This post helps MTG players decide what to print for a deck by explaining how sideboards, maybeboards, and “considering” cards function in real play, so they can order the right amount of cardboard and avoid a shoebox of regret.
TLDR
If you play Best-of-Three Constructed, print your full 75 (main deck plus sideboard). That is the actual unit of a deck.
If you play Commander, treat “sideboard” as a maybeboard. Print your 100, then a small, intentional swap kit (usually 10 to 15 cards).
“Considering” cards should only get printed when they are realistic swaps you will test soon, not every card you stared at at 1:47 AM.
Sanctioned events are a different universe. Assume you need authentic cards there, with only narrow judge-issued proxy exceptions.
You came here because you searched “MTG sideboards and maybeboards” and realized you have three piles of cards and zero clarity. The good news is this is fixable. The bad news is your “considering” pile is not a personality trait.
MTG Sideboards and Maybeboards: Three Buckets, Three Jobs
Let’s name the buckets so you stop printing “maybe” into a second mortgage.
1) Main deck (the cards you will actually play)
For 60-card formats, that is the 60 (or 60+) you register. For Commander, that is your 99 plus commander (and sometimes a companion). This pile earns printing priority because it affects every single game.
2) Sideboard (match tools for Best-of-Three)
This is not “extra cards”. It is a plan for games 2 and 3. If you play Bo3, a deck is not finished until the sideboard is finished. People who skip this are basically choosing to lose politely.
3) Maybeboard and considering cards (your testing backlog)
A maybeboard is a shortlist of plausible swaps. “Considering” is the junk drawer: cards you might like, someday, in a parallel timeline where you have free time and perfect self-control.
Your printing goal is simple: print what you will actually shuffle within the next few sessions. Everything else can stay digital until it earns real testing.
When You Should Print a Sideboard (60-Card Formats and Best-of-Three)
If you play Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Standard (paper), and most competitive 60-card formats, the sideboard is part of the deck’s legal structure and match strategy. In Constructed, sideboards are commonly capped at 15 cards, and copy limits apply across main deck plus sideboard.
So what should actually be printed?
Print this
A complete, coherent sideboard (0 to 15 cards).
Yes, it can be fewer than 15. “I only have 12 sideboard slots” is allowed. “I have 15 cards but no plan” is the classic version of confidence without competence.
Cards that demand physical consistency.
If you are proxy-printing for playtesting, you want your sideboard to shuffle and handle the same way as your main deck. Sideboarding is already a tiny time window; do not add “hold on, this card is a different thickness” to the experience.
Do not print this (yet)
Every sideboard option you might ever want.
That turns into a 60-card “sideboard binder” that follows you around like a needy pet. Instead, print the sideboard you are registering or testing right now, plus a small set of alternates.
A practical rule of thumb
If you are actively tuning a list, print:
Your current 15
Plus 5 flex slots you are genuinely debating (not 25 “maybe” cards you found on a forum thread from 2018)
That gives you enough room to test without building a second deck by accident.
Commander and Other Single-Game Formats: Your “Sideboard” Is Actually a Swap Kit
Commander doesn’t use sideboards in normal rules the way competitive 60-card Magic does, and “outside the game” tutors (wish effects) are famously awkward here unless your group explicitly house-rules them to work.
That means the printing question changes.
Print this for Commander
Your 100-card list (obviously).
Also print anything that is required to make the deck function smoothly at a real table: double-faced solutions you actually use, key tokens, and reference pieces if your deck creates weird game objects.
A small maybeboard that is actually a plan.
Commander’s “sideboarding” is social and meta-based. Your pod plays graveyard decks? You want extra grave hate options. Your friends are all-in on artifacts? You want a few more artifact answers. Your local “casual” night has somehow become a creature-combo arms race? You want a couple more cheap interaction pieces.
Call this a swap kit, not a sideboard, because it reminds you of the real rule: you are swapping between nights, not between games.
