That poll is way too black and white, definitely needs some middle options. For example, proxying things like Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall is one thing, but someone might feel differently about proxying something like a Siege Rhino.
I personally don't love proxies, they cheapen the experience for me somewhat, unless you're talking about extremely pricey cards P9, LoA, etc.
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"To make peace with the forest, make peace with me." -Multani, to Urza
Well, depends what you're using it for:
Are you going to a tournament? If it allows proxies, you might as well use them, but you may want to get the cards themselves in case you go to a tournament that doesn't allow proxies. Even if you did have the card, you could use proxies so you don't risk losing $350 if your deck gets stolen.
If you're testing the deck? Use proxies. You might cut the card or decide to play a different deck, so no reason to pay money for cards you might not use. (Though if you're playing Legacy, chances are you'll use FoW).
Are you just playing for fun? Ask your friends if it's OK with them. If they refuse to play with you because you don't have the cards, my opinion probably won't change their minds. If they're cool with it, then it's up to you. If they're reluctant, I'd do it anyways because $350 is a lot for a casual deck.
It also depends on your budget. As a university student with no current job, my finances are a lot more tight than someone who's got a high-paying job and low expenses.
But overall, if you want to play Legacy competitively, Force of Will is a good investment because it'll probably be one of your most-played cards.
I mostly play EDH and I'm not completely on either side of this question.
On one hand it gives players a way to test out a 50$+ card before buying it and having it being a waste of money, or just proxying a card that is on its way in the mail/haven't found a trader with it yet which is fine too.
On the other hand I don't condone of turning your 40$ deck into a, hypothetical, 400$ deck which just completely stomps the powerlevel of the rest of the table. Anything above like 5-10% of the deck being proxyed is really pushing it in my opinion.
I can not afford to buy every deck I want to play, Proxies make for a great way to test and work out what I like. I mean, I am playing Jund Depths right now, you test a deck like that before you buy a card like Tabernacle.
It you are playing with Friends, I think it's up to them, if your playing at a store, it's up to the store but if your just playing for fun, well have fun. I have no issue with someone printing off a whole deck and sleaving it up to just play for fun. I mean, sitting there shuffling my cards on my own ain't much fun.
I once saw my friend's 250 dollar beta mox got drenched in beer 10 years ago - So I totally approve playing proxies on the kitchen table.
On the other hand... I do believe Legacy tournament play in so different then Vintage tournament play. Especially since legacy is not bounded by moxes, black lotus, etc. So far if your playing blue the only card you really need is brainstorm (I doubt the card will ever see 5 dollars) all other cards are not necessary that you need to proxy them. Sure there is one Force of Will but there are other counterspells that may fit in your deck for a fraction of a cost.
In EDH I have several decks built, and they often end up sharing some cards. I'll proxy cards that I only have one copy of and run in multiple decks, but I do my best to always have the real copy on hand as soon as it comes up in the game, even when the other people don't care.
In Legacy, I consider proxies to be basically a temporary thing - by all means use them when you're testing something out, or for cards that you intend to get but just haven't quite got them yet. But I don't want to play against a deck that's mostly card backs with Sharpie on them any more than I want to sit on a guy's couch and watch a version of Lord of the Rings that he filmed with some friends in the woods out back. It's just not the same experience for anyone.
If the tournament isn't comp REL and/or doesn't cost more than twenty dollars, then I'm fine with it. I like being able to actually play, but if I paid for all of my real cards and it's a serious or expensive event, then you better have done the same.
I didn't vote, btw. Like someone said, too "black and white."
LGS has a full proxy tournaments. It is basically the only way anyone can play legacy because reserved list makes many of the cards too hard to get hold of out here in the middle of nowhere.
Our store has tested 10-proxy events. They can't be sanctioned of course, but they do draw a substantial turnout. Players who took the time and effort to acquire their pieces don't feel slighted by having to face off an opponent who sharpied everything, but the expensive manabases and niche cards like Tabernacle let more budgeted players compete without being forced to use a sub-par deck.
For everyday play, I use proxies instead of having to actually sleeve and caretake my expensive bits and pieces, but when a tournament comes around, I expect to have to play with the real deal, so once I've settled on a deck, I acquire it. Everything in Legacy is obtainable, it just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. I've spent the better part of a year figuring out how to obtain a specific card through trades and trades and more trades, selling to buyers, getting store credit, and patiently waiting for upcoming sales.
