Meta description: Compare the best MTG proxy printing services for custom decks by card stock, color accuracy, pricing, shipping, and minimum orders.
TLDR
- ProxyKing offers the best overall print quality for players who care most about sharp details, accurate colors, and a convincing card feel.
- PrintMTG is the best overall service for full Commander decks, cubes, and larger custom orders.
- ProxyMTG is a good choice for high-volume orders with simple quantity pricing.
- MakePlayingCards offers the most control over card stock, card backs, finishes, and fully original custom decks.
- PrintingProxies does not make our recommended list because its print quality has been disappointing in our experience.
- Printed proxies are intended for casual play, testing, cubes, and unsanctioned events where everyone agrees to their use.
The cheapest proxy card is not a bargain if the text is soft, the colors are muddy, or the cut is visibly off-center.
That is the problem with comparing MTG proxy printing services based on price alone. A service may advertise black-core stock, fast shipping, and custom artwork, but none of those features matter much when the finished cards look poor.
The best MTG proxy printing services for custom decks need to get several things right at once. The artwork should be sharp. The colors should be balanced. The card stock should feel natural in a sleeve. Cuts should be consistent. And the ordering process should not make building a 100-card Commander deck feel like data entry punishment.
This comparison focuses on the factors that matter once the cards are actually in your hands: print quality, card stock, color accuracy, pricing, shipping, and minimum order sizes.
Quick Comparison
| Service | Best For | Print Quality | Card Stock | Approximate 100-Card Price | Minimum Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProxyKing | Premium singles and small curated orders | Excellent | German black-core playing-card stock | About $400 when purchased as individual $4 cards | One card |
| PrintMTG | Commander decks, cubes, and bulk printing | Very good | S33 German black-core stock | About $55 | No minimum |
| ProxyMTG | Larger budget-conscious orders | Good | Premium coated playing-card stock | About $55 | No minimum |
| MakePlayingCards | Fully custom decks and original designs | Very good with properly prepared files | Multiple smooth, linen, blue-core, and black-core choices | Varies by configuration | Usually 18 cards per deck |
| PrintingProxies | Not recommended | Disappointing in our experience | Advertised black-core stock | Varies | One card |
Prices and shipping policies can change, so review the current checkout details before placing an order.
What Matters Most in an MTG Proxy Printing Service?
Product pages tend to focus on stock names and surface finishes. Those details matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
A proxy can be printed on expensive black-core stock and still look bad. Poor image processing, heavy contrast, inaccurate color conversion, weak registration, and careless cutting can ruin otherwise good materials.
Here is what deserves the most attention.
Print Sharpness
Rules text, mana symbols, collector information, and thin border details should be clean at normal viewing distance.
Small text is usually the first place weak printing shows up. Letters may look fuzzy, strokes may close together, and white text on dark backgrounds can lose definition.
ProxyKing is our strongest quality pick in this area. PrintMTG also performs well, especially considering its much lower bulk pricing.
Color Accuracy
MTG artwork contains a lot of dark shadows, muted textures, bright spell effects, and subtle frame colors. A weak print process can crush dark details or make the entire card look overly saturated.
Color accuracy does not mean every proxy must match every official printing exactly. Official Magic cards also vary between sets and print facilities. But a good proxy should still have balanced blacks, readable shadow detail, clean whites, and natural-looking skin tones.
Cards should also look consistent with the other proxies in the same order. A deck where some cards are pale and others are extremely dark feels less polished, even when each card is technically readable.
Card Stock and Shuffle Feel
Most players use proxies in sleeves, so the goal is not to create a forensic duplicate of an official card. The practical goal is a card that does not immediately reveal itself by touch.
Black-core playing-card stock is generally a strong choice. The dark internal layer reduces light transmission and gives the card more structure than ordinary cover paper.
Both ProxyKing and PrintMTG publish that they use German black-core stock. PrintMTG specifically identifies its material as S33 German Black Core with a UV-coated matte-satin finish.
Cutting Accuracy
A card that is slightly too wide may catch inside the sleeve. A card that is too narrow may move around more than the rest of the deck.
Minor cutting movement is normal in commercial printing, but it should stay within a reasonable tolerance. Rounded corners should also be consistent.
Thin outer borders make cutting shifts much easier to see. Full-art and borderless cards tend to hide small movements better than older frames with narrow, symmetrical borders.
Price at the Quantity You Actually Need
A $4 premium proxy can be reasonable when you need five cards. It makes much less sense when you need an entire 100-card deck.
Compare the total order price, not just the lowest advertised tier. A service advertising $0.30 cards may require 1,000 cards to reach that price.
