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My understanding is that holofoil stamps are used as an anti-counterfeit measure on rare and mythic rare cards: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/directors-chair-2013-2014-01-06

I noticed that the borderless basic lands from Unfinity also have these stamps, even though they are common. I have not seen these stamps on borderless basic lands from other sets. Has anyone from Wizards of the Coast ever stated why this is the case?

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Un-set basic lands are generally sought after because of their relative rarity and desirability. The hologram is a security feature that proves their authenticity and preserves their secondary market value.

High desirability and low availability lead to high prices. Un-sets, while being a mass-printed product (as opposed to e.g. promotional cards), are still rare relative to regular sets. Un-set basics are also desirable, once for the very reason that they are rare, but also because they are artistically appealing. For example, Unglued, the first un-set, featured the first full-art basics ever. Together this leads to high prices for the un-set basics.

This makes the cards attractive to counterfeiters, and the purpose of the hologram is to prove the authenticity of any given card. This protects the reputation of Wizards as a manufacturer of high-quality cards, and the secondary market value of the cards for the benefits of buyers and sellers.

Of course, Wizards doesn't protect every single card with the hologram because of production costs outweighing the benefits for most basics, commons, and uncommons, but un-set basics are a special case where it's worth the effort.

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  • Interesting. I wouldn't have expected the Unfinity basic lands are actually all that rare, given that there's one in every draft booster. But I guess that's where the demand factor comes in.
    – Ogre
    Feb 13 at 4:31
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Un-set basic lands are the only cards that were legal to use in other formats (see below).

So, while you could have a fun time with Un-set cards, afterwards you can't use them in other decks for Standard, Pioneer, Modern, etc. Basic lands are always legal, so they were essentially the only playable cards from those packs. In addition, the unique art was a big draw for them.

So, playability and desirability combined means they would be the most likely to be counterfeited, hence the stamp.

  • Unfinity has cards that are legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander

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