Proxies are fine with me as long as I'm not losing to a pile of sharpies at an actual event.
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Legacy: TES
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
My LGS often has unlimited proxy Legacy events for fun (often the prizes are Legacy cards). Some of us have a real Legacy deck or two, but often still play proxy decks because to us the priority is to be able to play even if we cannot afford it. The extra plus is often via these proxy events, people end up finding a deck they like and start to buy it up over time.
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“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
I lean more towards not proxying - amongst friends and for purposes of testing is one thing, and I'd definitely be OK with proxying P9 for vintage play, but for example I found a LGS that does a monthly legacy event just for funsies mostly, and it sounds like they do 15 card proxy which seems like kind of a lot to me. If you assume that everyone there will be proxying up the best deck possible then you need to do the same... and now everyone playing blue for example has no reason to NOT proxy up a set of FoW, everyone's going to be proxying Wasteland, or dual lands... at this point I sorta feel like I may as well spend my entry fee on printer ink and print out a dozen different full powered decks to screw around with at the kitchen table. If you're going to allow proxies for a tournament, I think it needs to be capped at 4 or 5 cards out of your 75.
I know a lot of people spend WAY WAY WAY more money than me on their legacy decks - personally I knew years ago that I wanted a deck with longevity that I could build up over time, that's not likely to suddenly become totally irrelevant, and when I can I make trades to acquire pieces for that deck, not just valuable legacy cards in general. It's a constant work in progress, because I can't afford to be sleeving up multiple legacy decks. So, I know how little I spend on Legacy, but I put a lot of work, if not money, into getting my deck where it is- and I know that I feel proxies cheapen the experience - I can only imagine how someone that has foiled out their deck or sleeved up an all Russian deck or something like that would feel.
It depends on what you are playing. Since this is in the Legacy forum, I will address Legacy first.
Medium to large Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament - absolutely no proxies
Small local Legacy tournament with only a handful of local players having competitive Legacy cards - sure, with 10 proxies probably being about right. If you replace "Legacy" with: "Vintage" I'd say 15 proxies, with "Modern" I'd say 5 proxies and with "Standard" I'd say 0 proxies.
Kitchen table Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament or testing - absolutely fine, proxy the entire 75 for all I care
Kitchen table casual with Legacy deck-building rules - no proxies; the point is to play less powerful decks and have fun, so use the cards you have. I really feel like the entire deck should be less than many expensive cards cost.
Commander - I'd lean towards no proxies unless you happen to be playing a card in another deck that you have with you and don't want to switch it over. It seems like proxies go against the spirit of the format and there aren't a ton of super expensive cards that are "must-play" and besides, you only need one.
To summarize:
Tournaments - no proxies unless you are having trouble getting enough people
Testing - lots of proxies
Casual - no proxies with only rare exceptions
Using proxies is like using fake chess pieces: I don't care whether anyone does it or not. What I do care about is having the opportunity to play Legacy or not. Well, as long as game play decisions aren't affected by the card being a proxy.
Corporate Governance (WB, Enchant World): Whenever a player casts a spell, send $1 to WOTC. If Corporate Governance is not a genuine WOTC card, sacrifice it.
At something like a local level I'm fine with allowing a couple proxies per deck, which enables people to soft-buy decks and results in the meta becoming more varied, but doesn't allow for people to just listen to whoever wins the SCG Open, and copying down their decklist onto lands.
STATISTICS.
All of these "Let's eliminate bad cards" crusades are simply ignorant. And when they start to devolve into "WotC is conspiring to give us crappy cards," they just become embarrassing. MATH is conspiring to give you crappy cards.
Whatever. I'm cool with proxies at anything short of competitive REL. Ownership of actual cards does not determine the outcome of the game.
That said, they better be good looking fakes, preferably printed in high quality. I don't want to have to read your scribbled handwriting sharpied onto the back of a basic land.
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Currently playing:
Standard: I, for one, welcome our new rhinoceros overlords
Modern: Pod's dead, Bob's back.
Legacy: Lands, Deathblade, Death and Taxes, Elves, MUD
Retired Legacy: Merfolk, Goblins, Jund, Delver, Reanimator
People who play with proxies don't value the cards, and thus the game enough for me to want to play with them. There seems to be a correlation between # of proxies and the quality of the player, and thus the games that come from them.
Save of course people who do own the cards, expensive cards, and don't like swapping them between multiple decks (ie in commander mostly).
