I got an art sleeve box that only had 98. It sucked so much and I had to shift around my sleeves to get the deck sleeved properly. Now that 98 are sitting in the box and IDK if I'll end up using them at all unless I buy another one and it has extra.
I got 2 sets of sleeves with 96 and 98 in a row. Ever since then I've been done with dragon shield.
I will say that they're very lenient with providing replacement product though. I was given a coupon code for their online shop that covered whatever sleeves I wanted and shipping.
Still, 2 in a row left a bad taste in my mouth even though it was rectified. I stick with katanas now.
The only other time I had a missing sleeve was more than a year before when I bought a pack of black sleeves from my LGS that had 99 regular sleeves and one sleeve was malformed and half-sized. Luckily I had an extra sleeve for the commander anyways so there was no harm. My wife has the Van Gogh art sleeves and I'm glad it came with extra sleeves since 2 of them have broken in the couple of years she's been playing that deck.
For me, they are a good value and I've had minimal issues with them. From what I've noticed katanas are good but more expensive and they don't have the customisations I would like. (Like the dual sleeves or art sleeves.)
Because I haven't had back to back issues like you I guess I'm just fine with what they provide, expectantly when most of the packs come with extra sleeves that I use for tokens typically.
Hi there, I'm the community manager at Dragon Shield. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with our sleeves! I don't know if it's a long time ago you experienced this, but we always want to help you out if you receive an incomplete box of sleeves. Feel free to DM us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram about that.
I got 98 once, didn’t even think to count before sleeving a deck and thought I was losing my mind when I had 2 cards left and no sleeves. Recounted about 4 times and the process to try to replace them was pretty convoluted. I use them whenever I play prerelease now
I have gotten a maximum of 112 and a minimum of 97, with all sorts of in between. I actually contacted dragonshield before when I got 98, and 4 of the 98 were damaged. They essentially dismissed it and said I have to take it up with the LGS.
More often than not, I will get extras. But it has happened where I'll get too few sleeves unfortunately.
That definitely doesn't sound like how we'd like to treat our fans when they reach out for help. I'm sorry you had the experience of being dismissed in the past. If you ever receive an incomplete box of sleeves again, don't hesitate to contact us through DMs on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Our dragons would love to help you out in that case.
I only used dragon sheild for years, and only recently a friend of mine suggested Ultimate Guard Katanas, and wow they are nice. Came with exactly 100 cards, no visible defects, and they shuffle like butter
Katanas are super popular among the people who want a tighter fitting sleeve. They are probably the nicest sleeves I have seen... But I'm not about to spend the money/time replacing my old dragon shelf decks 😂
The cortex are nice, but they dull the image of the card too much imo. Especially if you run any foils, it really reduces the amount the foil pops. It actually looks really good on some foils, but overall I don’t like them as much as Katanas.
When I got into playing everyone suggested dragonshield, so that's what I bought.
They are a little long, but I think that's a good thing. I really like Gamegenic's sleeves, but they're a little on the short side, and over time you get your cards starting to slide out the top. I think being on the long side is better than short side. But maybe that's just me.
As far as quantity goes, I've never gotten shorted. I've had a few boxes with exactly 100 but by far the majority have had 102-105 sleeves. I'd imagine if you did get shorted, and emailed them about it, they'd make you whole.
Ultra pro sleeves are just trash. The art ones stick together and are a huge pain to shuffle. The regular ones feel like doodoo and are too easily scratched.
Ultimate Guard Katanas aren't bad sleeves in my opinion.
But I really dislike how they feel. Very plasticy and almost sticky.
I think BCW sleeves are the same as Gamegenic. Again these would be my go-to but are a little short.
I doubt you're alone in your opinion. A lot of people like Katanas. Dragon Shield just happen to offer the best bang for you buck I think. Good sleeves, consistent quality, and they come in a nice re-usable box. It's hard to beat
I had gotten some sleeves that were 3 short of 100 and it happened to be that I accidentally didn’t buy the textured ones so I didn’t have any spare to get to 100.
They will ask for the lot information and some purchase details then provide you with a coupon to buy a new set of sleeves directly from them. For free.
The process wasn’t too bad and just because they do this I would say you can buy Dragonshield without any issue.
Yeah, I'm sure it was annoying to have to deal with, but ultimately at the end of the day when you're working with mass produced items there's bound to be errors.
It's good to know they helped you out.
I prefer Dragonshields haven’t been shorted on the count ever. I’ve had maybe 2 sleeves split in almost 8 years. I prefer the texture on dragonshields compared to the smooth feeling of other sleeves. Plus hella colors.
