Card Sleeve Discussion

Ocho

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Auride said:
Ocho said:
Just curious do you guys notice a difference in the condition of the cards you store in sleeve/top loader as opposed to cards stored in regular binder pages?

Cards in top-loaders tend to bend/warp less than cards stored otherwise. Other than that, unless you sleeve cards (or double sleeve them, like I do) before putting them into top-loaders, they can be more prone to accumulating dust due to the larger opening vs. sleeves.

Top loaders also provide a great deal of protection against dents and folds, but if you store your cards well anyways, this shouldn't be a major concern.

Thank you for the advice! I have tons of top loaders laying around from buying singles, I'm going to give them a shot.
 

Soundwave

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Card Sleeve Question

Hey all, just curious what card sleeves are legal/not legal before i go buying any, thanks!
 

Auride

Periodic Visitor
Member
RE: Card Sleeve Question

All cards sleeves are allowed in tournament play as long as they meet certain criteria described in the rule book (which you can find on the official site). But the most important criteria are as follows:
  • Sleeves must be either Pokemon themed or solid-color.
  • Sleeves must have be a single, solid, consistent color about their edges.
  • All sleeves in a deck must be identical.
Also note that sleeves are considered as to be a part of the card, so they cannot be marked in any way whatsoever.
 

Brave Vesperia

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RE: Card Sleeve Question

Transparent sleeves are illegal, sleeves with uneven borders are illegal, (meaning the sleeves borders look slanted or aren't the same color on each sleeve, etc.) reflective sleeves are illegal (the kind that reflect light in somebody's eyes) and risque sleeves are illegal.

Pretty much the only sleeves you should be using are matte, ones with Pokémon images or just blank sleeves.
 

Slowbro Master

Card Collector
Member
I've been using the Ultra Pro fits for my collection, and on a good lot of my cards they are making a slight warp. I don't know if they will flatten out in the binder, or switch to another tight sleeve. Has anybody had success with the precise fits from Ultimate Guard?
 

Neos

I am Neos. Who are you?
Member
I already have Legion sleeves for my deck. Legions are awesome and much better then Ultra Pros, and I have been using Ultra Pros ever since I played trading card games. Legions go around the same price as Ultra Pros, and they are really good, and they feel really good in hand, and easy to shuffle.
 

xxashxx

"Pokemon Gotta catch em all Pokemon"
Elite Member
Advanced Member
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RE: Card Sleeve Question

Brave Vesperia said:
Transparent sleeves are illegal, sleeves with uneven borders are illegal, (meaning the sleeves borders look slanted or aren't the same color on each sleeve, etc.) reflective sleeves are illegal (the kind that reflect light in somebody's eyes) and risque sleeves are illegal.

Pretty much the only sleeves you should be using are matte, ones with Pokémon images or just blank sleeves.

Does that mean the basic ltra Pro sleeves that I use could not be used for tournament play if I were to enter one? If that is the case why would they ban see through sleeves when they clearly show the front and back of the card? That does not make sense and why does it have to be Pokemon themed only?:)
 

AlexanderTheAwesome

Go! Chandelure!
Member
RE: Card Sleeve Question

Brave Vesperia said:
Transparent sleeves are illegal, sleeves with uneven borders are illegal, (meaning the sleeves borders look slanted or aren't the same color on each sleeve, etc.) reflective sleeves are illegal (the kind that reflect light in somebody's eyes) and risque sleeves are illegal.

Pretty much the only sleeves you should be using are matte, ones with Pokémon images or just blank sleeves.

That's not true
At nats, the top tables were FLOODED with people that had clear sleeves.
Unless of course you are talking about top loaders
 

xxashxx

"Pokemon Gotta catch em all Pokemon"
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I can see top loaders not being allowed because they can't bend to do the fancy shuffle. If you try that with those they will break in half XD.:)
 

Brave Vesperia

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RE: Card Sleeve Question

AlexanderTheAwesome said:
Brave Vesperia said:
Transparent sleeves are illegal, sleeves with uneven borders are illegal, (meaning the sleeves borders look slanted or aren't the same color on each sleeve, etc.) reflective sleeves are illegal (the kind that reflect light in somebody's eyes) and risque sleeves are illegal.

Pretty much the only sleeves you should be using are matte, ones with Pokémon images or just blank sleeves.

That's not true
At nats, the top tables were FLOODED with people that had clear sleeves.
Unless of course you are talking about top loaders

Ah, I should've worded that better. >.< I meant sleeves where you can see the back of the cards, like on these Ho-Oh/Lugia sleeves.

images
 

xxashxx

&quot;Pokemon Gotta catch em all Pokemon&quot;
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Mine don't event have that on them. If the pic was off the sleeves you would have my type of sleeves. Mine have absolutely nothing except a clear sleeve both side. They would not allow those if I were to enter a tournament?:)
 

Brave Vesperia

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xxashxx said:
Mine don't event have that on them. If the pic was off the sleeves you would have my type of sleeves. Mine have absolutely nothing except a clear sleeve both side. They would not allow those if I were to enter a tournament?:)

Penny sleeves (and other transparent sleeves) are not allowed in tournaments because it could create a marked card situation if a card is damaged or has something on the back of it.
 

xxashxx

&quot;Pokemon Gotta catch em all Pokemon&quot;
Elite Member
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Why would that cause any problems? You would have more problems with a printed sleeve. Clear sleeves are the ticket for tournaments so they can easily check your cards without pulling them out to check for illegal substances or if they are fakes.:)
 

SkySheild21

Pepe Master
Member
I don't play the Pokemon TCG but I play Magic: the Gathering so I'm willing to share some insight on what sleeves are good.

