What do the numbers and letters at the bottom of Magic cards mean? (2024)

Collector numbers are part of the information below the text box on a Magic cards. They tell you where the cards fall in the set. They first appeared on cards in Exodus at the same time when color-coding of the expansion symbols was added to easily determine rarity.

What do the numbers mean on the bottom of Magic cards?

The number on the left is the power, used to describe the offensive abilities of the creature in combat. The higher the number on the left, the greater the facesmashery the creature can inflict on an unwitting and often unwilling opponent. The number on the right is the toughness of the creature.

What are the letters on the bottom of Magic cards?

Yes, currently in Magic card codes there are seven options for the rarity field:

What are the markings on Magic cards?

107.4a There are five primary colored mana symbols: {W} is white, {U} blue, {B} black, {R} red, and {G} green. These symbols are used to represent colored mana, and also to represent colored mana in costs.

How do you tell if a Magic card is rare or uncommon?

To tell if a card is rare or mythic rare we look at the expansion set symbol. Almost all cards will have an expansion set symbol on it to help you identify it. The colour of this symbol will tell you what rarity the card is; common = black, uncommon = silver, rare = gold, mythic = orange-red / bronze.

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How do I know if my Magic cards are valuable?

Sorting by Rarities

When a set (also known as an expansion or edition) is printed, some cards get less copies than others, making some cards worth more than others. You can tell what rarity a card is by looking at the color of the set symbol, found under the art to the right.

What is the rarest MTG card type?

Now then, without any more ado, onto the list.

What does the silver dot at the bottom of Magic cards mean?

It's an anti-counterfeit holo-foil stamp that's present on rares, mythic rares, and many promotional cards. They started being printed on cards with the set Magic 2015. 37.

How do you tell what edition an old Magic card is?

The easy way to tell what edition a card is from is by checking the symbol on the right side of the bar between the art and the text box. This is the expansion symbol which tells you the set it's from.

What is the K symbol in cards?

King (playing card)

What is the J symbol in cards?

In English the initial K for knave would have been indistinguishable from K for king and was therefore replaced with J for jack.

How do you tell if a Magic card is from the list?

Found in Set Boosters, cards from The List will appear in the final slot of the pack about 25% of the time. The List has commons, uncommons, rares, and mythic rares which will fall at the proper rate to one another. Being on The List does not make cards Standard-legal.

What do the numbers on a card represent?

These are considered the card's Issuer Identification Number (IIN), or Bank Identification Number (BIN). The seventh to the 15th digit (or 14th for American Express) form a unique sequence to identify the cardholder. Finally, the last digit is known as a “check” digit.

What do the card symbols mean?

The four suits in a deck of cards have a unique card symbolism. The Spades suit symbolizes the Military, the Hearts suit symbolizes the Church, the Diamonds suit symbolizes the Merchant Class, and the Clubs suit Symbolizes Agriculture. These were the four primary pillars of the Medieval Period economy.

What is the shiny symbol at the bottom of Magic cards?

A holofoil stamp or security stamp is a small holofoil sticker in the bottom center of Magic: The Gathering rares, mythic rares, and promotional cards.

What does the gold border on a Magic card mean?

Gold borders are used for commemorative sets: The Collectors' Editions for the Beta set of the game, which have gold borders on the card back and black-bordered front (and square corners)

How rare are MTG misprints?

I want to make a note here that misprints are incredibly rare when compared to the total population of cards that are produced. Current print runs are in the billions of cards. That means if even 0.001% of a hypothetical 1 billion card print run was misprinted, you'd still have 10,000 misprints.

What does a rare magic card look like?

The rarity of a card is indicated by the color of its expansion symbol. The symbol itself shows which set the card belongs to, and its color indicates its rarity. Common cards have a black and white symbol, uncommons are silver, and rares are gold.

How do you tell if a card is 1st Edition or unlimited?

To meet super-high demand from the public, an “Unlimited” edition version would then be printed. Unlimited edition cards don't have the “Edition 1” logo on the left side. A 1st edition card will be worth more than an unlimited edition card. Often this price difference can be quite significant.

What year Magic cards are most valuable?

Black Lotus (Alpha + Signed)

An alpha Black Lotus card from the very first 1993 printing of Magic the Gathering is by far the most valued card in existence.

How many black lotuses exist?

The Alpha version of Black Lotus is the rarest and most sought-after, with an estimated 1100 ever printed, followed by the Beta version, with 3300 ever printed.

Can you still pull a Black Lotus?

Though it's still not tournament legal.

Despite the high price, however, the Black Lotus (alongside every other card) is only a proxy version and therefore can't be used in tournament play, and it's currently unknown if they will be worth anything to collectors.

What is the hardest MTG card to play?

Seafarer's Quay and thousands of other underpowered cards are among the hardest cards to play because they're simply not competitively powered and worth inclusion in one's deck. I'd like to focus on cards that people actually play that player's are likely to find challenging rather than cards that have never seen play.

Do Magic cards gain value over time?

When demand goes up, value goes up. Cards that might have been worthless just a few weeks ago can end up being worth quite a bit once they start seeing play in competitive decks. It's also worth noting that competitive Magic is very much pay-to-play.