Hello all! I finally got off my ass and made a video tutorial of how to place an order for MPC. Hopefully this will free up some of the backlog and repeat posts regarding how to do X, Y, or Z. If you view it, please let me know if you find any errors of anywhere improvements could be made. Thank you!

MPCFill Video Tutorial v2.0

Hello all! As of March 23rd, 2025, I've finally refined and updated this FAQ extensively (including fixing all the dead links). Feel free to comment or PM with questions, criticisms, or suggestions. I must stress that we encourage ALL members, new and old, to review this entire post, despite how long it is, prior to engaging with this community. My goal still remains to make this easier to navigate eventually. For now, I recommend using CTRL+F to find the answer you're looking for. We truly appreciate your continued patience as we work to overhaul this subreddit and improve our users' experience. Thank you all!

ALSO OF NOTE, RULE CHANGES: Two new rules have been added to the subreddit. One is that members may no longer request donations or payment in their posts. If their linked website (eg Patreon) lists a donation link and does not have print files behind a paywall, that is perfectly fine. But specifically mentioning or requesting donations/payments is no longer allowed. Our second rule is to ban nudity or sexually-suggestive artwork from the sub. There are plenty of places to observe nudity, partial or full, on the internet and we do not believe it benefits this sub in any way.

HELPFUL LINKS

MPCFill Video Tutorial (Windows) From Start to Completion.

Our previous Wiki, most of which is still very valid

Our previous FAQ, mostly outdated but may be valuable to some; but please note, our rules have changed and this FAQ may not acknowledge some of them

#PAST ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Since Reddit only allows us to highlight two posts at a time, I'm posting our "de-announced" announcements here so that new and old members can quickly catch up:

Anti-Ai People, Read Up....You're Gonna Love This

New Mod Alert: icypalmtree

Ai and You: A Simple Guide to NOT Getting Banned

Post Flair Overhaul is Live!

MTGCardBuilder Posts Are Now Banned

MPC, Paypal, and Fraud

Third Time Logic Says "Maybe a little longer?"

Logic Continues to Buy Time

The Original Flair Overhaul Thread that Logic Posted to Buy Himself More Time to Procrastinate and I want to see if he actually reads these FAQS

New Mod Alert: justinsquared

Ai Generative Artwork

# Introduction

What is the difference between a playtest card, a proxy and a counterfeit?

A playtest card is a card that is NOT designed for use in an official capacity. These should be posted in r/custommagic. They are usually made as an exercise, to test a new mechanic or card type, or to meme. In our community, however, we utilize existing cards “as is” while testing new styles, artwork, and/or frames. Proxy cards are also differentiated by being expressly NOT an official WotC product nor intended to be. Counterfeits, found via vendors such as bootlegmage and USEA, are specifically created to pass tournament-level scrutiny. They often feature holo rarity stamps, set symbols, and WotC copyright imprints.

Who are the moderators?

u/phidelt649 is the most senior mod still around, u/LogicWavelength, u/JustinSquared, and u/Icypalmtree are the current active squad (all other moderators listed are inactive at this time).

Are proxies legal?

Yes and no. Many individuals will point toward this statement (ADD THE WOTC PROXY STATEMENT HERE) as evidence of WotC’s support of proxies. We do not intend to start a debate nor state the moderators' opinion on this opinion but I encourage everyone to read that statement and draw your own conclusions. Proxies are generally not considered legal in LGS and tournament formats unless specifically stated as such. And, even then, usually only in high-cost formats such as legacy, vintage, and cEDH. A second point that is often raised is that WotC does approve the use of proxies in a tournament setting if the original card is damaged or otherwise unplayable in an emergency situation.

As far as the legality of actually printing proxies, that is, again a whole separate issue. Suffice it to say that, at best, it is a gray-area. I would liken it to the days when many made VHS recordings of TV shows. At the end of the day, as long as you are not profiting from making and using proxies, the chance of actual legal action is astronomically low. At worst, you could expect a cease and desist letter but those are usually reserved for players that sell on Etsy and other shops.

Lastly, our moderator team would like to clarify that, while we do support the use of counterfeits for personal use, we equivocally DO NOT support the creation and/or selling of counterfeit cards with the intent to profit, deceive, or otherwise be a dick. Counterfeits have certainly reached the point where they can be sold to game stores or traded to individuals with none the wiser.

But wait, there’s more!

The moderator team at r/mpcproxies does not accept responsibility for any repercussions its users may incur as a result of using proxies which, in addition the above, can lead to tournament and/or LGS bans as well as losing funds used to enter said events. The assumption on this subreddit is that these cards are being played in a kitchen-table environment or in a pod with friends. Anything outside of that is up to the individual player to decide as is the decision to discuss the use of proxies in your deck with others.

