MTG proxy tokens are the part people forget until the deck is already sleeved, shuffled, and halfway through a game where somebody asks, “Do you have a copy of that emblem?” and you absolutely do not. It happens all the time. Players spend all their effort on the 99, maybe remember the commander, and then ignore the game pieces that actually make the deck function smoothly.
That is why MTG proxy tokens are not just a nice extra. In a lot of decks, they are the difference between a clean game and a table full of dice, sticky notes, upside-down basic lands, and one person insisting they can remember the exact wording from memory. They cannot.
If you want the order itself to go smoother, MTG Proxy Proofing Checklist: What to Verify Before You Click “Buy” is worth keeping open during checkout. And if your deck tracks a bunch of non-token game pieces, MTG Counters Explained: Poison, Experience, Stun, and Counter-Based Wins is a useful companion too.
Start With the Things Your Deck Makes All the Time
The first bucket is obvious. These are the creature and artifact tokens your deck produces regularly.
If your deck makes Treasures every other turn, print Treasure tokens. If it makes a stack of 1/1 Soldiers, print more than one Soldier token. If it makes a giant copy token that keeps changing size, print a clean base version and be ready to track counters on top of it.
The mistake here is printing exactly one of everything.
That works only if your deck never pops off, which is not how Commander players talk about their decks and definitely not how they build them. If a card can make six Goblins, print enough Goblins that the board still looks normal when the deck is doing its thing.
For a lot of decks, a good starting point is:
- 4 to 8 copies of your main token
- 2 to 4 copies of your secondary token
- at least 1 clean reminder token for oddball effects
This is not about perfection. It is about not running out immediately.
Then Print the Game-State Pieces People Always Forget
This is where MTG proxy tokens becomes a bigger category than most players expect.
Some decks want more than creature tokens. They want game markers and helper cards that keep complicated board states readable.
The big ones are:
- emblems
- monarch
- initiative
- dungeons and Undercity
- day and night reminder cards
- The Ring reminder card
- Role tokens
These are not filler. They are part of how the deck actually plays.
If your deck produces an emblem and you do not have the emblem text in front of you, somebody is going to stop and look it up. If your deck uses initiative or venture, it is much cleaner to have the actual dungeon or Undercity card on the table than to explain the path from memory every time. If your deck uses day and night, a simple reminder card saves a surprising amount of table friction.
And if your deck uses The Ring or Role tokens, trying to “just remember it” usually turns into one of those very Magic moments where everyone is confident and no one is correct.
Commander Decks Usually Need an Extras Package
I think every Commander proxy order should get a second pass before checkout.
Not a second pass for the main deck. A second pass for the extras package.
Ask one question: what does this deck create, track, or care about that is not already sitting in the 99?
That question catches a lot:
- token creatures
- artifact and enchantment tokens
- copy tokens
- emblems
- initiative and monarch cards
- dungeon pieces
- day and night markers
- Ring reminder pieces
- Role tokens
- odd mechanic helpers you know your deck will use
This is also where you catch the little quality-of-life cards that make a deck feel more finished. Maybe it is a reminder card for a weird counter package. Maybe it is a custom token that matches the art style of the deck. Maybe it is just printing enough of the boring tokens so the board stops looking improvised.
That stuff matters more than people admit.
You Do Not Need Every Possible Token
There is a trap here too.
Some players go from forgetting tokens entirely to trying to print an encyclopedia. You do not need that either.
You do not need every token your colors could theoretically produce. You need the tokens your actual list creates often enough to matter.
I would separate them into three groups.
The first group is mandatory. These show up often and need real table presence. Print them.
The second group is occasional. These matter, but one or two copies is enough.
The third group is edge-case nonsense. If the deck almost never does it, you can usually skip it or use a generic stand-in later.
That keeps the extras package practical instead of bloated.
Double-Faced Cards and Helper Pieces Deserve a Check Too
This is not just a token issue. A lot of decks use transform or state-based helpers that feel fine in theory and awkward in paper if you do not plan ahead.
Werewolf decks are the classic example. If the deck cares about day and night, you want a clean way to show that state on the table. Not because the mechanic is impossible, but because the game flows better when nobody has to ask, “wait, is it night right now?”
Dungeon decks are similar. Initiative decks too. They are much smoother when the actual helper piece is already there.
That is why MTG proxy tokens often overlaps with reminder cards, state markers, and mechanic cards. The point is not just having pretty extras. The point is reducing table friction.
A Good Extras Package Makes Proxies Feel Better
This is the part people underestimate.
A proxy deck with no extras can still function. But it often feels halfway finished. The main deck looks polished, then the board state spills into dice piles and scrap-paper reminders.
A proxy deck with the right extras feels intentional. It looks cleaner. It plays cleaner. And it is easier for everyone else to read, which matters more than people think in Commander.
This is especially true for shared decks, cubes, and teaching decks. If you are handing a deck to somebody else, the board should explain itself as much as possible.
That is why I think MTG proxy tokens should be part of the original order, not an afterthought you patch later.
My Simple Rule Before Checkout
Before you place the order, lay the deck out mentally and ask:
What does this deck make?
What does this deck track?
What does this deck ask other players to remember?
Then print those pieces too.
That one habit catches most of the stuff people forget, and it makes the final deck feel a lot more complete.
Final Thoughts
MTG proxy tokens are not just creature tokens. They are the full set of extra pieces that keep a complicated deck readable and easy to run.
So yes, print the 99. But also print the stuff that makes the 99 actually work on a table full of real people. Future you will be glad you did.