Sleeve Recommendation
General forum
Posted on Oct. 3, 2013, 6 p.m. by ShimmerVoid
Are there sleeves out there that have backs like those from KMC Matte:
http://www.magicmadhouse.co.uk/accessories-c1132/standard-size-sleeves-c1137/hyper-mat-black-sleeves-80-p53322
And fronts like the ones from Ultra Pro Matte?
I can't stand the slippery front bit of KMC Matte and regular Ultra Pro sleeves as they get sticky over time and thumbprints get strewn all over them. Messy. Manually scrubbing them after a couple of games is starting to get tedious.
ShimmerVoid says... #4
I bought a pack of Dragon Shields before. Not sure if mine was an isolated incident but it was the worst. The sleeves weren't even cut properly and had jagged edges around them.
Also, they are slippery and prone to fingerprints.
October 3, 2013 6:23 p.m.
hmm, i've used ultra pro and dragon shield and i prefer dragon shield. they are slippery and prone to fingerprints though
October 3, 2013 6:26 p.m.
the dragon shield just don't split as easily as the ultra pro ones
October 3, 2013 6:27 p.m.
HarbingerJK says... #7
I swear by Dragon Shield, especially the black ones
October 3, 2013 6:28 p.m.
ShimmerVoid says... #8
So there are no sleeves out there that are non-sticky on both sides? Like KMC Matte back and Ultra Pro Matte front? I've tried Dragon Shields but didn't like them as they are prone to fingerprints.
October 3, 2013 6:34 p.m.
HarbingerJK says... #9
I've personally never had a problem with stickiness and fingerprints with Dragon Shields
October 3, 2013 6:35 p.m.
Came here to reinforce what everyone else has said. Dragon Shields are the way to go. But use black if you want any hopes of blotting out double faced cards.
@ShimmerVoid Sucks to hear that, but I think yours is just a freak incident. Every well-invested magic player I know uses and swears by Dragon Shields, and have never had a problem with the product.
October 3, 2013 6:35 p.m.
Bobgalarneau says... #11
What's the problem with the back of ultra pro matte? I have moist hands and they never get sticky. Ifeel like their only downside is the front wich does not go well with foil....
October 3, 2013 6:39 p.m.
Almost all sleeves end up getting dirty unless you just don't play with the deck in question and leave it in the deck box, thats the only way to keep 'em pristine.
That being said, while technically not necessary, sleeves and even play mats are quite effective at keeping your cards safe and clean, I can only image how bad my copies of Geist of Saint Traft would be if I never sleeved them, I ran them for so long, they wouldv'e fallen apart without sleeves.
Anyways, depending on your income, I'm serious, getting new sleeves every other week may or may not be in your budget. I know for a fact when I started back up with magic again I was so broke that a basic set of ultra pro sleeves where the ferrari of sleeves to me and I used that same set for almost a year before I realised getting a new set would make my cards pop and I'd feel better as a player. The longer I play the more invested stock I have with buying premium foil cards just for the vanity of it, and a nice, clean, almost HD quality sleeve that really makes the art pop is where I'm at as a player.
Granted I have become more financially stable since then and I'd say at least once per new set I look into new sleeves. The newest Legion sleeve art work, most notable right now would have to be Grumpy Cat sleeves, are pretty funny and they are thin sleeves so when you first sleeve it up and from then on, the deck is sleek and compact. I know from experience other brands can poof up and make a 60 card deck look like an EDH deck, not to mention the slippery slide effects for the first few Hundred shuffles.
Legion sleeves end up getting frayed corners and just plain falling apart, but not before getting a good solid 6 months of regular use out of them. Ultra pro original and matte are okay, but the matte have slightly blurry front's and thus seeing foiled cards artwork is kind of stiffled, which can be a deal breaker in most cases, in others, budgets call the shots.
Don't feel pressured into buy dragon shield just because it has a following of loyal customers, ultra pro sleeves will protect your cards just as good and for cheaper.
There is no such thing as an everlasting set of sleeves, they have yet to make a set of sleeves you can throw in the dish washer or laundry and re-use, know this from the start and be aware that any brand or style of sleeve WILL get beat up and eventually need replacing, frequency of use and time taken to carefully shuffle every time as opposed to just cram shuffling it til ther sleeves split will play a part in the half life of any sleeves you may acquire.
October 3, 2013 7 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #13
I support both KMC and Dragon Shield. None of their products have ever let me down. Dragon Shields are also conveniently sold in boxes of 100+X, so they're perfect for EDH.
I regularly scrub my sleeves down because they tend to accumulate dirt on the back, but that's partially because I have the control player tic (i.e. I shuffle my hand back and forth all the time).
Also, the key to having clean sleeves is a good playmat. Even a basic one can help keep the table scum off your cards, and it will only run you $10 or so.
October 3, 2013 7:16 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #14
Epochalyptik It's not just a control player thing. I see it all the time in poker. I've found that if I bring 4-5 clay chips I end up shuffling those instead.
October 3, 2013 7:24 p.m.
Don't go with Dragon Shields, they are sturdy and that's great, but even flimsy sleeves will stay together if you take care of them. Dragon shields shuffle horribly, their curvature make's it awkward to handle your cards, and the texture of the back and front is terrible.
KMC Hyper mattes are the best sleeves currently on the market. They shuffle beautifully, they hold up to heavy play, they will not show card backs through the sleeve, and they almost never get sticky or accumulate grime.
October 3, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Fleetfiend says... #16
I just recently bought a few boxes of Dragon Shields, and so far they seem pretty good. They aren't as amazing as I expected from all of the hype I had read on forums like these, but they're good. Unfortunately though, 4-5 of them had weird wrinkles on the backs, but it comes with extras so I was able to swap them out.
