Perfect Collection Protection

Hello, everyone! It’s your friendly neighborhood Jesguy here, and welcome to my beginner's guide to card storage and accessories!

Today I'll be doing a rundown of a bunch of different products and accessories that are excellent additions to the repertoire of any Magic (MTG) player, new or old.

One thing I want to note before we dive in though, is that this article, nor I, are sponsored by any of the companies or products I talk about here today. If I mention that I like something, it's truly because I am a fan of the product. If you're looking for a *ahem* Foundation to start your journey into buying MTG accessories, you've come to the right place!

Without further ado, let's jump right into it!

• Sleeves
• Playmats
• Deck boxes
• Outer storage
• Accessories

Sleeves

Standard Card Sleeves

First up, we have the most basic, and arguable most important: Card sleeves!

There are plenty of different card sleeves on the market. in a multitude of different colors and styles. Whether you are looking for solid colors, or art of you favorite characters, you'll be able to find it.

Dragonshields (my personal favorite, especially for Commander), have an incredible amount of varying colors and original art.

Ultra Pro has plenty of sleeves with official Magic art of them, and finally,

Ultimate Guard also has a handful of different sleeve styles on the market, but I prefer their Katana sleeves, since they have some of the best shuffle feel among the bunch.

Sleeves often come in two types, Glossy and Matte. I personally prefer the matte sleeves, as I find they make for a much better shuffling experience, but your mileage may vary with either. Just keep in mind, most art sleeves are Glossy, while solid colored sleeves can come in either style.

Inner sleeves

If regular sleeves aren't enough for you, there are also inner sleeves! These sleeves are to protect your cards from any dust, debris, or liquid that may make it in through your outer sleeves.

These also come in multiple styles. You have your standard inner sleeve, which you simply slide your card in vertically,

or side loaders (which are great for flip cards) that you slide your card in horizontally.

Perfect hards are sleeves that are sturdier and thicker, and are often used for valuable cards, as they are less resistant to bending, wear, and tear.

And finally, there are sealable inner sleeves, which fully envelop your cards, protecting them from nearly everything!

Playmats

Playmats are the next most important piece of the puzzle for Magic players. Not only are they an excellent way to express yourself and what kind of art you adore, but they are integral for protecting your cards and sleeves! It's much better to play on a nice fabric mat that a messy kitchen table or floor.

Like with sleeves, there are differently styles of playmats, though there are two most common types: standard playmats, which are simply regular playmats, while the second is the stitched playmats, whose edges are stitched with thread and cloth to make them more durable.

Brands like Heavy Play even have magnetic accessories that allow you to mix and match colors for their deckboxes and other tools, all of which integrate with their playmat.

You can purchase playmats anywhere you get your other MTG accessories, but also look out for Magic artists at conventions or official Magic Cons who may be selling special playmats with their art on them. You can feel good knowing you're supporting an artist while also finding a sweet way to showcase your favorite card or character.

When owning a playmat, just make sure you keep the box the playmat comes in, or buy a carrying tube, that way you can transport them easily without damaging them.

Deck Boxes

Bundle Boxes

If you're a Magic player in any capacity, you've probably bought a Bundle at some point before (please don't ask how many I've bought).

If you've found yourself with an empty Bundle box, and you have a few EDH decks, you're in luck! Using the Bundles as a deck box is a great way to recycle them, and they hold three single sleeved EDH decks quite comfortably. Affordable, easy, and environmentally friendly! What's not to love?

This is how I store most of my own EDH decks, and I've rarely ever had issue with them.

Plenty of friendly local game stores have empty bundle boxes lying around, so if you aren't looking to outright buy a bundle, you could easily purchase one of their empty boxes for a few bucks. You'll both be happy with that deal, for sure!

Single deck boxes

If bundles aren't your thing, that's A-Okay! There are few of different styles of deck boxes for you to choose from!

First up is the single deck box! These are exactly what they sound like: individual boxes that will hold a single deck. These are best for people who have fewer decks, or for people who would want to label each deck box so they always know which deck is in which box.

You can find single deck boxes from any major accessory retailer, from Ultimate Guard, Ultra Pro, Gamegenic, and Inked Gaming.

Multi deck boxes

For people with more decks, boxes that can hold multiple deck boxes may be for you.

This is probably the widest range of product that there is, with tons of different companies, styles, and boxes on the market. I've seen boxes that can hold 2, 3, 4, or even 5 decks in a single box, and they were all high quality.

If you use a backpack or other kind of carrying bag, you may have trouble using the larger, multi-deck boxes, so just make sure you measure your bags before committing to one.

All the retailers in the single box section also sell multi deck boxes, making purchasing whatever style you need even easier!

Pro Organizers

One of the more unconventional, but still effective, ways to tote your cards around is a Pro Organizer.

These are excellent for keeping cards safe and neat, while also coming with the bonus of a clear front, so you'll always know where each deck is at all times. Pro Organizers often have customizable compartments as well, giving you room for decks, deck boxes, dice, tokens, whatever you need!

I have a friend who uses one, and swears by it. He's been using it for years, and it hasn't steered him wrong yet!

