Recently, my son traded three common Yu-Gi-Oh cards for the coveted Slifer god card. He was very excited, thinking he worked the deal of a lifetime. Indeed, Slifer cards sell for around $35.00 apiece, depending on the dealer. Nonetheless, trading three worthless cards for a Slifer god card seemed like a phenomenal deal..
What we discovered next nearly dropped us to the floor — the Slifer card was a counterfeit! Within moments of checking it out, Mom immediately recognized the unusual coloring, odd syntax, and heavy gloss on the card. Upon closer examination, many errors were discovered — spelling mistakes, missing graphics, and misaligned text — all pointing to one inescapable reality: an illegitimate Slifer card!
Amazed by the idea that someone would actually produce a fake Slifer card, I quickly confiscated the card and began scrutinizing the details. After studying the card, carefully comparing it to other Yu-Gi-Oh cards and several legitimate Slifer cards (via dealer sites, etc.), the extremely poor quality of the counterfeit became laughably obvious. This is sad for at least two reasons. First, it is sad that there are scumbags who steal from children. Second, it is sad that a counterfeiter would perform such an absolutely pathetic rendition of the very popular Slifer Yu-Gi-Oh god card.
Nonetheless, discovering and studying the counterfeit card provided such a thrill that we thought others might benefit from a critical online analysis. Hopefully, this article will serve as a reference for others to compare against in order to avoid the purchase or trade of other fake Yu-Gi-Oh cards. If nothing else, we hope that you will enjoy a hearty laugh upon discovering the amateur nature of this particular counterfeit.
Authentic Slifer Card
Counterfeit Slifer Card
Click here for a close-up, side-by-side comparison of the authentic vs. counterfeit Slifer cards.
Summary of the obvious errors on the fake Slifer card:
[a]Card title is in lowercase text; "sky dragon" is not capitalized[b]The text, "GOD", has replaced the original symbol and text[c]Incorrect number of stars: ten stars on the real card, eleven on the fake.[d]Missing serial number below the image of Slifer, on the right-hand side[e]"[DIBINE .BEAST]" is misspelled, contains a period, and is typographically incorrect[f]Description contains numerous errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typography[g]Misaligned text for "ATK" and "DEF" characters[h]Missing japanese characters in the lower-left corner of the card[i]Missing copyright and japanese name in lower-right corner of card[j]Missing reflective authenticity decal in lower-right corner of card[k]Image resolution/quality is poor — out of focus, grainy, pixelated[l]Overall coloring of the card is too pale, or otherwise inaccurate[m]Placement of the description text is misaligned, too low[n]The card itself is overly glossy — way too much gloss
Flaws present on the back of the card
The brand name, "KONAMI" and registered symbol (R) missing from upper-left corner( apparently, authentic god cards display neither brand name nor registered symbol on the back of the card. )Trademark signature (TM) missing from Yu-Gi-Oh logo in lower-right corner( apparently, authentic god cards do not display a trademark signature on the back of the card. )- Front of card lacks proper card gloss — surface similar to paper
- Colorization is too pale, or otherwise inaccurate
We hope this article is helpful to someone. If you have other examples of counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh cards, we would love to hear about them. Update: new article posted highlighting Deana’s experience with a counterfeit Slifer card she had purchased on eBay (Originally posted on: 03/05/2008).
86 Responses
AnDeRwOLFe – January 18, 2009 •
Just to enlighten everyone a bit further.
Every “Egyptian god card” (Slifer, Obelisk, Ra) is a counterfeit.
Konami never actually printed any legal cards, thus why you’ll never see one in a Tournament, or any event put on by them or anyone associated with them.
Just thought I’d point that out.
Tracy – February 17, 2009 •
If you end up with a counterfeit card (s) it depends on where you are playing and who with. Obviously, tournaments won’t allow them.
I buy my cards from a little asian dollar store in packs (sometimes). They cost a lot less.
