Demonic Trader Admin
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Guide on identifying and listing card variations on Demonic Trader.
Please note: this guide is just that - a guide. If you have any doubt about what set your card is from or what variation it is, we recommend you visit your LGS or get a second opinion from someone with expertise. As the seller, you are always fully responsible for the accurate listing of your cards.
Also, new treatments, editions, and who knows what else are being produced all the time. While we strive to keep this up to date, please be aware that the information here may be outdated.
The regular printing is the regular frame, regular treatment, non-foil version of the card. In most cases, the Collector ID for the card will be the lowest of the possible versions for cards with the same name and set. For example, the Bonecrusher Giant below from ELD is the regular printing. The Collector ID is 115, and is displayed in the bottom-left corner of the card as “115/269”.
Certain cards are printed with different arts, even within the same set. This most commonly occurred with old MTG sets, but has also occurred recently in Un-sets and famously with Teferi, Master of Time (M21). Demonic Trader uses the Scryfall database, and we use the same Collector ID as listed on Scryfall. In the case of newer art variations such as Teferi, Master of Time, the Collector ID will be as found in the bottom-left corner of the card:
In the case of older cards, the Collector ID will have a lowercase letter attached to identify the different art variations. For example, the original Urza’s Tower from Antiquities has four art variations, which are listed on the Scryfall database as Collector IDs 83a, 83b, 83c, and 84d.
If in doubt, always go to Scryfall to check that you are using the correct Collector ID for the art variation.
Most recent sets, starting with Throne of Eldraine, have had certain cards printed in both the regular card frame and an alternate “showcase” frame with different art. For example, here is the showcase frame Bonecrusher Giant:
Some cards are also printed with “borderless” extended arts. Compare, for example, the borderless (left) and regular (right) Robber of the Rich:
In certain cases, particularly with planeswalkers, the borderless version also uses a different art. Fortunately, these alternate versions are given distinct Collector IDs, and both Demonic Trader and the Scryfall database recognise them by their unique IDs.
Promo versions of cards are treated as a separate set. For example, these two promo Bonecrusher Giants will both be listed under the set name “Throne of Eldraine Promos”:
All promos stamped with the planeswalker symbol (left) are listed with a lowercase “p” after the Collector ID, e.g. “115p”. Promos stamped with the date or year are listed with a lowercase “s” after the Collector ID, e.g. “115s”.
For the majority of Magic’s history, cards have been printed both in the regular treatment and with a fully-foiled treatment. Recently, certain cards have been printed with further special treatments such as Etched, Surge, Galaxy, Confetti etc foils.
Please note we now consider etched foils as foils, in a change from previous policy. We may update this policy or implement new ways to indicate etched foils in the future.
Recently, certain cards have been reprinted in Set Boosters and other products as part of “The List”. These appear identical to an older printing of the card, except that they have a tiny, white planeswalker symbol appearing next to the Collector ID in the bottom-left corner. For example, here is Bonecrusher Giant from The List:
Similarly, reprinted cards (NOT the special “playtest” cards) that appeared in Mystery Boosters also have a white planeswalker symbol in the bottom-left corner, despite appearing in all other ways identical to their original printing. For example, here is Academy Journeymage from Mystery Boosters (left) vs. its original Dominaria printing (right):
Both The List and Mystery Boosters are treated as part of the same set by Scryfall and therefore by us. However, a number of cards were reprinted in both The List and Mystery Boosters. These cards can be very hard to distinguish from each other. The best way to distinguish these is to visit Scryfall and look up the version in each of these sets, as some cards were reprinted from different sets, e.g. Faithless Looting in The List (left) was reprinted from Duel Decks: Sorin vs Tibalt, and in Mystery Boosters (right) from Commander Anthology II:
These cards are distinguished by their Collector IDs.
Mystery Boosters also included one “playtest” card per pack. These are not tournament legal but may be listed on Demonic Trader. There were two separate printings of the playtest cards - they originally appeared in the Convention Edition with a small white planeswalker symbol in the bottom-left corner, and then subsequently in the Retail Edition without the symbol.
Demonic Trader treats these as separate sets: Convention Edition = Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019 (CMB1) and Retail Edition = Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2021 (CMB2). For example, here is Slivdrazi Monstrosity from Retail Edition/CMB2 (left) vs Convention Edition/CMB1 (right):
Please make sure you list these under the correct set name, as there can be a significant price difference between the two printings.
Gold border cards are non-tournament legal cards that were printed in promotional items such as World Championship Decks and Magic 30. Please ensure that you choose the correct set name when listing gold border cards. You are responsible for the accuracy of your listings, and we reserve the right to take action against users who are found to be listing gold border cards incorrectly.
Has Wizards printed yet another new type of card? Get in touch and let us know.