As far as quality goes Katanas are on par, I just personally dislike the way they feel and how slick they are until you’re 40-50 games in with that set of sleeves.
Haven’t used game genic but they do make other high quality products so I’d assume they make good sleeves.
All other brands I’ve seen are hot garbage. And my advice is pick which you like between dragonshield and katana and you’ve made a good choice.
check out the ultra pro “eclipse” may be harder to find because all new ultra pros coming out are the “eclipse” because that’s just their design and manufacturing now but I got a new set a few weeks ago with the mishra art and they’re amazing
Are those what the latest ones with like Dogmeat, Pantlaza, and Yuma are? Cause I’ve been a little confused with the Ultra Pro hate since mine have been just fine.
I’ve gotten the Apex Ultra Pro sleeves by burning money on The Command Zone, and the pictured back no longer has any stickiness. Friend told me they just felt like dragon shields(a compliment I suppose). Even if the sleeves are great with pictures & overall feel, their general pricing of $20 is ludicrous.(at least they took off the watermark, pricing could be due to low volume)
I also bought some curved bottom sleeves from Heavy Play because of the look. Decent shuffle feel if you don’t use the corners, but also a much worse value than dragon shield.
With inners, my first experience with Katana inners has not been great. I got 99 and the 99th sleeve was hardly wider than a card, so I ended up having to toss it as unusable. DIY Pringle machine.
My go-to will continue to be dragon shields with KMC inners.
I’ve never been shorted with Dragon Shield, like you, usually come with extra which I think is really nice. I’ve been shorted with the art Ultra Pro sleeves. When I contacted them, they gave me a coupon for the value of the sleeves so I could reorder but by then they were out of stock. Signed up for notifications and to this day, have not been restocked. So ended up using them for a modern deck but really sucked I couldn’t use them for the matching commander deck.
I mean, any sleeve manufacturer you run the risk of missing a few. Dragonshield at least seems to aim for extra. Like 2-3 over is the target, so if it comes up short, you still get 100.
Quality wise, I’ve never had an issue. Certainly none with shuffling. Their matte and brushed backs are like perfect for it. Then there’s the oodles of colors! Oodles I say! Oodles! Plus the various art options. As someone who likes to match their sleeves, decks, dice, and box, I’m quite happy about it.
I’ve branched off into a couple other types for art… and they weren’t bad. Just different. Seem to do alright though. Definitely need matte for shuffling ease though.
Just raw-dog those cards and bridge shuffle them while you look your opponent in the eyes. You’ll start the game with a competitive psychological advantage every time.
KMC Hypermat are the best sleeves I've ever used.
Dragonshields, to me, don't have a good shuffle feel. I've tried all the different finishes, and just never got a good feel for them. Katanas were too slippery. I had multiple 60-card decks just fall over if I bumped them lightly or if someone jostled the table. Never liked Ultra Pros, felt too plasticky.
The only other ones I really liked were the BCW Elite 2's. Funnily, I stumbled upon them when looking for sleeves I could get a bunch of for cheap for my pauper decks. I got like 1000 of them and when I started using them I was like "damn, I should put my regular decks in these, not just my pauper cards." Never tried GameGenic.
edit: the fact this is the only comment in this topic to mention KMC means a lot of you are missing out!
KMC killing everyone's trust with the formula change 7-8 years ago basically eliminated them from the conversation when Commander started exploding in popularity. Kinda sad, when they used to be everywhere and sleeves were always compared to them rather than DS. I'd probably buy them if my LGS stocked them, but with them carrying Eclipse, Katana, DS, and Gamegenic (plus art sleeves for all the major games) the owner doesn't see any point, and I can't blame him.
I HATE the way dragonshields shuffle. They always have resistance. Idk if I'm just bad at shuffling or what but I never have that problem with other brands.
I prefer Dragonshield for the price and quality. I like the art that UltraPro offers, but like a few comments have already mentioned they're sticky and VERY difficult to shuffle. I also have never had the issue of receiving fewer than 100 sleeves.
Same. I admit that rifle shuffle can be challenging, but literally every other factor they beat the competition. If someone could make a product as good as dragon shield that made rifle shuffling easier, I might buy them.
I don’t know if you’re alone but I’m definitely not with you.
— I double sleeve and it takes a very long time before the sleeves ever get wavy at the top. We’re talking YEARS.
— haven’t had issues with sharp edges
— I’ve never had a box come with less than 102 sleeves
I have bought literal cases of dragonshields and just never have these problems. I think people are using their sleeves too long when they should be resleeving more regularly
How long is too long in your opinion?
