If you play any sort of trading card game, wither it by Pokemon, The Spoils, or Yu-Gi-Oo then you know that many cards are going to be extremely rare and valuable. For instance in Yu-Gi-Oh the Ultra rare card Mirror Force or the Secret Rare Jinzo can sell for as much as 20-30 dollars on Ebay, and some more valuable cards can sell for as much as 60+ dollars. This would probably stop you from using such a card in a deck for fear of it being bent, scratched or lost, mixed in with the masses of other cards everyone else plays with. So what’s the solution to this problem? Card sleeves or course, deck protectors!
These sleeves fit around your cards and will prevent edge wear, and stop scratches form appearing. Also sleeves for your cards are or can be very different as there are wide varieties available. This will allow you to define which cards are yours and which belong to an opponent. But you have to be careful when choosing the sort of sleeves you will be using. You have to make sure they are tournament legal, won’t fall apart, and will ensure protection.
Ultra pro sleeves are by far the most popular among players in the United States, however they are not the most reliable. Ultra Pro sleeves will tend to be very ridged and stiff, causing the player to have a hard time while shuffling their deck. Also because they are so stiff they tend to fall apart. The color area at the back will commonly separate from the transparent front of the sleeve. This can cause damage toy your cards, and cost a pretty penny when replacing them.
Max protection is a great alternative to anything else out there. They sell soft sleeves which conform to your deck, making it so much easier to shuffle. The sleeves are soft, so while shuffling, or during any kind of use, separation is unlikely. The normal way these sleeves tend to fail is due to overuse, eventually they will just wear out, literally.
Color and texture are a big option when choosing sleeves. Usually you want to stay away from textured sleeves, because they tend to wear down faster, and separate. Also many times textured sleeves are banned form any kind of major tournament environment because some players will cheat and manipulate the texture of the sleeves so they can fix their decks to get key cards in the first hand. Textured sleeves are fine for recreational play, but in a pro circuit avoid them at all costs.
Color sleeves are available in almost every color imaginable, form pink and topaz to straight blue and black you have limitless options. Some sleeves have pictures on them, or interesting foiled patters displayed. These are great for the recreational player as they can really show off your or your decks personality, but due to regulations they are banned form many forms of major tournaments. Most of the time sleeves with pictures are fine for local tournaments though and can be a fun addition to the gaming community.
The best kind of sleeves to use in a major event would be straight solid colors. Black is the most common color sleeve so try and pick something a bit different. A solid Blue, or Red would be great, or even Orange if it is available. These color choices will allow your specific cards to stand out in the crowd so you can easily identify what cards you own. Also solid colors are accepted in almost every single event sanctioned by major TCG companies. White sleeves look great, but a lot of times you want to avoid light colors. Your hands have dirt and oil that will rub off and show up on these sleeves after some time so stick with darker colors that will hid this fact, and make sure to wash your hands often.
So there you have it, a good comprehensive guide to sleeves and card protection. Card sleeves are a great way for you to use valuable cards and protect your investment at the same time.
