Demonic Trader Admin
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Guide to identifying old Magic: the Gathering cards.
Please note: this guide is just that - a guide. If you have any doubt about what set your card is from, we recommend you visit your LGS or get a second opinion from someone with expertise. As the seller, you are always fully responsible for the accurate listing of your cards.
If your card has a set symbol next to the bottom right hand corner of the artwork, you can look up which set it is from here.
If your card does not have a set symbol next the bottom right hand corner of the artwork, it will fall into one of three categories: black-border, white-border, and gold-border.
If the corners of the card are rounded with a wide curve, the card is likely to be from Alpha edition:
If the corners are tight and sharp (more similar to modern MTG cards), the card is likely to be from Beta edition:
If there is no year/date in the bottom left hand corner (near the artist copyright), your card will be either Unlimited or Revised.
If the bevel (line between the white border of the card and the main content) is a double line, with the inner line being slightly lighter than the outer line, the card is likely to be from Unlimited:
If the bevel is a single, hard black line, the card is likely to be from Revised:
On some black cards the double bevel can be difficult to make out. Another way to differentiate is that Unlimited cards tend to have larger text and use the word "Tap" whereas Revised cards have smaller text and use a slanted T in a circle:
If there is a year/date near the artist copyright line, please refer to the following:
Please note that the table above is not comprehensive and there were several corner cases/special printings/mistakes during the early years of MTG.
Gold-bordered cards are not tournament legal and were printed as part of promotional products in the early days of MTG (as well as more recently as part of Magic 30).
If the BACK of the card is gold-bordered, it will be either from the Collectors Edition or the International Collectors Edition (and will say so on the card).
If the FRONT is gold-bordered (but not the back), the card is most likely from a World Championships deck.
