This is a guide that I want to write for a long time. I don't know if there are any fake duel masters cards in Hong Kong, but I saw LOTS of fake cards from other games like Battle Spirits and some of them really look like real cards. However, I had seen fake cards in japan (But they were so blatantly faked that it doesn't matter) so better watch out.

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What is a fake card?

A fake card, also known as a Counterfeit card, is a replica of the real card and is usually purchased by people who do not care about the authenticity of the cards while others use them to scam people. Unlike most card games, fake duel masters cards are not as common as other games in Hong Kong, but I will write this just in case. Fake cards are completely worthless and if you were caught using them in a tournament in Japan you will be disqualified immediately.

Guide

And now to the guide to how to identify these fake cards.

Overall

Do not buy cards from stationery stores, dollar sales, flea markets or souvenir spots. Your usual card or hobby shop is unlikely to sell fake cards but the 4 places listed above are the most likely to sell them.

I only trust this Ebay seller. Because his stuff is always real and he delivers stuff in 2 days. I am sure there are other good sellers out there but i had not purchased from them yet.

Any Amazon or eBay seller with at least 90% positive feedback is pretty much trust-able...mostly. Actually, you are more likely to encounter scammers who don't deliver or sell cards at grossly inflated prices than a bootleg seller in amazon.

Watch out for overly cheap prices. (Such as 190 yen for a WINNER Crossfire or 50 yen booster packs.) There is no free lunch.

If any card has more than a cost of more than 25 or more than 39000 power and it does not have 2 sides, it is fake. There are exceptions to this (Such as Gyuujinmaru, Legendary Identity), but those are exceptions and will only appear once a while. The rule still stays true to most cards. The maximum cost of a two-sided card that is not a cell is 99, The maximum cost of a two-sided card that is not a cell is 99999 (although any non-cell card with between 35001 power to 99998 power is very likely fake, although there can be exceptions such as the aforementioned Gyuujinmaru), and cells have a maximum cost of 50 and a power of 50000.

Be one with duel masters so you can spot fakes easily.

Individual Cards

Keep in mind that most Duel Masters cards are made using the same paper as Magic: the Gathering cards because they are manufactured by the same company. Therefore, the counterfeit tests in MTG should work here.

If a card that is Very Rare or above has no foil on either side, It is fake, no exceptions. The only exceptions are choco snack promos, but nobody cares about them.

Even if it has foil, make sure that the foil is correspondent to that set. (Such as the fireworks foil on Super Rares from DM-08 to DM-21) If you see stars in a foil pattern, it is fake.

Make sure that the foil is not covering the entire card and has layers. Real cards are made by Background-Foil-Picture and fake cards simply slap a cheap foil on top of the card. Even should the card be covered with foil, make sure you can see parts with less foil and parts with more foil.

Check the text for mistakes and errors. Such as; will the text saying "スピードアタッカー" say "ス ビ ードアタッカー" instead or will there be misplaced text instead. The card texts in this wiki will help you find out. Should they have any mistakes, the card image will help out things because it can't be faked.

ードアタッカー" instead or will there be misplaced text instead. The card texts in this wiki will help you find out. Should they have any mistakes, the card image will help out things because it can't be faked. Cards use different fonts in old format and new format, and full-frame cards in DMR-15 or above have bolder text. Make sure you learn which is which. Taking a quick look at the card images in this wiki will help you more than the card texts themselves.

If any card after DM-12 is printed in any language other than Japanese it is fake. No exceptions . Cards of other languages save for Korean discontinued in DM-12 but the Korean expansions discontinued in DM-30.

. Cards of other languages save for Korean discontinued in DM-12 but the Korean expansions discontinued in DM-30. Check the back of the card. Each playable card is always blue with a yellow orb in the middle with the Duel Masters Logo in the middle. It should look like something in the picture below. It may have some variations in color such as deeper or lighter; it is not always consistent. However, if it deviates too much from this color such as too deep in blue and too bright in blue, it may be fake. However, Galberius Dragon's Y3 promo uses a special back but it is impossible to obtain for me and it's also unplayable so it does not matter. This is also useless for cards that get placed in the Hyperspatial Zone as these cards have no backs.



If a card has an unnaturally glossy surface and does not feel smooth when you touch it, it may be fake. Victory Rares in Episode 3 or later have a plastic-like coating but it should feel delicate, sandy and mirror-like, not glossy, and parts of the illustration should protrude out from the surface of the card slightly. Legend Cards should feel like any other foil card.

The card should have some light penetrating through it, and cards in new format tend to have more light protruding from them. If you see a card that has no light penetrating from it, it may be fake. The same goes for a card that is so thin that you can see through the back of the card. No light should penetrate from the front side of a Victory Rare in Episode 3 or after. If it is a two-sided card, no light should penetrate at all.

Look closer to the side of the card; It should consist of multiple layers. If it consists of only 1 piece of paper it is fake.

Any card that does not have a round edge (Sharp Edges) is fake.

In doubt use a bend test, which is done by placing the thumb and the middle fingers on the bottom of the card and push the card using the index finger. If it can get past at least 3 to 4 times it is real. if it bends instantly or it takes too hard to bend, the paper is not the paper that is used to make a duel masters card and it is fake. Only do this test on a card that you can sacrifice and not your valuable cards as it may destroy the card for 1 careless mistake. Do not use water or heat because it will destroy the card.

Compare the size of the card with your usual cards. Fake cards are sometimes smaller or larger than a usual card and you can see this obviously when putting the cards in your deck, aside from when you use sleeves which makes all of those cards the same size. Line those cards up instead.

3D Dragsolution cards are impossible to fake properly as they use new card creating technology. The same applies to recent Victory Rares. (Post Episode 2) They are so delicate in their handwork that they are impossible to fake properly. There are fakes but you can sniff that out instantly.



Booster Packs/Boxes