The best Card Conjurer alternative depends on what you are actually making: one joke card, a custom Commander, a cube test card, a full fan set, or a print-ready proxy file.
For fast browser-based designs, MTG.Design and MTG Cardsmith are simple places to start. For deeper set building, Magic Set Editor is still useful. For high-customization frame work, current Card Conjurer-style tools and MTGCardBuilder are closer to the old Card Conjurer workflow.
Use these tools for casual custom cards, fan designs, playtest cards, and table projects. Do not use them to create anything meant to pass as an authentic Magic card. That path leads to bad vibes, worse policies, and probably a very stern email.
Card Conjurer alternatives matter because Card Conjurer became the default custom MTG card design tool for a lot of players. It was flexible, browser-based, frame-heavy, and powerful enough to make everything from serious cube playtest cards to deeply cursed custom commanders that should have stayed in the group chat.
Then things got messy. The original Card Conjurer was taken offline in 2022 after a cease-and-desist, according to the public GitHub repository that preserved a local-use version of the project. That same repository describes Card Conjurer as once being one of the most popular online Magic card generators, which is fair. For a while, every custom card seemed to come out of it, including the ones with seven abilities and no emotional support.
As of July 2026, Card Conjurer-related sites are visible again in different forms, including CardConjurer.com and CardConjurer.app. Search results and site pages describe them as web-based custom card creators with templates, custom frame options, and editing tools. Availability has changed before, so anyone relying on a tool for a large project should save local copies of finished files. That is not paranoia. That is experience wearing a little hat.
A good alternative should match the kind of design work you are doing.
Look for:
Easy card text entry
Readable exports
Good frame options
Simple art upload
Mana symbol support
Custom type lines
Power/toughness and loyalty fields
Token support
Batch or set organization, if needed
High-resolution export
A workflow that does not make you want to mulligan your laptop
The best tool for a one-card birthday joke is not always the best tool for a 360-card cube. The best tool for a polished custom commander is not always the best tool for a full fan set. This is why “what is the best card maker?” is a trap question. Magic players love those. It is how we ended up with stack interaction.
| Tool | Best For | Main Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTG.Design | Fast browser-based custom cards | Simple, clean, easy to share | Less deep frame customization |
| Magic Set Editor | Full custom sets and bulk design | Set management and offline work | Older interface, setup required |
| MTG Cardsmith | Casual sharing and quick concepts | Community and simple card creation | Less suited for print-perfect files |
| Artificer | Mobile-friendly and visual card creation | High-res exports and lots of frames | App-style workflow may not suit everyone |
| MTGCardBuilder | Card Conjurer-like proxy/card design | Many frames, high-resolution export claims | More proxy-focused, check files carefully |
| Current Card Conjurer versions | Frame-heavy custom work | Familiar Card Conjurer-style workflow | Availability and versions have changed over time |
That table is the practical version. The emotional version is: use the simplest tool that gets the job done before your project turns into a second job with mana symbols.
MTG.Design is one of the easiest Card Conjurer alternatives for players who want to make custom Magic cards quickly in a browser. The site says it lets users create cards from any web-enabled device, save and share creations, and export locally. It also describes its renderer as using Magic-style formatting and fonts so cards look clean enough for concept work.
This makes MTG.Design a strong choice for:
Single custom cards
Commander house-rule cards
Fan-made cards
Quick design mockups
Social sharing
Casual card concepts
The biggest advantage is speed. You can get a readable card on screen without learning a desktop program or managing template folders. If your goal is “make this card idea understandable,” MTG.Design does that well.
The tradeoff is customization depth. If you want unusual showcase frames, heavy frame layering, exact print controls, or advanced template editing, MTG.Design may feel lighter than Card Conjurer. That is not always bad. Sometimes fewer buttons means fewer chances to turn a clean card into a graphic design crime scene.
Use MTG.Design when you want a card idea to exist quickly and read clearly.
Magic Set Editor is a long-running desktop tool for designing cards for Magic and other card games. The SourceForge listing says MSE can output images, print cards, show graphs of a card set, and generate spoilers for publishing online. That makes it especially useful for larger design projects where you care about organization, not just one finished image.
