MTG Commander proxies are one of those topics that can turn a chill game night into a surprise courtroom drama, complete with passionate speeches, moral grandstanding, and at least one person who brought a deck that “is totally a 7.” (It is not a 7. It is a 7 the way a dragon is “totally a lizard.”)
Here’s the honest problem: proxies are easy. Commander is social. Humans are complicated. When you combine those three things, you get arguments that sound like they’re about cardboard, but are actually about expectations, trust, and whether anyone is allowed to have fun without earning it through credit card debt.
So let’s talk about what proxies are, why people use them, and how to keep MTG Commander proxies from becoming the reason your playgroup starts a group chat called “Rules Meeting” and then immediately regrets it.
What counts as a proxy (and why people get weird about it)
“Proxy” gets used to mean a few different things:
- Playtest proxies: A stand-in card so you can try a deck, test a swap, or avoid shuffling a small mortgage. These are usually obviously not real cards.
- High-quality proxies: Printed replacements that look close enough across the table. Often sleeved, often crisp, often the start of a philosophical debate.
- Counterfeits: Cards made to pass as authentic. Different category, different intent, and the reason people’s tone changes fast.
The social tension usually comes from players mixing those definitions on purpose. Someone says “proxies are fine,” picturing sharpie-on-a-basic-land. Someone else hears “proxies are fine” and shows up with a fully foiled “totally not real” deck that looks like it could get you a side quest in a detective game.
One grounding point: sanctioned Magic tournaments don’t allow players to bring their own proxies. Proxies in sanctioned play are a judge-controlled exception for specific situations. Commander is mostly casual, but plenty of Commander games happen inside stores, at events, or in pods where people aren’t all on the same page. That’s where clarity matters.
If you want the basics before we get into power levels and diplomacy, read our primer on MTG proxy cards.
MTG Commander proxies and the two kinds of “fair”
When people argue about MTG Commander proxies, they usually mean one of these:
Budget fairness (the money part)
Commander has always had a “play what you own” shadow hanging over it. Some players genuinely can’t justify dropping hundreds on staples. Others can, but don’t want to. Others can and do, and then act like it was a character-building experience.
Proxies can make Commander more inclusive. More decks become possible. More strategies show up. More people get to play the version of the format they actually enjoy.
So far, so wholesome.
Power fairness (the gameplay part)
Here’s the twist: budget fairness and power fairness are not the same thing.
A pod where everyone proxies can still be miserable if one person uses proxies to remove every restraint and build the most optimized list possible for the table. “It’s fine, it’s all proxies” is not a power-level agreement. It’s an arts-and-crafts announcement.
Proxies don’t create power creep, but they do remove the speed bumps. If the only thing stopping someone from running Mana Crypt, Dockside-style acceleration, perfect tutors, and hyper-efficient win lines was the price tag, proxies solve that instantly.
Sometimes that’s great. Sometimes that’s how you get a “casual” game that ends before the pizza arrives.
Power level is the real landmine (proxies just help you step on it faster)
Commander power levels are famously subjective. You will hear things like:
- “It’s a 6.”
- “It’s a strong 6.”
- “It’s a 6 but it can combo.”
- “It’s a 6 but it has fast mana.”
- “It’s a 6 but it’s basically cEDH.”
- “It’s a 6 but don’t worry about it.”
So instead of pretending we all share the same mental scale, it helps to talk in features. Proxies matter most when they enable specific power jumps, like:
- Fast mana: Free or nearly free acceleration that warps the early turns.
- Tutors: Consistency tools that make “I drew it” less relevant.
- Compact combos: Two-card wins, infinite lines, and “oops I win” setups.
- Stax and hard locks: Not inherently evil, but definitely not universally loved.
- Free interaction: “No, actually” spells that let tapped-out players still say no.
Wizards has even acknowledged that the power-level conversation is hard to standardize, which is part of why they’ve experimented with Commander Brackets and a Game Changers list as a shared vocabulary. It’s not perfect, but it’s at least an attempt to give people something more useful than “trust me bro, it’s a 7.”