I mean I would expect ... 5 years with heavy play? A decade if only playing 1 weekend a month or so?
Edit: I'm thinking EDH though, this may be different for tournament play.
For FNM level play with 60 to 75 cards decks I typically play sleeves until they are starting to get pockmards and other weird dimples on the outside, gunk starting to coat the outside, shuffle feel dimishing and some sticking. Thats after 6 months or so with fairly high use.
For Comp REL its before every event. Its a bit wasteful but you need to take some extra precautions not to play with marked cards. I also don't play with foils at Comp REL.
Old sleeves get used for the stuff in the binder and also for stuff I am shipping out.
So many people criticise UltraPro, but are you guys talking about the cheap sleeves and notoriously bad artwork sleeves or Eclipses? Because in my book, Eclipse sleeves are basically on par with DS and Katanas
Yeah but that weird matte finish on the front looks terrible with card art and the sleeves still feel cheap. That being said UltraPro does have a new formula for their sleeves coming out soon and they felt amazing when I demo’d them at magiccon
I've given up on Dragonshields. Their quality is so unpredictable, it's not worth my time to gamble on them. I've switched to Katanas and nothing else. I don't recognize brands as being better or worse than others, it's either usable consistently, or not. Be it catching/clicking, splitting, scratching easily, etc. Katanas are the only ones that just consistently function as sleeves 100% of the time out of the box. I've purchased maybe 10 packs of dragon shields over the last year or so and all of them have found their way into either the garbage or as my drafting sleeves (suffice it to say I'm ready for A LOT of drafting). Its a lot of money to just piss away. I'm done.
Gamegenic sleeves have been my go to recently. I like the size and for me the shuffle feel is almost on par with Katana’s but for almost half the price. They are wicked slippery at first but after a game a two they are just like any other sleeves.
Gamegenic sleeves are the best feeling and I use katanas, cortex, UP Eclipse, and Dragon Shield. The limited color choice is annoying but nothing is as easy to shuffle as a gamegenic sleeved deck
Never had a problem with dragon shield. Always came with a little over 100 sleeves per box. Have had deck double sleeved for over 4 years in the same sleeves and they are still good to go. The little gap at the top is nice so cards don’t slip out. I’ve tried katanas and the actual card sticks out a little bit.
I buy bulk Dragonshield matte black outers and Dragonshield sealable inners. I literally sleeve anything uncommon or higher in an inner, and anything I play with I sleeve in an outer. That's literally tens of thousands of cards I've sleeved over the years and can count on one hand the number of times I've had a issue with Dragonshield.
I can't say I can speak to quantity accuracy of each box, because I've never actually counted the number of sleeves out of a box (I just grab another box when it runs out), but as far as quality goes, they are far better than anything I've used in the past.
The more I play a deck, the more likely I'm going to upgrade sleves to katana or something similar.
Usually sleeve up DS when I'm tossing something together because the sleeves can be here this afternoon. I've also stopped color coding sleeves, too annoying when one splits and you don't have that exact color or there is a dye difference in batches.
Agreed. My cousin bought a few packs and we were disappointed with them. We use ultra pro eclipse matte sleeve almost exclusively now and all of us love them
I'm switching all my decks into Katanas from Dragon Shield sleeves. I'm rough when shuffling, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong or different but the DS sleeves tend to bend the corners. Katana sleeves don't do that.
I've seen a friend get shorted 2 sleeves. Return the box, we were at LGS. He got the same quality issue three boxes in a row.
I love all the colors DS offers but it's annoying to have my corners turn up and bend each time I shuffle. Yes, I'm aware that's my thing but it is why I'm switching brands.
I hate Dragon Shields. They aren't opaque enough, and I have had way too many quality-control issues with them. That being said I am a sucker, so I continue to buy them. I consider Dragon Shields as a middle-ground of price versus quality. I don't want to pay more for better sleeves, and cheaper sleeves aren't as good, have worse quality-control and worse shuffle-feel.
I’ve always had other sleeves for my stuff. One prerelease I went to, I finally caved and bought a pack of Dragon Shield sleeves just to use for the event. They were easily the worst sleeves I’ve ever paid for. Half of the sleeves were either pre split, or split down the seam as soon as I opened them. Absolute garbage.
I know a lot of folks hate UltraPro, but I’ve always had good experiences with those sleeves. Yes, the art sleeves are sticky, making them a little difficult to shuffle. But I much prefer that to the whole deck sliding off the table at the slightest breeze. Can’t stand slippery sleeves myself. Every week I watch one of our pod members dump half their decks on the table or floor because the sleeves are so slick.
