The condition of a card is determined by the number and extent of imperfections that a card exhibits. Imperfections are any atypical printing or manufacturing defects, and any wear or damage to the card after that printing process. Imperfections are characterized by both a Type (ex: scratch) and a Severity (ex: slight).
Near Mint /// Near Mint Foil
Cards in Near Mint (NM) condition show minimal wear from shuffling, play or handling and can have a nearly unmarked surface, crisp corners and unblemished edges outside of a few slight flaws. A Near Mint card may have slight edge wear or a scratch or three, but overall look nearly unplayed with no major defects.
The acceptable range of cards within the Near Mint condition includes both cards with no imperfections and cards with a few slight imperfections.
Lightly Played /// Lightly Played Foil
Cards in Lightly Played (LP) condition may have minor border or corner wear, scuffs or scratches. There are no major defects such as grime, bends or issues with the structural integrity of the card. Noticeable imperfections are okay, but none should be too severe or at too high a volume.
The acceptable range of cards within the Lightly Played condition includes both cards with few or a handful of minor imperfections.
Moderately Played /// Moderately Played Foil
Cards in Moderately Played (MP) condition can have border wear, corner wear, scratching or scuffing, creases or whitening or any combination of moderate examples of these flaws.
A Moderately Played card may have some form of imperfection impacting a small area of the card from mishandling or poor storage, such as creasing that doesnʼt affect card integrity, in combination with other issues such as scratches, scuffs or border/edge wear.
Heavily Played /// Heavily Played Foil
Cards in Heavily Played (HP) condition show a major amount of wear. Cards can show a variety of moderate imperfections along with creasing, whitening and bends. Heavily Played cards can also have flaws that impact the integrity of the card, but the card can still be sleeve playable.
Damaged /// Damaged Foil
Damaged cards show wear or imperfections beyond the standards for other conditions. Cards in Damaged condition can also exhibit an imperfection that may make the card illegal for tournament play, even in a sleeve. Cards in Damaged condition may have major border wear, corner wear, scratching or scuffing, as well as folds, creases, tears or other damage that impacts the structural integrity of the card.
(Note: No one likes to receive a card that is covered in a foreign substance, such as food, liquid or other material. Cards like these are not accepted.)
Foils and Foiling
Foil versions of cards are evaluated by the same criteria we use for their non-Foil counterparts. This provides a consistent set of rules for conditioning.
- Things to look for with foil cards:
- Imperfections are often more noticeable on cards with foiling. Cards that are borderline between conditions should be downgraded more often than their non-foil counterparts.
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Foil cards are products that are most prone to curling and should be reviewed to ensure they are under 5mm of flex.
Oversized Cards
Our Conditioning Guide outlines measurements based on standard card imperfections. Given that oversized cards are 1.4x larger than a standard card, we allow 1.4x the size of any imperfection for the different severities.
We follow TCGPlayer's standard for card conditions. However, we reserve the right to have final say on a card's condition when processing buylists.
![Frozen City (100/116) [Black & White: Plasma Freeze]](http://emmettstoystop.com/cdn/shop/files/85577.jpg?v=1750312430&width=1445)
