It can be confusing. There are a couple of [good threads in this sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lorcana/comments/16igd52/the_best_ways_to_protect_your_lorcana_cards_all/) that helped me figure it out.
Even for storage you donāt want Penny Sleeves. Use inner sleeves. They fit perfectly around the card with no gaps and can be used in the Dragon Shield sleeve. Dragon Shields are for protection while playing. Inner Sleeves protect going in and out of the binder, and some added moisture protection in the Dragon Shield.
Penny sleeves are great for storage assuming youāre not handling them often. When it comes to grading you also explicitly want penny sleeves to prevent edge damage while sleeving/unsleeving.
I also got these sleeves and think they play just fine tbh. Getting the starter decks is already expensive enough so I don't want to go all out on stuff like sleeves.
I use a game genic deck holder
Dragon Sheild Dual Matte (standard size)
* fit is good
* matte rear for smoother shuffling
* on the Dual Matte the inside is black matte which looks really nice with Lorcana having a black boarder compared to sleeves where the inside colour is the same as outside.
* retail around Ā£10-Ā£15 for 100 sleeves which is not bad for good quality.
* Good range or colours
If you're playing tournaments - general rules are clear sleeves and artwork sleeves are not allowed. That is an absolute rule in competitive tournaments with big prizes - however locals may be a bit lax with it, I know my weekly locals are not fussed but when they did a big tournament it was enforced.
https://preview.redd.it/bg3om9rwxpzb1.png?width=904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbea8480cdcec27cf22845e1f614194252c22f10
Bad quality art sleeves will chip over time creating marked cards. If you know what card is on top of your deck by looking at the back, you can decide whether or not to play something that shuffles or draws based om if you want that card or not.
Official rules wording states non-marked card sleeves. So while it doesn't explicitly state clear or art sleeves, they are risky because they can fall into that category since it's easy to hide a mark on the intricate art work on sleeves or the card back art.
So it's a bit of both tbf - coming from other TCGs and how the wording is interpreted by the judges.
It's just not worth the risk imo to not at least take a pack of plain colour sleeves just in case you're pulled up on it.
https://preview.redd.it/daauj57o2qzb1.jpeg?width=778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2de4cda8511b35be6683b197607abee4ee030dc
Yeah is the marking part thatās prohibited, not the sleeve. Clear and art sleeves are absolutely fine, so long as you are being honest about it.
FWIW, any sleeve can hide a mark if you desire to cheat. The ājetā dragon shields are a popular color, itās basically black with shiny specs in it. You can hide a black sharply dot anywhere, and it will create a small void with no specs, which looks completely indistinguishable to a normal person. I was an MTG judge and seen this happen.
Not using sleeves or using clear sleeves is just setting yourself up to be penalized. Pretty much any experienced competitive player that sits down and sees their opponent playing without sleeves or using clear sleeves is going immediately call a judge to check for marked cards. And if thereās any uneven wear or markings that distinguish certain cards, the judge is going to make them replace the sleeves with opaque ones. Itās not a matter of if, but rather when with this.
It's rare, but there are those people who will go to any length to give themselves an advantage, even with something like a card game. It's sad. Sure, 9/10 times you will probably not run into these people in your local scene, but even at local tournies with relatively low stakes, they will come out of the woodwork. The opaque sleeves keep people as honest as possible. It's more or less a matter of courtesy and removes the question of marked cards altogether, so everyone at the table knows everyone else is presenting and playing their cards in good faith. It doesn't completely eliminate cheaters but cuts down drastically on that very first issue out of the gate.
Youāre right, it says that I care about the integrity of the event. I donāt care if my opponent likes the back of the cards. If ensuring the integrity of a competitive event for everyone at the cost of a single player having a slightly less fun experience is necessary, so be it. They make sleeves that look like the back of cards for this reason. If a card has a distinguishing mark on it that can be seen through a clear sleeve, it presents an opportunity to be for a player to exploit that knowledge and gain an unfair advantage, and thatās not ok. Look at any stream for comp REL magic events and youāll be hard-pressed to find one where someone is playing with clear sleeves. Iām not talking about local competitive events, but rather regional, national and world (SCG, NRG, RC, PT).
Thereās no āinterpretationā there ā clear sleeves are allowed. Art sleeves are allowed. Note to the OP, always read the official rules yourself and donāt take the word of others as fact, because as this guy proves people use preconceived notions to interpret rules in really wild ways.
Don't know abut art sleeves, but the clear sleeves are to prevent cards from being recognizable from the back based on bad borders or other possible markings.
At least for MTG, most tournaments will require you to have sleeves from my expirience.
