How to make free, high quality, MTG proxies! 

Who else is here after MTG30? 😂

was very apprehensive when i saw the length of the video but thank you so much for the amount of detail you went into on this video! even the small things like saying how you copy and past things using ctrl for my computing noobiness! brilliant video by far the best. Thank you!

This is great! Start the proxy revolution! Proxies will NOT destroy Old School MTG! I started proxying old cards a couple of years ago on my laserjet printer so I could jam some games with some friends. Now I've got a taste for it, I have started buying into the format (and like all OS players, my habit has got out of control quite quickly!). Proxies enable everyone to experience this awesome game without having to rob a bank. Is playing proxies the same as playing with a deck you've spent time saving and hunting down individual cards? Of course not. But it will give people a chance to PLAY the game and if they like it enough, they will quickly become an addict and will start trying to buy "real" cards. OS seems to take pride itself in calling itself "casual" but I strongly dislike some of the yacht club/ prep boy vibes I get from the finance side of the hobby. Playing with bits of card should not be an elitist pursuit; everyone has the right to pretend to be a wizard. It's pretty well known the company Edwin keeps and he knows by making this video it WON'T affect their business, livelihood or "investments". Old Magic cards are in a finite supply and will continue to rise in monetary value. Printing some copies off for your kitchen table will not change that fact.

I live in a 3rd world country who grew up with MTG cards in the early 90s...we have no choice but to print

This video is aging really well and it's an absolute life saver You've got to be one of the best low-key Magic channels I've seen. When my wife got pregnant and got motion sickness, we couldn't play video games together and found magic. I've got my own template saved and this is beyond useful to make actual high quality proxies. Now I don't have to buy literally 4-6 of the same 50$ card for all of our decks since I personally just don't like to proxy unless I have at least one real copy of the card. Love the channel and love the videos, keep it up!

Thanks for making this video. I still can't afford to spend money on MTG for at least another year, but I want to be able to keep creating decks. This tutorial will really help me out until I can finish school.

MTGpress with the cards at 103% works great too IMO when you have a card and the proxy paper in a sleeve. It should cover the whole card and look seemless in the sleeve. You don’t get the proxy text like what edwin was showing here but it’s a really quick process.

This is the best MS Paint tutorial I've ever seen

Thank you so much. This is a great project that will help me blind out my edh deck with cards I can't afford. Keep on rocking in the free world, Edwin.

Thank you for this video. One of the latest commander precons came with the wrong tokens and WotC never printed the correct ones, so they can't rectify the mistake, but they do exist on scryfall, so this has been massively helpful :)

Great Video!!. Here in Zimbabwe it is so hard to get MTG decks.

Thank you so much for making this so many other channels just said "youll have to play around with the sizes until you find what works for your printer" but yours was spot on the money. Mine ended up being 710 base value to match a mtg size but it works all the same!

I have a huge box of proxy decks that I made this exact same way. It is actually what got me back into old school.

I made proxy cards when i first started playing MTG. I was scared that the guys i was playing MTG with would tell me something cause i had proxy cards. They didn't care, as long as i was learning and playing with them. now i met some new people to play with but i'm not dropping a car payment or more on a piece of paper with ink. people over inflate the prices of cards making them almost hard to afford 1 decent deck. thanks for this information.

Thanks for this! Now, I can *_create_* irl my created decks from a modded Magic Dotp 2014.

Thank you so much for this video. This is what I've been wanting to do for many years, but couldn't figure out how to do myself.

This video got me to build a new commander deck there were 4cards that i just couldn't afford and i made proxies and i am going to take it to game night tomorrow. Thanks a lot!

I usually own at least one copy of all the cards I proxy and have them with me in a folder anyway. Not that it should be a requirement, but I like to do it that way

It's a good way to figgure out what deck you actually want to play

Damn, I was hoping this video would explain a process of cutting the corners nicely.

Really good way of setting this up in paint, nice vid!

Proxies are an amazing way to play with the more expensive cards. Anything $10 and up. As it would be wise for LCS to start allowing them. Some people just can’t afford it and need to pay for necessities such as food, clothes and shelter and daily living accessories. And as a college student I am focused on saving money for my future. I’ll drop 30-40 dollars on a deck but not more than that.

