This post helps casual cube owners build an MTG proxy cube that drafts smoothly, prints consistently, and holds up for repeated cube nights, so your table experience feels like “real Magic” instead of “I swear it looked fine on my monitor.”
TLDR
A cube that doesn’t feel homemade is mostly about consistency: size, cut, color, and sleeve feel.
If you want “normal” draft math, start with 360 cards (8 players × 3 packs × 15 cards).
Lock your “house style” early: which versions/frames, how readable you want things, and how you’ll handle double-faced cards.
For printing, you’ve got three sane paths: paper-in-sleeve, hybrid, or professionally printed. All work, they just trade time vs polish.
Maintenance is easiest when you treat updates like patches: change log + batch reprints, not random one-off swaps.
What “doesn’t feel homemade” really means
When someone says, “I want cube night to feel normal,” they usually mean:
The deck shuffles like a deck, not like a stack of coupons.
Cards look consistent across the table, instead of half the cube being bright and crisp and the other half looking like it was printed during a power outage.
Cuts and corners don’t catch sleeves, and nothing is obviously taller/shorter.
Players spend time drafting and playing, not squinting at crunchy text and asking, “Wait, what does that do?”
That’s the whole goal of this MTG proxy cube guide: you’re not chasing perfection, you’re chasing a smooth play experience. Sleeves hide a lot, but they don’t hide everything.
Pick a cube size that fits your group
The cleanest mental model is “45 cards per drafter.”
Why 45? A standard Booster Draft is commonly modeled as 3 packs of 15 per player. That’s 45 picks, then players build 40-card decks with basics. If you want a “classic” 8-player table, 360 cards is the baseline (8 × 45). Wizards has even recommended starting at 360 for a first cube for exactly this reason. If you draft with all 8 players, the whole cube gets used.
Quick size cheat sheet
180 cards: 2 to 4 players with smaller draft variants (great for consistent attendance of “me and three friends”).
360 cards: the classic starting point, supports 8 players cleanly.
450 / 540: more variety, less repetition, still clean draft math because you’re adding chunks of 45.
If your group is usually 4 players, you can still run a 360 cube. You just draft a portion each time (or use draft variants that show more of the pool). Bigger cubes are basically “replayability insurance.”
Build the environment without melting your brain
You can spend a year tuning archetype density and color balance. Many people do. Some of them are happy.
If you want a cube that plays well quickly, focus on three building blocks:
1) Decide what kind of cube you’re building
Pick one primary identity. Examples:
Vintage / Powered: fast mana, broken nonsense, big swings.
Unpowered “Classic”: strong gameplay, fewer “oops I win” openers.
Peasant / Budget: lower cost, tighter games, fewer blowouts.
Set-inspired: “like drafting my favorite era, but without buying boxes.”
This decision affects everything from card choice to the vibe of your proxy approach. (A powered cube with paper slips can still be fun, but it will not feel “premium” unless you put in the work.)
2) Make gameplay readable on purpose
Readability is a cube design choice, not an accident.
Prefer printings with clear rules text and high-contrast frames.
Avoid versions where the art or treatment makes the textbox harder to parse.
If you love fancy versions, pick a few as “spice,” not half the cube.
Your future self will thank you when the table isn’t doing live OCR.
3) Handle lands and fixing like an adult
Most first cubes are short on fixing. Then every draft becomes “mono-color plus regret.”
A simple rule: if your environment is meant to support two-color decks (most are), give players enough fixing that they can actually draft it. Dual lands, signets/talismans, and other fixing packages are cube’s invisible scaffolding.
If you’re using a cube management tool, track your list there so you can make edits without losing your mind later. A lot of cube owners use tools like Cube Cobra to manage lists, versions, and updates.
Printing options: home vs hybrid vs pro
Here’s the honest tradeoff: you’re paying money or time. Sometimes both, if you’re unlucky.
Option A: Paper slips in front of real cards (best budget-to-play ratio)
How it feels: surprisingly good in opaque sleeves
Why it works: the real card behind it fixes thickness and stiffness
Best for: fast cube nights on a budget, frequent updates, testing
Tradeoffs: cutting takes time, and inconsistent scaling is a common villain
If you pick one “home” method, pick this one. It’s the least drama for the most playable result.
Option B: Hybrid (heavier paper, sticker paper, or mounted fronts)
How it feels: better than paper slips, can be closer to “real” in-hand
Best for: a cube you want to feel nicer, but you still want DIY control
Tradeoffs: more steps, more ways to misalign, and reprints get annoying
Hybrid is where cube owners go when they enjoy craft projects. If you do not enjoy craft projects, don’t gaslight yourself.