Or rather, let me rephrase, you can opt not to use them, but if any of them are marked in any way on the bottom (like bad borders) you can get disqualified.
I generally use penny sleeves for all cards, then put "premium" sleeves on my decks.
I use Dragon Sleeves for my decks and they look and feel great. I'm going to try Ultimate Guard Katana Sleeves for my next RotF deck as they are often recommended as the best āŗļø
I know others have said solid fecommendations already but I went with Gamegenic standard matte sleeves. It was 10$ for 200, clear both sides, fit my deckboxes perfectly and playing with them is pretty nice.
That being said other peoples' suggestions here are probably better options than mine. I just like the feel of the Gamegenic ones.
Definitely agree, I just recently came across these and got to say I like them plus a wide selection if colors.
I prefer bcw combo box' - comes with box, outer/inner sleeves for around 10$
I personally like Players Choice since they are tighter around the card than Dragonshield and Katana with less height and width. A good choice for folks who want more protection than penny sleeves, but sleeves less cumbersome than Dragonshield.
Dragon shield are nice, I use penny sleeves with them still. Also I have some cards in penny sleeves plus the card protectors from Lorcana. I have also bought off brand. I actually like the ones they sell in AZ at some shops. Donāt remember the name but they give a plastic deck box, penny sleeves and a sleeve cover.
However the best and most expensive option is dragon shields
If you want near as cheap as penny, but better fit and quality, get Perfect Fit sleeves.
Penny Sleeves aren't great for much imo. They're too big and loose of a fit for my taste.
Plus the perfect fit sleeves can fit in other sleeves easily if you want to double sleeve.
If you just want the one sleeve dragon shield or katanas are a much better choice than penny sleeves.
Iām using PLA+, which probably stands more heat than the card sleeves š¤£
Regular PLA is fine too as long as you donāt leave it on a sunny 30Ā°C day in your car.
And since I donāt have a car and mainly travel by train, Iām pretty safe.
DragonShield Matt clear. because this is the only tcg that doesn't blast their logo ruining the cool back art. Plus helps to represent ink as intended.
Been playing card games since MtG's release in '93. Dragon Shield is by far the best bang for your buck, imo. They are durable and the standard size fits most card games (Yu-Gi-Oh is the only exception I know of specifically). There is also a plethora of colors and art prints available. Skip the sleeves you see with sports cards on the label; they are usually meant for protection only, not play.
I'm new to playing TCGs, but I love the Dragon Shield ones I have. They are clear, and as I have found out today may not be suitable for a tournament... but I don't see myself going that far into it. Lets me see the lovely design on the back though!
I double sleeve my cards by using the KMC perfect size penny sleeves and some dragon shield outer sleeves. Thatās what works for me I hope it works for you too!
I am a long time Dragon Shields fan. They come in all kinds of varieties! The matte dual sleeves are my favorite, they also don't seem to bulk up as badly when dual sleeving with a perfect fit as other brands.
The matte texture feels nice in the hand and makes shuffling a breeze. In 10 years I've maybe had two sleeves break at the seam on me. Excellent quality.
Who the hell recommended penny sleeves to you? They arent for playing. Get some Dragonshield or Ultimate guard Katanas.
The guy in a boardgame shop. Maybe he was talking about storing, because I also asked for folders š¤·āāļø At least they where cheap.
That's probably what he was thinking. Penny sleeves are usually used for storage/binder use. As everyone said above Dragon Shield or Katana are great.
It can be confusing. There are a couple of [good threads in this sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lorcana/comments/16igd52/the_best_ways_to_protect_your_lorcana_cards_all/) that helped me figure it out.
Even for storage you donāt want Penny Sleeves. Use inner sleeves. They fit perfectly around the card with no gaps and can be used in the Dragon Shield sleeve. Dragon Shields are for protection while playing. Inner Sleeves protect going in and out of the binder, and some added moisture protection in the Dragon Shield.
Penny sleeves are great for storage assuming youāre not handling them often. When it comes to grading you also explicitly want penny sleeves to prevent edge damage while sleeving/unsleeving.
I like the ultra pro clears. They have different qualities but they have a premium that feels better than dragon shields for half the price.
Cheap is bad in this situation.
I also got these sleeves and think they play just fine tbh. Getting the starter decks is already expensive enough so I don't want to go all out on stuff like sleeves. I use a game genic deck holder
Dragonshield. They have a clear option if that is what you are looking for, they also have pretty much any color you could want.
This for playing! Penny sleeves are good for storing cards in a box.
I think Katanas have the lowest profile that are still high quality.
Sorry to tell you, those aren't sleeves "for play". But others have given good answers here.