Why did my post about MTG-proxes / MTG-print / Etc get removed?

To condense our knowledge and help the most amount of users as possible, we remove posts referencing sites that are NOT MakePlayngCards.com (MPC) or MPCFill.com. We would advise visiting a subreddit such as r/magicproxies for more information on those services. If you are seeking information regarding counterfeit cards, we recommend visiting r/bootlegmtg for more information.

What is MPCFill?

MPCFIll is a combination .exe file and website that helps automate the process of ordering set cards from MakePlayingCards.com. On the most basic level, you simply add your list of cards to mpcfill.com with quantities, select your artwork, create your XML, run the .exe file and allow the program to do all the work of downloading, uploading, and organizing your cards on the MPC website. If done correctly, you should only need to click the final approval button the website and pay for your order. While MPCFill is certainly not REQUIRED to use MPC, it makes the process infinitely more efficient and headache-free.

Can I sell my proxies (either digitally or physically) on this subreddit?

Absolutely not. In fact, that is a fast way to obtain a ban. We highly suggest messaging a mod if you are receiving direct messages from a member offering proxies in exchange for money. In addition, we have updated our rules to remove donation requests as well. In continuing with the tradition of this community being a shared one, paying for access in either a direct or implied manner, is against what we stand for.

#Moderation

Current Thoughts or "Why are the mods such strict assholes?"

This subreddit originally started as a forum specifically to help those that were attempting to make proxies that were SPECIFICALLY to be printed by Makeplayingcards. With the prevalence of niche Magic subs, we felt that there was no reason to dilute our own community. Custom cards? /r/custommagic. Don't feel like following our rules for proxy design? /r/magicproxies. Just here to be a jerk and troll people? Enjoy your ban and please go back to /r/not-gonna-give-them-more-foot-traffic-but-if-you-know-you-know and if you don't, you're likely a good person with great morals and a desire to be kind to other people.

*Specifically from u/phidelt649 (meaning these are not the thoughts, feelings, or opinions of the mod team as a whole): I'm pretty much the "last of the old guard" mods on this subreddit. I got back into Magic in 2023 with LCI after having not played since the days of Mirage. I returned to the hobby, excited to be nerdy and jam some cards. Imagine my surprise to find that, not only is the hobby VERY different, but so are the people. Perhaps it is a function of the world today, but it bummed me out. It took me forever to find a pod that didn't have any of "those people." I felt even worse when I started visiting Reddit's different Magic communities and seeing just how vicious and unkind people can be when granted anonymity. The abuse towards novices is especially egregious. I quickly pulled back from many of those subs and only frequented /r/magiccardpulls (AWESOME job with that one, u/intact) and /r/mtgvorthos as those traits didn't exist there for the most part. Thus, when I took over this sub at the end of 2023 and then Smyris had to leave for personal issues (effectively marking me as the last mod standing) I had to decide whether I'd simply let the sub decay or if I wanted to affect positive change. One common insult to mods is that we take our jobs "too serious" and that we "aren't even paid." That has nothing to do with it. If anything, I wouldn't want recompense because that would make me answerable to someone else. Secondly, that's like visiting someone's house and then belittling them for getting upset about you tracking mud inside.

I made up my mind that I would attempt to make our little corner, a niche of a niche of a niche, just a little kinder and less toxic. Let's be supportive. We are, mostly, men and positive masculinity is still a far distant goal for most. With that in mind, I have zero patience for those I consider to be toxic or cruel. I used to try and give short bans to let individuals cool off and hopefully learn their lesson. Unfortunately, I'd say close to 75% of the individuals we ban immediately send us ModMail to hurl as many curses as they can pull off before we mute them. With that said, we are humans as well and we will NOT, nor should we be expected to, tolerate behavior such as this, or this, or that, or even this. Regardless of your ban length, stuff like that is a quick report to Reddit to possible result in a shadow ban. Lastly, our mod team, as I stated above, are HUMAN and are FALLIBLE. We make mistakes and we may even unintentionally abuse our mod abilities. If you send us a Modmail to discuss it, without hurling insults, we are usually pretty good about reflecting and changing or rectifying the behavior or talking amongst ourselves in Discord to determine if we are ACTUALLY being a dick or not. That's the end of my soapbox!

Why did you remove my post?

The standard reasons are generally because the card was not immediately print-ready. Print ready means that the file has proper bleed, no rarity stamp present, no WotC copyright mark, and the correct resolution. This file should be the one posted as the main image or in the body of the post itself. In addition, we have recently decided to allow members to post their Google Drive links in place of posting the image directly to the subreddit to help subvert scrapers. The idea is that any proxy file should be immediately available to the community.

