MTG Cardsmith is one of the longest-running names in browser-based custom cards, and Magic Set Editor is the desktop set editor. As with our other comparisons, we keep the evidence separate: MSE’s side comes from its project sources, and the Cardsmith side below comes only from that site’s own homepage, checked on 21 October 2026 — we are not importing claims from review sites or forums.
The MSE side
Magic Set Editor (MSE) is a free, open-source desktop program released under GPL-2.0, originally written by Twan van Laarhoven. It was designed first for Magic: The Gathering and also supports other games through templates, including Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon and Vs. System. Its unit of work is the set: you build and manage a whole custom set in one file, use its statistics window (such as average mana cost and rarity counts), generate randomized packs and sealed pools, and export cards as png, jpg, bmp or tiff images — individually or as a whole-set batch — as well as to HTML and to play tools such as LackeyCCG and Cockatrice. It runs offline on your own computer, and your project files stay on your own disk.
The Cardsmith side, in its own words
Cardsmith’s homepage headline is “Design MTG cards for free,” under the line “The Best MTG Card Editor. Design. Generate. Print.” It describes creating custom MTG cards, generating artwork with its AI image generator, then downloading the files to print at home or ordering prints from the site. Its homepage walks through a live editor, the AI image generator, an image upscale tool, and a print offer built around printed card stock. It also presents a premium tier on the same page. We quote those as the site’s own description of itself; the one thing that is independently clear from the form alone is that this is a hosted web service — the editor, your saved work and the print ordering all live on their side of the browser.
Where the forms differ
| Question | Magic Set Editor | MTG Cardsmith (per its homepage) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Desktop program, offline | Web service in your browser |
| Unit of work | A whole set, with statistics, pack generation and batch export | Individual card designs made in its live editor |
| Artwork | You supply your own art files, which the templates place on the card | Homepage highlights a built-in AI image generator and upscale tool |
| Printing route | You export images and choose any printer or print service yourself | Homepage offers ordering prints directly from the site, as well as downloads for home printing |
| Your files | Local project files you keep and back up | Work is held within a hosted service and account-style workflow |
| Cost and licence | Free, GPL-2.0 open source | Homepage says designing is free and presents a premium tier; check the site for its current terms |
How to choose
- Whole-set design with balancing tools: MSE — set statistics, randomized packs and sealed pools have no equivalent in a single-card web editor’s pitch, because that is not the job it is selling.
- A single card, start to printed copy, without installing anything: that end-to-end browser flow is exactly what Cardsmith’s homepage describes.
- Control and permanence: MSE keeps the project, the templates and the exports on your machine under an open-source licence. With any hosted editor, read its terms for your uploaded artwork before you commit a whole set to it — that advice applies to every web tool, not just this one.
Used together, the split is natural: sketch and share single cards online, then do the sustained set-building — and the final export for printing — in MSE.