Card Grading Guide

 

Our card grading guidelines are based on TCGPlayer's guidelines.

Near Mint // Near Mint Foil

Cards in Near Mint (NM) condition show minimal wear from shuffling, play or handling and can have a nearly unmarked surface, crisp corners and unblemished edges outside of a few slight flaws. A Near Mint card may have slight edge wear or a scratch or three, but overall look nearly unplayed with no major defects.

The acceptable range of cards within the Near Mint condition includes both cards with no imperfections and cards with a few slight imperfections.

Front and Back of a Magic: The Gathering Card in Near Mint condition. Showing no wear.

Lightly Played // Lightly Played Foil

Cards in Lightly Played (LP) condition may have minor border or corner wear, scuffs or scratches. There are no major defects such as grime, bends or issues with the structural integrity of the card. Noticeable imperfections are okay, but none should be too severe or at too high a volume.

The acceptable range of cards within the Lightly Played condition includes both cards with few or a handful of minor imperfections.

Front and Back of a Magic: The Gathering Card in Excellent condition. Showing strong wear all around the card. The edges and corners have many white spots, the surface typically has scratches — no bending or water damage.

Moderately Played // Moderately Played Foil

Cards in Moderately Played (MP) condition can have border wear, corner wear, scratching or scuffing, creases or whitening or any combination of moderate examples of these flaws.

A Moderately Played card may have some form of imperfection impacting a small area of the card from mishandling or poor storage, such as creasing that doesnʼt affect card integrity, in combination with other issues such as scratches, scuffs or border/edge wear.

Front and Back of a Magic: The Gathering Card in Good condition. Showing strong wear all around the card. The edges and corners have many white spots, the surface typically has scratches — no bending or water damage.

Heavily Played // Heavily Played Foil

Cards in Heavily Played (HP) condition show a major amount of wear. Cards can show a variety of moderate imperfections along with creasing, whitening and bends. Heavily Played cards can also have flaws that impact the integrity of the card, but the card can still be sleeve playable.

Front and Back of a Magic: The Gathering Card in Played condition. Heavy wear with scratches and whitening all around the card. Most likely not playable in tournaments.

Damaged // Damaged Foil

Damaged cards show wear or imperfections beyond the standards for other conditions. Cards in Damaged condition can also exhibit an imperfection that may make the card illegal for tournament play, even in a sleeve. Cards in Damaged condition may have major border wear, corner wear, scratching or scuffing, as well as folds, creases, tears or other damage that impacts the structural integrity of the card.

Front and Back of a Magic: The Gathering Card in Poor condition. Severe damage including bends, water damage, or altered edges. Not playable in tournaments.