MTGNexus

so I intend this to be the "official" thread for discussion of card sleeves and deck boxes, so please keep discussion of these products to this thread. It is stickied so it should always be near the top

what kind of deck boxes and card sleeves do you use?

Right now, most of my decks are stored in the Channel Fireball deck boxes that they gave out at GPs/Magic Fests, mostly because I have so many of them and I'm not really a fan of the huge deck boxes that are out there now.

Most of my decks are in Dragonshield Mattes, I mostly use the petrol ones because I really enjoy the colour of them. I have a few Commander decks in Eclipse sleeves but I don't really like those as much. I used to use KMC a bit but I didn't like how they only com with 80 instead of 100 and they're harder to find in my area.

For inner sleeves, I use Dragonshield side loaders because I always find the top loaders too annoying to get into sleeves

Tell me what you use

using Ultra Pro for more than 10 years as outer sleeves. Sure, sometimes there are minor problems where the sleeves from different packs are not the same size, but they're durable enough to last long.

For Perfect Fit, I use Dragon Shield.

I don't really double sleeve with all the deck switching I do at the moment. For sleeves right now I prefer the Katana sleeves by Ultimate Guard. The newest Dragonshield sleeves have also piqued my interest, but re-sleeving can be expensive, so I haven't gotten to try them out.

When I did double sleeve, I was using KMC Perfect Fit, but I haven't bought those since the plastic changed, or any inner sleeve really for the reason mentioned above.

I use Boulder deck boxes by Ultimate Guard. They snap closed and keep the majority of dust and dirt out, which helps when you live with 8 people.

Deck Boxes
All of my Deck Boxes are wooden ones by Aaron Cain. I have 14 total though I have kind of retired 3 of them as I don't like them as much anymore (he makes a better option).

Card Sleeves
I have done a lot with different card sleeves over the years. I started with Ultra Pro (as many do) and they are a decent sleeve and went with UP Pro-fits as well. Not great but not bad but once I started foiling out my decks I felt that I wanted something that was a better quality. So, I moved to Dragon Shields and even tried the UP Eclipses for a little while. I also tried the Ultimate Guard sleeves (not Katanas). Dragon Shields are great but a little thicker and Eclipses were high quality but the front dampened foils to a considerable degree.

I had moved to Dragon Shield and KMC inners and both were fine.

But, with the release of the Katanas by Ultimate Guard and Dragon Shield Sealable sleeves, I have moved completely over to them (or, as much as I can since I an having a hard time picking up more).The sealables are awesome and I really like the Katanas so far.

I also have my entire collection in Perfect fits so I will likely resleeve them all in Sealables once I can get a larger quantity of them.

forgot to say, I had a bad experience with a sleeve called "Red Shield" many years ago. Bought an entire box of it. Then when I put the card in, the top of the card pokes out of the sleeve. I immediately resold that batch of sleeves to a cousin for a fraction of the cost of what I paid for it.

Candlemane wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I don't really double sleeve with all the deck switching I do at the moment. For sleeves right now I prefer the Katana sleeves by Ultimate Guard. The newest Dragonshield sleeves have also piqued my interest, but re-sleeving can be expensive, so I haven't gotten to try them out.

When I did double sleeve, I was using KMC Perfect Fit, but I haven't bought those since the plastic changed, or any inner sleeve really for the reason mentioned above.

I use Boulder deck boxes by Ultimate Guard. They snap closed and keep the majority of dust and dirt out, which helps when you live with 8 people.

I've been meaning to try the Katanas but they're pretty hard to find in stores still in my area and the stores that do run them seem to run out quickly. what's your opinion on them?

motleyslayer wrote: ↑

4 years ago

Candlemane wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I don't really double sleeve with all the deck switching I do at the moment. For sleeves right now I prefer the Katana sleeves by Ultimate Guard. The newest Dragonshield sleeves have also piqued my interest, but re-sleeving can be expensive, so I haven't gotten to try them out.

When I did double sleeve, I was using KMC Perfect Fit, but I haven't bought those since the plastic changed, or any inner sleeve really for the reason mentioned above.

I use Boulder deck boxes by Ultimate Guard. They snap closed and keep the majority of dust and dirt out, which helps when you live with 8 people.

I've been meaning to try the Katanas but they're pretty hard to find in stores still in my area and the stores that do run them seem to run out quickly. what's your opinion on them?

I like them a lot, though that comes with my disdain for the short tops the let dust and dirt in on occasion, though that's a complaint I have with almost all sleeves. They shuffle smooth, feel nice, have a textured back, and while there can be some glare, I don't find it terrible. You also can't see through the back, which is good. If you've ever used some of the older KMC sleeves, the Katana are quite similar.

I don't know how they do with double-sleeving because right now that's far too much work, so I can offer nothing on that front.

I tend to use the bulk ultra-pro black that I can buy 600 at a time on amazon for all my pre-con needs. But for my "made from scratch" decks, where there is some money involved, I use dragonshield matte. I have the kcm perfect fit for any of my rares and mythics that I store in a binder and I just doubled sleeved my first commander deck. Holy smokes is that a fat deck.

