Proxies are kind of a sore spot in Magic: The Gathering, because they fly in the face of the constant need to gather as much money as possible. The company likes doing things like selling early access via Secret Lairs, or stoking the secondary market just enough to give people hope, but not enough to actually make MTG affordable.
Proxies are antithetical to that ethos, because they put players first, and allow more people to play the game without having to splash out the thousands of dollars required of them in, let’s say, legacy. They allow people to try out cards in a way that’s hard to do in MTG, and they’ve not been officially supported for a long time now. We could easily talk about how they should be allowed in MTG in general otherwise Legacy and Vintage will eventually die, but we’ll just focus on Commander for now.
Proxies for all
Commander is a format that has access to basically every card in MTG. It’s a powerhouse format that’s undoubtedly warped the way that cards are designed, and it’s some of the most fun you can have in MTG for a lot of players. It’s also, potentially, incredibly expensive.
Cards that are solely used in Commander can still comfortably fetch over $50 each, and it makes strategies like tokens, +1/+1 counters, and plenty of niche tribes, absurdly expensive. The worst thing is, sometimes you get a “must-have” card and find yourself not vibing with it. It means that you can often end up with a card, or even an entire deck, that you don’t like. That’s annoying in another game where maybe you can simply respec, but in MTG, that’s a lot of money you’ve potentially just wasted.
So, don’t be afraid to use proxies. Make sure you’re using easy to read ones, ideally ones that you’ve printed off in high-quality so it doesn’t put a strain on your playgroup, but you absolutely shouldn’t worry about owning all of the expensive cards when you’re only playing casually. You should be encouraging each other to not spend your money on a high-price combo piece because you’re just there to have fun. Sure, you should invest some money if you want to, but it shouldn’t be a requirement to splash out on a Doubling Season.
Read More: Never Forget That Magic Is A Business