If it weren't for proxies I wouldn't be playing Legacy at all. That said, I dislike it when people play with very poorly made proxies (sharpied cards, low res printouts, etc). Bad proxies greatly cheapen the experience.
Although Wizards doesn't condone it, I go out of my way to make high quality proxies (Wizards would call them "counterfeits", but there is no way anyone could mistake them for real cards even in a quick inspection). The proxies are high enough quality that you can somewhat "forget" they aren't genuine cards and it actually feels like you are playing with the real deal (especially if in sleeves).
Playing with proxies allows you explore an entire format in a way that just wouldn't be feasible by buying cards. At the moment I have a card pool of enough proxies to put together all the most popular decks in the Legacy meta. With a friend I could "re-enact" any matchup from a recent top 8 in an SCG Open. Its tons of fun and is great for getting a broad sense of what Legacy is all about.
As others have said, the poll is too black and white for me to vote.
Personally, I couldn't possibly care less about proxies. I'm much more interested in playing magic than ensuring that my opponent actually owns 4x underground sea. I would be totally fine playing in a tournament (even a big one) where unlimited proxies were allowed (though I understand why sanctioned tournaments are not supposed to allow them). That said, if one is going to play with proxies, I think one needs to show some respect and at least make a half-decent proxy. Playing against an entire deck of sharpied land (or worse, and yes I've seen this, ball point pen in tiny writing on the back of the card, so I can't even read it from 2 feet away) is unacceptable. You don't have to do anything fancy, but for god's sake at least print the card out on paper and slide it in a sleeve in front of a real card so I don't have to have every card memorized and so I can see your board state at a glance. A pure sharpie deck gives the proxier an advantage because they know the deck they are playing while their opponent probably knows it less well, and therefore any "playtesting" they do with it is bogus anyway.
I go play at a lgs for a legacy tourney, and they will even supply the entire deck in proxy form. I'm on two sides of this debate,
1:I own my cards and build the entire deck with zero proxies and still pay the 5 dollars to play. There's a 12 year old kid that picks the same deck every time and usually wins. That upsets me because he didn't have to make any investment into the game, but with out the makeup deck he wouldn't be able to play and losses the experience.
2: In a casual environment I don't see a problem with it unless it gives you an unfair advantage, ie, you proxy power against an opponent that's not using anything of notable worth, it's like kicking then down and then throwing sand in their face.
So again, a little more option in a response is needed.
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It's not the fall that hurts, it's the sudden stop at the bottom.
the red mage lives by the variance and dies by the variance. May the variance be with you, always.
Proxies are fine outside of sanctioned tournament play. The only caveat to that is that they are usually not appropriate for most casual play groups.
Me and my friends use them for casual play, but thats because our "casual play" largely involves playing various Legacy deck concepts against the competitive ones we actually own. A friend of mine has a powered cube that is partially proxied and I dont see any problems with that. We all enjoy playing with it and wouldnt ever get a chance to otherwise.
In most kitchen table environments its generally not appropriate to pull out a proxy deck. But every casual playgroup is different, the important thing is that everyone is on the same level and enjoying themselves. If everyone in the group likes playing high power decks, then there really isnt any problem with it.
I will say though that I find handwritten proxies to be incredibly annoying. I can understand that Magic cards are expensive, but if you cant even afford to print out a few pieces of paper and spend the time to cut them out, then you have bigger concerns you should be focusing on instead of Magic.
In my opinion, I both hate and strongly encourage proxies.
I strongly encourage players who are looking to buy into a deck/test a deck, to proxy up what you are missing. Play with it extensively to determine if you like it and feel it's worth investing into it and then slowly buying the necessary pieces to complete it. I've known several new players to Legacy to do this and it feels awesome having playtested with them for months with proxies that they now have a deck fully completed and enjoy playing it.
What I hate in general is regularly scheduled Proxy Tournaments. I like how Proxy Tournaments introduce players to the Legacy Format and the variety of decks/strategies out there, however the big problem with Proxy Tournaments is that the vast majority of attendees have no intention of sticking with/buying into the format. One month they will be playing Miracles, then Goblins, then Elves, then BUG Delver because it is no cost to them to proxy the cards they're missing.
The barrier to legacy is the cost and 99% of players don't have 5k to drop on a deck at once. This barrier gets players with the intent to play Legacy to research the format extensively, heavily test a deck with proxies, then slowly buy into a deck when satisfied. When you're doing proxy tournaments month after month it just sucks for the players who actually went through all this, in contrast to the players who will never buy in and proxy a different deck each tournament.
