Scroll Rack | Illustration by Heather Hudson
Magic cardboard’s getting really expensive these days, and some cards aren’t getting cheaper. Some cards can’t be reprinted at all thanks to the Reserved List, while some more recent cards like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse reach the $50+ mark and aren’t going anywhere. What to do?
Aside from playing online, which is a cheaper alternative but leaves aside the physical cards, there’s the proxy alternative. Proxies are non-official prints of cards, whether you’re doing at home and putting it over a bulk common or basic land or ordering proxies on card stock. You can play with proxied cards to save on cash, at least outside of a MTG tournament.
People use proxies for testing new deck ideas, to add spells that cost a real fortune to a certain deck, or even for safety reasons – you don’t want to have your expensive and unique cardboard stolen. Let’s take a look at proxies, how you should make your own proxy cards, and rank the best paper you can get for your proxy purposes.
Let’s dive in!
What Is Proxy Paper?
Papercraft Decoy | Illustration by Brian Valeza
Proxy paper is the material on which you’ll print your proxies. After all you’re printing a colored image full of detail, and using inadequate paper wields an ugly image. To print proxies, you’ll need a good printer that can print a Magic card colored image in a good resolution, and good proxy paper.
Once you print your proxy, you’ll put it or paste it over a real MTG card, usually a basic land or a draft common you have around, and ideally sleeve it. Some players like to put the image of the card printed between the common card and the sleeve, while others like to paste it or print the proxy over an adhesive material – like printing a label. It’s recommended to do this because it’s way harder to print on thick cardboard, and if you mix your printed proxies with real MTG cards, you’ll feel the difference.
Quick Summary: My Top Pick – Double-Sided Gloss Digital C2S Paper
This is a beautiful paper that yields awesome results and print quality, and you can use it easily in your laser printer. It’s going to require another cardboard with it since it’s not a thick paper. You’ll have a good cost-to-benefit option and print your proxies in photograph quality.
- NOT for Inkjet Printers.
- PERFECT FOR COLOR PRINTING – High quality White 40lb Bond / 100lb Text Paper (150gsm) with a Double-Sided Glossy surface and 96 brightness. Excellent for flyers, brochures, design proposals, full color photographs, posters and presentations.
- 99.99% JAM-FREE GUARANTEED – Offers rich color reproduction, superior image quality and excellent opacity without the cost of a premium paper! Its dependable performance ensures a trouble-free run so you can focus on creating a superior printed piece.
- ARCHIVAL SAFE – Acid free and lignin free which helps preserve the paper and prevents it from becoming faded and brittle over time over time and ensures a long-lasting quality appearance!
- PRINTER COMPATIBLE – Optimal performance on color and black and white laser and digital printers.
#4. HP Papers | 8.5 x 11 Paper | BrightWhite 24 lb
This is the cheapest option, and recommended if you want your proxies to be almost like a prototype. It’s your regular printing paper with a good quality but nothing special.
- Made in USA: HP Papers is sourced from renewable forest resources and has achieved production with 0% deforestation in North America.
- An extra bright, white paper when you need to print full-color documents - HP Bright White24 is thicker (24 pounds), brighter (100 bright) and whiter (165 whiteness) than ordinary printing papers and is optimized for full-color printing in all inkjet printers and copies.
- Certified sustainable: HP BrightWhite24 printer paper is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and contributes toward satisfying credit MR1 under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
- ColorLok technology printing paper: ColorLok technology provides more vivid colors, bolder blacks and faster drying.
- Acid free paper: HP BrightWhite24 print and copy paper prevents yellowing over time to ensure a long-lasting appearance for added archival quality. Ideal for presentations, flyers, newsletters and other bright color-intensive documents
#3. Koala Photo Paper Matte Coated 8.5X11 Inches
Here’s a slightly better matte paper. Matte papers are less shiny and ideal to use in places with abundant natural light.
- Smooth and flat, Scratch-resistant, Vivid color performance
- Perfect for printing photos, scrapbook cards, signage, brochures, charts, calendars and much more
- Compatible with inkjet printer, Using dye ink, 8.5X11 inches coated paper with matte finish,180gsm
- No watermarks on the back leaves you to write and record
- We recommend that you laminate the paper after printing photos to keep it long-lasting without fading and yellowing
#2. Accent Opaque White 8.5” x 11” 100lb Cardstock Paper
This is the paper you’ll want to print directly into thick cardboard. It’s similar to the weight and thickness of a real MTG cardboard. The main problem here lies in your printing process, because few people have a home setup to print straight onto cardstock, but otherwise this is a very solid paper to print your proxies.