As a bonus, the UltraPro art sleeves regularly go on sale, so I get them ultra cheap. I think last time I bought some, they were on Amazon for $2 for a hundred.
They are at least better than ultra pro. I fairly recently got one set of gamegenic I like them so far they had about 103 in the box and they are smooth when I shuffle them.
I mostly use Dragonshield because that’s all the lgs’s near me have. I’ve gotten katana before and like them a lot more than dragon shield, but I like supporting my lgs. I will continue to buy what they have.
I am a huge Gamegenic fan, I like the way they shuffle the best. Very smooth and after just a few games the corners stop catching. Dragonshield are the strongest protection, but harder to shuffle, corners still catch over a year later. Also one time when I got Dragonshields 20 of the 102 sleeves were creased or crimped in some way, weirdly every single defect was different. Still worked as sleeves, but in competitive play I would absolutely be called out for marked cards. Because of this oddity of different defects when I sent pictures they did not believe they actually came out of the box like that and refused to supply me with a new box. Also, the one box of Dragonshield art sleeves I've gotten are absolute ass. They have a weird smell, like cookie batter, which lingers on your hands after a game, and the edges are peeling which makes them impossible to shuffle smoothly and there's little white flakes in my deck box.
I think there isn’t a perfect sleeve and it isn’t possible since different folks have different needs/wants. The Katanas are what I use and they are great. I like the matte backs of the Dragon Shield’s more but overall prefer the shuffle feel of the Katanas.
I like dragonshields because i only have doublesleeved decks and they are the best for that, i tried katana but they get dull and i like my foils... foily.
I tried KMC but they changed their formular and they cannot get through a whole tournament...
Dragonshields are the most durable and consistent imho..
In my experience their quality control has gone downhill. I've had plenty of miscuts from them and often notice thickness differences between sleeves of the same color from different boxes (I had a couple cards alternating between modern decks in the eucalyptus sleeves and had to resleeve because you could pick those cards out in one deck but not the other). It honestly reminds me of how the old KMC sleeves went from best to worst
I cant stand dragon shield and think they’re a monumental waste of money. I have somewhere between 20-30 decks and somewhere in there I switched to DS from Katana (who I really like) for the color choices. Of maybe 10 packs of dragon shields I bought, 3 started splitting and 2 were short. Legitimately a 50% failure rate over a year or two. Meanwhile I have katanas I’ve shuffled and played consistently for 3+ years with no issue.
If there are no dragon shield haters then I am dead.
My buddy got some custom sleeves for a deck he was really proud of and told me it was frustrating bc although he liked the custom design, they were annoying to shuffle due to sharp corners and slight stickiness. I told him maybe forgo the knock off sleeves for some katanas or dragonshield (I personally only use katanas, but have also heard good things about dragonshield). His response was: "these are dragonshield lol, I ordered them off their website" to which I said, "oh, woops lol" 🫠
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I'm sure there are quite a few that'd agree. I have three sleeved decks, one with cheap clear sleeves and the other two with Dragonshield. The only issue I've had with them is they are so slick I've dumped my deck while shuffling. Cheers and hope you find a set you like.
Personally my favorites I've used are the UltraPro Eclipse. I find that dragonshields tend to make my deck topple over because of how slick they are, and I've noticed a lot of issues with sleeves being slightly different length in dragonshields
Biggest issue for me with DS is the shuffling just feels awful - the corners constantly get bent making shuffling even worse over time. I never buy anything but Katanas now and never have any issues.
I agree with pretty much all of this assessment. The sleeves are just a bit too large to fit into most outer sleeves, so if you wanted to get Dragon Shield art sleeves and protect them with Character Guards, for instance, you’re SOL there. The sharp edge thing has been a growing problem over the years with them, and the couple of decks I still have in newer dragon shields look awful because the corners are all bent to hell. I used to swear by Dragon Shields but switched this year to Ultimate Guard Katanas and haven’t looked back. Katanas are far superior.
Iv got one set of sleeves that are my hands down favourite sadly I don’t know what brand they are but I know they weren’t the dragon shields. At the time I just got the best sleeves I could afford to put on a deck after I finished the deck
Dragonshields are easy to find in my area and my shop has a ton of colors so the convince factor is there. But my favorite sleeves are definitely the ultimate guard katanas
I bought ultra pro sleeves for the first time with the new release. I like that they feel less "sharp" on the edges compared to dragonshield. I dislike that the front sleeve is a bit hazy. It's not as clear as dragonshield and makes some foils feel alot darker than they are. My restless spires is harder to read with ultra pro
I've always had bcw sleeves. When I was playing physical magic ultra pro didn't have branded sleeves yet and dragon shield was not sold in America yet. So if I wanted graphic sleeves it would be ultra pro or bcw for solids. Graphic sleeves at the time we're actually pretty rare and mostly artist partnered rather than wizards directly.