Specifically discussing Legacy, I personally prefer no proxies in tournaments. I understand that hampers peoples' ability to participate, but Magic isn't a cheap game to play at a competitive level, just like poker or hardcore computer gaming. It requires a significant investment of money and time, and I like to see that respected by tournament operators. Again, to clarify, I'm only talking about Legacy. I think occasional 9 or 10-proxy Vintage tournaments are fine because otherwise the decks cost as much as a car and 2/3 decks are Bant-driven haterade or Dredge, which, as MTGO and major Vintage events show us, are not an accurate reflection of the metagame. I think players should be rewarded for their financial investment with a degree of exclusivity in tournament situations. I think an LGS doing one or two 10-proxy tournaments a year is fine in both Eternal formats because it helps expand the player base, but any more than that is just cutting into the investment reward. In casual play or playtesting, I would take the opposite view and strongly encourage people to proxy as much as they want so that they can practice with decks in person to get a feel for them. I think getting a good handle on a Legacy deck is really a necessary part of making the investment in one. When I play casually, it's definitively casual. The object of the game is fun and trying out ideas. I'm not going to force my fellow Magic player on casual day to go out and buy 4 copies of Natural Order or Eurekas or something. To that end, the only casual formats I regularly play are Cube and EDH. I don't play casual Legacy because I don't have any casual Legacy decks. So that's my particular take on it.
TL;DR - Casual & playtesting: Yes. Tournaments: Once or twice a year to drum up interest and no more.
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U Merfolk | GR Tron | WUR Jeskai Control | WBG Abzan Company
EDH:
G Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Fighting for Rivendell
WU Brago, King Eternal, Long Live the King
WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon, Worship the Dragon
I personally don't love proxies, they cheapen the experience for me somewhat, unless you're talking about extremely pricey cards P9, LoA, etc.
Are you going to a tournament? If it allows proxies, you might as well use them, but you may want to get the cards themselves in case you go to a tournament that doesn't allow proxies. Even if you did have the card, you could use proxies so you don't risk losing $350 if your deck gets stolen.
If you're testing the deck? Use proxies. You might cut the card or decide to play a different deck, so no reason to pay money for cards you might not use. (Though if you're playing Legacy, chances are you'll use FoW).
Are you just playing for fun? Ask your friends if it's OK with them. If they refuse to play with you because you don't have the cards, my opinion probably won't change their minds. If they're cool with it, then it's up to you. If they're reluctant, I'd do it anyways because $350 is a lot for a casual deck.
It also depends on your budget. As a university student with no current job, my finances are a lot more tight than someone who's got a high-paying job and low expenses.
But overall, if you want to play Legacy competitively, Force of Will is a good investment because it'll probably be one of your most-played cards.
On one hand it gives players a way to test out a 50$+ card before buying it and having it being a waste of money, or just proxying a card that is on its way in the mail/haven't found a trader with it yet which is fine too.
On the other hand I don't condone of turning your 40$ deck into a, hypothetical, 400$ deck which just completely stomps the powerlevel of the rest of the table. Anything above like 5-10% of the deck being proxyed is really pushing it in my opinion.
It you are playing with Friends, I think it's up to them, if your playing at a store, it's up to the store but if your just playing for fun, well have fun. I have no issue with someone printing off a whole deck and sleaving it up to just play for fun. I mean, sitting there shuffling my cards on my own ain't much fun.
Current decks of choice:
Vintage: Shops.
Legacy: Lands.
Modern: Lantern.
at tournament level? no way
in some FNM or low tournament level i could see some proxy (let say 5 or so)
On the other hand... I do believe Legacy tournament play in so different then Vintage tournament play. Especially since legacy is not bounded by moxes, black lotus, etc. So far if your playing blue the only card you really need is brainstorm (I doubt the card will ever see 5 dollars) all other cards are not necessary that you need to proxy them. Sure there is one Force of Will but there are other counterspells that may fit in your deck for a fraction of a cost.
In his Second 100 days - Yawgmoth's Bargain is unrestricted in Vintage.
What is going to happen in the Next 100 days!!!
In Legacy, I consider proxies to be basically a temporary thing - by all means use them when you're testing something out, or for cards that you intend to get but just haven't quite got them yet. But I don't want to play against a deck that's mostly card backs with Sharpie on them any more than I want to sit on a guy's couch and watch a version of Lord of the Rings that he filmed with some friends in the woods out back. It's just not the same experience for anyone.