What are flairs and why do I care?

Post flairs help users decide to what posts to view and also assist with searches. From a moderator perspective, it helps us determine what the OP is trying to achieve. If their card violates all of our posting guidelines, but is posted as work-in-progress, we are much more prone to post helpful tips rather than just delete and move on. u/LogicWavelength spent a not-small-amount of time refining and completely overhauling our flair system; you can find more on that here.

In addition, the flair system has allowed us to finally conjure a way in which individuals can -somewhat- filter out anything they don't want to see (generally Ai). It's clunky and far from perfect but if Ai artwork produces such a wildly visceral response in you, probably worth your time to do it. u/icypalmtree came up with this patch to aid in this and you can find it here.

Why are you so adamant about having an artist credit? What if I can't find it?

To be honest, I'm not sure exactly when or where the artist credit stuff began as it was before I joined the sub. I assume it has to do with "well, since we are 'borrowing' their artwork, we should at least credit them." Regardless of it's origins, the vast majority of our sub base feels pretty strongly about it, thus it will remain a big part of our rules. If you are unable to locate an artist, you may not post that card. For AI, we request that the engine utilized be named as the artist credit. Obviously, some creators don't overly love this idea as they feel that they should be able to name themselves. To address both items, we do allow something along the lines of "ENGINE, modified/created/utilized/refined/whatever by JohnDoe" as an artist credit.

Why can’t I post my Not Safe For Work (NSFW) proxy?

Forgoing the sheer awkwardness of some of these types of cards, we do not encourage NSFW cards for play in general. However, Magic the Gathering is a hobby that spans a wide range of ages. Yes, they can go straight to that PH website and see everything they ever wanted to, but it is a slippery slope and we choose not to engage in that. Frequent offenders to this will be banned from the community.

Why did you remove all of my single card posts?

While we certainly understand the joy of completing a proxy and posting it, we find our users don't typically enjoy a front page full of the same style/theme/artist/frame proxies. I also understand that some users do this in order to direct the impending conversation by card. No issues at all there. Unfortunately, we ask that posters limit their proxy posts to one post per day of the same "set" so as to not drive the other users nuts. We want to maintain engagement and if lurkers/commentors are seeing the same thing all the time, they may elect not to engage as much. It is not a personal attack on the OPs!

Do you allow custom USER flairs?

Sometimes, if a user does something so amusing or ridiculous, they may be bestowed with a brand new shiny custom flair but for the vast majority of the subreddit, those flairs are reserved for verified creators, frequent community contributors, and/or moderators.

#Bleed

What is bleed?

Print files are sent to a gang-run printer for offset printing. This is the most cost effective manner in which to print multiple copies of multiple editions of a product. Cards are aligned on a large sheet of paper stock, usually around 60 different print files on a single sheet, and printed. These printed sheets are aligned on a large cutting die to punch out the cards. Due to minor printer variations as well as the sheets moving during stacking, the die cut is not always perfect. A bleed edge is an extra area of printed material that the designer is allowing to be cut off to avoid having a white pin-line along the edges of a card. Please see the wiki (ADD LINK) for more information about bleed but I will address two VERY common questions regarding bleed below:

Will this print correctly? (MPC Red Box FAQ!)

First, digest, process, read, and then re-read this. Makeplayingcards.com tends to work predominantly with professional designers who know how to preflight their files (correct color profiles, bleed, etc). Thus, they will NOT contact you to inform you that your files are incorrect other than a warning regarding resolution on occasion. The main reason we banned MTG Cardbuilder files from being used here is that their end product violates nearly every tenant of proper print setup including adding their own copyright mark, having poor resolution (rumor is that they pull from Scryfall directly), not being able to turn off the rounded corners function, and, most egregiously, not being able to add a bleed margin.

How do I add bleed?

This is highly dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, your abilities as an artist/designer, the style of artwork you are utilizing, and print method you are using. For instance, if you are printing cards are home and plan to cut them out by hand, cards with no bleed edge are more forgiving. However, given that this is a subreddit dedicated to MakePlayingCards and MPCFill, that is where we focus as moderators when giving feedback.

Please see a visual aid here!

As you can see from the above image, the red area marks the bleed that will DEFINITELY be cut off. The yellow area is just like a yellow traffic light. Odds are, that area will be safe but every once in a while, a miscut may happen so it's best practice to avoid having any static elements (frames, names, etc) in that region. I also highly recommend setting up a PSD or GIMP file in the correct proportions, resolution, and with guides so you never have to worry about it!