For boxes I use the cheap plastic pirate lab ones. I'm thinking of switching over to the ultra-pro 100+ clear cases, BUT they won't accept the dragonshield matte's very well.

For deck boxes I use a mix of Ultra Pro Eclipse Pro 100's and Ultra Pro Satin Towers. Regarding sleeves, all decks are in Dragonshield matte. I'd love to get in to the Katanas but theyre very difficult to find. Not sure how durable they are given theyre relatively new to market but they shuffle like butter.

I got some Katanas and have sleeved a few decks with them. The shuffle feel is fantastic, and they haven't scratched, scuffed, or split yet. I have only had them for a couple of months, so I'm not sure how long they'll hold out overall. So far so good. I highly recommend them if you can find them!

For inners I use KMC perfect fit top loaders, but I do use the Dragon Shield perfect fit sealables for one of my decks.

For deck boxes I mostly use the Ultimate Guard Boulders (durable and space efficient), but I do have an Ultra Pro Satin Tower, and a custom leather deck box for my favorite deck.

CentiMorgan wrote: ↑

4 years ago

I got some Katanas and have sleeved a few decks with them. The shuffle feel is fantastic, and they haven't scratched, scuffed, or split yet. I have only had them for a couple of months, so I'm not sure how long they'll hold out overall. So far so good. I highly recommend them if you can find them!

For inners I use KMC perfect fit top loaders, but I do use the Dragon Shield perfect fit sealables for one of my decks.

For deck boxes I mostly use the Ultimate Guard Boulders (durable and space efficient), but I do have an Ultra Pro Satin Tower, and a custom leather deck box for my favorite deck.

I find that I scuff sleeves so easily, probably because of how I shuffle. I find top loader inners last me longer than the side loaders but I find the top loaders are annoying to double sleeve with

I'm gonna have to find some Katanas soon to try

Katana go super quick. I actually used my wish-list to keep me informed with my local shop when they come in (I don't use wish-lists for anything). This will be the second time they've gone completely out, as I just checked. They're so popular right now they bought a new display just to house them lol. Last time I got a notification I dropped everything I was doing and drove over (luckily, I was home at the time painting).

If I get wind of any, and they do sell them online, and I'll be sure to post when I know about it.

MODS, can I post the game site when that happens or no?

I used Ultra PRO for a long time, and a couple years ago I bought some KMCs. Then I tried Dragon Shield mates and I love them. I have some Eclipse, but they look kinda dark for me so I keep buying Dragon Shield.

For inner sleeves, I usually used KMC's Perfect Fits, but I think I've tried a couple of different brands and I don't really have a preference, except for the Ultra PRO ones that fit really tight and are horrible.

I use KMC Perfect Fits inside KMC sleeves. I live in Japan, so I haven't noticed the down-turn in KMC quality that others have mentioned, though I also have a large surplus of sleeves, too, from when I sleeved up a Commander Cube in black KMCs.

I exclusively use Dragon Shield mattes for my decks now. Copper on Modern and Legacy Burn, Silver on Grand Arbiter, and Gold on Melek. They are fantastic and feel amazing! I also appreciate the colors they come in, as I really don't like the bright basic colors that many have. The front being truly clear instead of matte is a big deal to me, as I want my cards (especially my foils) to actually look nice instead of washed out.

I just use regular black Ultra Pro sleeves for my promo collection and they do the job just fine.

Additionally, I got five packs of Star City Games brand sleeves at SCG Con last month. They're matte (front and back) and have a nice shuffle feel. I don't think that they'll last very long, but they're perfectly fine for Limited events... I actually used the white ones to sleeve up all of the Art Series cards and JP alt art planeswalkers for now until I get glossy front ones and they look nice. I'll probably leave them on the Art Series cards!

While I love how sturdy Ultimate Guard Boulders are, it's very disappointing that the new stock peels around the corners. The colors are fantastic (I have Amethyst, Malachite, and Amber) and you could probably throw them across the room without it opening, but that's something to consider. I also have very serious doubts that the 100 could actually hold 100 double sleeved cards, as it's pretty close with 100 single sleeved. The 80 does NOT hold 100 single sleeved cards with Dragon Shield sleeves... It might with Ultimate Guard sleeves, like it claims, but idk.

I have one Ultra Pro PRO 100+ deck box (in white). Despite it being a more flexible plastic, it's pretty sturdy and is holding up incredibly well. It doesn't look fancy, but it does the job.

I tend to avoid any kind of sleeves that are either branded or have artwork on them because I find they're low quality and don't last long but I'll look into the SCG ones

I have a few boulder deck boxes and they're pretty good but I don't often buy deck boxes anymore because I have so many

Candlemane wrote: ↑

4 years ago

If I get wind of any, and they do sell them online, and I'll be sure to post when I know about it.

MODS, can I post the game site when that happens or no?

