Card Condition Guide

• The card looks almost new, with at most a few minimal spots of wear.
• At most a couple of small white dots on the edges or one very light surface scratch.
• No creases, deep scratches, wrinkles, stains or water damage.

Near Mint is the standard for tidy, collectible cards that fit into a deck or collection without distracting damage.

• Clear but limited light wear on edges or corners.
• Small surface scratches or matt spots are allowed.
• No deep creases or damage that stands out immediately in a sleeve.

Ideal for players who want a tidy card but do not need absolute top condition.

• The card has visible wear on edges, corners or surface.
• Several small scratches, whitening, light edge damage or small specks of dirt are possible.
• Small, shallow indentations are allowed as long as the card does not stand out in a sleeve.

Suitable for casual play. Perfectly usable in a sleeved deck, but strict collectors may find the damage distracting.

• Clear signs of play, but the card is still perfectly usable.
• Edge wear, several white dots, scratches and small edge or corner damage are possible.
• No deep creases or damage that can be felt through a sleeve.

Fine for players, but with visibly more wear than Lightly Played or Excellent.

• The card has clear and multiple defects.
• Deeper scratches, larger edge damage, wear, small folds or light creases are possible.
• It must still be usable in sleeves without being recognisable by touch.

Mainly suitable for budget decks or casual use. Expect clearly visible damage.

• Heavy damage: deep creases, tears, water damage, large areas of whitening or peeling.
• In many cases no longer tournament legal or not pleasant to play with.
• Often only of interest as a cheap playing card or as a placeholder in a collection.

For damaged cards we point this out as clearly as possible in the product photo or description.

• These guidelines are specifically about how Lichcards assesses printing and manufacturing errors on the cards we sell ourselves.
• This classification is not automatically the same as that of other shops, Cardmarket, CardTrader or individual sellers.

1. Small printing errors that do not affect the condition

• Small production anomalies such as slight misalignment, thin print lines (especially on foils) or small print dots.
• They do not affect the surface, the playability or the legibility.
• The card can be sold as Near Mint (NM) and is optionally mentioned in the description.

2. Misprints we report, but which do not lower the condition

• Visible but non-physical printing errors: incorrect text, a wrong symbol or mana cost, deviating colours or graphical errors.
• They do not affect structure, playability or surface.
• We state this clearly in the description as a misprint. The card can still be Near Mint (NM).

3. Serious errors that do lower the condition

• Heavy printing or manufacturing errors that clearly affect the card physically or visually, for example:
  • Irregular or heavily off-centre cuts
  • Large ink stains or smearing that makes text or artwork hard to read
  • Crimped cards (poor by sealing machines)
  • Deep, tangible print lines or damage
  • Extremely misaligned cards
• We always list these cards as such, with clear photos.
• Depending on the severity we lower the condition to, for example, Heavily Played or Damaged.

Misprints can actually add collector value. At Lichcards transparency comes first: we are as clear as possible about the state and particulars of every card.