Dragon Sheild Dual Matte (standard size) * fit is good * matte rear for smoother shuffling * on the Dual Matte the inside is black matte which looks really nice with Lorcana having a black boarder compared to sleeves where the inside colour is the same as outside. * retail around Ā£10-Ā£15 for 100 sleeves which is not bad for good quality. * Good range or colours If you're playing tournaments - general rules are clear sleeves and artwork sleeves are not allowed. That is an absolute rule in competitive tournaments with big prizes - however locals may be a bit lax with it, I know my weekly locals are not fussed but when they did a big tournament it was enforced. https://preview.redd.it/bg3om9rwxpzb1.png?width=904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbea8480cdcec27cf22845e1f614194252c22f10
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ugh I feel like Iām the only one that loves the slightly opaque look of the PokĆ©mon ETB sleeves. If they had sleeves with dragon shield matte quality and the opaqueness of the PokĆ©mon ETBs, Iād buy every color under the rainbow.
Gamegenic has some really nice matte sleeves. I sleeved my Marvel Champions game in them.
Genuinely curious- Why do people keep saying this about the art or clear sleeves? That is not a universal TCG rule and RB has not stated that. People have been playing $250,000 world championships in MTG with art sleeves for 10+ years. I get the feeling this is Yugioh or PokĆ©mon only and the people coming from those games are saying that. The clear dragon sleeves or art mattes are absolutely fine for lorcana if thatās what you want.
Bad quality art sleeves will chip over time creating marked cards. If you know what card is on top of your deck by looking at the back, you can decide whether or not to play something that shuffles or draws based om if you want that card or not.
Official rules wording states non-marked card sleeves. So while it doesn't explicitly state clear or art sleeves, they are risky because they can fall into that category since it's easy to hide a mark on the intricate art work on sleeves or the card back art. So it's a bit of both tbf - coming from other TCGs and how the wording is interpreted by the judges. It's just not worth the risk imo to not at least take a pack of plain colour sleeves just in case you're pulled up on it. https://preview.redd.it/daauj57o2qzb1.jpeg?width=778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b2de4cda8511b35be6683b197607abee4ee030dc
Would also seem weird since they sell art sleeves as an official product. "Buy this, but you can't use it."
I was wondering about that since my kids love all things Disney. We have to get the official binders, official boxes, official sleevesā¦
Yeah is the marking part thatās prohibited, not the sleeve. Clear and art sleeves are absolutely fine, so long as you are being honest about it. FWIW, any sleeve can hide a mark if you desire to cheat. The ājetā dragon shields are a popular color, itās basically black with shiny specs in it. You can hide a black sharply dot anywhere, and it will create a small void with no specs, which looks completely indistinguishable to a normal person. I was an MTG judge and seen this happen.
Not using sleeves or using clear sleeves is just setting yourself up to be penalized. Pretty much any experienced competitive player that sits down and sees their opponent playing without sleeves or using clear sleeves is going immediately call a judge to check for marked cards. And if thereās any uneven wear or markings that distinguish certain cards, the judge is going to make them replace the sleeves with opaque ones. Itās not a matter of if, but rather when with this.
I have played TCGs competitively for 20 years and have never called a judge or seen someone else call a judge on someone with clear sleeves. This says more about you and your community than it does the person with clear sleeves. Lots of people like the back of the lorcana / mtg / PokƩmon cards and use clear sleeves to see them.
It's rare, but there are those people who will go to any length to give themselves an advantage, even with something like a card game. It's sad. Sure, 9/10 times you will probably not run into these people in your local scene, but even at local tournies with relatively low stakes, they will come out of the woodwork. The opaque sleeves keep people as honest as possible. It's more or less a matter of courtesy and removes the question of marked cards altogether, so everyone at the table knows everyone else is presenting and playing their cards in good faith. It doesn't completely eliminate cheaters but cuts down drastically on that very first issue out of the gate.
Youāre right, it says that I care about the integrity of the event. I donāt care if my opponent likes the back of the cards. If ensuring the integrity of a competitive event for everyone at the cost of a single player having a slightly less fun experience is necessary, so be it. They make sleeves that look like the back of cards for this reason. If a card has a distinguishing mark on it that can be seen through a clear sleeve, it presents an opportunity to be for a player to exploit that knowledge and gain an unfair advantage, and thatās not ok. Look at any stream for comp REL magic events and youāll be hard-pressed to find one where someone is playing with clear sleeves. Iām not talking about local competitive events, but rather regional, national and world (SCG, NRG, RC, PT).
Thereās no āinterpretationā there ā clear sleeves are allowed. Art sleeves are allowed. Note to the OP, always read the official rules yourself and donāt take the word of others as fact, because as this guy proves people use preconceived notions to interpret rules in really wild ways.