I didn't vote, btw. Like someone said, too "black and white."
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
For everyday play, I use proxies instead of having to actually sleeve and caretake my expensive bits and pieces, but when a tournament comes around, I expect to have to play with the real deal, so once I've settled on a deck, I acquire it. Everything in Legacy is obtainable, it just depends on how much effort you want to put into it. I've spent the better part of a year figuring out how to obtain a specific card through trades and trades and more trades, selling to buyers, getting store credit, and patiently waiting for upcoming sales.
Proxies are fine with me as long as I'm not losing to a pile of sharpies at an actual event.
EDH: Grand Arbiter $tax, Freyalise Stompy, Mimeoplasm Death From the Grave
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
I lean more towards not proxying - amongst friends and for purposes of testing is one thing, and I'd definitely be OK with proxying P9 for vintage play, but for example I found a LGS that does a monthly legacy event just for funsies mostly, and it sounds like they do 15 card proxy which seems like kind of a lot to me. If you assume that everyone there will be proxying up the best deck possible then you need to do the same... and now everyone playing blue for example has no reason to NOT proxy up a set of FoW, everyone's going to be proxying Wasteland, or dual lands... at this point I sorta feel like I may as well spend my entry fee on printer ink and print out a dozen different full powered decks to screw around with at the kitchen table. If you're going to allow proxies for a tournament, I think it needs to be capped at 4 or 5 cards out of your 75.
I know a lot of people spend WAY WAY WAY more money than me on their legacy decks - personally I knew years ago that I wanted a deck with longevity that I could build up over time, that's not likely to suddenly become totally irrelevant, and when I can I make trades to acquire pieces for that deck, not just valuable legacy cards in general. It's a constant work in progress, because I can't afford to be sleeving up multiple legacy decks. So, I know how little I spend on Legacy, but I put a lot of work, if not money, into getting my deck where it is- and I know that I feel proxies cheapen the experience - I can only imagine how someone that has foiled out their deck or sleeved up an all Russian deck or something like that would feel.
Medium to large Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament - absolutely no proxies
Small local Legacy tournament with only a handful of local players having competitive Legacy cards - sure, with 10 proxies probably being about right. If you replace "Legacy" with: "Vintage" I'd say 15 proxies, with "Modern" I'd say 5 proxies and with "Standard" I'd say 0 proxies.
Kitchen table Legacy, Vintage, Modern or Standard tournament or testing - absolutely fine, proxy the entire 75 for all I care
Kitchen table casual with Legacy deck-building rules - no proxies; the point is to play less powerful decks and have fun, so use the cards you have. I really feel like the entire deck should be less than many expensive cards cost.
Commander - I'd lean towards no proxies unless you happen to be playing a card in another deck that you have with you and don't want to switch it over. It seems like proxies go against the spirit of the format and there aren't a ton of super expensive cards that are "must-play" and besides, you only need one.
To summarize:
Tournaments - no proxies unless you are having trouble getting enough people
Testing - lots of proxies
Casual - no proxies with only rare exceptions
Standard: UWR
Modern: RDW, Twin
Legacy: I am 3 Candelabra of Tawnos from being able to build almost any tier 1 or 1.5 deck. Here are the ones I care about right now:
-Aggro: UWR/RUB/WUB/RUG/UR Delver; Affinity; Burn
-Control: Stoneblade; UWr Miracles; UB Tezzeret
-Combo: Hive Mind; Combo Elves; Omni Tell; T.E.S.
Vintage: Grixis Painter
EDH: Rith, the Awakener
Corporate Governance (WB, Enchant World): Whenever a player casts a spell, send $1 to WOTC. If Corporate Governance is not a genuine WOTC card, sacrifice it.
Overall record: 139-98-15
Total number of matches: 252
Win percentage ignoring draws: 58.649789
Win percentage including draws: 55.158730
That said, they better be good looking fakes, preferably printed in high quality. I don't want to have to read your scribbled handwriting sharpied onto the back of a basic land.
Standard: I, for one, welcome our new rhinoceros overlords
Modern: Pod's dead, Bob's back.
Legacy: Lands, Deathblade, Death and Taxes, Elves, MUD
Retired Legacy: Merfolk, Goblins, Jund, Delver, Reanimator
People who play with proxies don't value the cards, and thus the game enough for me to want to play with them. There seems to be a correlation between # of proxies and the quality of the player, and thus the games that come from them.
