If you’re trying to make proxies that shuffle like real cards, you’re probably not chasing “perfect realism.” You just want your deck to stop feeling like a stack of printer paper that fights you every time you mash shuffle. Fair.
Here’s the good news: shuffle feel is mostly physics. Thickness, stiffness, edge quality, and sleeve friction. Get those under control and your proxies will handle normally in hand, without you doing anything sketchy or trying to fool anyone.
Quick ethics note (because it matters): use proxies for testing and casual play, and don’t sell them or represent them as real. Also don’t bring them to sanctioned events unless the organizer explicitly says yes. Keep it clean.
What “shuffle like real cards” actually means
When a deck feels “real,” it’s usually a mix of:
- Consistent thickness across the whole deck. One oddball card can make the stack feel weird and it becomes a marked card by touch.
- Similar stiffness. Too floppy feels cheap. Too stiff feels like a brick.
- Smooth edges and consistent corners. Ragged cuts snag sleeves and create extra friction.
- Predictable sleeve friction. New sleeves can be slick or grabby, and either one changes shuffle feel more than most paper choices.
So the goal is not “print the perfect card.” The goal is “make every card in the deck behave the same way.”
Paper choices: GSM is not the whole story
People love throwing out numbers like “300gsm” like it’s a magic spell. GSM is weight, not thickness. Two papers can both be 300gsm and still feel different because of fiber, coatings, and how they’re made.
What you actually care about is caliper (thickness). For a lot of trading cards, you’ll see “12pt” show up as the neighborhood you’re aiming for. But even that gets fuzzy because coatings and finishes add thickness too.
Practical take: if you print proxies on thick cardstock and they still feel “off,” it’s often because they’re too thick once sleeved, or because the surface coating makes them tacky. In a 100-card deck, tiny differences add up fast.
A better mindset is: pick a method that gives you repeatable thickness, not a method that sounds impressive.
Sleeves are the great equalizer (and usually the real answer)
If you care about shuffle feel, sleeves do more heavy lifting than paper ever will.
- Matte sleeves often shuffle better under bright lights and feel less slippery in hand.
- Glossy sleeves can feel faster but sometimes clump or slide too much, depending on the brand and how new they are.
- Brand new sleeves can be weird for the first few games. They “break in.”
Also, make sure you’re buying the right size. If you’ve ever accidentally bought small sleeves and tried to convince yourself they’ll stretch, i feel you. If you need a quick refresher, this Kraken Opus guide is straightforward: What Size Sleeves for MTG? Magic: The Gathering Sleeve Sizes Explained.
Now the part that makes proxies feel real fast:
The bulk-card backer trick (it works because it’s boring)
The simplest way to get consistent thickness is to print the proxy face on normal paper, then put it in a sleeve in front of a real bulk card. The bulk card provides the exact stiffness and thickness your hand expects. Your printout just provides the information.
That method is also the safest, because it’s obviously a proxy and it’s not trying to mimic a real card outside the sleeve.
If you want the full DIY breakdown, Kraken Opus already has it laid out here: How to Print MTG Proxy Cards | The Easiest Method.
If your only goal is proxies that shuffle like real cards, this is the highest success rate approach. It fixes feel, it’s cheap, and you don’t end up buying five kinds of cardstock in a spiral of regret.
Thickness, double-sleeving, and why your deck suddenly feels like a brick
Double-sleeving (inner sleeves plus outer sleeves) can make a deck feel more uniform, but it also increases thickness a lot. A Commander deck can go from “chunky” to “is this a weapon” pretty quickly.
A few real-world notes:
- If you single-sleeve, proxy differences are easier to notice, so consistency matters more.
- If you double-sleeve, the sleeves hide more differences, but the deck becomes harder to shuffle if your sleeves are grippy or brand new.
- If you mix sleeve brands or finishes in the same deck, you can feel it. Your hands notice even when your brain wants to pretend it’s fine.
So before you obsess over paper stock, make sure your sleeve choice is not the actual problem.
Cutting and corners: the part that secretly ruins shuffle feel
Most “my proxies shuffle terrible” stories are really “my edges are trash” stories.
Bad cuts create tiny burrs and uneven corners. Those burrs catch sleeves, add friction, and make the deck feel sticky or clumpy. Even if your paper choice is perfect, rough edges will blow it.
Here’s what actually helps:
- Use a real cutter. A rotary trimmer or guillotine style cutter beats scissors every time.
- Batch cut carefully. If your stack shifts mid-cut, you’ll get inconsistent widths. That makes the deck feel weird in hand and can create marked cards.
- Round corners if needed. If your cut corners are sharp, they snag sleeves and wear faster. A cheap corner rounder can make a big difference for handling.
This is also where “close enough” is fine. You’re not building museum pieces. You’re building cards that don’t fight you while shuffling.
What paper should you use if you are not doing the backer-card method?
Sometimes you want proxies that can be handled outside sleeves (cube testing, quick drafts at home, teaching games, whatever). If that’s you, aim for these priorities:
- Consistency over perfection. One paper choice for the whole batch.
- Stiffness that matches your use case. Too stiff feels awkward. Too floppy feels like a flyer.
- Surface that does not get tacky. Some photo papers feel great until humidity hits, then they start clinging.
A few practical options people use:
- Heavy cover stock can work if you cut cleanly and sleeve them. Just watch for thickness creep.
- Photo paper can look sharp but often feels wrong in a deck because coatings change friction.
- “Black core” playing card stock exists and feels nice, but it’s also drifting closer to “trying to be real,” which you do not need for casual proxying. You can get shuffle feel without going there.
If you’re sleeving anyway, the backer-card method still wins on feel and simplicity.
A quick shuffle test checklist
Before you commit to printing 100 cards, make 9 test cards. Seriously. Your future self will thank you.
Do these checks:
- Mash shuffle test: does the deck want to slide together smoothly, or does it buckle and fight?
- Fan test: can you fan the cards without them clumping?
- Side profile check: does your test stack look thicker than real sleeved cards?
- Top card slide: can you slide the top card off the deck cleanly, or does it stick?
- “One weird card” check: mix one proxy into real sleeved cards and see if you can find it by feel. If you can, fix the method.
If your proxies pass those, they’ll feel normal in actual play.
Final thoughts
Making proxies that shuffle like real cards is mostly about uniformity. Sleeves matter a ton. Clean cuts matter more than people admit. And the simplest method, printed faces plus a bulk-card backer in sleeves, is still the best mix of feel, speed, and not-being-weird about it.
If you want to go further, do it for consistency and durability, not for “realism.” Your playgroup wants a smooth game, not a forensic investigation.