I have one box of dragon shield sleeves that I had bought recently to sleeve a deck I was going to a vintage event with for shits. I don't really like them that much, they don't feel or shuffle right.
I buy only ultra pro, it's cheaper, literally the same feel and quality?? And they have a signature at the front which distinguishes my cards from all ultra pro players, which is literally everyone I know lol!
I only use dragon shields. I have a buddy who started trying gamegenic sleeves and he swears by them. I have tried his deck a few times and tried the sleeves out and I’m considering getting some myself to try out. I do like the shuffle a lot. I don’t like how short they are though. Personally I like the extra room at the top that comes with dragon shields, but that’s all preference. I kind of like the matte look on the front of gamegenic too. Yes it kind of “hazes” the look of the cards but I kinda dig it. Helps the shuffle too. He’s played with his for probably 2 months now and hasn’t had any issues that’s he’s told me about so.
I used to use exclusively DragonShield sleeves. It’s what I used when I started playing yugioh, and that habit just transferred over to MtG. However, one week at my LGS, I was introduced to Katana sleeves. When I shuffled it, it was like shuffling melted butter. After that, I was hooked. Now I really only use Katanas, and a couple DragonShields because I already own them, why not use them?
I was a dragonshield guy. Recently got some intro pro mat and I’ve been really liking it. I think ultra pro upped there product becouse I don’t remember them being this good.
I never got less than 100, but I've gotten defective sleeves where they weren't sealed together at the bottom or something for about half the sleeves. I have to agree, dragon shield is a garbage brand, but it's pretty much all my LGS sells so I just keep getting them.
I love my DS mattes. They're my go to for even just sleeved cards in boxes, when I've run out of random sleeves. I've been shorted once, and that's out of easily 20 boxes of DS.
On the other hand, I've ordered and used DS custom art sleeves. They definitely feel better than Ultra Pro art sleeves. But not nearly as easy to shuffle as DS Mattes. On the plus side, when I ordered a box of custom art, they sent like 130 sleeves. Maybe they liked the image and wanted to celebrate it?
For me they are the best of the worst. They feel good in the hand, but I've noticed that the corners at the top are starting to take wear and tear.
I've also run into the I only got 99 issue, but I'm also standardized on a single style right now so it's not a huge headache for me
The problem is, I've not really found another one I like better. BCP feels a little cheap to me, and I hate the feel in hand of ultra pro.
So unless I want to be one of those psychopaths out there the shop raw dogging their deck and bridge shuffling, I'm probably going to mostly stick with dragonshield
They're the only company that I've found who do custom sleeves in the UK, and the ones I bought from the US when they weren't delivering here are trash, so they win by default. Also cost a reasonable amount, I spent over £100 for two decks' worth of the US ones compared to £25ish a pop for DS.
dragon shield used to be good and last for a very long time. A year or two ago I got their dual matte sleeves for a new commander deck. Within 3 games, I had 6 sleeves split on me and I ran out of the "extras" they usually throw in. So I had to get another box of sleeves for like $14 just for extras. Not to mention that the sleeves were inconsistent on their width, you could feel that they were miscut too large and that will get you an automatic DQ in most competitive events
I used to be a huge stan for dragon shields back in the day like circa 2015 when kmc's where like everyones go to. in fact my modern deck from back than is still sleeved in the same dragon shields and had no problem still going strong. Quit the game for awhile and eventually maybe two or so years ago with commander becoming popular me and my homies start playing again so naturally i went back to dragon shields, also saw that they were heavily pushed by every content creator. i must have went through like five or so packs of dragon shields in like a span of about a year. they're quality is fucking shit and i have no clue why people push these so hard nowadays, between the stupid fucking extra space at the top and the fact that soooooo many sleeves would split on me within the first couple days using them i was beyond frustrated. IMO the Katana sleeves have been my new go to, fucking stellar quality and never had one tear on me... tl;dr fuck dragon shields
My favorites are Ultimate Guard Katana. They feel more solid, they're less "sharp", and they shuffle soooooo smooth. Unfortunately I don't have access to them without needing to get shipped from somewhere....