A good swap kit is usually 10 to 15 cards and it should have labels in your brain like:
“More interaction”
“More sweepers”
“More grave hate”
“Less salt, more vibes” (yes this is a category)
If you want a clean, no-drama approach to readability and table expectations, the same logic used for cube proxy nights applies here too: keep it clear, consistent, and easy for opponents to parse in sleeves. You can borrow the table-script mindset from MTG Proxying a Cube: Keep It Updated Without Reprinting.
Note that if you are buying in bulk from ProxyMTG - you may want to buy every cards you might consider. When we are talking about <$0.30 per card, it might be worth it for playtesting to have a number of cards you can slot into your decks.
Print this only if your group allows it
Wishboards, sideboards, and “outside the game” packages.
If you run cards like Karn, the Great Creator (in formats where it matters) or you are tempted by wish effects in Commander, talk to your group first. If they say yes, print the wishboard. If they say no, the “outside the game” text is basically decorative.
This is one of those spots where Rule 0 saves you time. Also, it prevents the sentence: “Wait, are you allowed to do that?” which is how games turn into meetings.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/sideboard-2014-10-20
A note about sanctioned play
If your “Commander night” is actually sanctioned (or run under official tournament enforcement), assume authentic cards are required. Proxy rules in sanctioned environments are narrow and typically revolve around judge-issued replacements for damaged cards during the event, not “the print run I brought from home.” If you want the broader boundaries and the plain-English version of the proxy line, see Are MTG Proxies Legal to Own or Print?
The Printing Plan: Good, Better, Best
If you want a simple framework that keeps you from ordering a carton of “what if,” here you go.
Good: Minimal and sane
Print the deck you are playing right now (60, 75, or 100).
Print only the swaps you are truly ready to test next.
This is for people who like playing games more than curating piles.
Better: Built for real testing
60-card Bo3: print the full 75 plus up to 5 alternates.
Commander: print the 100 plus a 10 to 15 card swap kit.
This is the sweet spot for most players. You get iteration without carrying a traveling card shop.
Best: One deck, multiple metas, no chaos
Keep one deck list as the “base.”
Print a small set of labeled modules (graveyard module, anti-artifact module, anti-creature module).
Swap modules between sessions, not randomly between games because you got tilted.
This is the closest you will get to “sideboarding” in Commander without pretending Commander is something it isn’t.
Maybeboard vs Considering: How to Stop Printing a Mood Board
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most “considering” cards never get tested, because the list grows faster than your available play nights.
So use this filter before a card earns a print slot:
Print a card if:
You can name the exact swap it replaces.
You expect to test it within the next 2 to 3 play sessions.
The change supports a real hypothesis (“I flood out, I need more card selection” beats “this card seems neat”).
Do not print a card if:
It is “for the binder” and you know it.
You cannot identify what comes out.
You are trying to solve a social problem with cardboard (“If I print enough salt cards, my friends will stop playing combos.” They will not. They will just combo harder.)
If you want to keep this even cleaner, cap yourself: no more than 15 total “testing prints” per deck at a time. If the list grows, something has to graduate into the deck or get cut. Congratulations, you are now running a responsible program instead of a cardboard landfill.
FAQs
Do I need to print all 15 sideboard cards for Bo3?
No. A sideboard can be smaller. But if you are playing Bo3 seriously, you should print a complete plan, whatever size that is. Half a sideboard is basically an apology.
Can I use a sideboard in Commander?
Commander does not normally use sideboards the way Bo3 Constructed does. Some groups allow a wishboard or a small sideboard as a house rule, but that is a Rule 0 conversation.
Should I print every card I’m considering for a deck?
Only if you enjoy owning things you will never use. Print realistic swaps you will test soon. Keep the rest as a digital list until it earns table time.
What about wish cards like Karn, the Great Creator or Wish in Commander?
In tournament contexts, “outside the game” is typically your sideboard. In Commander, wish cards are generally treated as nonfunctional unless your group explicitly defines a wishboard and agrees to it. Ask first.
What about Companion cards?
If your deck uses a companion, print it. It is part of your actual gameplay plan, not a theoretical side pile. Just make sure you understand how your format handles it.