3.3.4 The Water Test
- Magic cards can actually handle getting quite wet. Get a damp Q-tip or something similar and gently wipe along the edge and border of a card. The ink on a real card does not bleed AT ALL! (Even after a full washing machine cycle on the hot setting. Trust me). Apart from a little dirt, nothing should come off the card. A real card will also not wrinkle or separate from just getting damp. I've spilled drinks on cards before with no real damage occurring. If a card's border has been colored in, water will often take it right off, making a dark smudge on the Q-tip.
3.3.5 The Microwave Test
- I've been told by a number of people that sticking some fake or rebacked cards in the microwave will cause the glue to separate. I tested this on a couple of rebacked cards that I had on high for 30 seconds and nothing happened except that the card got really hot. What I can tell you is that nothing will happen to a real Magic card in the microwave.
3.3.6 The Blacklight Test
Let's say you just bought a collection of cards off the internet and you want a quick way to sift through it and pull out any obvious fakes. You don't have time to sit and look at thousands of cards one at a time. A cheap, handheld blacklight is the perfect tool. I was able to pick one up online for $10. All Magic cards luminesce under a blacklight. This is a property of the cardstock they are printed on. Many fake cards do not, so when you run a pile of cards under a blacklight, and all but one of these cards lights up, the fake sticks out like a sore thumb. In the image, the fake card on the left is non-luminescent, and obviously very different from the real card on the right.