This is where proxies come back in: they’re not the problem by themselves. They’re just a lever. They make it easier to push a deck into a different tier without noticing you did it.
The social contract: the thing nobody signed but everyone enforces anyway
Commander’s “social contract” is basically the format admitting, out loud, that rules alone won’t save you.
The idea is simple: play games people want to play. Winning is fine. Trying is fine. But the format works because people agree, at least loosely, on what kind of night they’re having.
That’s why “Rule 0” conversations exist. Not because Commander players love talking. Because they love not wasting two hours in a game they hated by turn 4.
And yes, the Commander governance structure has shifted in the last couple years, with Wizards taking over management and creating a Commander Format Panel. The format still leans heavily on the same underlying truth: the health of Commander depends on communication more than enforcement.
MTG Commander proxies slot into this perfectly. Proxies are not inherently rude. Surprise is rude. Mismatched expectations are rude. Acting like your personal definition of “fair” is universal law is extremely rude.
A proxy policy that actually prevents arguments
If you want a proxy policy that reduces drama instead of creating new drama, build it around two questions:
1) Are proxies allowed at this table?
This is the easy part. The answer might be:
- “Yes, anything goes.”
- “Yes, but make them readable.”
- “Yes, but only cards you own.”
- “No, not tonight.”
- “Ask the store owner first.”
Any of those answers can be reasonable depending on context. What’s not reasonable is treating your answer like it’s objectively correct for everyone, forever.
2) What power level are we aiming at?
This is the real conversation. If you only talk about proxies but not about deck strength, you’re skipping the part that actually affects the game.
A practical way to do this without a 20-minute seminar:
- How fast can your deck realistically win if ignored?
- How many tutors are you running?
- Are you playing fast mana?
- Are you playing hard locks, mass land destruction, or heavy stax pieces?
You don’t need perfect precision. You need enough honesty that nobody gets ambushed.
“But what about budget fairness?”
If your playgroup specifically cares about budget equality, you can add a simple constraint. Just be aware every constraint has tradeoffs:
- “Proxy anything, but keep the deck within the pod’s power.”
Best for: groups that care about gameplay more than finances.
Downside: relies on honest self-evaluation, which is a rare resource. - “Proxy only what you own.”
Best for: protecting collectors and keeping tables closer to “real collections.”
Downside: it doesn’t solve the accessibility problem, and it can reward wealth while pretending it’s about principle. - “Budget cap decks” (real or estimated).
Best for: groups that want a hard ceiling.
Downside: prices fluctuate, tracking is annoying, and cheap combos still exist. - “No reserved list power bombs, no matter what.”
Best for: keeping the table from turning into a museum-funded arms race.
Downside: sometimes the ban list becomes a feelings list, and feelings are hard to maintain consistently.
The best policy is the one your group will actually follow without resenting each other. If your policy requires spreadsheets and enforcement hearings, you accidentally invented a homeowners association.
Playing with strangers and store pods: don’t assume anything
Home playgroups can negotiate. Random store pods are a different animal. Even if Wizards has stated they aren’t interested in policing personal playtest cards in unsanctioned settings, stores may still set their own boundaries. Some stores don’t want the headache. Some have regulars with strong opinions. Some are fine with proxies as long as nobody tries to trade or sell them as real cards.
So if you’re walking into unknown Commander night, the safest move is simple:
- Bring a proxy-friendly deck that’s clearly what it is.
- Bring a non-proxy backup deck if you have one.
- Ask before the game starts. Not after you’ve shuffled up and presented.
And if someone says “no proxies,” you can be annoyed internally like a normal person, but you don’t need to turn it into a manifesto. Save that energy for the person who insists their deck is casual while tutoring on turn one.
The actual takeaway (the one nobody wants, but everyone needs)
MTG Commander proxies are neither salvation nor sin. They’re a tool.
They can make Commander more accessible and more creative. They can also turbocharge the part of Commander that already causes the most friction: power mismatch.
If your group wants fewer proxy arguments, stop treating proxies like the main topic. Talk about the kind of game you’re trying to play, then decide whether proxies help you get there.
That’s the social contract. Nobody signed it, but everyone shows up expecting it anyway.
