Magic: The Gathering Player Receives Game Loss For Having Fake Cards in His Deck

Image: Wizards of the Coast/Art by Gorin Josic

New York-based Magic: The Gathering player Andrew Jessup received a game loss at a recent Modern PTQ event for having fake cards in his deck. On Twitter, Magic player Fabian shared the news about the Magic judge's ruling after finding out that five of Jessup's cards were fake. The cards were three copies of Cavern of Souls and two copies of Horizon Canopy. Jessup confirmed the news on Twitter, saying that it happened at the beginning of the event's Round 2 and that the judge asked him to replace the fake cards with basic land cards.

Jessup didn't seem to have a problem with the ruling. "And to be clear, I'm not particularly mad or upset with how it was handled," Jessup tweeted. "Was mostly just interested in hearing the opinions of others on it, considering it's a fairly unique situation."

It turns out that the cards were purchased from TCGPlayer but the popular card dealer probably didn't notice that they were fake. If TCGPlayer and Jessup didn't know they were fake, they probably look exactly like the real cards, so it made me wonder how the judge determined that they were fake. If the cards were purchased from a third-party seller, TCGPlayer never sees the cards so they can offer a replacement or a refund but they should not be blamed for it.

Jessup shared a photo of the fake cards on his Twitter page, and as you can see below, they look just like the real ones.

Now I can see why Jessup would see them as real. According to Jessup, he borrowed the entire deck from a friend who recently bought the cards. It's easy to see why people are making fake copies of Cavern of Souls and Horizon Canopy. They're pretty expensive. A non-foil Cavern of Souls currently costs $80 USD a piece and a non-foil Future Sight Horizon Canopy costs around $75.

Do you think that the judge gave a fair ruling to give Jessup a game loss or do you think replacing his cards is enough? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Read more: The Professor Talks About Magic: The Gathering's Buy-A-Box Blunder