Quiver Time Quivers

One of my personal favorite accessories is the Quiver Time Quivers.

They are excellent as a sleek way to carry a sizable chunk of cards. Depending on the size you get, you'll be able to hold multiple decks, tokens, dice, everything you need for a game night.

While this option is less optimal than a backpack for players with multiple decks, Quivers are excellent if you just need to carry around a few decks at a time. If you need a way to carry your decks around at a convention or event, or if you only take a few of your decks out for a stroll, a Quiver is the perfect product for you.

I have had my Quivers for about six years now, and they are still in excellent shape, attesting to their high quality. While I use them for my cube as opposed to my EDH decks, I cannot recommend them enough!

Outer Storage

1,000+ Count boxes

These plain, white, cardboard boxes are the standard for card storage and organization at home.

Most LGSs or the brand BCW will have some for purchase, and they are a great way to hold bulk cards. Some of them can hold sleeved cards, while others may be too small, and can only hold unsleeved cards, so be sure to check them out before purchasing!

My home collection utilizes four-row boxes in order to keep cards separated by color and rarity, and it has been a great way to keep cards neat and orderly. Being able to be written on is another bonus too! Another cheap option that is perfect for anyone that has a lot of cards that they need to keep in order.

Binders

Next up are binders! Binders are excellent for individuals with smaller collections, people who are looking to trade frequently, or people who want to keep their shiny and valuable cards in a single place.

Binders come on all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on your needs. From 2x2 binders that will hold four cards a page, to larger ones that can hold 12 per page, no matter how many cards you need to display, you will find a binder that is right for you. There are a lot of different binder/storage brands to look out for: Monster, Legion, BCW, Ultra Pro, Ultimate Guard and Dex Protection are just a few.

Personally I have two binders: One for trades/selling, and another for valuable cards that I plan on keeping/cards I plan on using in the near future. This helps me keep things nice and separate so I know where my important singles are at all times.

Backpacks

Like sleeves, this may be a no-brainer, but one of the most important pieces to your storage should be a backpack!

As we all know, backpacks come in all shapes and sizes. From something small and easy to whip around, to something larger that can hold 20+ decks, there is certainly a backpack that will fit your needs. I will often utilize one of two backpacks depending on the occasion.

When I'm going over a friend's house, I bring my large backpack. It is a Swiss Gear backpack that I've had since high school, and while it has some wear and tear, it holds up admirably to the 20 decks in it constantly.

The other backpack I have I utilize when I am traveling or going to conventions. My secondary backpack won't hold every deck, so I need to choose which decks make the cut, but having a back up backpack that is more manageable has been an excellent call that has made my life easier in multiple, multiple situations.

Like I mentioned earlier, I cannot recommend Swiss Gear enough. I've had my backpack for over 14 years now, and it still has plenty of life left in it. If you want something durable that will last for a long time, look no further.

Accessories

Dice Bags

While not for cards specifically, dice bags are an important thing to have as part of your storage collection!

Plenty of cards need counters, and dice are the best way to represent them! The problem is, if you just have your packages of dice flopping around inside your backpack, they're going to open up and spill everywhere. That's where dice bags come in. They'll hold all your D20s, your spindowns, and containers of D6s, all in a single convenient place! Some dice bags even have inner compartments where you can separate all your dice and counters, that way you can keep them neat and organized as well.

You can find dice bags at nearly any store that participates in Magic or Dungeons and Dragons, like Inked Gaming or Ultra Pro.

I find dice bags to be essential for any Magic player. I never not had one, and it makes my life so much easier. It really helps with keeping all of my dice in a single place, along with my...

Infinitokens

...Infinitokens!

I never leave home without my dice bag, meaning I never leave home without my Infinitokens!

Infinitokens are the best product for dry erase tokens on the market. I've had mine for over 2 years now, and they work just as well as they did the day I bought them! They are durable, high quality, and let you represent nearly anything you could run into on the battlefield with just a few strokes of a dry erase marker!

Personally, I have my pack of 25 Infinitokens, a pack of infinitoken counters, and a pack of their small dry erase markers, and I have never had an issue I couldn't solve between those three. I highly recommend them as a part of your collection. I don't know what I would do without them.

Invaluable Varying Vendibles!

And there we have it! Oodles of different products and accessories that can help you on your Magic journey!

There are so many different kinds of merchandise for our game, I'm sure I missed something. If there is something I overlooked, or a product that you really enjoy that I didn't name, make sure to shout it out in the comments down below!

That's all for now though! Until next time!

You can reach me on Twitter (@thejesguy), where you can always hit me up for Magic- or Jeskai-related shenanigans 24/7. Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns?

Please don’t hesitate to leave them below or get in touch! Stay safe, wash your hands, and keep fighting the good fight. Be good people.

Read more:

How to Build a Commander Deck

Angelo Guerrera

Angelo is a New England resident who started playing Magic during Return to Ravnica, and has made it his mission to play Jeskai in every format possible. Along with Commander, he loves Limited, Cube, and Modern, and will always put his trust in counterspells over creatures. He is still hurt by Sphinx's Revelation's rotation out of Standard.