We Tried Out Not MPC — Is it Legit?

Last updated on November 11, 2025

Exit Through the Grift Shop | Illustration by Chris Seaman

Not everybody wants to play with proxies, and that's fine. Magic has plenty of space for us all to play the game as we like. For players interested in proxies, it’s critical to find reliable websites that offer quality proxies at a good price.

A newcomer on the proxy scene is Not MPC, a card game printing company that opened only recently. Though they offer many more services and aren't exclusively a Magic website like Proxy King or Printing Proxies, MTG proxies are possible with their custom card orders.

Today, I reviewing their services, how easy it is to order, and whether the cards are good enough to add Not MPC to your prospective proxy sites.

What Is Not MPC?

Trading Post | Illustration by Adam Paquette

Not MPC is a US-based business that offers professional card game printing services. For Magic players, the big draw is their potential as a proxy site to get proxies for Commander decks and other casual formats. They offer a variety of custom card orders based on whether you want no border, a white border, or a black border. Additionally, you can order sleeves or full sheets of S33 card stock from Not MPC, but this review focuses exclusively on the proxies.

Why Buy from Not MPC?

Not MPC is US-based, which means faster delivery times and no tariffs for customers in the United States. Ordering from overseas proxy sites can come loaded with fees and lengthy delivery times that this site doesn't have.

Additionally, the card prices are pretty cheap. You can set the size of the deck, and the site displays the cost per deck in a table off to the side. The average Magic player won't need to order more than one copy of any given deck, but these are great rates; $34 dollars for a full Commander deck, and about $160 for a 540-card Cube. If you order proxies primarily for financial reasons, it's hard to argue with those prices.

Not MPC: Is It Worth It?

Navigating the Site

Site navigation is pretty simple, especially when you're coming for proxies: Not MPC keeps the custom cards front and center. Or you could follow the links at the top of the page. Dealer's choice, really. Any complexity comes from the variety of offerings, but the site has an easy-to-follow UI that lets you select card size, quantity, treatment, and so on. I don't have much to say here; Not MPC has a simple, clean site that directs you exactly where you need to go.

Browsing Product

Though Not MPC offers several products, we're interested in the custom cards. Select the link at the top of the page to see three options: blank, with a white border, and with a black border. For MTG proxies, you just want the blank ones. The art you use should include the border, and you don't want to risk the border Not MPC prints messing with the art of your card.

Once you select a product, you get a bevy of options regarding size, the type of paper, treatment, and so on. The drop-down tables make sorting through the options easy. Because many offerings are variations on a few products (the size of your cards, the type of paper, etc.), the site is easy to browse without getting overwhelmed. You need to know some details about what your order requires (for Magic cards, you need cards sized at 63×88mm on S33 Superior Smooth paper) but those details are easy to obtain via your search engine of choice.

Ordering Product

The website has different options regarding card size and the type of paper. For MTG proxies, you want custom game cards sized at 63×88mm printed on the S33 Superior Smooth card stock. These have the dimensions and feel of a regular Magic card.

Once you pick which cards you want, you'll be prompted to select the quantity of cards in your deck, up to a set number. Note that you pay the same rate per deck if you don't fill it (a 108-card deck costs $34 dollars even if you have a few less) so make sure to set the ceiling as close to the number of cards you need as you can. 108 should serve most EDH players well with 100 cards for the deck and 8 for random tokens—though token-heavy decks might need a larger size.

Once you've selected the size, the site asks if you want each card to have the same image or different images. Unless you're printing the same card en masse for some reason, select individual images. Don't worry if you need multiples of cards like basic lands—you can apply the same image several times in the next step.

You can manually add downloaded images to the drag and drop frames, or you can upload an XML file to do it automatically. I did the latter. I'll talk more about image sourcing, but know that your images must have a minimum resolution of 447×597 pixels.

The site asks you to edit the front of the cards, then the back. I originally thought you weren't able to make custom double-faced cards, but there are actually settings to customize the back of individual cards on the same sheet, so MDFCs and transforming cards are safe. This could've been a deal-breaker depending on your needs, as many proxy sites don't have functionality for double-faced cards.

Once you've uploaded your images, just check the box for terms and conditions and add your order to the cart. Things proceed as normal: Enter your shipping and billing information, and the cards are printed.

The time spent uploading images is very different than if you used a Magic-focused proxy site, where you can often look up cards by name to get the art or even copy and paste a full deck list in. The trade-off is that those sites are often more expensive, so you'll have to choose between prioritizing convenience or price. Notably, the XML file option is as easy as uploading a single document.