Option C: Professionally printed proxies (fastest path to “not homemade”)
How it feels: consistent stack, consistent shuffle, consistent look
Best for: “I want this to feel like a real product,” cube night hosts, group-owned cubes
Tradeoffs: costs more than paper, and you need a consistent workflow for updates
If your main pain is “my cube feels like a pile of mixed sources,” pro printing is the cleanest fix because it solves the consistency problem at the root: same stock, same finish, same cut behavior, same everything.
MTG proxy cube print specs: size, bleed, and the “why is this tiny” problem
If your cube has ever had a card that feels slightly smaller, you’ve already met the main villain: scaling.
The core numbers that keep you sane
Trim size (final card): 2.5 in × 3.5 in (often listed as ~63 × 88 mm)
Bleed: 1/8 inch bleed on each side is a common print standard, so your full art file becomes 2.75 in × 3.75 in
Safe area: keep important stuff away from edges so tiny cutting shifts don’t eat your mana symbols
If you’re printing a whole cube, consistency matters more than “maximum resolution.” Yes, you want sharp text. But you also want every card to land on the same template so nothing is visibly off.
A dead simple print-prep checklist (use this every time)
Sizing: confirm your file is built for the correct trim size, with bleed if applicable.
No “fit to page”: disable scaling in print dialogs. Always.
Clean source images: low-res art will look worse when it’s resized or sharpened.
Lock your versions: mixing a dozen frame styles is a readability choice. Make it on purpose.
Do one test print: one card, one sheet, one sanity check before 540 cards of regret.
This is where cube owners accidentally turn a fun project into a weekend of cutting and swearing. Test first.
Consistency hacks: sleeves, backs, and readability
If you want a cube that feels great in sleeves, sleeves are not an afterthought. They’re literally the interface between your hands and the cards.
Use opaque sleeves if you’re mixing sources
Opaque backs hide a lot: different card backs, different paper stocks, minor color differences, and small sins you committed during cutting.
If you want the cube to draft smoothly and avoid marked-card issues in casual play, opaque sleeves are the lowest-effort fix.
Consider double sleeving for “group-owned cube” durability
Double sleeving is not mandatory, but it’s the difference between “this cube survived five months” and “why does every card have a corner crease.”
Sleeve thickness and durability vary by brand, but the takeaway is simple: thicker, well-made sleeves tend to hold up better over repeated shuffling.
Pick a “house style” for card fronts
Your cube will feel more premium if it looks like it belongs to itself.
Choose a consistent frame era (or a small set of allowed treatments).
Prefer readable text boxes.
Avoid mixing wildly different brightness/contrast levels across the list.
A cube that looks consistent tends to feel consistent, even before someone shuffles.
Use custom backs for the lowest-drama proxy experience
Custom backs reduce confusion, avoid awkward conversations, and still play perfectly in sleeves. They’re also a simple way to keep your cube clearly in “casual playtest” territory.
Storage + maintenance workflow
A cube that feels great is also a cube that stays great. Maintenance is where most cubes slowly drift into chaos.
Build a “cube night kit”
Keep these together:
The cube (obviously)
Basic lands (enough for the table size you expect)
Tokens you reliably need
Dice/counters
A small notepad or phone note for “bug reports”
Yes, I’m calling them bug reports. Your cube is a custom format. Congratulations, you’re a developer now.
Maintain with a change log and batch updates
Instead of swapping one card at a time forever, try this:
Keep a list of proposed changes.
Update the cube in batches (monthly, quarterly, or whenever you have enough changes).
Reprint or replace as a group so the cube stays consistent.
This is especially helpful for proxy cubes, because consistency across batches is the whole point. Random one-off prints tend to look and feel like random one-off prints. Shocking, I know.
When to reprint instead of patch
Reprint a chunk when:
your new additions look noticeably different in sleeves
your cutting or scaling changed
you switched sleeve brands or sleeve types
you changed your “house style” frames or art direction
If your goal is “doesn’t feel homemade,” treat major changes like a version upgrade, not a quick fix.
FAQs
How many cards do I need for an MTG proxy cube?
For the classic 8-player experience, 360 cards is the baseline. It’s built around 3 packs of 15 per player. Smaller groups can draft smaller cubes or draft a portion of a larger cube.
Can I proxy an entire cube?
Yes. The key is clarity: make sure your group is on board, keep everything readable, and avoid anything that creates confusion about authenticity.
What sleeves make a cube feel the best?
“Best” is subjective, but the practical answer is: durable, consistent sleeves, and opaque backs if you’re mixing sources. Thicker sleeves tend to hold up better to repeated drafts.
What print settings prevent the “tiny card” problem?
Disable scaling (no “fit to page”), verify your template size, and do one test print before committing. Most “tiny proxy” issues come from print dialog scaling, not the file itself.
How do I keep cube prints consistent across updates?
Lock a house style (versions/frames), keep the same sizing workflow, and update in batches. Consistency is easier to maintain when you treat updates like releases, not random patches.