- THICK, WHITE CARDSTOCK PAPER – Accent Opaque heavy cardstock paper offers a high bright-white shade and smooth finish It’s premium cardstock paper with excellent printability, proper ink holdout & minimal show-through for vibrant prints
- SUSTAINABLY SOURCED – Accent papers are 100% made in the USA and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified When you buy Accent cardstock printer paper, you are helping replant forests and support sustainable forestry jobs for landowners in America
- PRINTABLE CARDSTOCK PAPER – This thick cardstock paper is guaranteed to run on personal/professional copiers, inkjet/laser printers and offset presses that accept this cover weight paper This heavy paper is acid-free to prevent yellowing over time
- PAIRS WELL WITH OTHER ACCENT PAPER – For a consistent look to your project, pair this 100lb cardstock with Accent text weight copy paper Look for our complete line of text weight and cover weight papers in super smooth, smooth and vellum finishes
- IDEAL FOR HOME, SCHOOL, OFFICE PRINTING - Before printing heavyweight papers on your desktop printer, consult your printer's user manual, check for compatibility, and conduct some test prints.
#1. Double-Sided Gloss Digital C2S Paper
This is my top pick for printing proxies. This paper gves you a proxy you’ll probably like to keep, and the gloss paper gives this a shiny finish.
- NOT for Inkjet Printers.
- PERFECT FOR COLOR PRINTING – High quality White 40lb Bond / 100lb Text Paper (150gsm) with a Double-Sided Glossy surface and 96 brightness. Excellent for flyers, brochures, design proposals, full color photographs, posters and presentations.
- 99.99% JAM-FREE GUARANTEED – Offers rich color reproduction, superior image quality and excellent opacity without the cost of a premium paper! Its dependable performance ensures a trouble-free run so you can focus on creating a superior printed piece.
- ARCHIVAL SAFE – Acid free and lignin free which helps preserve the paper and prevents it from becoming faded and brittle over time over time and ensures a long-lasting quality appearance!
- PRINTER COMPATIBLE – Optimal performance on color and black and white laser and digital printers.
How Do I Print My Own Proxy?
The best way to do this is by using specialized websites that do the templating for you, like Moxfield or Archidekt. First, get the decklist you want to print, or the list of cards. Then you’ll need to input those in a website that’ll do the printing template for you, with good examples being mtgprint.net or printingproxies.com.
Once you’ve chosen the cards and quantity you want to print, the template fits up to 9 cards in an A4 paper size. It’s important to choose at least 600 DPI (Dots per Inch) for a better image quality when printing. Make sure you’ve got a good printer you could use to print proxies at home. Another really good and cost-efficient alternative is to get them printed elsewhere.
What Kind of Paper Is Used for MTG Cards?
MTG cards are printed on a special cardboard, called Corona, which is composed of many layers. Over the course of the years, MTG’s printing process has been constantly altered and upgraded as a way to improve the process and to fight counterfeiting. There are only three factories in the world that produce MTG’s cardboard, and these factories are authorized to print MTG cards.
What Size Do I Print for Mtg Proxies?
The size of an MTG card is 2.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall. In metric, that’s 6.3 cm by 8.8 cm. You’ll usually want to print a card with a lower size so that you can juxtapose it to another MTG card. But since there are some third-party sites that allow you to print decks like mtgprint.net or printingproxies.com, these will set up the printing size for you.
It’s recommended to print the cards on a 100%-105% scale so that the prints are slightly smaller, or the same size as a MTG card. You probably won’t want the proxy to be bigger than a card, because in this case, you’ll either be able to see the proxy through the card or have to be more precise at cutting the prints.
Is It Legal to Print MTG Proxies?
It’s totally legal to print MTG proxies. What you have to keep in mind is that any kind of proxy isn’t accepted in sanctioned tournaments, and they’re usually not accepted when playing FNM at your local game store. These only accept that you put real cards in your deck. However, casual formats can accept proxies in your deck, depending on the acceptance of other players in your play group. Some Legacy and Vintage playgroups accept to play with proxies, as long as the cards are readable. Another concern is that the proxy can’t be a marked card so that you can’t tell by looking at the top card of your deck if it’s a proxy.
The only legal problem is related to counterfeiting, which is to make an almost-perfect replica of an MTG card and sell those as if they were original cards. WotC owns all the rights to sell MTG cards, and they’re the IP owner. As long as you don’t use proxies to deceive people or to make a profit, there’s no legal problem.
Does Cardstock Work With Regular Printers?
They usually don't. For printing in cardstock with higher gsm (grams per square meter), you’ll need adequate printers to do the job. These are often on the expensive side, so your regular printer is good for printing in lower gsm papers. Just for reference, MTG’s cardboard has around 390 gsm. Here are some indications for printers that can do this job, like the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 or the Canon Pixma PRO-200.
Wrap Up
Scroll Thief | Illustration by Alex Horley-Orlandelli
As MTG real cardboard becomes scarcer and more expensive, we’ll see more proxies around. Some formats like Legacy and Vintage probably would have fewer players if not for proxies, and even those who have the real cards aren’t comfortable with playing with a $5000+ deck. Eternal format players often advocate in favor of proxies since they prefer to have more opponents at regular events than playing against the same people with the same decks. Proxies can be an awesome tool to test new ideas, or play with cards in the spoiler season, so that you can make a more assertive choice when buying these later.
Have you ever printed proxies yourself? Do you think MTG players should be more flexible and accept proxies everywhere? Let me know in the comments section below, or in our Discord Server.
Thanks for reading guys, and use proxies wisely from now on.
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