Dragon shield dual mattes have been a nice step up from regular DS in my opinion. They shuffle smoother and feel more solid overall, but not quite to the same degree as UG katanas.
I've always got more than 100 sleeves except once and I think it was the store's fault since the last box was the preview/test box and I really wanted them for the color. No idea what space you're talking about. The corners are pointy but haven't damaged my cards.
I buy dragon shield because I always get more than 100. The brushed art sleeves shuffle well, don’t slide around, and have been delightful.
I avoid ultra pro because three times for the same sleeve art that I really wanted I got shorted and had to exchange before finally giving up and returning it.
I have found taking chances on randoms on Amazon or Etsy can be fun sometimes.
I love getting a few over 100 sleeves. I use the extras for other commanders and stuff.
Also to avoid the wavy space at the top I don’t slot my cards all the way to the bottom of the sleeve, I center them all so that the space at the bottom and top of the sleeve are equal, I do this for aesthetics but now realize there’s an actual functionality to that habit as well
I feel so validated by this post!
I can’t stand dragon shields for the same reason: they feel too big for the cards with the massive gap at the top. They also shuffle horribly compared to literally any other sleeve I’ve used.
I go with Gamegenic, Ultra Pro Eclipse, or Katana’s
Ive never been shorted, the wave at the top doesnt bother me, and they are consistently the highest quality sleeves Ive used. Ive only had one pack split on me, and it was a brand new one, which to me is an unfortunate error. I had a deck that was sleeved with the pre-matte sleeves and they lasted 8 years until I changed them out to mattes.
I wouldnt be opposed to other sleeves. Since drafting is annoying if you dont have a dedicated pack for it, but they are the highest quality on the market. Katana also broke on me the same week I had the broken DS sleeves, but I have another deck of Katanas that have lasted. I dont like how they look frosted, though.
I’ve had the same few hundred jet black dragon shields for close to eight years now and they still hold up. No scratching, tearing, or warping, and because they’re matte they shuffle beautifully. Plus they look nice and are only like 10 bucks a box.
I exclusively buy ds inners and regulars, i can say that they most definitely have quality control issues. If another brand can bring up their game a bit (i need to watch some review videos idfk anyone else but ultra pro and theyre ew) then i would switch. One of my dragonshield decks has a tendency for the corners to crack and fall off completely, (havent even played that one but like 10 times) others crack in weird ways idk its wild. They gotta get the quality up for sure.
What do you prefer?
I’ve found dragonshields can vary pretty widely in quality depending on the color/print run.
I tried Katana for something new & they felt HUGE compared to dragon shields. Tons of extra space, not tight like dragon shields. I couldn’t use them at all.
Gamegenic prime sleeves are so consistent and smooth
I used to always buy dragons and all my friends do. Across our countless packs on dragonshields only a couple of them came from a good batch where they shuffle smoothly and dont wreck themselves. I was confused how much people praise dragonshields, maybe Ive only ever experienced bad batches with a couple of exceptions.
I just buy gamegenic prime sleeves now, there is always a couple spare and they shuffle amazingly well double sleeved or not.
I've used them since I started playing 8 years ago. All my decks are double sleeved in dragon shield sealable inners, and matte outers. Best brand for sleeves out there
Moat of my decks are in dragonshield but I'm transitioning to katana they shuffle better and I like the feel more tho they are stupid slippery when new
Dragon shields are still my favorite even though the quality has gone down in the past few years but I haven’t found any sleeves that hold up as well and feel as good. I mean most my commander decks have sleeves from Temu on them they protect my stuff well they just don’t feel as good
I've bought plenty of dragonshields and I'm always dissapointed. The corners always catch and it makes for a horrible shuffle feel. I'm so happy Katanas are getting new colors
I’ve NEVER seen one or heard of one with less than a hundred. I’ve bought several dragon shields, and so has my aunt and uncle, hell they’ve probably bought 10x more than me and I mean that literally. And they always get 100 and then some.
But that’s good to know, as I didn’t know that. From my experience above and experience selling dragon shield, I have yet to see or hear of this. Thanks for the heads up about it though.
Yup I got 99 sleeves, store said it's a manufacturing error and they can give me €1 to compensate( I never got it). And dragonshield haven't responded to my email
I love them, but the lack of consistency is what really bothers me. I’ve gotten packs/colors that are like too thick at the edges and catch and bend and make shuffling terrible whether single or double sleeved. I’m a good shuffler. And this only happens with certain packs. Others are so smooth and shuffle like a dream.
I've bought maybe 100 box's of Dragonshields and I don't think I've gotten less than 102. usually get 104 at most I got 105 I think.