Magic Set Editor is best for:
Fan-made sets
Custom cubes
Large card batches
Mechanic testing
Design files you want to revise repeatedly
Offline work
Set-level organization
If you are designing a whole custom set, MSE is still one of the most practical choices. A browser card maker can handle a dozen cards. A full set with commons, uncommons, rares, cycles, mechanic tags, and version changes needs structure. Otherwise, you will eventually lose “Goblin v4 final fixed actual” and begin questioning your life.
The tradeoff is that MSE feels older and requires setup. It is not as slick as modern browser tools. Some users will also need to install templates or fonts depending on the build they use. A community-maintained Magic Set Editor download hub describes newer packaged builds, font installation, portable setup, and template packs, but as with any community-hosted software, download cautiously and use sources you trust.
Use Magic Set Editor when the project is bigger than one card.
MTG Cardsmith is a familiar option for casual custom card creation. Its site describes it as an online card generator for Magic players to create and share custom cards and concepts. That makes it useful for quick designs, joke cards, character cards, and shareable fan ideas.
MTG Cardsmith is best for:
Casual custom cards
Meme cards
Gift cards
Simple fan designs
Community sharing
Fast card concepts
It is not the first choice for print-accurate proxy workflows or advanced frame customization. It is more of a concept and sharing tool. That is fine. Not every custom card needs to be a production file. Some cards only need to make your playgroup laugh once before being retired with dignity.
Actually, “with dignity” may be generous. We are talking about custom Magic cards.
Use MTG Cardsmith when the design is simple and the goal is sharing, not perfect print output.
Artificer is another strong Card Conjurer alternative, especially for users who want a modern app-style workflow. The site describes Artificer as an MTG card maker that can create creatures, sorceries, instants, artifacts, and more. It also highlights tap-to-edit controls, saving and sharing, high-resolution image export, customization of text, color, font, image, and frame, plus a large frame library.
Artificer is best for:
Mobile-friendly custom card design
Visual editing
High-resolution exports
Custom frames
Quick card mockups
Players who prefer app-style tools
The interface is likely more comfortable for people who want to tap or click directly into card sections. That is a real advantage. Some older design tools make editing a card feel like filing taxes in a goblin language.
The tradeoff is that app-style tools may feel less structured for large sets. If you are making one card or a few cards, great. If you are building 250 cards with shared mechanics, you may want a more set-focused workflow like Magic Set Editor.
Use Artificer when you want visual control without installing a heavier desktop editor.
MTGCardBuilder positions itself as a free custom MTG card creator tool for making custom cards and proxies. Its site says it offers many MTG frames, community-added frames, broad edit controls, gallery duplication, and 1200 DPI export. That puts it closer to the old Card Conjurer lane than a basic card generator.
MTGCardBuilder is best for:
High-customization designs
Proxy-style custom cards
Frame-heavy layouts
Players who miss Card Conjurer
Editing gallery designs
High-resolution exports
The main appeal is flexibility. If your biggest complaint about simpler card makers is “I cannot change enough things,” MTGCardBuilder is worth testing.
The tradeoff is that more customization means more responsibility. Check text alignment, resolution, frame legality, art rights, and print scale before using files. A tool can export at high resolution and still produce a design that is hard to read if you cram in enough abilities to qualify as a novella.
Use MTGCardBuilder when you want Card Conjurer-like control and are willing to inspect the output carefully.
This article is about alternatives, but it is worth saying the quiet part: if you liked Card Conjurer, current Card Conjurer-style options may still be the closest fit. The current CardConjurer.app search result describes a custom Magic card creator with a variety of frames, customization options, and the ability to import existing card information for redesigns. The CardConjurer.com search result describes a free, web-based custom card creator using custom templates.
This is useful for:
Players who already know the workflow
Advanced frame options
Custom templates
Showcase-style designs
Existing-card redesigns
One-off polished fan cards
The caution is history. Card Conjurer has had availability and policy turbulence before. If you are building a large project, save exported images, save source files when possible, and do not depend on any one hosted tool forever. Websites are mortal. Your 73-card fan set about badgerfolk aristocrats should be backed up locally, as all serious cultural works should be.
Sometimes the best alternative is not a card maker at all. It is Scryfall plus your preferred layout software.
