Quality Checklist: What to Look for When Your MTG Proxies Arrive

Table of Contents

Your MTG proxies should look clean, feel consistent, and shuffle like a real deck. This quick checklist helps you confirm proxy quality / print quality in a few minutes—so you can start playing, and so we can fix anything fast if something’s off.

Do this first (60 seconds)

  • Good light: Check under bright, neutral lighting (daylight or a bright lamp).
  • Clean hands + flat surface: Oils and textured tables can hide issues.
  • Spot-check smart: Don’t inspect 100 cards one-by-one—pull 10–15 cards spread across the stack (top/middle/bottom) and check those carefully.

The premium checklist (5 minutes)

1) Cut & corners

  • Corner shape: All corners should have the same radius—no “one corner sharper than the others.”
  • Edge quality: Edges should look clean (no big burrs, tabs, or “hanging chads”).
  • No overcut/undercut: Artwork shouldn’t look accidentally shaved off on one side, or overly wide on another.
  • No corner whitening: A tiny bit can happen from handling, but fresh-out-of-package whitening across multiple cards is a red flag.

2) Centering & border consistency

  • Even borders: If your cards have borders, they should be generally even card-to-card.
  • Same card matches itself: If you ordered multiples of the same card, those copies should look consistent with each other.

3) Print clarity (the “read it at arm’s length” test)

  • Crisp text: Rules text should be sharp, not fuzzy or “hairy.”
  • Clean mana symbols & icons: Small symbols should have clear edges, not blobbed or broken.
  • No ghosting/double-image: Look for shadows around text or art lines (a sign of misregistration).

4) Color & contrast (the “does it pop?” check)

  • Solid blacks: Blacks should look deep, not gray-brown or washed out.
  • No banding: Large flat areas (like skies) should be smooth—no horizontal stripes.
  • Natural contrast: Highlights shouldn’t look blown out; shadows shouldn’t look muddy.
  • Consistency across the order: A slight shift can happen between print runs, but within the same order it should feel uniform.

5) Front-to-back alignment

  • Flip test: Flip a few cards over—backs should be centered similarly from card to card.
  • Edge reveal: With a small stack, the borders/edges should “line up” reasonably when squared.

6) Surface, scuffs, and rub resistance

  • Finish consistency: The surface should feel consistent across cards—no random sticky/glossy patches.
  • Scuff check: Look for scratches or rub marks that were already there when you opened the package.
  • Light rub test: Gently rub a fingertip across a dark area on one sample card. You shouldn’t see ink lifting or smearing.

7) Thickness, stiffness, and warping

  • Uniform feel: Cards should feel consistent in thickness and stiffness across the stack.
  • No “potato chip” curl: A tiny bit of curve can happen from temperature/humidity changes, but obvious warping across many cards is not normal.
  • No delamination: Look at edges—layers should not be separating.

8) Count & completeness

  • Count the order: Make sure your quantity matches what you purchased.
  • Spot-check duplicates: If you ordered a list, verify a handful of specific cards are present and correct.

What’s usually normal (and not worth a support ticket)

  • Minor centering variation (small, not dramatic)
  • Tiny edge micro-texture from cutting (not chunks missing)
  • Slight color perception differences under different room lighting (warm bulbs vs daylight)

What’s not normal (contact us)

  • Blurry text that makes cards hard to read
  • Misregistration/ghosting (double edges/shadows)
  • Strong banding or obvious print lines across many cards
  • Major miscuts (art chopped off, borders wildly uneven)
  • Consistent corner defects across many cards
  • Delamination or ink that smears/lifts with light rubbing
  • Widespread scuffing out of the package

If something fails the checklist: how to get a fast resolution

To help us fix it quickly, send:

  • Order number
  • A clear photo of the full card (front + back)
  • A close-up of the defect (corners/edges/text)
  • One “stack shot” (a small stack of cards, squared up, showing edge/border alignment)
  • How many cards are affected (1 card, 10 cards, “most of the order,” etc.)

For the official coverage details and next steps, use our canonical policy pages: Quality Guarantee / Reprints and Returns & Refunds.