Card Sleeve Choices?
Gear forum
Posted on July 19, 2014, 8:05 p.m. by Nigeltastic
I was wondering what people's opinions on card sleeve brands are? Do you have a favorite brand? Are there some that are sturdier than others for certain types of shuffling? So far I have enjoyed Green Dragon Shields the best, but I was wondering about other opinions.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #3
I use KMC Hyper Mat for my 60 card constructed decks. Switched over from Ultra Pro a couple months ago. So much better, by far the top sleeve out there in my opinion.
Turquoise Dragonshields for my EDH deck. Figured I'd give them a shot since they upgraded the production quality for this color. They're fine.
I use Ultra Pros for my Limited decks.
July 19, 2014 8:21 p.m.
Blizzicane says... #4
I double sleeve my decks using Dragon Sleeves with KMC Perfect fit and that works for me. :)
I might try KMC Hyper Matte in the future and see how they are as well. :3
July 19, 2014 8:22 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29: How is your experience with the Turquoise DS so far? I had the same mentality with the "trying out for the better quality," but I've had it gather gunk rather quickly with really minimal play (on a playmat) so far.
July 19, 2014 8:24 p.m.
I have personally never used kmc although I plan to soon to try them out. I use dragon shields and pro matte (as a cheaper option). Normally color doesnt matter, I would think, but red or pink dragon shields work well for me and for some reason my green pro mattes are GREAT. My pink pro mattes had a problem with gunk collecting but my green ones were sturdy soft and clean....no idea why lol.
July 19, 2014 8:24 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #7
Osang As someone who has the turquoise ones I would highly recommend them. They are like blending KMC (normal ones) with DS.
July 19, 2014 8:40 p.m.
I got black KMC Hyper Mattes a few months back and they're decent, but they gathered gunk a little too quickly for my tastes. Just bought some red DS last night and so far they're pretty nice. I like how they feel.
July 19, 2014 9:18 p.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #9
I just grabbed the DS black for my Legacy deck. Two sets of three games later, they look like they've been through freaking World War 3. Glad I double sleeve it.
July 19, 2014 9:21 p.m.
Rhinowarrior says... #10
I sleeved my th deck in Jabba the hut sleeves s bitches
July 20, 2014 1:05 a.m.
LusciousCabbage says... #11
Just a personal preference but I find KMC hyper mattes to be the best for constructed formats because of the way they shuffle. For sealed or draft, I recommend Ultra Pro just because they are cheap and shuffle decently.
July 23, 2014 1:13 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #12
Osang the pack was nice. Cut correctly, all usable, 103 sleeves total. I haven't played with them much yet but I forsee them lasting awhile. I don't really like the color of sleeves or smooth backs. I'm not good at shuffling so I can't chime in there.
Next EDH deck will be in KMC Hypermats. I'll buy 2 packs and use them. I already have constructed decks in black, red, and blue.
July 23, 2014 2:08 a.m.
nobu_the_bard says... #13
I like the Dragonshield sleeves best, they seem to last a lot longer. They are very slick when new though; they need a little bit of use to not slide everywhere. They often actually contain slightly more than 100 sleeves in a box, too (usually 102-104 in my experience) so if 1 or 2 get broken it's not a bother. I was buying all different colors but I liked the brown, red, and black ones best; the white ones are okay but are slightly transparent, which makes using proxies a bother (or anything with a weird back like double-sided cards).
I don't buy the Ultra Pro ones anymore, they are too cheap and fall apart easily. I mostly play Commander and it is annoying to buy a 100 sleeve box of them and have 1 rip after a single game. They do not wear well. I only use my old Ultra Pro sleeves for tokens anymore. My orange and green ones are also slightly transparent.
I know a couple people that get custom ones. Some of them are funny and colorful, but it seems like the joke would get old after awhile.
July 23, 2014 1:22 p.m.
I am one of the people that gets the Legion sleeves with designs on them. I like how soft they are and the soft slippy sound they make when I slap em down. It hasn't gotten old yet. I do shuffle quite carefully. I always shuffle on the sides with minimal bending.
I tried out one set of Ultra-Pro. The way they slid around like 52-pickup drove me nuts at first but now they are totally fine since they have softened up. At first, I very nearly lost cards under tables and behind chairs because they would go OOPS and SUDDENLY CARDS EVERYWHERE. I think this is something that other players just get used to, but I had been spoiled by Legion sleeves.
I haven't had anything much beyond tiny corner bends, being quite a careful shuffler and usually using a playmat. One of the Legion sleeves bent a bit when I shoved it in a box the wrong way, but it has straightened out and is not noticeable in a deck or from the back. Those sleeves are soft enough to bend right back instead of tearing.
I did get a report from a friend about Legion art sleeves having art peel off the back. This has not happened to me yet. I don't see any sign that it will. On the other hand, if someone were to douse them in soda or something ... well ... I can't be sure anymore.
July 23, 2014 1:33 p.m.
My friend recently got Turquoise Dragonshields, and they are pretty nice, but I actually prefer my Red Dragonshields. I don't like the smooth back of the Turquoise that much. They play pretty nice, but I just prefer the feel of mine. Things might change in the future as they go through more wear and tear.
July 23, 2014 4:25 p.m.
sonicizslow says... #17
I use Purple UltraPros on my two commander decks, and black UltraPros on my 60 card decks and for drafting. Theyve held up well for me so far. There was a thread I made a couple of months ago that had some great info on this subject, where that is now is another story lol
July 23, 2014 5:12 p.m.
I know this thread is pretty much retired, but it turns out I was wrong. Very very wrong. I have red KMC Hyper Mattes. Not DS. And I very much prefer them to any DS I've ever had.
Osang says... #2
The shiny back (purple, green, blue, silver, gold) Dragonshields are so far the only DS sleeves I've liked. I don't like them as much as KMC sleeves since they gather gunk on their clear sides and KMC doesn't. I only use the KMC Hyper Matte line since its release.
July 19, 2014 8:15 p.m.