Off Topic: Sleeves and Counters and Playmats, Oh Cliche

[Meyou]

This thread is for the discussion of my latest article, Off Topic: Sleeves and Counters and Playmats, Oh Cliche. We would be grateful if you would let us know what you think, but please keep your comments on topic.

[CaptShetz]

*Like*

Oops, wrong site.

Anyway, great article. I really like this "Off Topic" column. It touches on a side of Magic that isn't often discussed - much less wrote about - but is still very much present.

I've been pretty upset with art backed sleeves. When 30 of the 100 sleeves you just bought have a large line down the back of them, it is very irritating. Luckily I play EDH with some cool, cool guys, but in other groups they would be completely useless. Arg!

And now if I can only scrape together some money to buy that Slave of Bolas platmat...

[tordeck]

Very well written article you done for us. I like your idea of using a dry erase marker to keep track of counters. I might have to start using this technique in the future. Thanks for a great read.

[gnomedragondisciple]

Great article. Really got me thinking about my own gear in terms of "can I do better?" I think I'm doing pretty well on everything but deck boxes... damn generic, spartan Ultra Pro deckboxes...

Sleeves: I've stopped buying sleeves with any foil or art component to them. It just seems to me that they start peeling apart way faster than solid-color sleeves. I have solid-backed matte sleeves I picked up around the launch of Ravnica block that are still perfectly fine, but the foil-backed sleeves with art by Brom on them I napped half a year ago became utterly useless after only a month of moderate play.

Carrying Case: I used to carry my whole collection with me in an old tackle bag (in boxes, of course), but that grew to the point of impracticality rather fast. I now keep my trade binder in my messenger bag along with whatever else I have with me (normally writing implements, paper, and my laptop). My decks and dice I keep in a .50 cal ammo can. It's just wide enough for three deckboxes side-by-side and high enough for two boxes to rest on their side. It's also wide enough for a card tin of the variety sold by Cheese Weasel Logistics to line up its long edge with the short edge of the ammo can, and the height is such that I can rest one right-side-up and one side-ways-up on top of it. Currently in the ammo can: Seven decks (four in Ultra Pro deckboxes, two in tins - one Cheese Weasel tin and one Call of Cthulhu CCG tin - and one in this velvet-lined thing built like a footlocker I got from a friend that is PERFECT for EDH decks) and two bags of dice (totaling at least 200 dice). I do get a bit of guff for using an ammo can, but dammit the thing is perfect for what I need in a carrying case (though it is a bit small).

Deck Boxes: I love the Cheese Weasel format tins. In one box you can have a full deck with sideboard, tokens, counters, life counter, and a die for determining play order or whatever else you might want to stick in there. I keep an EDH deck in one along with all of its tokens. In the other I keep my Master Transmuter/Sharuum/Mindslaver deck along with its sideboard, spare matching sleeves, life counter, and operates as a staging area for rares I've just traded for but have yet to stick into my binder. Still, I'd love to see more options out there for deck boxes.

Playmat: Windwright Mage playmat. Love the thing, but I find it gets a bit crowded for EDH games. I'd love it a heck of a lot more if it were about six inches wider, but in the meantime I'll make do with its awesomeness. Heck, the thing is half the reason I'm standardizing on purple card sleeves. They just look GOOD on that backdrop.

[XxTaLoNxX]

I liked your article it was interesting even though I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know.

But I do have a problem with something you said. You were talking about deck sleeves that stick together and you threatening an opponent that he needs to get new sleeves or your going to have to "riffle" shuffle his deck in a way that may damage his cards. I'm not sure if you know this but willingly and knowingly causing damage to an opponents cards is an infractionable offence that can get you disqualified from an event and if the damage is of a serious monetary extent you can be banned from DCI events. You can always choose to pile shuffle his cards in 6-8 stacks and then carefully shuffle the stacks together. This takes about 45 seconds for someone who is moderately experienced in shuffling and handling cards and won't cause your match time much damage.

[Meyou]

Originally Posted by XxTaLoNxX

I liked your article it was interesting even though I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know.

But I do have a problem with something you said. You were talking about deck sleeves that stick together and you threatening an opponent that he needs to get new sleeves or your going to have to "riffle" shuffle his deck in a way that may damage his cards. I'm not sure if you know this but willingly and knowingly causing damage to an opponents cards is an infractionable offence that can get you disqualified from an event and if the damage is of a serious monetary extent you can be banned from DCI events. You can always choose to pile shuffle his cards in 6-8 stacks and then carefully shuffle the stacks together. This takes about 45 seconds for someone who is moderately experienced in shuffling and handling cards and won't cause your match time much damage.

