The proxy-first workflow is simple: build theoretically, test thoroughly, buy only what earns its slot.
Key Takeaways
- Proxy every significant purchase ($10+) before buying. Play it five to ten times. Only buy if it performs consistently.
- Digital tools like Cockatrice let you test a full Commander deck for free before touching a physical card.
- Most Commander playgroups accept proxies. Communicate with your group in advance and keep them clearly labeled.
- Proxying is not cheating. It’s smart spending, and it’s how many experienced players prevent wasted money.
Why You Should Proxy
Testing before buying is smart spending, not a workaround. Commander decks cost $50 to $200 or more, and a single disappointing purchase at $15 to $30 is real money on a tight budget. If you can determine before spending whether Rhystic Study fits your playgroup’s pace or whether Seedborn Muse makes games miserable for your friends, you save money and preserve the social dynamic your table depends on.
Proxies also let you test entire deck concepts before committing to a single purchase. Build a full theoretical deck on paper proxies, play it twenty times, and decide if you actually want to invest in it. Sometimes the answer is no. Finding that out before spending is the whole point.
According to conversations in the broader Commander community, the most common deckbuilding regret isn’t buying the wrong card, it’s buying the right card for the wrong deck. Proxying solves both problems.
What Proxies Are (and Are Not)
Proxies are stand-in cards used in casual, non-sanctioned play. Using them at your kitchen table or local Commander night is accepted practice in most Commander communities.
Proxies are not:
- Legal in any sanctioned tournament, including prerelease events and competitive Friday Night Magic
- Something to pass off as real cards. That crosses into fraud territory and it’s not what proxying is
- A reason to never buy cards. Support the game and the stores that support the community
Be transparent with your playgroup. Most Commander players proxy occasionally. The transparency matters more than the number of proxies you’re running.
Method 1: Printed Proxies
Printed proxies are the cheapest, fastest method for physical testing.
- Go to Scryfall.com (scryfall.com) and find the card image
- Download or screenshot the image
- Size it to standard card dimensions (2.5 inches by 3.5 inches)
- Print on standard paper or cardstock
- Sleeve it with a real card behind it. A basic land works fine.
You can have ten proxy cards ready in twenty minutes for the cost of printer ink. That’s the entire upfront investment.
For a more polished experience, services like MakePlayingCards.com do professional print runs of custom cards. For $20 to $30 you can get fifty or more high-quality proxy cards delivered. These are clearly labeled proxies that look clean on the table and hold up to regular play. Worth considering if you’re testing a deck long-term.
Method 2: Digital Testing with Cockatrice or Untapped.gg
Digital testing is faster than printing and costs nothing.
Cockatrice is free, open-source software that lets you build and play Commander decks online. Every card in Magic history is available instantly. No printing, no sleeves, no physical setup required. Build your entire deck, play it against your friends or community opponents, and stress-test it before spending anything.
TappedOut.net and Moxfield.com both have deck-building and simulation tools that let you run sample hands, check mana curve, and evaluate how often specific cards appear in your opening seven or within the first few turns. You can analyze the deck statistically without ever picking up a physical card.
For players who want to test before buying a specific card, digital tools give you a faster feedback loop than physical proxies. Play ten games on Cockatrice in the time it would take to print and sleeve ten proxy cards.
What to Test For
Proxying without a clear question to answer is just playing games. Be deliberate. You’re gathering specific information about each card.
Does this card fit your curve? Cast it across multiple test games. Does it arrive too late to matter? Does it sit in your hand while you spend mana on things that actually move the game forward?
Does this card change the game state when it resolves? Powerful cards shift the board in your favor the turn they enter. If you play a proxy and nothing noticeably changes, cut it. You don’t need to buy something that doesn’t move the needle.
Does this card make games miserable for everyone else? Stax pieces, extra turn spells, and infinite combos can shut out a playgroup and end friendships faster than any loss. Test them before buying. You may decide the social cost isn’t worth the effect. Better to find that out before spending $20 to $40.
Does your deck need this card, or do you just want it? Wanting a card is a valid reason to own it. But testing clarifies whether the slot belongs to that card or to something cheaper that does the same job. Those are very different conclusions.
The Proxy-to-Buy Pipeline
This workflow prevents impulse purchases and makes sure every dollar goes toward a card you’ve confirmed works.
- Build a theoretical deck on TappedOut or Moxfield. Both are free.
- Proxy the cards over $5 using printed proxies or Cockatrice. Zero cost.
- Play the deck five to ten times. Track which proxied cards you love drawing and which ones sit in your hand.
- Buy only the cards that consistently earned their slot.
This process filters out cards that look good on paper but underperform in practice. You end up spending money on cards you know work, in decks you know you enjoy. That’s the whole goal.
For more guidance on making those final buying decisions, Upgrading Precons: Where to Spend Your First $20 outlines exactly which card types deliver the most improvement per dollar. And if you’re building the mana base first, Best Budget Mana Rocks Under $2 covers the rocks worth buying once you’ve confirmed you want the deck.
Community Proxies and Local Play
Most Commander playgroups have informal proxy policies. Common community norms include a proxy limit per deck (five to ten cards is typical), a requirement that proxies are clearly labeled rather than passed off as genuine cards, and sometimes a restriction to only proxying reserved list or high-price cards.
Ask your group before showing up with forty proxies in a $200 value deck. Setting expectations in advance makes the conversation easy. Most players are fine with proxies when they know what they’re looking at. No one is fine with discovering mid-game that cards they thought were real are printed paper.
The difference between a well-run proxy game and a bad one is transparency. Handle that part right and the rest takes care of itself.
Budget Players Should Always Proxy First
If you’re spending $50 to $100 on a Commander deck, a $10 to $15 card represents a meaningful percentage of your total budget. Proxying before buying is not just a good habit, it’s the financially responsible approach for anyone working within real budget constraints.
The right order of operations: play the card, confirm it earns its slot, then buy it. Reversing that order is what leads to a box of expensive cards that never made the cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to use proxies in Commander? Proxies are not legal in sanctioned tournament play, but Commander at your kitchen table or local casual night is not a sanctioned event. Using proxies in casual Commander is a community practice, not a legal or rules violation. The Commander RC (mtgcommander.net) governs the format’s rules but doesn’t prohibit proxies in casual play.
How many proxies should I bring to a game? That depends entirely on your playgroup’s norms. Ask before the game. A common community standard is five to ten proxies per deck, often restricted to cards above a certain price threshold. Some groups allow any number. Some groups prefer none. The conversation is easy when you have it in advance.
What’s the best digital tool for testing Commander decks? Cockatrice is the most widely used free option for actually playing games. Moxfield is better for deck building and analyzing mana curves. For serious testing, use both: build and analyze on Moxfield, then play on Cockatrice. The combination covers every stage of the evaluation process.
How many test games should I play before buying a card? Five games is the minimum for getting a feel for a card. Ten games is better, especially for cards that require specific board states to perform well. If after ten games you’ve only had one or two meaningful interactions with the card, that’s useful data. Either the card needs specific support you haven’t built around, or it doesn’t belong in the deck.
Should I proxy cards I’m planning to buy soon anyway? Yes. “Planning to buy” cards still need to earn their slot. You might discover the card is wrong for your specific deck even if it’s a general format staple. Proxying before buying costs nothing and confirms the purchase is correct. There’s no downside to testing first.