KMC Hypermat is probably the best sleeve you can find for your cards. They're easy to shuffle like Ultra Pro but don't break easily like Dragon Shield. These sleeves also won't get sticky and even allow for double-sleeving with there Perfect Fit sleeves so if someone spills a drink your cards won't get damaged at all and I don't know if this applies to Pokemon but it prevents foil cards from bending. Theses sleeves are pretty pricy though at 10 for and come in 80 sleeves for pack. If you buy Perfect Fit sleeves with these it will cost you $15.

Dragon Shield Sleeves are a bit cheaper and come in packs of 100 in all sorts of colors. These sleeves are really tough to break but have a slightly worse shuffle feel than ultra pro. This is due to them being a bit sticky so playing on a playmat is highly reccomended. Their new formula might have changed this but I haven't gotten any lately but all I know is that they used to be unevenly cut. If you're in need of sleeves then I would buy these over Ultra Pro.

Legion Shield sleeves are a step up from Ultra Pro as both the image and matte sleeves being easy to shuffle and their durability is great. These are sold in packs of 50 so two packs leave you with 40 extra sleeves if some get damaged. I reccomend these for playtesting decks and if you just need sleeves for your cards. These are around the same price as Ultra Pro.

Ultra Pro is usually a lot cheaper then the two sleeves above but break easily. If you really need some sleeves then just buy these. They sometimes won't last long but are stil better than no sleeves and can sometimes last you awhile.

I don't know if image sleeves like Magic the Gathering Ultra Pro is but do not use these! Many times these are a bit tough to shuffle due to it not having a matte surface and the image will peel off on the edges, making it even tougher to shuffle. I highly reccomend you avoid these.

And those are my opinion on those sleeves. There are a few other sleeves but they're a lot worse than Ultra Pro and aren't worth mentioning. From the game I play these are the most used sleeves aside for ultra pro image sleeves so i might have skipped other good sleeves idk about. Also are image sleeves from other card games allowed because my brother wants to start playing and I have a bunch of old ultra pro and legion sleeves that are not being used.
 

Ocho

Aspiring Trainer
Member
SkySheild21 said:
I don't play the Pokemon TCG but I play Magic: the Gathering so I'm willing to share some insight on what sleeves are good.

KMC Hypermat is probably the best sleeve you can find for your cards. They're easy to shuffle like Ultra Pro but don't break easily like Dragon Shield. These sleeves also won't get sticky and even allow for double-sleeving with there Perfect Fit sleeves so if someone spills a drink your cards won't get damaged at all and I don't know if this applies to Pokemon but it prevents foil cards from bending. Theses sleeves are pretty pricy though at 10 for and come in 80 sleeves for pack. If you buy Perfect Fit sleeves with these it will cost you $15.

Dragon Shield Sleeves are a bit cheaper and come in packs of 100 in all sorts of colors. These sleeves are really tough to break but have a slightly worse shuffle feel than ultra pro. This is due to them being a bit sticky so playing on a playmat is highly reccomended. Their new formula might have changed this but I haven't gotten any lately but all I know is that they used to be unevenly cut. If you're in need of sleeves then I would buy these over Ultra Pro.

Legion Shield sleeves are a step up from Ultra Pro as both the image and matte sleeves being easy to shuffle and their durability is great. These are sold in packs of 50 so two packs leave you with 40 extra sleeves if some get damaged. I reccomend these for playtesting decks and if you just need sleeves for your cards. These are around the same price as Ultra Pro.

Ultra Pro is usually a lot cheaper then the two sleeves above but break easily. If you really need some sleeves then just buy these. They sometimes won't last long but are stil better than no sleeves and can sometimes last you awhile.

I don't know if image sleeves like Magic the Gathering Ultra Pro is but do not use these! Many times these are a bit tough to shuffle due to it not having a matte surface and the image will peel off on the edges, making it even tougher to shuffle. I highly reccomend you avoid these.

And those are my opinion on those sleeves. There are a few other sleeves but they're a lot worse than Ultra Pro and aren't worth mentioning. From the game I play these are the most used sleeves aside for ultra pro image sleeves so i might have skipped other good sleeves idk about. Also are image sleeves from other card games allowed because my brother wants to start playing and I have a bunch of old ultra pro and legion sleeves that are not being used.

It's crazy to me to hear so many people saying Ultra Pro's break easily, maybe I'm lucky and buy that one in a million pack that's good every single time, I don't know lol. But I have to say from personal experience I play with at least one of my decks a few times a day easily, and I've never broken one sleeve. Tons of shuffling in Pokemon too, I still stand by Ultra Pro :)
 

xxashxx

&quot;Pokemon Gotta catch em all Pokemon&quot;
Elite Member
Advanced Member
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I have been Using them as well for about 9 years now and I have never broken a sleeve yet. How do you actually break a sleeve? I have broken a card holder insert before but never a sleeve.:)
 

Ocho

Aspiring Trainer
Member
xxashxx said:
I have been Using them as well for about 9 years now and I have never broken a sleeve yet. How do you actually break a sleeve? I have broken a card holder insert before but never a sleeve.:)

That's a very good question haha. I've heard about them breaking during hard smash shuffling (when you literally smash two halves of your deck together) but I've never seen it in person. I've never even seen any broken sleeve in person so I couldn't tell you what one even looks like.
 
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