October 3, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #17
It should be mentioned (if it hasn't already) that Dragon Shields are manufactured using a different process compared to a few years ago. The newer sleeves are, sadly, of lower quality.
I may have to try out some of the KMC mattes.
October 3, 2013 7:32 p.m.
I've only ever had one set of Dragon Shields that had an issue. Not all of them in that particular pack were the same size, some were shorter and others were longer. If I go through and separate them, I should still have enough of the same sized ones to sleeve up my next standard deck though.
Every other set I have has been perfect and stands up to heavy play very well. I usually search and shuffle 7-8 times in my first 5 turns in one of my EDH decks and don't have any issues with them.
October 3, 2013 7:33 p.m.
HarbingerJK says... #19
only the silver and orange Dragon Shield sleeves are the ones I've had problems with. Black are the best, Gold are second best...in my opinion. I've been using the same set of gold and black for a year now
October 3, 2013 7:43 p.m.
Ohthenoises says... #20
I recently got myself a set of KMCs for kicks and I found that they are pretty awesome in most respects, my only part of annoyance is that they are SO slick against each other I end up drawing 5 cards when I try to draw one because the other 4 end up on the table. Once you get them kinda broken in it doesn't happen as much but they are pretty tricky to handle for fat stacks.
October 3, 2013 7:45 p.m.
For tournys: ANYTHING BUT ULTRA PRO!for casual: Ultra pro works just fine....
October 3, 2013 7:48 p.m.
KMC sleeves are the best you can get, especially if you can find the Matte ones.
October 3, 2013 7:57 p.m.
ShimmerVoid says... #23
I just realized KMC started selling a new line of sleeves: KMC Hyper MAT or something but with Hyper in it. I heard it's matte on both sides as opposed to the KMC MAT ones which are matte on the back but glossy in front.
Can anyone confirm this? This might be just the thing I'm looking for.
October 3, 2013 8:13 p.m.
I bought Legion sleeves for the art on them. I enjoy playing a game much more when either myself or another player even is using them (unless we both have the same kind!) I was happy to discover that the art makes it super easy to make sure all of them are oriented the same way and it makes it obvious when such is not the case.
For a serious tournament, I wouldn't recommend any of the art styles that involve large sploches of white space - but otherwise, unless there is some super duper flashlight trick method involved - generally - they hide double sided cards fine as far as I can tell.
So far, after having them since last march / april, I have one corner bent and one inside-top crinkled a wee bit from smashing a deckbox cover into it. It seems to be smoothing out ok and I am using it for my commander (maybe not good enough for a tournament - but even if it got tucked, it is a pretty small crinkle that doesn't lift it up amongst other cards that are stacked on it or show up from the top view). I can't detect the tiny bent corner from a top-side view or sideways view of the deck, either. I think this issue could be massively improved by Legion if they threw in a tiny amount of extra sleeves - like 51 or 52 instead of 50. But I don't know if I blame them because if you smash any sleeve hard enough with a deck box then you will crinkle it.
I tried some other sleeves - I'm pretty sure it was Ultra Pro - they take some work wearing in because at first they slide around everywhere - but they are studier feeling than Legion. On the other hand, "the reed that can bend does not break" - haven't had any Legion sleeves split on me. I do shuffle from the side, though .... maybe that helps?
I am starting to like the way that the sleeved cards sound when I slap them down. It makes a cool sound when I pick them up, too. I think different sleeves make different sounds - the tougher ones give more weight to the cards.
October 3, 2013 8:45 p.m.
I love ultra pro sleeves, plain color not artwork. theyve always held up for me, my buddy has some of the 'older' style? they were made differently he says and theyve held up great for 4 years, and hes even washed them
i was recommened KMC ULTRA MATTEs, saying theyre the best thing out now, although they run $10 for 80 sleeves versus so theyre deffinetly priced higher
October 3, 2013 10:04 p.m.
I personally do not like dragon shields. Sure they last forever, but they bend the cards and get really dirty. I used to swear by ultra pro pro matted, but just recently made the switch to kmc pro mattes. Absolutely fantastic, just a little bit bigger but they feel so much better and they're much easier to shuffle
October 3, 2013 11:15 p.m.
BroadScholar says... #27
Wow a lot of hate on the ultra pros. I can only speak for the pro-matte series, but I love em! They shuffle well, they have a nice feel to them, not too thick and not to thin, and they're almost half the price of KMCs. The only "issue" is the fact that the fronts aren't crystal clear, they have kind of a haze to them. Doesn't really matter to me, but I figured I'd mention it. And I have heard that they have durability problems, but I've never had a sleeve split. I've heard a lot of negativity about the Dragon Shields though. It seems the only thing they have going for them is the durability. I've heard players say that they're too thick to shuffle easily and some sleeves are longer than others.
October 4, 2013 12:48 a.m.
BiggRedd54 says... #28
I choose Dragon shield for Durability, but Ultra pro for comfort ability and price.
October 4, 2013 3:01 a.m.
MonsterFinder221 says... #29
If you want premium, high quality sleeves, buy Dragon Shields. if you want the cheap, standard sleeves, buy Ultra-Pro regular, standard sleeves.
October 4, 2013 6:39 a.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #30
if you want sleeves that don't get fingerprints, black dragonshield, mine don't get fingerprints, and the box they came in also serves as a pretty cool card holder
SharuumNyan says... #2
I just use Dragon Shields. Never let me down.
October 3, 2013 6:13 p.m.