Great video. The collectors mentality is with any card or board game. Table top games as well. I find proxies useful. More of a tool. Then again it’s just me and my wife who play games more for fun so proxies isn’t an issue. Like you mentioned proxies can be temporary that leads to the real thing later on. I see the arguments ppl have made when it comes to proxies but to each their own. I play a lot of board games that are the real thing and the print and play version. Maybe I’m just numb to it all. I used a PnP version to learn the game, to figure out how to build a deck, to figuring my play style, and I happen to have a good printer and plenty of ink so it was free. As far as others go, if the proxy cards are identical to the real thing then just play. If card text is changed then don’t play with that person or ppl. Custom art but all the text is the same, cool no problem. When I bought the real cards, I still bought some high quality proxies because the real versions of some of the cards needed were far too expensive. At some point I’ll get the real thing but at the moment I leaned towards a high quality proxy card. I recommend using a graphic design/illustrator program for your print and play proxies like Corel, Affinity, Illustrator or Photoshop. The cheapest of the four is Affinity if they’re still selling their program for 50 bucks. It’s a one time payment so no subscription. Maybe something to check out if you want. Idk if you use these programs or don’t know how, but for print and play purposes it’s not hard. I loved the video but I do use these programs and it heart my eyes and heart to see you use ms paint then watch your process. These programs make it so much easier.

Thank you for this video! It was super informative as I have always had trouble figuring out dimensions etc. I have been debating getting back into magic to play with my buddies, but didn't want to drop hundreds on cards for decks. (Don't want to be in the doghouse with the wife). This will ensure I finally get to wreck my friends ;)

Very informative video Edwin, thanks for sharing! I have been slowly purchasing proxies off of an Etsy seller, between 5 to 8 dollars a piece, the quality is quite good, but I may just go this route to save money.

Pro tip: Make the border for the print sheet a colour other than black, so you can more easily see when you've covered it.

I'm a little late. I'd love it it you would share the template with us. You'd be a hero to give us that head start

what abut mtgpress it dose the compiling of the cards into printable format you only need the name

This is awesome thank you. My play group allows proxies of cards you own so this is super helpful

16:42 - its seems to work only with scryfall images. I have some arts that i found on google and pinterest (with some of those arts that even cooler than the original ones)but when i paste the image that i want, its doesn't fit and loose quality. Do you know why its happening ? Btw, you have the most complete tutorial that i found so far. Thanks

Great job, This is why I subscribe!

This will help me bc I like CEDH, and I only need 1 copy of each popular card but god damn, I struggle to survive and they are like "casual 1500€ please" like sorry not sorry I got a piece of paper, some scamming ink and some patience to watch a nice dude explain how to get good proxies lmfao.

nice way to play one of the best format and having fun!

I should have added a border around mine when I made my proxies a little over a year ago. Would have helped for when I cut them out by hand with scissors. I used old revised cards that were worth nothing and well played and just used a glue-stick to apply the proxy prints to the old card. The fronts look obviously like a proxy, but the backs you cant really tell the difference between them and some other old/school card. Thanks for sharing!

Don't right click copy ! Use the download PNG image button on the bottom ! The preview image is decent quality still, but only for usage in programs like cockatrice etc. No reason to not use the highest quality scan if one is available, they are 300 DPI !

The problem is that I have an incomplete deck where I just want specific cards but can't afford them, and this is just for casual games between friends. I don't play competitively, so just having the name of a card is enough for me. Proxies using official artwork is just nicer than writing in sharpie on a stand-in card.

What kind of paper do you print them on? Yours look higher quality than mine and my printer has same dpi.

2 thinks i would like to mentention here. 1. Use the download option, the picture there has around 10times better resolution as if you would just copy it from the website. 2. Set the DPI to 300, 72 is websites, 300 is painting. With these both things the card quality will be a lot better. If you just download the picture of the website, its 72dpi low resolution. You can only scale down, not up without loosing informations. Websites try to use lower resolutions, the goal is to have around 100-150KB each picture, if its higher you normly scale it down.

Why not just go to MTGPress.net and skip ALL of this? The only thing they don't have is the "proxy" on the card itself. In addition, you can add the entire deck at once and it will populate all the cards.

Can you let us download the grid paint file to skip the first like 20 minutes of prep? I would appreciate it personally.

What sleeves do you use?

Was the mtg-print website up when you made this video?

I was about to make a video on the same thing - well done Edwin! Great vid!

