Pokémon and MTG are probably the two largest trading card games in history. In this post, I’m gonna show you MTG cards with Pokémon cards printed on them. We’ll find out why this happens and just how rare these cards are.
Strangely enough, to my knowledge, we’ve never seen the opposite crossover, meaning a Pokémon card with an MTG card printed over it (apart from the Invasion Blowout Uncut Sheet with Pokémon Backs), but it has almost certainly happened, and I’ll tell you why.
The main reason is simple: Pokémon and MTG cards are produced inside the same printing facilities.
Until 2003, Wizards of the Coast (MTG’s owner) produced Pokémon cards for The Pokémon Company. Nowadays, this still happens because demand for cards from both brands is so high that several printing facilities work with both franchises (even though Wizards of the Coast is no longer involved with Pokémon).
If you want to know more about the printing process itself, I recommend reading my guide about how are Pokémon cards made.
Blastoise Test Print with MTG Back (1998)
I talked extensively about this card in my other post about the Blastoise Test Prints.
This card was produced in 1998 (Base Set came out in 1999) while Wizards of the Coast was testing the initial design for the English cards.
They printed the card on an MTG foil sheet because they were already producing MTG cards at the time (which originally released in 1993).
German Base Set Cards with MTG Back (1999)
A few years ago, several German Base Set cards with Magic backs surfaced on the market.
This error occurred because cards from both brands were produced in the same facilities. An operator accidentally loaded a sheet with MTG backs into the press, only realizing the mistake during the cutting phase. While most of these cards were destroyed, a handful managed to survive and make their way into collectors’ hands.
Base Set Make Ready on MTG Sheet (1999)
As reported on the Elite Fourum: “…these cards I recently have graded for a ex-WOTC employee. After many discussions with the owner and a variety of other old employees, I came to the conclusion that they were doing an alignment or color test. After posting, I was told that there was a lightning energy which first put the theory in mind that this was from a theme deck print.“.
These are likely Pokémon Base Set make-ready sheets printed over MTG cards. In the printing industry, a make-ready is a test or scrap sheet fed through the press to calibrate ink levels and align plates before the actual production run begins.
Invasion “Blowout” MTG Theme Deck with Pokémon Backs (2000)
This rare uncut sheet of the Invasion Blowout Theme Deck has the back of a Pokémon uncut sheet.
It was produced by Cartamundi and left the factory as part of a batch of uncut Pokémon sheets for an early 2000s KB Toys Pokémon contest.
Pokémon Cards Back on Japanese The Brothers’ War card(2022)
On these cards, however, Pokémon card backs are faintly visible due to roller ghosting.
This happens when press rollers aren’t properly cleaned between runs, causing residual ink from previous prints to leave an unwanted phantom image on the card’s surface.
Pokémon Basic Energies printed over Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander Cards (2026)
On these cards, you can see the black ink layer of some Pokémon Basic Energies. I will repeat myself, this happens because MTG cards are produced using the same printing press used for Pokémon cards.
Can’t find your Pokémon card printed on a MTG stock?
If you have already found something or want help pricing your Pokémon card printed over an MTG card, feel free to contact me or send me a DM on Instagram (click on the chat button on the right).
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