Kenrith, the Returned King | Illustration by Kieran Yanner
Proxy play has risen alongside the growing popularity of Commander as Magic’s most popular format. Proxies a great accessibility tool that allows players from all walks of life to play the game and strengthen our community through their inclusion.
Many proxy services claim to have the best, realest proxies of anybody. Like any service, you should do your research before investing any money in them. Today, I’m handling that research for you to see what’s what with Proxyking.
Let’s investigate!
What Is Proxyking?
Brimaz, King of Oreskos | Illustration by Peter Mohrbacher
Proxyking is a proxy printing store based in Texas, USA. Through their online storefront, you can order a variety proxies of MTG cards, often at a much better price than the originals. Since these are stand-in cards, they aren’t legal for WotC-sanctioned tournaments, just casual game nights.
In addition to a wide selection of MTG proxies, you can also purchase proxies from Pokémon and Lorcana to round out decks in other games or maybe introduce yourself to a new favorite.
Why Buy from Proxyking?
You should buy from Proxyking if you’re interested in picking up a proxy or two of particularly expensive cards. Their offerings include many Reserved List cards, including original dual lands, the Power Nine, and cards like Gaea's Cradle and Volrath's Stronghold.
Some of the more expensive staples they offer that aren’t part of the RL include cards like Mana Crypt and Demonic Tutor—if it’s ever maintained a price of $30 or higher, you can probably find it here.
This makes Proxyking perfect for players who aren’t interested in proxying their entire deck but can’t get behind the idea of shelling out $30-$50 for a couple of staples like Mana Vault and Demonic Tutor. If you’re looking to proxy a whole deck, Proxyking might not be the store for you.
Proxyking Review: Is Ordering Worth It?
Navigating the website takes no effort. It’s a very simple, clean site. The blog is the closest it comes to having frills, and some of those articles are decent. The storefront opens with a handful of Magic proxies, but you can navigate towards Pokémon or Lorcana proxies using the site map up top.
Searching and Selecting Cards
The search bar lets you find whatever you’re looking for. If you’re more interested in browsing and waiting for something to catch your eye, all the MTG cards are sorted by category so you can see the available options.
One thing of note is the bundles, typically an entire cycle of cards. If you want to get a complete set of the Power Nine or OG duals for a Vintage Cube, you can purchase them as one bundle; these bundles tend to be priced lower than buying each individual card.
Placing An Order
I really have nothing impactful to say about placing the order. The site is secure, you have a few payment options, and there aren’t hidden fees. It works.
Does Proxyking Ship Internationally?
Yes! They can ship to Canada, Mexico, and countries outside of North America. Their website mentions that pricing can vary widely depending on the country. Orders shipping to Mexico or Canda typically take one or two weeks, but orders shipping outside NA can take up to six weeks.
Tracking an Order
Proxyking offers several forms of domestic shipping in the USA utilizing USPS. The economy option (which I used) doesn’t offer a tracking number and takes about a week to arrive—eight days in my case. They offer a standard shipping package with a tracking number and several options for expedited shipping, though you need to reach out for a pricing quote.
Speaking on my experience getting packages from USPS with tracking numbers, they’re on point. The postal service itself often takes its time getting things moving but the tracking numbers have never told me a package would be coming three days before or after I received it, so I trust the tracking process. I can’t speak to anything regarding tracking on an international order.
Opening Cards
My order had five cards. I got an envelope containing a hard sleeve, with a colorless sleeve attached to that. My cards were in the colorless sleeve.
To really see what the service had to offer, I ordered a foil Mana Confluence, borderless versions of Teferi's Protection and Endurance, plus the standard versions of Boseiju, Who Endures and Volrath's Stronghold.
Let’s start by examining that foil. As the video shows, it’s certainly shiny. There’s some slight warping, it looks just a little curved, but still far better than some of the real MTG foils I’ve gotten. I’m quite pleased with it.
Comparing my proxied Boseiju, Who Endures with a real Mystic Monastery highlights several differences. Firstly, even the texture on the modern land border looks like it lines up with that one the real card. The set and artist information on the bottom right corner are accurate and in the correct place.
Flipping them over, there’s a difference: Though both card backs share a gradient of dark brown to light brown from the left to right sides of the card, the proxy’s back (the card on the left) starts with a noticeably lighter shade of brown than the real card. The same was true of all my proxies.
There’s one last difference between my proxies and the real Magic cards I can’t photograph: Though the finishes on the two cards look the same, they feel very different. The cards from Proxyking feel a little slicker while the Magic cards have a faint texture to them. It’s rather like the difference between running your finger along polished wood versus wood with a thin layer of dust. This doesn’t affect their appearance or your ability to sleeve them, but they’re discernable from real Magic cards on a tactile level.
Order Review
All in all, I’m quite happy with my order from Proxyking. I paid $21 for my five cards, any of which would have cost at least double that. My cards took longer than a week to arrive, but just barely and they arrived safely in good condition. I got all the cards I ordered.
While they have a few features that tell experienced players these are proxies and not the real deal, I consider that an upside. I proxy freely in Commander and don’t want players to think I’m using counterfeits. Those tells in the card back and touch greatly decrease the odds of these getting used for nefarious deeds instead of as stand-ins.
The greatest downside with Proxyking comes from their offerings and price. Both are excellent for players who want to proxy one or two expensive cards (like that Reserved List Volrath's Stronghold I snagged), but the price and lack of print-on-demand services ultimately narrows the uses of the store. Proxyking isn’t a service to use to proxy your entire Commander deck. But if you just want that Gaea's Cradle to round out your token deck, this site offers excellent cards, great prices, and a wide selection of expensive staples.
Does Proxyking Have Custom Proxies?
Proxyking doesn’t offer custom proxies. Further, their proxies are offered as items on a typical store that can go out of stock; they aren’t a print-to-order service.
Are MTG Proxies Illegal?
MTG proxies aren’t illegal so long as you use them in casual play; in that case, they fall under WotC’s fan policy. If you try to use the proxies as counterfeits—that is, claiming they’re entirely real Magic cards when they aren’t—you can get in trouble, especially if you try to sell them or use them in sanctioned events.
Wrap Up
Arcane Proxy | Illustration by Kekai Kotaki
Proxyking’s services are excellent for players looking to proxy one or two of the most expensive cards in the list but falls flat for anybody who wants to proxy an entire EDH deck. That said, the quality of the cards is high. They’re convincing enough to pass for real Magic cards at a glance but have enough tells that nobody would think you’re pushing counterfeits. I’m quite happy with the price and quality of the cards I ordered.
What’s your favorite proxy service? Do you typically proxy entire decks or just a few pricy cards? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!
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