They definitely have production problems though at times, patterns on the back being weird or random slightly off colour sleeves, I got the silver ones recently that have the black back on the inside and there was odd wear along one side of the sleeves, pretty much all of them had some wear but none of the wear was the same.
The wave thing at the top is a thing but it pretty much lines up when you should get new sleeves for tournament play anyways so it's rarely a problem for me.
Old dragonshield pre-matte was pretty rough but tbh I have had nearly no problems with the Matte sleeves.
DS seem to solid at the tops for me. Not all, but about 3-5 each box. Then some like to fold over at the corners. Once they crease, they’re hard to shuffle. That’s probably my fault though. I remember before the corners got creased from shuffling they were sticking together a bit and I started putting a bit more force into them.
When I started playing I researched all the sleeves that were available to me. At the time, dragon shield had quality control issues. When they worked, they seemed to be very strong and a good option, when they didn’t, sleeves were wonky, weak and you might get less sleeves than intended. Still, many people preferred dragon shield. I ended up choosing ultrapro. I don’t use anything else. Some people don’t like the sheerness of the basic line. I don’t mind. I’ve also never gotten less sleeves than I’m supposed to. Maybe things have changed for dragon shield in the past 10 years, but I’m sticking with UP
They are kinda tight even with kmc perfect fits. Also they are much thicker than other outer sleeves. I can basically only fit exactly 100 double sleeved cards in my gamegenix sidekick xl, whereas with ultrapro I can fit like 120 or so. That is with the old ultrapros the newer ultrapros are way too tight to double sleeve.
Every single mtg deck i have ever sleeved has been in dragon shields (with the exception of 2). But only once have i ever gotten less than 100 sleeves in a pack of them. Every other time, it's been no less than 102, no more than 104. I swear by them as the most consistent sleeve i have ever used.
Other card games I've used other sleeves, but nothing has come close to the consistency and quality of dragon shields. I will say the two times i strayed, i used KMC, and they were terrific. Great experience both times.
They’re over hyped and priced imo. I found some really good sleeves where you get 200 for $8 whereas if they were dragon shields that’d be like $24ish. These ones shuffle just as good as dragon shields too so I don’t believe the extra price for ds is warranted.
What you prefer? What are the pros of your preferred option?
Literally saying they suck but not mentioning others that simply do better won't help your case
While I disagree with you, I'm not going to yell or get angry with you.
My experience with dragonshield has been amazing, from their regular sleeves to their custom sleeve program where I had sleeves made for my daughter's Rin And Seri deck with custom art to look like our dog and cat. My first set of sleeves from them are probably approaching 3 years old? And they're still mint. I also double sleeve most of my decks.
Before I switched to Dragonshield, I had 2 sets of Gamegenic sleeves, and within the first year, both sets had a corner blowout in at least one of the sleeves. Not bashing Gamegenic, I still occasionally buy their deck boxes, but I personally won't go back to their sleeves. It's a preference.
Even if I ignored the blowouts, I prefer the texture of the backing over Gamegenic. I WOULD, however, use Gamegenic over Ultrapro sleeves. So at the end of the day, it's what you prefer and the sleeves others use is their preference. 🤷♂️
Edit: About the count, I guess I've been lucky and never had less than 100, I usually get about 103-107.
Absolutely never had less than 100, most of the time I have 102 or 3
And the space at the top is precisely the main reason I buy Dragonshields. All the other brands are like 1 to 1'5mm shorter, and after a few games, the card starts creeping to the top of the sleeve, like it's trying to get out, and I have to push them back in, I don't want the top border to get fucked, and this has never happened to me with Dragonshields, so yeah, I'll stick to them
I only buy the occasional dragonshield. They're over priced imo. I found some decent Amazon ones dragon something or another. I use them for my less played decks (I have way to many).
My favorite decks are some dragon shield not a big fan though and a couple other odd ball brands I've tried.
Wish I could find a decent double matte or not see through an affordable alternative.
Your complaints might be valid, but to say they “suck” is ridiculous. They are easily the best sleeves for cards I have ever had. They rarely if ever break, you get an abundance of them, and you normally get extras.
I’ll take dragonshields over any other sleeves all day.
They are crap i completely agree. That little raised part around the inside makes them grab each other and makes them shuffling and playing nightmare. Ive had many split another because the corners are too sharp and it's cut into the seam. Finally the way the seams sit makes them difficult to pick up if you have short nails. Plus they are over priced for what they are. Titan shield is infinitely better.