Lol, it's usually a littl more tongue in cheek. Wink, wink, grin, grin.

[DLink123]

I think I know what those holographic sleeves you were talking about are...KMC Super Holography? I think starcitygames had a 99cent sale per box of sleeves about 2.5 years ago.

I wasn't around then, but I recently managed to pick up a similar deal on ebay, and while they might be useless to tournament players, they are great for dedicated casual players. I have 40+ decks and there was no way I was going to buy those expensive Dragonshield sleeves for $6 each... in the end I was very pleased with my holographic sleeves.

That being said, I think the picture you show is an unfair representation of a holographic sleeve. You would only get that picture through a camera...and it seems to be taken at the worst lighting angle...not that I know much about cameras...but still.

Anyway, if there are any casual players looking for cheap sleeves or more info, check out the Official Card Sleeves and Protectors thread at the Magic General section.

[ChairmanMeow]

I liked this article a lot.

I too have used markers on the front of my sleeves, but I like using a small mark to differentiate my sideboard cards from my maindeck cards. It just helps make it easier to check my deck before I start a match.

[Shaharazad]

The dry-erase trick is brilliant! It's rare that I read something that is so useful in an article. Thanks.

[FRM]

Ah those times!
Really, when ultra pro started to make penny sleeves magic wasn't a niche game anymore, so i do believe the business was hot.
Moreover, wizard initially prohibited the use of sleeves in tournaments! They changed their mind quickly
As for me, since i started before ultra pro went in business with magic, i used to buy low cost 9 card holder sheets, cut the central column and use the external 6 holder as sleeves. That caused all sort of problems as scratches on the hands, different sized sleeves, sleeves too nig to handle, etc. :P
Then i found some moderately priced credit card holders that suited the cards. Then Ultra-pro made penny sleeves and the pioneering was over. I Actually use only a certain dragon brand, cause i feel ultra pro's are too hard.
As for pimping, i only pimp cards in demential unspectacular way

[Xcric]

the only problem i have with the article was the comment about penny sleeves falling out of favor because they're uncool.

thats not true at all.

back when the thicker ultra pro sleeves first came out, almost all of us made the switch because it was cheaper in the long run. penny sleeves break. they break a lot. they break easily. while it might only be a dollar or two for a few hundred, you end up having to buy a new package of them every few weeks. almost every time they're shuffled one splits. they're already thin and cheap, once they start splitting you also end up with damaged cards. we all figured out pretty quickly that it was cheaper to buy a 5 dollar box of ultra pro sleeves then to shell out a buck or two every few weeks for penny sleeves, especially when the thicker sleeves were protecting our rares better.

penny sleeves are also incredibly slippery, making it hard to shuffle them when compared to slightly thicker sleeves.

i still see a lot of guys using penny sleeves for their draft decks, or new players using them on their decks because they're cheap, but eventually they come to the same conclusions and shell out the few extra dollars.

[iRebel]

Originally Posted by Shaharazad

The dry-erase trick is brilliant! It's rare that I read something that is so useful in an article. Thanks.

Seconded. That's bloody brilliant. I'm definitely going to be using that trick from now on.

[mateus]

keep writing these articles Meyou! there a joy to read!
on the topic: penny sleeves are still the greatest in my opinion. th eonly reason i swtiched was that in a large deck box, multiple colors is easier to distinguish and cheaper than buying lots of seperators.
oh and i was totally a rubber band man too!

[Jester's Tear]

As someone heavily involved in the sports card market before Magic was out, I do recall that "penny sleeves" were around well before then and were used to protect sports cards. Magic players started using them, and I would guess that Ultra-Pro saw the increased demand for sleeves and came out with their own line.

I'm glad we're past the old days where your opponent could force you to de-sleeve just because he wanted to be a jerk. It used to be a standard tactic at type 1 tournaments, make your opponent de-sleeve in hopes that he'd just concede rather than risk you damaging his cards on the shuffle. Saw (and participated in) a few threats of bodily harm towards such jerks back in the day.

[vagabundo]

lol I actualy draw on my deck boxes usualy some type of sybols or weird pictures.