Card condition is one of the most important factors in Magic card pricing, with the difference between Near Mint and Moderately Played sometimes representing a 30 to 50 percent price gap. Players and collectors need a reliable way to assess and track the condition of their cards, especially when selling or insuring a collection.

The standard condition scale used by most of the Magic community follows TCGPlayer's grading system: Near Mint (NM), Lightly Played (LP), Moderately Played (MP), Heavily Played (HP), and Damaged. Near Mint means the card looks essentially new with no visible wear. Lightly Played allows for minor edge whitening or a small scratch. Moderately Played shows noticeable wear but the card is fully playable in a sleeve. Heavily Played has significant wear including creasing, heavy whitening, or water damage. Damaged cards have structural issues that affect playability.

Currently, no scanner app can automatically and accurately determine a card's condition through the camera alone. The subtle edge whitening that distinguishes NM from LP, tiny surface scratches visible only at certain angles, and the difference between a minor crease and a major one all require human eyes and physical handling to assess properly. Camera resolution and lighting variability make automated condition grading unreliable.

What good scanner apps offer instead is the ability to manually assign a condition grade during or after scanning. Lotus Scan lets you tag each card with a condition rating as you catalog it. This is valuable because it adjusts the estimated value of your collection based on realistic condition assessments rather than assuming everything is Near Mint, which is the default most apps use and which significantly overestimates collection value for any cards that have been played.

For the most accurate condition grading, develop a consistent personal standard. Examine each card under good lighting, check all four edges for whitening, look at the surface at an angle for scratches, and check for any bending or creasing. Grade conservatively rather than optimistically, especially if you plan to sell. Buyers and stores will downgrade cards they feel are overgraded, which leads to disputes and returns.

Professional grading services like PSA and CGC provide the most objective and trusted condition assessments, but their cost and turnaround time make them practical only for cards worth $50 or more. For everything else, your own careful evaluation combined with condition tracking in Lotus Scan gives you a reliable system for managing your collection's true value.