How to Proxy a 60-Card Deck for At-Home Testing
TLDR
To build a useful proxy 60 card deck for testing, start with one exact deck list and one question you want the games to answer. Make every stand-in readable, use identical opaque sleeves, preserve a realistic mana base, and label the deck version. Goldfish first to catch basic mana and curve problems, then play comparable live games. Record what happened before changing a small, clearly defined package. The goal is not to manufacture a winning record; it is to learn which cards deserve to stay, leave, receive another test, or be purchased later.
At-home proxy testing is straightforward when everyone involved knows what the cards are and agrees to their use. That is different from entering a sanctioned tournament with player-made substitutes. Proxy King’s current policy positions its cards for casual playtesting, agreed Commander games, Cubes, private groups, and explicitly permitted unsanctioned events—not sanctioned play or misrepresentation. A sixty-card test deck is therefore a laboratory, not a clever way to surprise a tournament official.
Start with one question, not a pile of interesting cards
A productive test begins with a decision. “Is this deck good?” is too broad. “Can this mana base cast my two-color spells on curve?” or “Does this four-card removal package answer the threats I expect?” gives you something observable. Proxy testing works best when it resolves uncertainty that would otherwise cost time, trades, or money.
- Can the deck produce its required colors on the relevant turns?
- Does the replacement threat close games faster than the current threat?
- Is the expensive staple materially better than the cheaper card already in the slot?
- Does the deck have enough early interaction on the draw?
- Do the sideboard cards improve the intended matchup without damaging the deck’s main plan?
Write the question at the top of your list or test log. If you cannot describe what a successful test would teach you, you are probably changing cards for entertainment rather than information. Entertainment is legal, obviously, but it produces terrible spreadsheets.
Lock the 60-card baseline
The Magic Tournament Rules require Constructed decks to contain at least 60 cards and permit a sideboard of up to 15 cards. The Magic Tournament Rules provide the authoritative tournament framework and also explain the narrow circumstances in which a Head Judge may issue a tournament proxy; players cannot simply create their own for sanctioned competition. The official Standard format page likewise describes a minimum 60-card deck and an optional sideboard of up to 15 cards.
For this testing workflow, use exactly 60 cards unless the format or deck you are reproducing has a legitimate reason to do otherwise. The point is not that card sixty-one will cause the deck box to catch fire. An exact baseline simply makes successive versions easier to compare. If version A has 60 cards and version B quietly grows to 64, you have changed card selection, draw probabilities, and perhaps your emotional relationship with cutting pet cards.
Save the complete list before the first game. Include card quantities, the mana base, and the sideboard if you plan to test post-board games. Confirm that every card is legal in the format or house rules you are trying to reproduce. A casual Modern-like deck, a current Standard list, and an anything-goes kitchen-table pile are three different test environments even if each contains 60 cards.
Proxy the whole deck or only the uncertain cards?
Proxy only the cards under evaluation when you already own and regularly play the rest of the deck. This preserves a familiar baseline and reduces setup work. Proxy the complete list when you are comparing a new archetype, need multiple players to use the same testing pool, or want to keep valuable originals out of repeated kitchen-table sessions.
The important requirement is consistency. Mixing a few thin paper slips, rigid substitutes, unsleeved originals, and specialty treatments can make cards identifiable by touch or appearance. If you are deciding between production methods, the comparison of ways to proxy a complete MTG deck covers paper slips, home printing, and physical card options. Players preparing several decks or a larger shared gauntlet may also find bulk proxy orders more practical than assembling each list individually.
Make every stand-in readable and shuffle-safe
A playtest card needs to communicate the information that affects decisions. At minimum, show the exact card name and mana cost. Add the type line, power and toughness, loyalty, and relevant rules text when those details matter. Do not rely on artwork recognition alone; the opponent should not need an art-history degree to determine which two-mana counterspell is glaring at them.
Use current Oracle wording when the precise text matters. The Tournament Rules identify Oracle as the official card reference for interpretation, so current wording is preferable to remembered text or an abbreviated note that accidentally changes the interaction. Keep a phone or card database available for occasional verification, but put frequently relevant text on the stand-in so every turn does not become a research break.
- Put every card in the same model and color of opaque sleeve.
- Use one consistent backing card behind each paper insert.
- Trim or fold inserts so they do not protrude from sleeves.
- Replace blurry, tiny, or ambiguous stand-ins before testing.
- Mark the proxy clearly as a playtest card without placing identifying marks on the sleeve.
- Shuffle and cut the deck normally, then check that no card can be recognized from the back, edge, thickness, or handling.
Consistent sleeves and readable stand-ins are also part of keeping the test honest. Proxy King’s broader testing guidance recommends realistic mana, readable cards, a defined test question, and limited changes between versions. For additional table-conversation help, use these short MTG proxy etiquette and Rule 0 scripts.
Stage one: goldfish for basic function
Goldfishing means playing opening hands and early turns without a live opponent. It is useful for exposing mechanical problems: awkward mulligans, missed land drops, unavailable colors, crowded mana curves, and cards that repeatedly sit unused. It cannot tell you whether the deck survives disruption or navigates a matchup. Proxy King’s deck-testing guidance draws the same distinction between basic solo function and performance in interactive games.
Begin with a batch of opening hands. Ten is a convenient first pass for finding obvious trouble, not a statistically sacred threshold. Apply the mulligan rules you expect to use, record whether you kept, and play enough turns to reach the part of the curve under examination. Do not give yourself a free land from outside the deck because the hand was “basically fine.” That tests a kinder deck that exists only in your imagination.
