[indigo945]

I wouldn't call a format where Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall and the Moxen are legal "affordable" - even though you can't play all of them in 7pts Singleton, even any single one of them costs thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars. However, I'm glad you and your son enjoy the game, and congratulations on his placement.

[JimWestergren]

Yes, I agree. And we don't own them. I find it a very stimulating intellectual exercise to construct a deck without those cards and still perform great. Those powerful cards have several points and only 7 points total are allowed in your deck. For example I currently choose to play Sol Ring instead of 2 of the moxes.

[JTon]

You can get professionally printed proxies [1]. I've been told there's often a "don't ask, don't tell" policy around many unofficial mtg tournaments regarding proxies. It obviously upsets some people, but others see it as requirement for new players to enter legacy format (and keep it alive).

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/bootlegmtg/wiki/index

[JimWestergren]

In the old school community: counterfeits absolutely not ok. Proxies normally ok except in some tournaments.

[JTon]

I've been told that many players buy counterfeits specifically for old school tournaments so they don't put their very expensive pieces at risk to theft or damage. I can't verify this, but it makes a lot of sense to me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[chimeracoder]

> Proxies are allowed. We encourage the use of easily recognisable proxies as long as they are undetectable under sleeves and are easily recognizable and nicely made, but no counterfeits!

A proxy can be as simple as a basic land with Sharpie writing on it, so this format is by definition as affordable as Magic can ever be.

[JimWestergren]

Exactly. Except that they should be easily recognizable and nicely made. So for example a basic plains that you draw over and make look a bit like the card is very recommended.

[Reubachi]

Official MTG tournaments "allow" proxies, cost is not and never has been a prohibitor to any paper magic.

WoTC as a card distrubtor on the other hand, does not agree with this. Thankfully they have no input on the matter. And is why they push the online avenues as much if not more than paper.

[phone[phone]]

> Official MTG tournaments "allow" proxies

This is categorically false - any WPN/DCI sanctioned tournament forbids proxies except in extremely limited circumstances:

Section 3.4 - Proxy Cards A proxy card is used during competition to represent an otherwise legal Magic card or substitute card that can no longer be included in a deck without the deck being marked. For a proxy to be issued, the card it is replacing must meet at least one of the following criteria: • The card has been accidentally damaged or excessively worn in the current tournament, including damaged or misprinted Limited product. Proxies are not allowed as substitutes for cards that their owner has damaged intentionally or through negligence. • The card is a foil card for which no non-foil printing exists.

Players may not create their own proxies; they may only be created by the Head Judge who has sole discretion as to whether the creation of a proxy is appropriate. When a judge creates a proxy, it is included in the player’s deck and must be denoted as a proxy in a clear and conspicuous manner. The original card is kept nearby during the match and replaces the proxy while in a public zone as long as it is recognizable. A proxy is valid only for the duration of the tournament in which it was originally issued

[Reubachi]

It is not categorically false, as evidenced by your quote which says they are allowed plainly, and as I caveate'd my statement with quotes. Perhaps we should replace "proxy" in my statement with "clones".

WOTC, judges, players, do not check for "dupe/clone" cards. How can they? why would they? To prove the player/opponent is poor in this individual set in the middle of a tournament?

When we're taking about proxies in sanctioned tournaments, we are not talking about what WotC is talking about:

No one declares at tournaments "This is my proxy" and presents a hand drawn liliana, that then prompts the inspection you quoted in which the judge has to unsleeve my very valuable card for the judge to inspect, and can only be used for the tournament. What a waste of time and lack of professionalism, for no reason. WotC would stop paper magic tournament support.

Instead they play a "liliana of the veil", in mint condition holo somehow, and we all know what's up.

Players fake/clone cards very easily/well, for obvious reasons. You would not be able to determine my commander deck is entirely "fake". There's no mechanism in tournaments to prove it. I simply don't want to support Hasbro/WotC and TCGPlayer admins.

I assure you, as a frequent bottom 2048 loser of these sanctioned tournaments, every single player is playing with clones, WotC is aware, and they would be foolish to enforce any ruling on that.