If you want to get a photoshop template with all the cutlines and Action script to put cards in places = let me know. I spent quite a time to make it. What I made = A4 page emulation that works great with fullsize pictures from scryfall. You just copypaste 9 cards, push the action button and it arranges all of them in places in real size. Real size means = when you print the PDF = you get 100% exact size of cards.

LEGO tower of orthanc! Such a great build.

Would the same method work without color printing? I understand that it really shouldn't change anything, but I'm concerned about legibility.

Magic cards.info was actually bought up by scryfall, they were separate sites before.

The way to battle counterfeits is through the acceptance of proxies, outcasting those that would use proxies is counter productive as the person already has a inclination to not use the real thing and by driving them away for using proxies in a open and honest way people are only further pushing them to use counterfeits to gain acceptance, because let's be honest who is going to feel bad about lying to someone who has previously made them feel bad for being honest.

Hi, any idea on how to go about this process via Mac OS? Unfortunately my desktop refuses to work with my printer.

How does this not use a lot of ink?

I love Magic the Gathering, but it's getting just so damned expensive. For purely casual play with your friends, who are fine with it, I don't see anything wrong with Proxies. I intend to put a Black Lotus proxy in my Cube, because there's no way I'm ever getting the real thing.

could u make a file or link for the print frame?

Thank you a lot!

Here in 2022. Now you have to rob the federal reserves just to play fun commander games.

Finally a way to use a liliana vess card without needing to take out a mortgage

Edwin! Thanks for the awesome content. What’s your thoughts on CE or IE cards for Old School 93/94? As always, thank you.

Mox field does the proxies for you.

Thanks for your tips ! as a budget mtg player, I can now play with super strong decks with my friends and family :D

Does the amount of ink left in printer cartridge have an outlook of the cards. I printed a couple but they turned out not looking great. I also had a very low amount of ink. Just wondering, thank you.

there is a better way to do print sheets if u have illustrator or photoshop. U can view the measurements instead of pixels and then u can upscale or dkwnscale cards accordingly. I think u could probably do this in photoshop cs2 much more easily than I've done with paint but still. good video

Check out mtgprint you can enter in a list and choose which set you want and it does all the work for you

thank you

i looked up goblins XD

I can't seem to find any tokens on scryfall, and I wanted to print mostly token ;-;

I want to make extremely high quality prints, what printer would you recommend

I need help this tutorial is great but I don’t know how to print spicific percents!!!

The paper on which you printed the proxies is A4 size ?. And ya a good video 😀

Game pieces should not be hard to get for a game, but the problem is that scarcity breeds value, so cards are only valuable becuase they're rare. The only real "balanced" way to play is to either draft or play jumpstart. Even if you stick with pure Standard and rotate it out, you still will have decks that are more expensive than yours. When my friend and I decided to give MTG a try, we each bought a commander deck each and made a gentleman's handshake that we will never edit these decks and just play them as is. If it were possible to get your hands on some older powerful cards, I feel like more people would get into the hobby.

- Use Photo Paper A4 - Copy and paste mtg hd cards - resize it at 3.39 inches in all 9 block - Print in High Quality Colored setup - Just cut them with Scissors Enjoy :3

Here's an idea maybe wizards should get rid of the reserved list and start reprinting these old cards in new commander products or legacy and vintage products. A piece of paper with some Ink and writing on it should not cost more tha my car nor a deck of them.

"Nobody is gonna be able to tell". If you print with the aim, that it looks like the original, it's not a proxie but a fake. This kind of "proxie" isn't allowed in many LGS at all (doesn't matter if sanctioned tournament or not)

Why go to all that trouble when you can just use www.mtgpress.net?

I use this webside, but i did it for a long time like you too! you just need a realy good printer, best option is laser printer or industrial printers with toners inside!!! www.mtgpress.net/ you can set the card name into the field and a number in front of it (how many you need of these cards) . if you are ready just download it as PDF file and save it. Now you can use these PDF document to print your choosen cards. only one thing could be better! if the cards name has ´ or ` or anything like - or , in it´s name you won´t find these cards... I tryed and tryed but it won´t works... i don´t know... but for each other proxies to print with PDF files i would choose this side!

Is the same for Duel Masters? Has anyone tried?

a faster way of doing this is to use microsoft word. you can get 9 cards on one page within a few minutes rather doing each one individually.

I use A4 photo paper :)

Can anyone link a template or something? I dont have a Microsoft computer and other editors won't let me have a one pixel gap 🥲

After you saw that the card you want is worth more than a printer :

Who else is here after Commander Masters?