- Opening-hand land count and available colors
- Whether the hand was kept or mulliganed
- The first turn each required color became available
- Missed land drops during the relevant early turns
- Spells that could not be cast on schedule
- Unused mana and turns with no meaningful play
- Cards repeatedly stranded by cost, timing, or missing setup pieces
Test the mana base you might realistically use. Replacing every imperfect land with elite fixing can prove that a much more expensive mana base functions, but it says little about the list you may actually build. The dedicated guide to proxying a mana base without warping the test explains how to preserve honest constraints.
Stage two: play games that can answer the question
Once the deck can cast its spells, put it against real opposition. Interaction changes everything. A threat that looks magnificent during a solo curve-out may be too slow against pressure, too fragile against removal, or miserable when drawn from behind. Conversely, an unexciting card may repeatedly stabilize the exact turn the deck needs.
Choose opponents that fit the intended environment. If you are tuning for a known casual group, use representative decks from that group. If you are evaluating a format deck, build or borrow a small matchup gauntlet rather than repeatedly battling whichever deck happens to be on the table. Record both play and draw games when practical because an interaction package can look dramatically better when it always starts first.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Deck version | Connects each result to an exact list rather than a vague memory. |
| Opponent or matchup | Shows whether a result is general or concentrated in one pairing. |
| Play or draw | Reveals cards that are only effective when you begin ahead. |
| Pre-board or post-board | Prevents sideboard games from being mixed with game-one results. |
| Mulligans | Separates weak opening hands from failures later in the game. |
| Key turn | Identifies when the game meaningfully changed. |
| Failure point | Names the missing role: mana, pressure, interaction, recovery, or finishing power. |
| Tested card drawn and cast | Distinguishes a card’s performance from games in which it never participated. |
| Next action | Turns the observation into a keep, cut, retest, or comparison decision. |
Record short observations, not a turn-by-turn novel. “Removal was stranded because the target had ward” is useful. “Lost, felt bad” is not. Also distinguish the performance of a card from the result of the game. A tested card can do its job in a loss, while a weak card can hide inside a win produced by the rest of the deck.
Change one small package at a time
After a testing batch, identify the role that failed before choosing replacements. If the deck could not cast spells, changing the finisher is unlikely to help. If it ran out of relevant cards, adding another narrow combo piece may simply give the empty hand a theme.
Make a limited, stated change and label the new list. For example: “Version 1.1: minus two five-mana threats, plus two early removal spells.” Then rerun comparable goldfish hands or matchups. Multiple simultaneous changes obscure which adjustment mattered, a problem also emphasized in Proxy King’s general guide to testing MTG deck ideas before investing.
- Name the failed role, such as colored mana, early defense, card flow, or closing speed.
- Select the smallest sensible card package that addresses it.
- Write down every card removed and added.
- Create a new version number or date.
- Repeat comparable tests against the same constraints.
- Keep the change only if it improves the intended role without causing a worse problem elsewhere.
Test the sideboard as its own plan
If your chosen format uses sideboards, define the exact sideboard before testing post-board games. Do not select the perfect fifteenth card after seeing the opponent’s list. That is not sideboarding; that is receiving mail from the future.
For each matchup, write down the intended cards in and cards out before playing the post-board batch. Check whether the swaps preserve a functional curve and mana base. A sideboard plan can contain excellent answers yet still fail because there are no clean cuts, the answers are too slow on the draw, or the deck cannot reliably cast them.
- The exact cards brought in and removed
- Whether the game was played first or second
- Whether the sideboard card was drawn in a useful window
- Whether the answer traded efficiently with the intended threat
- Whether boarding weakened another essential matchup function
- Whether the same slot needs a broader or cheaper alternative
Turn test notes into card decisions
Do not use win rate alone, especially after a small and uneven set of games. Look for repeated mechanisms. Missed colors, overloaded three-mana turns, dead reactive cards, and threats that arrive one turn too late are more actionable than a bare record. Your notes should eventually place each uncertain card into one of four categories.
| Decision | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Keep or buy first | The card repeatedly performs an important role and is difficult to replace. |
| Keep testing | The card’s job is relevant, but it appeared too rarely or only in unsuitable matchups. |
| Replace | A different card performs the required role more reliably or with a lower opportunity cost. |
| Do not buy yet | The card is powerful in theory but does not improve this deck enough to justify priority. |
Prioritize purchases or permanent additions based on how much a card changes recurring decisions. Mana, acceleration, and consistency pieces often affect mulligans, sequencing, and curve development across many games, which makes them useful proxy-testing targets. The guide to MTG proxy staples with high testing value offers a broader framework for choosing which expensive or reusable cards to evaluate first.
The practical at-home testing checklist
- Get agreement for proxy use before the game.
- Choose the format, card pool, and rules you are reproducing.
- Write one specific test question.
- Save an exact 60-card baseline and optional sideboard.
- Use clear names, current relevant text, and consistent opaque sleeves.
- Goldfish for mulligans, colors, curve function, and stranded cards.
- Play representative live matchups on both play and draw where practical.
- Separate pre-board and post-board results.
- Record mechanisms and key decisions, not just wins and losses.
- Change one small package, label the new version, and repeat comparable tests.
- Classify uncertain cards as keep, retest, replace, or do not buy yet.
- Before attending an event, check its current rules rather than assuming private playtest permission carries over.
Conclusion
A good 60-card proxy deck is not merely a cheaper copy of a deck list. It is a controlled way to answer a deckbuilding question. Build an exact baseline, make the cards easy for everyone to read, test realistic constraints, and preserve enough version history to understand why the deck improved or declined.
Start with the mana and curve because a deck that cannot cast its spells will not provide meaningful evidence about its finishers. Once the basic structure works, test interaction and matchups, then add the sideboard. Make the smallest change that addresses the observed failure and run the comparison again. That process will tell you what to keep, what to cut, and which official cards—if any—are worth buying later.