Executive decision: yes, you may.

Deckboxes
Whenever I play in an event, that deck is in a red UltraPro Satin Tower, my other decks are in Ultimate Guard Sidewinders. My commander decks are in BCW Deck Vaults (GenCon Exclusive)

Sleeves
I've been pretty much committed to Dragon Shields since 2012 when I sleeved up my first competitive commander deck. Went with KMC hypermattes for a bit but with DS Mattes I'm back on that train. Got a box of their 20th anniversary shields that came out of the box HORRIBLY curled but they flattened out well enough when I sleeved up. (I heard a few tales of players whose sleeves were so bad judges said "these are marked out of the box, I can't let you use these" and they were forced to try getting a refund/replacement)
For inner sleeves I've been using KMC Perfect Fits, but I tried the Dragonshield sealable ones and they work great, saves me from having to sleeve inverted all the time. Still on the fence if I'm going to go out of my way to pick up another set though.

does anyone find that Eclipse sleeves just feel weird after a while?

I had a pack of the purple ones that I had to take off a commander deck because a few broke, so I had to resleeve the deck in something else

I feel like I barely played that deck but even still the sleeves feel weird and almost more worn than they should be

clariwench wrote: ↑

4 years ago

While I love how sturdy Ultimate Guard Boulders are, it's very disappointing that the new stock peels around the corners. The colors are fantastic (I have Amethyst, Malachite, and Amber) and you could probably throw them across the room without it opening, but that's something to consider. I also have very serious doubts that the 100 could actually hold 100 double sleeved cards, as it's pretty close with 100 single sleeved. The 80 does NOT hold 100 single sleeved cards with Dragon Shield sleeves... It might with Ultimate Guard sleeves, like it claims, but idk.

The 100+ do indeed hold 100 double sleeved cards. It's not loose, but it's not super duper tight.

I may be in the minority, but I like sleeves with the satin front. I feel they shuffle better, feel better, and stick less.

Right now I really like the Eclipses because they are the only tougher sleeve that seems to have this. I heard there are new Dragon Shields that have the satin front, but haven't seen them yet.

Not much in the way of deckboxes right now, though I have to say I love Dragon Shield Matte sleeves.

Card Sleeves:

Like most people i know, i started out with bulk Ultra Pro Sleeves. It took me some years and quite a few bucks to come to a point where i started moving to Dragon Shield Mattes and i never looked back.
Recently i've tried Katanas and others in drafts, but they never quite had that familiar touch.



All Commanders are double sleeved, with Dragon Shield Clear Matte as Outers and KMC Perfect Fits as Inners.Storage and Transportation:

All of my 16 decks are stored in color-coded Ultimate Guard Deck Cases. They are nothing out of the ordinary, but they are sturdy as hell and pack my decks just tight enough to have them all fit into a Cube Pure 11 Backpack that i used for Mountainbiking, which comes with a handy rain cover.
A Blackfire Convertible Horizontal Deckbox (with an entirely removable magnetic lid) holds all (Clear Matte single sleeved) Tokens my decks require - and for transportation purposes only, my Commanders.
An Ultimate Guard Mini Card Case fits 24 Chessex mini D6 each in marmorized green (+1/+1 & "positive" counters), red (-1/-1 & "negative" counters) and blue (loyalty & "neutral" counters) perfectly.
I also have a set of 5 color pie-matching D20s sitting in a velour bag, that i use as life counters. I'd love to switch to a solid - 3D printed? - tray for them, but haven't found one, yet.



On the backpack's side i have a Blackfire "Plains" Playmat by Svetlin Velinov sitting in an Ultimate Guard MatPod, which my friends jokingly call "the Hulk Condom".

ps. Sorry for the poor image quality. Poor lighting and an average smartphone are a sub par mix.

So I've currently got 6 Commander decks stored in an Ultimate Guard Superhive, but they're in a mish-mash of deckboxes and it's beginning to wind me up so I'd like to standardise a bit. The current situation is as follows, left to right:

Mono-W Mono Legends (No tokens in deckbox) - Ultrapro 80+
Ramos, Dragon Engine (No tokens in deckbox) - Ultrapro 80+
Lathliss, Dragon Queen (4 tokens in deckbox, would like at least one more) - Ultrapro 80+
Storrev, Devkarin Lich (15 tokens in deckbox) - Ultrapro 100+
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper - No deckbox
Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer (No tokens in deckbox) - Ultimate Guard Boulder 80+

Now the obvious solution here is to get five more 80+ Boulders, but if I do that will I have room for roughly 20 tokens on the end? Also if I put the Lathliss and Storrev decks in 100+ Boulders to accommodate the tokens that way, will I have room to put the other decks in 80+ Boulders? Has anyone really tried doing mix and match setups with UG stuff?

Any help greatly appreciated, even if its a Youtube vid where someone goes through the combos.

Dragonlover

ALARM!!!!!!

Katana in stock here:

https://www.power9games.com/products/se ... ana+sleeve