised came out i bought a box and 6 packs in the box all the cards were tented yellow we used to call them piss cards

This video is immensely helpful! Thanks! :)

The printing process is only 4 color: Black cyan yellow and magenta. Thx for the video.

I still don't get why he does the jeweler's on the white symbol, everyone know it is the green dot you check on the back to find the red L in it.

My thoughtseize has the exact color scheme as the fake in the video but the black border is a true black and it passes the light test.

Just conducted the rip test on my NM Alpha Black Lotus. It was real 🥳

how could you tell w/c ones are fake with those side by comparisons? those were useless and just for show.

RIP THAT LOTUS! Geez ... luckily it was not a fake 8)

I prefer fake one .. cheaper . Vivid . At the end what real card can do ? Is really have some special effect

One thing I noticed with the printing on the counterfeits was that they had a circle/hexagon pattern with the ink dots, but the real cards didn't.

One thing I noticed on the jeweler’s Loupe test is that all printed rosettes on the real cards stayed the same size and the fakes had all different sizes.

4:38 - Huh? The resolution is significantly higher on the "fake" print. Care to explain?

this is diggusting. can you tell me were they find it? to never go to that page and confuse me.

There are counterfeits out there that cant be detected. I actually own a few that I know for a fact are fake but you cant tell.

Good news! I ripped my black lotus and it is authentic!

Dont try the bend test with foils!! {Yup, my dumbass did}

do foil cards go through same rules? for instance light test should pass on foil cards?

mate my cards passed all your tests ! but did NOT pass the light test !?!?!?

*realizes your aether vial playset is fake*...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAA! Fricking scammers

so i made a fake with a blue core, and fakes dont have so its A real😂

And thus i still have no clue if my Priests of Titania are fake... They are in two shades of green and i don't want to rip them, but they don't have the blue tint from light...

Who would have thought counterfeit magic cards

The light test cannot be used to determine if a foil card is real or fake.

Wotc should print gold boarderd cards again. It would give casual players acces to unreasonable expensive cards.

Trust me, they've gotten scary better. See Rudy's videos for examples.

Thank you sooo much for the enlightenment!

Everything checks out to be OK on one of my foils except for the light text is that a problem?

I will argue about the bend test. All the newer fakes pass the bend test at least 90%. To me a bend test isnt a valid test anymore. It's scary but there's more than likely a few Simulacrum's out there. "The paradox where a copy is so perfect, there is no difference. In theory it becomes the original.'' Which blows my mind because its impossible to prove or disprove that theory if true. We couldn't tell the difference.

Then again, how would we know if counterfeiters haven't worked out all the kinks yet? I mean, the whole point of a counterfeit is to look like the real one. If a counterfeiter did a damn good job, we would never know. So how can we say for sure that counterfeiters haven't already fooled us? Of course, I'm just having a little fun with hypotheticals, but I've heard a lot of people snickering about stories on the internet of people finding poorly made counterfeits of Canadian bank notes. We seem to think our money is invincible, and that means we've already lost, because the perfect counterfeit cannot be tallied, tracked or put into a statistic unless you carefully watched every bill as it rolled out of the printer. Or maybe I'm just paranoid, you never know. Maybe they've got a system to figure that out.

I'll do better next time

The fakes coming out of germany are insanely good. The only thing they don't pass is the rip test (black cores instead of blue). Some of them even have the holofoil stamp, which honestly makes it even harder to pick them out until you're shown that every holofoil is the same with the planeswalker symbol in the middle of the stamp. Real holo-stamps can have any mana symbol(s) and/or the walker symbol in any combo visible.

me trying to do this with a black lotus

i had half good half misses with the jeweler's ... when you don't know what to look it's really hard

Just curious if haven't owned or played magic since the early to mid 90's . Didn't the 3/4th generation have a semi gloss to the picture, just wondering . I vaguely remember them having one but I'm getting older lmao