Scryfall is useful for checking card names, Oracle text, types, mana costs, and printings. From there, you can build your own test templates in Photoshop, Affinity Photo, GIMP, Canva, Figma, Inkscape, or another layout tool. This works especially well for blank templates, text proxies, token reminders, and playtest cards where you care more about readability than exact frame styling.
This workflow is best for:
Blank card templates
Text-only proxies
Custom tokens
Emblems
Counter reminders
Cube test cards
Simple playtest slips
PDF sheet layouts
The upside is control. The downside is that you are now the card maker. Congratulations on the promotion. There is no raise.
For a clean print workflow after your card files are ready, ProxyKing’s Print MTG Proxies page is useful for thinking through custom proxy printing and file preparation. ProxyKing’s Proxy Use Policy also sets the right boundary: proxies are for casual play, Commander groups that allow them, cubes, private testing, and unsanctioned events where organizers permit them, not sanctioned play or misrepresentation.
Use this quick decision guide.
| Use Case | Best Tool |
|---|---|
| One quick custom card | MTG.Design |
| Funny gift card | MTG Cardsmith or MTG.Design |
| Full fan set | Magic Set Editor |
| Custom cube testing | Magic Set Editor or Scryfall plus layout software |
| High-frame customization | MTGCardBuilder or current Card Conjurer versions |
| Mobile-friendly visual design | Artificer |
| Text proxy or blank template | Scryfall plus layout software |
| Polished casual proxy printing | ProxyKing or PrintMTG workflow after design |
The best tool is the one that gets you to a readable, usable card with the least unnecessary pain. This sounds obvious. It is also the first thing people forget when they spend three hours choosing a frame for a card that does not have a mana cost yet.
No matter which Card Conjurer alternative you use, avoid these problems:
Unreadable rules text
Tiny fonts
Bad art crop
Missing type line
Wrong mana symbols
Old card wording
Too many abilities
Unclear custom keywords
Low-resolution exports
No backup files
Designs that look intended to deceive
Using art you do not have rights to use
Wizards’ Fan Content Policy asks fan creators to keep fan content free, make clear that it is unofficial, respect other people’s IP, and avoid using Wizards logos and trademarks without permission. It also specifically distinguishes fan content from counterfeit or proxy Magic cards, which is a useful reminder that “fan-made” is not a magic shield against all bad decisions. Tiny cardboard rectangle, surprisingly large policy footprint.
Custom card design tools are great for fan projects, cube testing, Commander variants, and personal playtest cards. They are not for making cards that pass as authentic Magic cards.
Wizards has stated that sanctioned events require authentic Magic cards, with a narrow judge-issued proxy exception when a card is damaged during the course of an event. Wizards also said it does not want to police personal, non-commercial playtest cards outside sanctioned events. That is the practical line: casual testing is one thing, sanctioned play and counterfeits are another.
A simple Rule 0 script works:
“I’m testing a few custom cards and proxies tonight. They’re clearly unofficial and readable. Is everyone okay with that?”
That sentence does a lot of work. It tells the table what is happening, gives them a chance to say no, and prevents the classic mid-game reveal where someone says, “Wait, what is that card?” and the room’s trust takes 3 damage.
Use this process no matter which tool you choose:
The key step is playtesting. A custom card is not balanced because it looks official. A fake mustache does not make a goblin a tax professional.
For simple browser-based custom cards, MTG.Design is a strong starting point. For full fan sets, Magic Set Editor is better. For high-customization frame work, MTGCardBuilder or current Card Conjurer-style tools are closer to the old Card Conjurer experience.
Card Conjurer has changed over time. The original version was taken offline in 2022 after a cease-and-desist, but current Card Conjurer-related sites are visible again as of July 2026. Save files locally if you rely on any version for a serious project.
MTG.Design and MTG Cardsmith are among the easiest for quick custom cards. They are better for simple concepts than deeply customized print files.
Magic Set Editor is still one of the best options for full custom sets because it supports larger card files, set organization, image output, printing, graphs, and spoiler generation.
You can print custom cards for casual use, fan projects, playtesting, and groups that allow proxies. Do not use custom card tools to create counterfeits or cards intended to pass as authentic Magic cards.
Yes, if your group allows proxies and the cards are readable, clearly unofficial, and disclosed before the game. For stable decks, a cleaner print workflow can be better than paper slips or rough exports.