Sourcing Images

I recommend that you source your card images from MPC Fill. This website isn’t affiliated with Not MPC, but it was created as a tool to work with MakePlayingCards.com. Users upload card images to MPC Fill, and you can paste in a deck list, select your art, and download an XML file to upload into Not MPC.

I recommend MPC Fill for a few reasons. First and foremost, they handle all the sticky details: They correct resolution, and they make sure the proxies are marked as proxies and have NOT FOR SALE printed on them, etc. It's also so much easier to download an XML file than a hundred different card images.

There's also something to be said for the art. Users upload their images, so you can find a variety of proxies ranging from the image of the actual card to creative ones (like a Counterspell done up like a Yu-Gi-Oh! card). The number of options varies greatly based on a card's popularity—you'll find several hundred Counterspells and two Stream of Thoughts—but MPC Fill typically has the base version of any card.

Product Delivery

My cards came shrink-wrapped in a standard, bubble-wrapped lined envelope. They were quite secure and totally undamaged. I'm quite happy with the state they came in, but what about the cards themselves?

My primary concerns are two-fold: I want my proxies to have been printed clearly, and I want them to feel nearly identical to Magic cards. By “nearly identical”, I want to shuffle them—in sleeves—into a deck with regular Magic cards. Cards that are too stiff or too flimsy feel distinctly different in sleeves, which marks the card. These are the two criteria by which I'll judge the quality of the order, beginning with the print quality.

The proxies I ordered are upgrades for my Rashmi, Eternities Crafter deck, so I'm deeply interested in playing them. At a glance, I'm very happy with the print quality. These cards have a very slight tactile difference compared to real Magic cards; the coating seems… tighter, like it creates more friction when I rub my fingers across it. But it's very slight, and when gently bent between my fingers, they weren't meaningfully flimsier or stiffer than the real thing.

Looking closer at the art and borders, the front of the cards looks very clean. However, on some of them, I noticed slight scuffing along the back, pictured below.

The fraying is very slight, and not nearly deep/physical enough to affect the card's playability, so I personally am not concerned about it, though it's worth noting. It's also possible the scuffing is a result of unpackaging, though there's no way to verify that. We've also been notified that the owner of the site has already made changes to prevent anything like this in the future, so I wouldn't anticipate it being a problem.

When it comes to the front side with the art, I have no notes. The art comes through cleanly, none of the colors are messed up, and I see no pixilation, smearing, or other issues that would raise my eyebrow.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the print quality. But the greatest art in the world can't make up for marked cards I can't play with, so it's time for the shuffle test. Here I'll sleeve up a bunch of real Magic cards with a handful of my proxies from Not MPC. As long as I can't tell the difference post-shuffle, they pass.

This stack of 12 shuffled, sleeved cards includes eight real Magic cards from a Commander precon and four of my proxies. At a glance, they lay perfectly flat—a great sign. After shuffling, I pulled cards from the deck and very gently bent them to see if I could guess which was which. I could not, so they pass the shuffle test.

Since these cards pass both the shuffle and print quality tests to a level I’m satisfied with, I’d order more proxies from this site based on the proxy quality.

The Verdict: Is Not MPC Worth It?

Overall, yes.. The card quality and price point were great. My cards arrived quickly, in secure packaging, and in a condition that met my criteria for good proxies (which, in fairness, are the same criteria I’d give real Magic cards). Ordering through the website can be complex if you don't use MPC Fill to source art and generate an .XML file, but the extra leg work is worth it for the stellar prices.

After learning that the website does in fact support double-faced cards, it easily earned my recommend. I was already going to give it a thumbs-up before that, but now it's an easy two thumbs up across the board.

FAQ Section

Can You Sell to Not MPC?

No. Not MPC isn't a card shop, it's a card production company. You can only order product; they have no storefront to purchase Magic cards or anything.

Can You Create or Upload Custom Cards?

Yes! Not MPC requires you to upload art for any cards you order. It doesn't matter if the cards are real Magic cards or your creations.

Wrap Up

Watermarket | art by Simon Dominic

My experience ordering from Not MPC was ultimately quite positive. Sourcing the art takes a little extra work since this site isn't dedicated to Magic, but the card quality is excellent, the cards are cheap, and they arrive fast, in a satisfactory condition. I've been thinking of proxying a Cube for a while, and I'll likely do it through Not MPC. It's a great service for players who don't mind sacrificing some time to source cheap proxies.

Do you play with proxies? What's your favorite proxy site to order from? Will you try Not MPC? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

Stay safe, and thanks for reading!

This post is sponsored by Not MPC. We will never work with a brand we don't love and trust, and by supporting them you also support Draftsim.