Yeah, sell those to Rudy!!!

I pretty much only play kitchen table now so yeah proxies are fine with me.

I can't even afford a $100 deck. This video is a great help, now I can enjoy playing mtg to the fullest.

Thank you for such a thorough tutorial. I myself love owning the real cards much as everyone. I even take the time to smell and read each card I get. But let's face facts, even with $100 a booster box and now $125 for Zendikar Rising coming out, I don't have that kind of money to chase down rares. I personally was looking for a video like this and I am super glad you made this video. Cheers.

We need to do more of THIS.

Let's make a Llanowar Elves proxy then !

I have been using printed proxies for ages using a similar format (we use free uni credit to print out the colour copies ). There are a few guys in the play group who use modern proxie decks, as they are into commander and dont want to sink $1500 into a deck they hardly use. Yeah, this is a way of play testing and, providing that you like the deck, then you may buy the real things over time. I never understood the price argument, as a player within most play groups and even casually at a store, no one cares. If you want to play in tournaments/ FMN, well that is another issue... Nicely done and real nice proxies my man. As always i value your content and kind consideration for all parties. You engage in a wonderfull deliberative process with all sides :) Thank you as always Edwin :) Ps well done in the growth of the channel i know you dont care about subs, however its nice to see others are discovering your wonderful content, i dont know how you have the time!!

Thank you! You've really covered everything in the process in this video. It honestly felt quite easy and efficient to make some proxies after watching this. I really like that you've included a section on making a clear, and nice looking label of "PROXY" on the cards. It makes one feel less like a fraud. I can finally get stomped less by the expensive cards in my playgroup. Edit: Also really handy that you've done this all in one program. Very convenient.

2 wotc employees disliked this video.

This is truly amazing! From one Edwin to another, I give my greatest thanks! (y)

Ty, we dont need to sell mother liver and house anymore to buy a good deck !

I have no desire to get into tournament play and only play kitchen table with my old college buddies casually I'm not dropping hundreds for a deck I'll play twice viva the proxy revolution.

this is a very informative video, and i appreciate your methods simplicity. i hadn't thought of ripping images from scryefall personalty i use the website deckstats.net/ as it allows me to create an entire deck on the website and then it will make the print sheets for you also for those not wanting to use a load of ink it allows text only proxies with a simpler frame and no art.

Now you can buy 60 proxies from Hasbro for the low price of $1000!!!

@EdwintheMagicEngineer the best one is by far mtgpress, they give high quality scans (they get them from scryfall) and save them on a pdf with the right size.

Is there any cardstock that anyone suggests, if they don't want to have a magic card in the sleeve with it? Also, might get a better look printed on cardstock.

Really appreciate you taking the time out from family and work (agree they're more important, if only just.. j/k) to give us all a tutorial on proxys. I first thought, 33 minutes!?! But throughly enjoyed it, i think i was 28 minutes in when i realised what time it was, partly because i was trying to keep up with what you were doing by doing the same. I am very impressed by your very prepared and thought out video. I really enjoyed your soapbox as well, which was at least as good in it's own way. I don't think i'm the only one who will 100% support you when you give your opinions that are thoughtful and constructive on topics like this.

Thank you for your tutorial. I was after a card that is being sold exclusively in North America (I'm in the UK.) Now I can have a proxy version of it when I play with friends.

hey man i know its quite an old video but i give it a shot: I made a full proxy deck without double sleeving but goin single sleeve + the real magic behind, it feels really big and chunky even to shuffle it. Before buying perfect sleeves, would it make that big of a difference? Great video btw super informative and well made even if now we got MTGPrint :)

It's okay Edwin, we know. We know you camped out at OB's place waiting for those P9s on his box sheet ;)

I play EDH and I proxy for two reasons. First reason would be short term for testing a deck (even 20 cent cards) before buying the cards for it. The second reason would be long term proxy so that I can keep older decks put together instead of tearing them down every time I build a new deck. I don't want to move a cyclonic rift between 5 different commander decks all the time, it's damaging for the card itself. I like to keep the real version of my proxied cards in a no trade binder. If I trade the original card, then I pull the proxies out of those decks. I like being able to come out to play with 5 decks ready to go and not 1 completed deck and 4 partial decks that I have to keep moving cards between while fumbling through a deck list.