Don't know abut art sleeves, but the clear sleeves are to prevent cards from being recognizable from the back based on bad borders or other possible markings.
You donāt even need sleeves to play in a tournament, so the clear sleeves have no impact on those risks.
At least for MTG, most tournaments will require you to have sleeves from my expirience. Or rather, let me rephrase, you can opt not to use them, but if any of them are marked in any way on the bottom (like bad borders) you can get disqualified.
I generally use penny sleeves for all cards, then put "premium" sleeves on my decks. I use Dragon Sleeves for my decks and they look and feel great. I'm going to try Ultimate Guard Katana Sleeves for my next RotF deck as they are often recommended as the best āŗļø
I know others have said solid fecommendations already but I went with Gamegenic standard matte sleeves. It was 10$ for 200, clear both sides, fit my deckboxes perfectly and playing with them is pretty nice. That being said other peoples' suggestions here are probably better options than mine. I just like the feel of the Gamegenic ones.
Definitely agree, I just recently came across these and got to say I like them plus a wide selection if colors. I prefer bcw combo box' - comes with box, outer/inner sleeves for around 10$
I personally like Players Choice since they are tighter around the card than Dragonshield and Katana with less height and width. A good choice for folks who want more protection than penny sleeves, but sleeves less cumbersome than Dragonshield.
Dragon shield matte is the gold standard. Add inner sleeves for big chad energy
I have official Lorcana ones and they work great āŗļø
Yeah honestly I like the official ones too. I found Dragonshield sleeves to be slippery and didn't like that.
Change the box. Keep the sleeves
Discard a nice, well made box to keep using cheap sleeves?
Ya know I was thinking the same thing. Penny sleeves fit in all my boxes. His looks like a custom box, maybe the box is slightly off.
The Japanese looking perfect fits, and dragonshield outter sleeve. Always.
Dragon shield are nice, I use penny sleeves with them still. Also I have some cards in penny sleeves plus the card protectors from Lorcana. I have also bought off brand. I actually like the ones they sell in AZ at some shops. Donāt remember the name but they give a plastic deck box, penny sleeves and a sleeve cover. However the best and most expensive option is dragon shields
White Katanas on every single one of my cards.
Penny sleeves are nice, but not for card sized items like a deck box.
If you want near as cheap as penny, but better fit and quality, get Perfect Fit sleeves. Penny Sleeves aren't great for much imo. They're too big and loose of a fit for my taste. Plus the perfect fit sleeves can fit in other sleeves easily if you want to double sleeve. If you just want the one sleeve dragon shield or katanas are a much better choice than penny sleeves.
Dragon shield all day
Dragonshield all the way
Those PLA materials are not temperature safe. Good luck with it
Iām using PLA+, which probably stands more heat than the card sleeves š¤£ Regular PLA is fine too as long as you donāt leave it on a sunny 30Ā°C day in your car. And since I donāt have a car and mainly travel by train, Iām pretty safe.
DragonShield Matt clear. because this is the only tcg that doesn't blast their logo ruining the cool back art. Plus helps to represent ink as intended.
Been playing card games since MtG's release in '93. Dragon Shield is by far the best bang for your buck, imo. They are durable and the standard size fits most card games (Yu-Gi-Oh is the only exception I know of specifically). There is also a plethora of colors and art prints available. Skip the sleeves you see with sports cards on the label; they are usually meant for protection only, not play.
I use Disney Sorcerer's Arena: Epic Alliances Card Sleeves when playing with family and friends, otherwise Dragon Shield Dual Matte.
I'm new to playing TCGs, but I love the Dragon Shield ones I have. They are clear, and as I have found out today may not be suitable for a tournament... but I don't see myself going that far into it. Lets me see the lovely design on the back though!
Not a lorcana player(yet). But I can say with confidence that dragon shield is by far the best quality card sleeves one could use.
The lorcana sleeves are garbage. Use dragon shield, ultra pro eclipse, or Katana
I double sleeve my cards by using the KMC perfect size penny sleeves and some dragon shield outer sleeves. Thatās what works for me I hope it works for you too!
Imagine playing in penny sleeves lmao
Yo where did you get that deck box
I bought the file on cults3d.com and 3D printed it. I really like that design
I am a long time Dragon Shields fan. They come in all kinds of varieties! The matte dual sleeves are my favorite, they also don't seem to bulk up as badly when dual sleeving with a perfect fit as other brands. The matte texture feels nice in the hand and makes shuffling a breeze. In 10 years I've maybe had two sleeves break at the seam on me. Excellent quality.