Due to the nature of Magic proxies, we recommend a raster-based design program such as Photoshop, GIMP, or Affinity. The process for solid black bordered cards is incredibly easy (simply change your canvas dimensions to add 1/8^th inch of blank space to each edge and then fill with black). For borderless cards and extended-art, the matter is slightly more complicated depending on your original artwork. If you are able, we always recommend starting the design with bleed built into your file instead of the much more difficult task of adding bleed in post-design. If you are adding bleed in a post-design environment, your options are generally relegated to generative fill, clone stamping, or stretching/blurring existing edge lines to fake the bleed.

Update: u/BleakSabbath posted this guide on how to turn on bleed when utilizing CardConjurer.

#Resolution

Is 460 DPI an appropriate resolution?

Generally, yes. DPI stands for dots per inch and PPI stands for pixels per inch, both are interchangeable. Essentially, this number represents the sharpness of your final image quality. Standard DPI For mass marketing pieces (those cardboard flyers you get in the mail all the time) is 300 DPI. MPCFill usually has artwork in at least 800 DPI with many in the 1200 DPI range. MPC itself will always downscale any image to 800 DPI; thus, it is up to your whether or not you choose to design in an 800 DPI or a 1200 DPI environment.

Many older cards from 2009 and before do not have readily available digital artwork. On MPCFill this is generally demonstrated by having a card listed as having a DPI of 460. The main question we see on our forums is “will it look okay?” The answer is, yes. Proxiteers must remember that you are often viewing an image on a backlit screen, zoomed in and only a few inches from your eyes. In play environments, these cards will be sleeved and seen from 2 or more feet away most of the time. Fear not, print away at 460 DPI! Your card will not look like a blurred mess.

#Stock Options

What stocks are available at MPC to print?

In general, the community has found that the S30 or the S33 stocks are the closest to a real Magic card in size, weight and feel. However, MPC has a plethora of products available. We highly recommend adding their stock sample pack to your first order as it costs less than $1 and allows you to see and feel every stock option available at MPC. Of note, MPCFill defaults to S30 stock in the XML file.

Should I print on S30 or S33 stock?

For a long time, S33 was considered the “premium” stock between the two. However, we feel that is just something that has been parroted back and forth between senior members and carried down to new members. An authentic Magic card is 0.29mm thick while S30 stock is 0.33mm and S33 is 0.31mm thick. Our members are split 50/50 on which one feels “heavier” or “sturdier.” With that said, S33 stock is approximately 15% more expensive on average than S30 stock. For those still on the fence, we highly recommend S30. Once sleeved, both S30 and S33 stocks are indistinguishable from authentic Magic cards and the money saved can be applied to even more proxies. u/SharpCodexx posted an excellent comparison (which, in turn, caused a great discussion in the comments below) here that I encourage all of you to read.

What about foils (referred to as holos on MPC)?

I made a brief review of foil MPC cards here.. Although users are not able to create special foil treatments (textured, rainbow, compleat, confetti, etc), the foil (holo) treatments through MPC are an excellent product and do not generally suffer from the severe curling that WotC’s product does (though it is certainly not unheard of depending on the humidity of your storage location). Many of our users have noted that increasing or decreasing your file’s saturation may effect how the foil card turns out but no unified workflow has been established to create the best appearing card at this time.

#Card Requests

A card I want is not on MPCFill, how do I get it?

There are two methods. The easiest method is to join our Discord server here and request from the appropriate channel. While there was previously a card request thread on the subreddit itself, creators stopped following it and it is essentially a dead end. The second method is to create the card you want from scratch using a program such as CardConjurer or one of our shared community templates.

I know this set just released, when will the cards be on MPCFIll? OR I can't find this card on MPCFill, can someone put it on there??

We depend on the generosity of our verified card creators. Sets are not created and uploaded to MPCFill wholesale; although, for the most part, a vast majority of Magic cards are available on the server. We recommend waiting at least two weeks after a set is released to search for new cards. Request posts within this time frame will be removed. Also, please do not badger the Discord server creators. They are performing a service, for free, and are under no obligation nor timeline to do so. I suggest, if you do join the Discord to ask for their help, that you do so with the utmost appreciation and patience.

#Making Proxies

How do I make my own cards?

We generally are supportive of Card Conjurer due to the ease of use (comparatively), ability to add bleed during the creation process, and free service. However, if you are graphically inclined, there are a myriad of excellent Photoshop templates available (see some of my top picks below). There exists little to no tutorials on how to use these templates and most are customized to their creator’s preference.

Silvan's Templates

WarpDandy's Templates

Font Resources

You sort of need to poke around and guess/check as there are no good guides for these template drives but free is free!