Shipping also matters. A low per-card price can lose its advantage once international postage, tracking, or rush production is added.
Best Print Quality: ProxyKing
ProxyKing is our first choice when print quality matters more than price.
The cards tend to have strong detail, balanced color, and a convincing finish. They work particularly well for players who want a smaller number of expensive staples, old-frame cards, premium lands, alternate treatments, or cards that will be used in a mostly authentic deck.
ProxyKing prints directly onto German black-core playing-card stock rather than applying printed stickers over existing cards. Its cards use standard MTG dimensions and custom nonofficial backs.
The main disadvantage is cost.
Most individual standard cards in the ProxyKing catalog are currently listed at $4 each. That makes a ten-card order about $40 before shipping, and a theoretical 100-card deck would cost around $400 when purchased as individual singles.
That is much more expensive than a bulk print-on-demand service. But ProxyKing is not really competing for the same order.
It is best for:
- Reserved List cards
- Premium lands
- Commander staples
- Matching sets
- Alternate frames
- Foils and showcase treatments
- Small orders where every card needs to look polished
ProxyKing offers economy, standard, and express shipping. Its published rates are $2.50 for economy, $4.75 for standard, and $15 for express. Qualifying orders of $75 or more may receive free shipping.
ProxyKing Verdict
Choose ProxyKing when you want the best-looking cards and do not need to print an entire deck at the lowest possible price.
Its quality makes the most sense for smaller, selective orders. It is less practical for printing hundreds of cards at once.
Best Overall for Complete Decks: PrintMTG
PrintMTG offers the best balance of quality, price, card stock, and ordering convenience.
It is the service we would choose for a complete Commander deck, a large cube update, a battle box, or several decks ordered together.
PrintMTG uses S33 German black-core stock with a UV coating that produces a matte-satin surface. The dark internal core improves opacity, while the coating gives the card a smooth shuffle feel once sleeved. Typical production is listed at about two business days, although large or custom orders may take longer.
The pricing rewards larger orders:
- 2–9 cards: $2 each
- 10–29 cards: $1.50 each
- 30–49 cards: $1.25 each
- 50–74 cards: $1 each
- 75–99 cards: $0.80 each
- 100–199 cards: $0.55 each
- 200–499 cards: $0.45 each
- 500–999 cards: $0.35 each
- 1,000 or more: $0.30 each
That puts a 100-card deck at approximately $55 before shipping. There is no minimum order, and complete decklists can be uploaded rather than adding every card manually.
PrintMTG is not quite as focused on individually curated reproductions as ProxyKing. Source image quality can also vary between cards, especially when selecting obscure printings or older artwork.
But for a complete custom deck, it is the stronger overall value.
PrintMTG ships most orders through USPS and also offers UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS Next Day Air. The company states that printing, finishing, cutting, packaging, or shipping errors caused by its production process are reprinted at its expense.
PrintMTG Verdict
Choose PrintMTG when you want a complete deck that looks good, feels consistent, and does not cost several hundred dollars.
It is the best option for most Commander players and cube builders.
Best for Large Budget Orders: ProxyMTG
ProxyMTG is another practical option for larger custom orders.
Its pricing follows the same broad quantity structure as PrintMTG:
- One card: $3
- 2–9 cards: $2 each
- 10–29 cards: $1.50 each
- 30–49 cards: $1.25 each
- 50–74 cards: $1 each
- 75–99 cards: $0.80 each
- 100–199 cards: $0.55 each
- 200–499 cards: $0.45 each
- 500–999 cards: $0.35 each
- 1,000 or more: $0.30 each
There is no minimum order, and a 100-card deck costs around $55 before shipping.
ProxyMTG is useful for full decks, large batches of staples, cubes, and playgroup orders. It also supports custom designs and custom card backs, provided the customization is not being used to deceive buyers or represent the cards as authentic.
The service lists typical production at around two business days, followed by approximately three to seven business days for standard U.S. transit. Smaller orders may ship in protected plain envelopes, while larger orders generally use tracked padded mailers.
In direct quality terms, ProxyMTG sits below ProxyKing. It is closer to PrintMTG’s bulk-oriented use case, although we prefer PrintMTG as the more complete overall package.
ProxyMTG Verdict
Choose ProxyMTG when quantity and straightforward pricing matter most.
It is a reasonable option for several decks or a large shared order, but it would not be our first choice for the absolute best print quality.
Best for Fully Original Decks: MakePlayingCards
MakePlayingCards is different from the MTG-focused services above.
It does not provide a searchable Magic card catalog or a simple Commander decklist importer. Instead, it lets you upload every card front and back, choose the material, select the finish, and build a completely original deck.
