Commander proxies, a whole deck at a time

Commander is where proxies earn their keep. One deck is a hundred singles, the expensive ones are the ones you want most, and the deck changes every month. Printing the deck lets you play the list you actually built, and buy the real cards for the ones that stay.

What a Commander deck costs

A 100-card deck is $40: $0.40 a card, the tier that starts at 100 cards, and $46 with shipping. Shipping is free once an order reaches $80. Swap ten cards next month and the ten new ones are $0.50 each plus $6 shipping, or add them to your next order. The pricing page has the full table.

From your list to the Studio

Paste your Moxfield or Archidekt link into the box on the home page or in the Studio. The import brings in every card on the list and asks what to do with the sideboard: skip it, fold it into the deck, or keep it as its own pile. A plain text list works just as well: one card per line, with or without a count.

If you built the deck in MPC Fill already, the XML imports with every image choice intact.

Picking the art for a hundred cards

The Studio shows every printing of each card side by side, from MPC Fill's catalogue and from Scryfall: the original printing, extended art, borderless, the showcase frames, the promos and the fan art. For a Commander deck that means a few decisions that carry a long way:

• The commander. The card everyone sees. Pick the frame you want on the table.
• Lands. Thirty-odd basics and shocks. Choose one printing and apply it to every copy in one click; the Studio offers that whenever a card appears more than once.
• Double-sided cards. Modal double-faced cards and transforming cards print on both faces. The Studio proposes the pairing and you can change it, so a token with a card on each side works the same way.
• The card back. One back for the whole deck, chosen from the picker, so the deck shuffles as one.

Your own art uploads card by card.

The cards themselves

Every card is printed on double-sided 200 gsm photo paper and laminated matte. Standard 63 × 88 mm, so the deck goes into the sleeves and the deck box you already use. The matte surface does not glare under lamps and does not show fingerprints, which matters for a card that gets picked up every turn.

Most US orders ship in 1 business day with tracking. Misprints are reprinted free: reply to the confirmation email with a photo.

Playing with proxies at your table

Commander is a social format and proxies are a table decision. Most playgroups are glad to see a proxied deck when it is played as a proxied deck. The courtesies are simple: say the deck is proxied before the game, never present a proxy as the real card, and match your group's power level. Proxies are not legal in sanctioned events, including Commander events run under tournament rules. The legality guide goes through the rules in plain terms.

Testing before you buy

A proxied deck is the cheapest way to find out whether a list works. Play the hundred cards for a month, keep the cards that pulled their weight, and buy those for real. The proxies stay useful afterwards as a loaner deck for a friend who is new to the format.