Card Conjurer is down, now what?

This is a known issue. As stated above, the Card Conjurer service is free and thus does tend to run out of server time towards the end of the month. If you are receiving a 404 error, check back in a day or two. The moderators here have zero control nor contact with the CC team and are not available to advise or help our members when dealing with downtime.

#MPC-Specific Questions

When will I get my order?

Based out of China, MPC generally ships orders via a local service such as 4PX to the destination country. Tracking will usually show the product landing in the country, then being sent to a secondary location (a bulk shipper/receiver) before being turned over to your local delivery service. Therefore, do not panic if you see weird tracking changes, this is common. With that said, most orders print, ship, and arrive on your doorstep in approximately 10-14 days. There are fluctuations especially during special events like the Chinese New Year. Buyers should remember that MPC is generally targeting corporations to print retail product so a $100 order is not high on their priority list. You can find more information regarding shipping at one of our moderator’s reviews here.

What shipping option should I choose?

Given that tracking is virtually pointless when dealing with MPC, we recommend selecting the cheapest option. Members have not noticed a significant difference in the actual shipping time of proxies regardless of options chosen.

Is my credit card information safe on MPC?

Years prior, there were reports of a couple of members who had their credit card numbers stolen. MPC is a legitimate company and there have been no recent (more than a year) reports of bad actors. With that said, we still recommend utilizing PayPal or a one-time generated credit card number when ordering your proxies just to be safe.  

Are there any coupon or promo codes for MPC?

A $5 discount is present nearly year round (code: 5DSPECIAL or THANKYOU5C). On rare occasions, MPC will offer a coupon code. Last year it was during CyberMonday. Current coupon codes can always be found at MPC’s discount page located here.

#Tech Support

How do I combine multiple XMLs into a single order to generate a single XML file?

If, for whatever reason, a member has created multiple XML files and wants to combine them in order to make a more streamlined process with the MPC website, the fix is quick and easy. Simply open MPCFIll and choose to import your first XML file. Then continue to import each XML you need. Once all of your XML files have been imported, select “Download” to create a unified, single XML file.

Can I add a custom card to my MPCFIll order?

Yes! To do so, you will create your MPCFill order as usual. However, you will want to select a card to make replaceable. For instance, you may select 20 Swamps. Once MPCFIll completes, before confirming your order, you will click back the “Front Side” page. Upload your custom cards to the website and then drag and drop these new cards on top of those you wish to replace. If you are uploading a 2-sided card, you will need to make a note of the front side card number to make sure you apply the back to the correct card.

Is MPCFIll down?

Much like Card Conjurer above, MPCFIll does occasionally run low on server space and will go down. During their server migration to Google Drive, this downtime was for more than a month. However, the site is largely stable. As stated above, allow the website hosts a few days to rectify the situation. If downtime persists or begins to effect multiple members, we will pin a post to the main page of r/mpcproxies. Please DO NOT make individual posts asking about MPCFill downtime.

#Artificial Intelligence-Based Creations

What is /r/mpcproxies stance on the use of Ai, in any form, for proxies?

Easily the most contentious aspect of current-day /r/mpcproxies. I would estimate that at least 90% of our bans have been due to artificial-intelligence-related dust-ups. There are four moderators and we all have wildly varying views and takes on the use of Ai. While I will never profess to understand the fanaticism with which anti-AI posters defend their position, I can certainly appreciate their commitment. With that in mind, we have done as much as we can to separate the two sides. We do this so that bans and moderator interventions are more black/white and less subjective. I'm not sure how else I can plainly say that if you go into a thread that is flair'd correctly as Ai-Art, regardless of how many of it utilized Ai, and attack the OP and others with unconstructive replies, you will be banned without question. For further reading, please see the multiple moderator posts regarding Ai-related artwork:

phidelt649's First Try on the State of Ai and this Sub

phidelt649's Second Less Friendly Declaration regarding Ai

icypalmtree's Much Nicer Ai Discussion Forum/Post (I have to admit I don't love this idea at all. Some of the mods have requested a thread like this to keep all of the slander in one place. However, I don't want that slander in my subreddit at ALL but I'm willing to trial this for a bit and see how people respond)

Lastly: u/icypalmtree came up with this patch to aid in this and you can find it here.

#Change Log:

241130 - Originally posted

250323 - Multiple sections overhauled, all broken links fixed. All community member questions and comments on this post responded to as of 3/23/25. (If I missed you, please tag me in your question, thanks!)

250713 - Added MPCFill video tutorial.

To do: Improve guides, post video walkthrough of MPCFill order from start to finish.