TLDR
A “traditional” Magic: The Gathering card is about 2.5 in × 3.5 in (roughly 6.3 cm × 8.8 cm).
In the real world, you’ll also see 63 × 88 mm listed a lot. That’s mostly rounding and manufacturing tolerance, not a conspiracy.
If you’re designing for print, think in trim, bleed, and safe area (because printers love cutting off the one thing you cared about).
Sleeves labeled “standard size” are meant for MTG and Pokémon, while Yu-Gi-Oh! uses smaller “Japanese” size sleeves.
Proxies are great for casual play and testing. Sanctioned events are a different universe with different physics.
You know a hobby is thriving when people are out here measuring rectangles with calipers like they’re doing lab work. But yes, MTG card dimensions matter, especially if you’re sleeving, storing, printing custom cards, or trying to avoid the tragic fate of “why does this one card feel… different?”
Let’s get you the numbers that matter, the numbers that don’t, and the print setup that saves you from the classic “my border got guillotined” moment.
Magic: The Gathering (MTG), a trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast in 1993, has been loved by millions for its complexity and story. One of the reasons it has stood the test of time is the card design and dimensions are consistent across all editions and formats.
MTG card dimensions
A traditional MTG card is approximately 2.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall (roughly 6.3 cm by 8.8 cm).
That “approximately” is doing real work. Official cards can vary slightly from print run to print run, and different sources round the metric conversions differently. That’s why you’ll see both of these floating around:
2.5 in × 3.5 in (imperial “standard card” sizing)
63.5 mm × 88.9 mm (exact inch-to-mm conversion)
63 mm × 88 mm (common rounded metric listing, especially in sleeve specs)
So which one should you use?
If you’re buying sleeves or deck boxes: follow what the sleeve makers list (usually “up to 63 × 88 mm”).
If you’re designing for printing: start from 2.5 × 3.5 inches as the trim size, then add bleed (more on that below). That workflow matches how print files are typically set up.
Why the “standard size” matters (more than it deserves to)
Consistency is the whole reason a deck of 100 cards can shuffle without feeling like a stack of mismatched coupons.
Uniform sizing matters because:
Fair play: In competitive settings, anything that makes a card identifiable in the deck can create a marked-card problem. Sometimes that’s damage. Sometimes it’s thickness. Sometimes it’s one card that’s mysteriously taller because someone printed it like a fridge magnet.
Sleeve compatibility: Standard sizing is why you can walk into basically any game store and buy sleeves that fit.
Storage sanity: Deck boxes, binders, toploaders, and storage cases are built around standard trading card dimensions.
Thickness, corners, and the stuff people notice in-hand
Thickness
Card thickness varies more than people want it to, especially with foils. There isn’t one universally published “official thickness” that covers every era and every print facility, and you can drive yourself nuts trying to make it a single magical number.
What’s worth knowing:
Foils often feel different (sometimes thicker, sometimes curlier, sometimes both).
Sleeving hides a lot of minor variance, which is one reason sleeves are basically mandatory once you’ve been burned by a single bent corner.
Corner radius
MTG cards have rounded corners, and if you’re designing or cutting custom cards, this matters. Corner rounding is commonly referenced around 1/8 inch (roughly 3 mm, sometimes listed closer to 3.5 mm depending on the spec source).
Translation: if your corners look sharp, they’ll feel wrong. Also they’ll stab sleeves. Not aggressively, but enough to annoy you forever.
The MTG “exceptions” that are not actually exceptions
Most things you play with are still traditional card size, even if they look weird.
You’ll run into:
Tokens (usually standard size, but occasionally printed in other sizes depending on product)
Emblems and checklist/helper cards (standard size)
Oversized cards (promos, special products, Planechase planes, Archenemy schemes, Vanguard, and other delightful chaos). These are intentionally not standard, and they are not meant to shuffle into your main deck.
So yes, “MTG cards are standard size” is true in the way “roads are paved” is true. Most are. The ones that aren’t are doing it on purpose.
MTG vs Pokémon vs Yu-Gi-Oh! sizes
Here’s the practical comparison that matters for sleeves and storage:
The big takeaway: MTG and Pokémon share the same sleeve ecosystem. Yu-Gi-Oh! does not. If you try to sleeve Yu-Gi-Oh! in MTG sleeves, it’ll feel like a toddler wearing an adult hoodie.
Print setup for MTG-sized cards (trim, bleed, safe area)
If you’re printing custom cards or proxies, the dimensions that matter are not just “the card size.” You need three zones:
1) Trim size (final card)
This is the finished card after cutting. For MTG-size cards, treat this as:
2.5 in × 3.5 in
2) Bleed (extra image past the cut)
Bleed is the buffer that prevents white edges when the cut drifts slightly (because it will). A common print standard is 1/8 inch (0.125 in) bleed on each side.
That means your design file becomes:
2.75 in × 3.75 in (2.5 + 0.25 by 3.5 + 0.25)
If you’re working in pixels (at 300 DPI, a common print baseline):
Trim (2.5 × 3.5): 750 × 1050 px
With 1/8 in bleed (2.75 × 3.75): 825 × 1125 px
You can work higher (like 600 DPI assets) if you want extra crisp text and cleaner downsampling, but the key is: build with bleed, even if you think you’re special.
3) Safe area (keep important stuff away from edges)
Keep critical text and icons pulled in from the edge so minor cutting shifts don’t clip them. Different printers use different “safe” margins, but the principle is consistent: don’t park your most important details in the danger zone.
PrintMTG proxies and dimension consistency
If your goal is a clean table experience, the practical requirement is simple: your cards should sleeve and shuffle consistently. That means standard sizing, consistent cutting, and readable fronts that don’t make the whole pod squint like they’re decoding ancient runes.
PrintMTG’s proxy/playtest cards are designed around that “in-sleeve consistency” idea: standard MTG sizing, familiar feel, and predictable finishing so your deck doesn’t end up with one card that behaves like it’s trying to get caught.
One important reality check, because it comes up every time:
Player-made proxies are not legal for Wizards-sanctioned tournaments.
The only “proxy” allowed in sanctioned play is typically a judge-issued proxy for a narrow set of situations (like a card becoming damaged during the event).
This is not legal advice. Event rules and store policies vary, and you should always check with the organizer if you’re unsure.
FAQs
What are the exact MTG card dimensions?
The commonly referenced size is about 2.5 in × 3.5 in. You’ll also see 63 × 88 mm listed frequently, largely due to rounding and tolerance. For printing templates, use 2.5 × 3.5 inches as your trim size.
Why do some sites say 63 × 88 mm instead of 63.5 × 88.9 mm?
Some sources round to whole millimeters, and sleeve manufacturers often list a “max card size” that’s slightly conservative. In practice, both point you to the same standard-size sleeve category.
Are MTG foils thicker than non-foils?
They can feel different, and thickness can vary. Foils also introduce other fun behaviors like curling, because cardboard loves drama.
What sleeves fit MTG cards?
Look for standard size sleeves. These are also used for Pokémon cards. Yu-Gi-Oh! needs Japanese size sleeves.
Can I use proxies in a tournament?
In sanctioned tournaments, generally no, unless a judge issues a proxy under specific tournament rules. In casual play, many groups are fine with proxies as long as everyone agrees up front.