Which Magic Card is This?
Magic the Gathering collectors need to know exactly which version of a card they have before they can know what it’s worth. Some cards have only been printed once in the entire history of the game. Some have been printed dozens of times and knowing which version of a card you’re holding in your hand can get a little bit complicated.
Today, we’re covering the most basic of identification skills using the Blue 7-mana Instant spell, Dig Through Time.
5 Key things to look for:
Card Name
Most of the time, the card’s name will be in the top left corner of the card above the art. This is the most important information you can have because it determines what a card is. There are seven version of Dig Through Time, and the rest of the identification tools are meant to figure out which version of Dig Through Time we’re looking at.
Expansion Symbol
The expansion symbol is often located just below the art and above the rules text. Depending upon what period in Magic’s history the card was printed, it may be filled in with orange, gold, or silver to demonstrate its rarity. This set symbol is for Ultimate Masters and its gold color means we’re looking at a rare card.
Collector’s Information
Always located on the bottom left of the card (unless it’s a card from before WOTC started including this information), this is where the:
card number (050/254 - card number 50 in a 254 card set),
rarity (R - Rare),
expansion/set acronym (UMA - Ultimate Masters),
language (EN - English), and
artist’s name (Ryan Yee) are located.
Legal Information
This includes copyright and trademark information. If there is no legal information, you’re probably holding an Alpha, Beta, Revised or Unlimited card. If it’s copyright someone other than the artist (Illus. © John Doe) or Wizards of the Coast, it probably isn’t an official Magic the Gathering Trading Card.
Unusual or Additional Markings
Sometimes, the only way to tell the difference between two printings of a card is to find an out-of-place symbol. These are things like foil stamps, planeswalker symbols, watermarks (or the lack thereof) or colored borders.
In the above image, we see six other printings of Dig Through Time:
This is a promo pack copy of Dig Through Time. Notice the only difference between this version and Version 6 is the Planeswalker stamp.
The different art and SLD expansion symbol clearly give away this Secret Lair Drop card.
This is a Prerelease card. Again, the only visible difference between this card and Version 6 is the date stamp above the expansion symbol.
With a retro-border, this obviously different printing was given away as part of the Love Your Local Game Store Promo.
Other than the expansion symbol, this version of Dig Through Time is missing the watermark behind the rules text.
This is the original printing from Khans of Tarkir.
Remember when we said it can get complicated?
This flowchart, presented by u/DenizenYaldabaoth to Reddit two years ago, demonstrates just how complicated this stuff can get.
Only two things are present on every single Magic Card regardless of when it was printed: mana color, card name. That’s it. And even that rule has exceptions. Some cards don’t have set symbols. Some don’t have a printed name. The earliest cards in MTG’s history don’t even have a copyright date. The only way to tell the difference between Alpha and Beta cards is the shape of their corners.
We talk about some of these subtleties in our explanation of Commonly Confused Sets.
Overwhelmed?
Don’t worry! Starting out as a new collector means there’s a lot to learn and we know exactly how confusing it is.
We’ve got you covered with our complimentary appraisal and identification services. We’ll tell you exactly what you have and whether it’s worth anything free of charge.