How to spot a fake card

Why it matters

The more a card is worth, the more likely someone copies it. Fakes show up most for expensive secret rares, alternate arts and promos, and sometimes as whole "cheap" lots. Most can be recognised with a few checks and a genuine card to compare.

1. Compare with the official card list

Look the card up in the official Fusion World card list and compare: card number, set code, rarity symbol, artwork crop, text and the position of every icon. Fakes often get small details wrong, like a different font, a missing symbol or the wrong rarity.

2. Print quality

• Text should be sharp, also the small print. Blurry or slightly pixelated text is a warning sign.
• Colours that are too dark, too pale or oversaturated compared with a genuine card.
• A rosette pattern of dots that you can see with a magnifying glass where a genuine card is smooth.

3. Foil and holo

Tilt the card under a lamp. Genuine foils have a specific pattern and texture for each rarity. Fakes often shine evenly over the whole card, show a pattern that doesn't match the rarity, or have foil where a genuine card has none.

4. Card stock and the back

• Feel and thickness: fakes are often thinner, glossier or stiffer.
• The back: compare colour, sharpness and centring with a genuine card from the same game. A slightly different blue or a blurry logo is one of the most reliable signs.
• Edges: genuine cards have a clean cut; fakes sometimes show a different colour core when you look at the edge.

5. Graded slabs

Always enter the certificate number on the grading company's website and check that the card, the grade and the photos (if shown) match. Look at the slab itself: label print, hologram, fonts and the case should match genuine slabs from the same company and year.

6. The price and the seller

A rare card far below its usual price, many copies of the same expensive card from one seller, or stock photos instead of photos of the actual card are classic warning signs. Buy from sellers who show the exact card and have reviews.

How we check

Every card we sell or buy is checked by hand under light: print, foil, back and edges, compared with genuine copies. We don't sell counterfeits, and we don't buy them. You see photos of the exact card on every product page.