Dear Squee Vol. 4

Our favorite Audio Engineer Squee McGee answers the Collective’s most burning questions!!

Dear Squee,

Dear Squee,

Proxies? Love em, hate em, rules, thoughts? 

I’ve started to proxy more expensive cards that I own like cradle, fetchs, and OG duals because unlike Mr. Combo #5, I’m not Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne rich. In my cEDH deck, all bets are off. I proxy what I need.

Patreon, lover, and EDH enthusiast,

– JBesh (@TheBeshAround)

Dear Mr. Besh, 

What a hot issue you have brought to “Dear Squee”.  As with some previous questions, I have a very storied past with proxies.  You could say at this point things have settled down, but proxies destroyed a playgroup I was in long ago and that is hard to forget. 

I currently use proxies in a few of my decks, and overall have no issues with them being a part of EDH.  That being said, there is one circumstance where I am not ok with them.  To best understand my viewpoint there are a few different categories of proxies I think we should discuss… Malicious, Artistic, and Monetary.  But first….

Squee’s Ground Rules for Proxies:

I support the use of proxies if a few conditions are met. 

  1. The playgroup is aware you are using them.
  2. You must own a copy of the card to use them across multiple decks.  
  3. Don’t let proxies kill creativity in your deck building. Expensive high powered cards are all over EDH, but I think their price tag has forced players to be more creative in deck building with more affordable options.
  4. In your case with CEDH(which I do not play) I am ok with proxies, because the format has such a limited scope of what cards are powerful enough to win. It still needs to be clear to the table that proxies are in use.  

Malicious Proxies:

Malicious proxies are cards that are slotted into a deck, promoted as real to the table, and are generally high dollar/power staples.  This is the type of proxy use that wrecked my previous playgroup.  Very expensive cards like Grim Monolith, Force of Will, and Dual Lands, were consistently used by one of the players while insisting they were all real.  After some time the rest of us caught on and the situation boiled over more than once.  

After watching that happen… I have no doubt malicious proxies are out there in playgroups around the world.  To me, this just kills the entire spirit of playing EDH. The table is more tense and players no longer enjoy the game, because they are worried about people cheating.  

Artistic Proxies:

HELL YES.

Just be sure to own a real copy of the card as well 😉

Artistic Proxies embody the spirit of the game unlike Malicious Proxies. One of(if not) the best parts of Magic the Gathering is the amazing artwork.  I love seeing a cool proxy or alter of a card that relates to fan fiction, pop culture, or a reimagination of the card art itself.   

Monetary Proxies:

I fully support these, because it allows players to safely transport and play with their valuable cards.  If you own a 500 dollar copy of Underground Sea(cough, cough) I feel it is best to leave that card in storage.  Too many things can happen at a table.  Having seen tooooo many drinks spill during a game, I get a little paranoid.  

It is harder and harder to tell the difference between a real and fake card these days.  Proxy quality has gone up significantly.  I have found that a replica of a card I own in a deck gives me all the same good feels as the real one that is safely at home.  

I hope this helps! 

Love,

Squee

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2 Replies to “Dear Squee Vol. 4”

  1. Jacob Besh

    Loved the article Squee. All of my proxies are different artwork and have different backs not to mention not using the trademarked items by WOTC like the mana symbols and the tap symbol.

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