Save of course people who do own the cards, expensive cards, and don't like swapping them between multiple decks (ie in commander mostly).
Although Wizards doesn't condone it, I go out of my way to make high quality proxies (Wizards would call them "counterfeits", but there is no way anyone could mistake them for real cards even in a quick inspection). The proxies are high enough quality that you can somewhat "forget" they aren't genuine cards and it actually feels like you are playing with the real deal (especially if in sleeves).
Playing with proxies allows you explore an entire format in a way that just wouldn't be feasible by buying cards. At the moment I have a card pool of enough proxies to put together all the most popular decks in the Legacy meta. With a friend I could "re-enact" any matchup from a recent top 8 in an SCG Open. Its tons of fun and is great for getting a broad sense of what Legacy is all about.
Personally, I couldn't possibly care less about proxies. I'm much more interested in playing magic than ensuring that my opponent actually owns 4x underground sea. I would be totally fine playing in a tournament (even a big one) where unlimited proxies were allowed (though I understand why sanctioned tournaments are not supposed to allow them). That said, if one is going to play with proxies, I think one needs to show some respect and at least make a half-decent proxy. Playing against an entire deck of sharpied land (or worse, and yes I've seen this, ball point pen in tiny writing on the back of the card, so I can't even read it from 2 feet away) is unacceptable. You don't have to do anything fancy, but for god's sake at least print the card out on paper and slide it in a sleeve in front of a real card so I don't have to have every card memorized and so I can see your board state at a glance. A pure sharpie deck gives the proxier an advantage because they know the deck they are playing while their opponent probably knows it less well, and therefore any "playtesting" they do with it is bogus anyway.
1:I own my cards and build the entire deck with zero proxies and still pay the 5 dollars to play. There's a 12 year old kid that picks the same deck every time and usually wins. That upsets me because he didn't have to make any investment into the game, but with out the makeup deck he wouldn't be able to play and losses the experience.
2: In a casual environment I don't see a problem with it unless it gives you an unfair advantage, ie, you proxy power against an opponent that's not using anything of notable worth, it's like kicking then down and then throwing sand in their face.
So again, a little more option in a response is needed.
the red mage lives by the variance and dies by the variance. May the variance be with you, always.
Me and my friends use them for casual play, but thats because our "casual play" largely involves playing various Legacy deck concepts against the competitive ones we actually own. A friend of mine has a powered cube that is partially proxied and I dont see any problems with that. We all enjoy playing with it and wouldnt ever get a chance to otherwise.
In most kitchen table environments its generally not appropriate to pull out a proxy deck. But every casual playgroup is different, the important thing is that everyone is on the same level and enjoying themselves. If everyone in the group likes playing high power decks, then there really isnt any problem with it.
I will say though that I find handwritten proxies to be incredibly annoying. I can understand that Magic cards are expensive, but if you cant even afford to print out a few pieces of paper and spend the time to cut them out, then you have bigger concerns you should be focusing on instead of Magic.
I strongly encourage players who are looking to buy into a deck/test a deck, to proxy up what you are missing. Play with it extensively to determine if you like it and feel it's worth investing into it and then slowly buying the necessary pieces to complete it. I've known several new players to Legacy to do this and it feels awesome having playtested with them for months with proxies that they now have a deck fully completed and enjoy playing it.
What I hate in general is regularly scheduled Proxy Tournaments. I like how Proxy Tournaments introduce players to the Legacy Format and the variety of decks/strategies out there, however the big problem with Proxy Tournaments is that the vast majority of attendees have no intention of sticking with/buying into the format. One month they will be playing Miracles, then Goblins, then Elves, then BUG Delver because it is no cost to them to proxy the cards they're missing.
The barrier to legacy is the cost and 99% of players don't have 5k to drop on a deck at once. This barrier gets players with the intent to play Legacy to research the format extensively, heavily test a deck with proxies, then slowly buy into a deck when satisfied. When you're doing proxy tournaments month after month it just sucks for the players who actually went through all this, in contrast to the players who will never buy in and proxy a different deck each tournament.
Legacy:
RUG(B)Lands
UWRMiracles
The grind, the durdle, the control!
TL;DR - Casual & playtesting: Yes. Tournaments: Once or twice a year to drum up interest and no more.