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Free MTG Proxy Generator — Now Live

•4 min read•MdeMora
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You want to playtest a deck before buying it. Or you need stand-ins for cards that are in the mail. Or you just want to try something at kitchen-table Magic without spending $400 on a mana base.

Proxies solve all of this. The problem is that most proxy tools online are either slow, ugly, ad-ridden, or require you to fight through a dozen menus to get a PDF. And the ones that do work? They compress the card images so much that the text is blurry and the art looks like a JPEG from 2003.

So I built one that doesn't compromise. It's live now at /proxies.

How It Works

  1. Paste your card list (Arena format, MTGO format, or just "4 Lightning Bolt" — it handles all of them)
  2. Cards load with images from Scryfall
  3. Click any card to pick a different artwork or printing
  4. Configure paper size, cut guides, and spacing
  5. Hit "Generate PDF" and print

That's it. No account required, no watermarks blocking the card art, no limits on how many times you generate.

What Makes This Different

Full-resolution images: This is the big one. Every card is fetched at maximum Scryfall resolution and embedded in the PDF without any downscaling or recompression. The resulting files are larger than what other generators produce, but the print quality is noticeably better — sharp text, clean borders, and card art that actually looks like the real thing. If you're going to the trouble of printing proxies, they should look good.

Artwork selection: Most proxy generators give you whatever image they feel like. Here, you click a card and pick from every printing ever made. Want the original Revised art for your Lightning Bolt? The Secret Lair version? The retro frame? It's all there.

Double-faced cards: Cards like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker automatically print both faces. Front and back show up as separate slots in the PDF so you can sleeve them back-to-back.

Cut guides: Choose between dashed lines, solid lines, or corner intersections. Or no guides at all if you're confident with scissors.

Paper sizes: A4 and US Letter. Cards print at real MTG dimensions (63 x 88mm) in a 3x3 grid, 9 cards per page.

Card spacing: Adjust from 0 to 3mm between cards. Useful if your printer has alignment issues or you want a little breathing room when cutting.

Supported Formats

The parser accepts most common list formats:

  • 4 Lightning Bolt — basic format
  • 4x Lightning Bolt — with multiplier
  • 1 Lightning Bolt (M11) — specific set
  • 1 Lightning Bolt [M11] — bracket set codes
  • Arena and MTGO export formats with sideboard sections

If you have a deck saved in UrzaTools, you can also load it directly from the proxy generator — no copy-pasting needed.

Why Free

Because proxies are for playtesting. They help you make better purchasing decisions and try new ideas without risk. That's good for the game.

The tool runs entirely in your browser. PDF generation happens client-side — your card list never hits a server for processing. Images are fetched from Scryfall's API (which is also free and open).

The tradeoff is file size. A full 75-card deck PDF can be 20-30MB because we embed every card at maximum resolution. Other generators get smaller files by compressing images down to mush. I'd rather give you a bigger file that actually prints well.

What's Next

This is the first version. I'm planning:

  • Batch printing from saved decks — one-click proxy generation from any deck in your collection
  • Custom card backs — upload your own back design or pick from templates
  • Token generation — add tokens your deck creates to the print sheet

If you run into issues or have ideas, let me know.

Try it out at /proxies. Paste a list, pick your art, print your proxies.