My friends let me play with those, as long as they are random from a starter or booster pack and the wording makes sense. They wouldn’t allow me to use a single, powerful fake card, if I bought it separately.
These cards are also not for use in trading, unless the people you play with have similar cards.
Tracy – February 17, 2009 •
Also- I sold a huge lot of MTG cards on Ebay a few years ago (all real) and a bunch of YU Gi Oh cards (wasn’t sure how many were ‘real’) However, in regard to the Yu Gi Oh, I did point out that they looked like they were made for another country, wasn’t sure of the authenticity (the all said konami- should they be upper deck? can’t remember), but all of the YU Gi Oh I sold at least made sense in regard to the wording for casual playing.
if you play casually, with friends, and the wording makes sense, it shouldn’t really matter. But, just be careful if you are trading (make sure the recipient knows it might not be real if you have the better card or don’t give away your fave card (s) if you aren’t sure what you are getting is ‘real’).
Niko – April 29, 2009 •
never glossy cards…I have a Slifer it has reddish brown back, does not say yugioh on it(original)Obelisk has blue back…again no yugioh tm on back and winged dragon of ra has goldish back no yugio tm hope this helps
(Sources): I have all three cards and have prior years of experience playing yugioh when I was little
Gregory – November 21, 2009 •
I acquired 3 Egyptian God cards, but I recently realized they were fake! On Slifer’s card, the name is incorrectly spelled as Sliffer; there is no “divine” in the top right corner; there is no “1996 …” in the bottom right corner and in the bottom left corner there is no “this card cannot…”; there is no foil in the bottom right corner; their numbers under the picture say G4-01, G4-02, G4-03 instead of the correct G4-001, etc.; the writing is in a slightly different font. The other cards have the same problems albeit they are spelled correctly. However, everything else is present. All three card are different colors, front and back; the descriptions and pictures are correct; they do not have the logos on the back. The cards were originally acquired from eBay. E-mail me if you would like to see a scanned copy of them.
Kid – December 31, 2009 •
Why is it when i try to find real Yu-Gi-Oh cards in China, i never succeed, and only end up with counterfeits, fake cards with typos and completely changed (but same idea) effect and names? Does anyone know any real Yu-Gi-Oh card shop in China?
Dominic – March 25, 2010 •
Theres no such thing as a 1st edition god card right? and isnt the real slifer the sky dragon from the GBI-001 supposed to be red on the back of the card?
Slasher – May 31, 2010 •
Ugh. I bought a selection of cards off of Ebay and the cards in the picture were real Except one but I knew that anyway. There was a shiny first edition Blue eyes white Dragon with the holographic film at the bottom and stuff. Then the Blue Eyes I got sent was too big, unshiny, the card was dulled as if it had been in the sun too long and it had no holographic film. I just stared at it for like a minute then went, DAMN! I replied to the guy but he said it must have been the camera flash that made it look shiny and real. I just left it at that and used the card as a template for stuff. Same thing happened with a Winged Dragon of Ra I bought for ₤8. I had asked a question about it about three hours before the sale ended but I was only answered with details pointing to it being fake after I had paid for it.
woodizee – June 1, 2010 •
also it ses 1st edition god cards say limited edition or nothing
woodizee – June 1, 2010 •
i have a real slifer and a fake one i keep the real one in its plastic case and use the craptaculer fake one 4 duels!
Jesse Maher – June 23, 2010 •
How do you identify a fake card even though it was in a seiled pack
Peter – June 28, 2010 •
Ive owned two sets of yugioh god cards, so I know what the real deal looks like- i recently bought another set off ebay, and these cards were fakes. the attention to detail was incredible though- everything was right, except for the glossy finish on the card. Furthermore, the seller left a sticky note inside the package stating “NEGATIVE/NEUTRAL FEEDBACK OR PP DISPUTE VOIDS REFUND”, so if I want my money back, I cant rat the seller out! >:[