The standard trading-card format is 63 × 88 mm, which is the common size used for MTG-style cards. Individual fronts and backs can be customized, and deck sizes range from 18 to 612 cards.
Available materials include:
- S30 professional smooth blue-core stock
- S33 superior smooth black-core stock
- M27 soft linen blue-core stock
- M29 standard linen stock
- M31 casino-quality black-core linen stock
- Several thinner promotional and plastic options
The S33 option uses an extra-smooth surface and an opaque black center layer.
The advantage is control. You can create a unique card back, use original artwork, select smooth or linen stock, and produce multiple copies of the same deck.
The disadvantage is setup.
Every file must be prepared correctly. You need to manage image resolution, bleed, safe areas, front-to-back assignments, and color. A poor file will still produce a poor card, even on excellent stock.
Pricing varies based on the number of cards, material, finish, packaging, number of identical decks, and shipping destination. There is no simple universal price per card.
MakePlayingCards Verdict
Choose MakePlayingCards for original custom games, personalized decks, homebrew cubes, tokens, and projects where you need complete control over both sides of every card.
For a normal Commander deck containing existing cards, an MTG-specific service is faster and easier.
Why We Do Not Recommend PrintingProxies
PrintingProxies looks competitive when judged only by its listed features.
It offers custom uploads, black-core stock, double-sided printing, and foil options. That sounds good on paper.
But the finished print quality has been disappointing in our experience. The cards do not consistently meet the standard we would expect from a service being recommended as one of the best MTG proxy printers.
That matters more than the feature list.
A broad range of finishes does not make up for weak print output. And black-core stock does not rescue cards with poor color, soft details, or an overall finish that feels below the better services.
For that reason, PrintingProxies does not make our recommended list.
Players primarily interested in quality should look at ProxyKing. Players ordering full decks should start with PrintMTG. And those wanting full control over custom files and materials should use MakePlayingCards.
Which MTG Proxy Printing Service Should You Choose?
The best choice depends on the size and purpose of the order.
Choose ProxyKing When:
- You need fewer than 20 cards.
- Print quality is the main priority.
- You want premium lands or staples.
- You want curated alternate frames or foil treatments.
- You are comfortable paying more per card.
Choose PrintMTG When:
- You are printing a complete Commander deck.
- You need 50 to 500 cards.
- You want S33 black-core stock.
- You want decklist uploading.
- You want the best mix of quality and cost.
Choose ProxyMTG When:
- You are placing a large order.
- You want simple tiered pricing.
- You need custom artwork or card backs.
- You are comparing bulk alternatives.
Choose MakePlayingCards When:
- Every card uses original artwork.
- You want a fully custom back.
- You need control over card stock and finish.
- You are printing multiple identical decks.
- You already have print-ready files.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best MTG Proxy Printing Service?
ProxyKing is our pick for the best individual card quality. PrintMTG is the best overall choice for complete decks, cubes, and larger orders.
What Is the Cheapest Way to Print a Full Commander Deck?
PrintMTG and ProxyMTG both price 100-card orders at approximately $0.55 per card, or around $55 before shipping. PrintMTG is our preferred option at that quantity.
Which MTG Proxy Cards Feel Most Like Real Cards?
German black-core playing-card stock generally provides the closest practical feel, especially after sleeving. ProxyKing and PrintMTG both use German black-core materials.
Can I Print Only One Proxy Card?
Yes. ProxyKing, PrintMTG, and ProxyMTG accept single-card orders. MakePlayingCards usually requires at least 18 cards in a custom deck.
Are MTG Proxies Legal in Tournaments?
Printed proxy cards are not allowed in sanctioned Magic events. Wizards requires authentic cards, except when a judge issues a temporary replacement for a card damaged during that specific event. Casual playtest cards are generally used outside sanctioned events with the agreement of the players or organizer.
Should MTG Proxies Use an Official Card Back?
No. A custom back clearly identifies the card as a proxy and helps prevent it from being confused with an authentic collectible when unsleeved.
Final Recommendation
ProxyKing produces the best-looking cards in this comparison, but its individual-card pricing makes it better for smaller premium orders.
PrintMTG is the best choice for most custom decks. It combines solid print quality, S33 black-core stock, low bulk pricing, decklist importing, and fast U.S. production.
ProxyMTG is a reasonable alternative for larger batches, while MakePlayingCards is the right tool for completely original decks that need custom fronts, backs, stock, and finishes.
PrintingProxies does not make the list. Features and advertised materials are not enough when the final print quality fails to hold up.
For most players, the decision is simple: use ProxyKing for a handful of premium cards and PrintMTG for the rest of the deck.