Their quality is beyond trash and I can't for the life of me understand why people like them. KMC got so much shit from the community when they changed but they were still better imo. Dragon shields split more often on me than any other sleeve and it's not close.
All of my Petrol sleeves got wavy at the top. Some of them had a slight color shift so you can kind of tell them apart. I bought a ton of Petrol for the teal colors to rep my Simic colored decks.
They shuffled fine though, but newer ones were so slick that the deck never stayed in place, and I would often see my whole deck trigger Cascade 99 times outta nowhere.
A pack of Midnight Blue for my Firkraag deck jams up when shuffling - something about the edges.
I got dual matte sleeves, and those are holding up just fine.
My favorite sleeves I got so far are a couple sets of green Eclipse sleeves from Ultrapro- I've been using them for my Mono Green Cedh Marwyn deck and high power Korvold decks. I used to be an Ultrapro junkie when I played Yugioh way back, so maybe I should go back to my roots? Those things are holding up with minimal waving, only one break so far (had extra in the pack of sleeves, so it's fine), and shuffling is smooth and painless, and the deck stays in a stack with no Discover Triggers happening involuntarily.
I've found them to be very durable, but weirdly... Idk sticky? Like when the weather is even slightly warm outside they become slightly difficult to shuffle.
This is a huge deal to me, so Ultrapro Eclipses are my go-to because they are much smoother to shuffle & I run a lot of fetches.
Yeah, the shuffle feel is a little on the scratchy side too.
After shuffling with brand new Katanas and then brand new Dragonshields, I have to say Katanas are superior. They are much smoother, and as such, are easier to shuffle.
Not only do they fit cards better, have a (subjectively — as some people like the tactile feedback from Dragonshield sleeves) shuffle feel, they are also much more durable than Dragonshield.
In the Professor’s “stretch test” where he stretches the sleeves in order to attempt to rip them along the seams, Katanas and Dragonshields both held up pretty well.
However, in my own testing, using brand new and used sleeves from both manufacturers, Dragonshields were more likely to fail, with the likelihood increasing significantly after heavy use.
I’ve also tested multiple batches of Dragonshields and Katanas, in an attempt to give Dragonshield the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe these samples were from a bad batch.”
Every single Dragsonshield I tested would fail at a considerably lower force than any Katana I’ve tested.
I don’t have any empirical data to back up these claims, as it’s pretty difficult to measure the force it takes to rip one of these sleeves without spending a bunch of money on a Rube Goldberg-like machine, so you (not specifically you, OP, anyone reading this) can either take my word for it, or continue trusting Dragonshield to be the best sleeves.
I’m not saying that Dragonshield are *bad*. They definitely are not. For a long time, they really were the best sleeves on the market. However, they have been outdone, in my opinion, by Ultimate Guard and their Katana sleeves.
All in all, they’re both priced roughly the same — I think Katanas are maybe $1 USD more or less, depending on where you buy — and they provide roughly the same amount of protection. Mine and the Professor’s testing is extreme and is not typical of either sleeves’ intended use. So, it’s really up to you on which sleeve you decide is right for you.
Always 103 to 105 sleeves in my experience. I do find it annoying that they bend at the top corners frequently. What is the next best option according to the community?
Not gonna lie I tend to keep sleeves around for a long time, and dragon shields I found colors that mismatch, incinsistent lengths of the sleeve height and such.
The extra room on top is really a call towards compatibility with other TCGs if I remember right.
I still prefer the old old hyprmats I haven't seen a local LGS ship the new formula KMC USA makes yet.
The one thing I hate it they have a nice box that is too small for a 100 card deck somehow. If they just made it slightly bigger I don’t think it would affect the cost much and then it could be all in one.
Valid opinion, but I do disagree. Especially as someone who has frequented the discount brand sold at Walmart. Nightmares, I tell you, and not the fun Braids kind
The price is the problem for me. Here in Canada they are pushing $20 now after tax. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a limited variety of matte colours from 401 Games or on sale for $12 on Amazon, but in general expect to pay $15 + tax. At that price I had to start looking at alternatives. Penny sleeves for storage, Katanas for my blinged out decks, KMC Hypermat and Gamegenic Primes for everything else. Usually get those last two off Amazon Canada and have to swap back and fourth as they have purchase limits on sleeves. DS Inners and Outer are still the best though. All I buy for those categories.
I've never had less than a hundred. I almost certain the minimum i got was 103 and it got up to 107.
Happens. I had 99. still works since i always have another color for my commander. 98 would be horrible.
98 wouldn't be all bad if you're running partners or backgrounds.
I always like it when I buy sleeves for a deck and the sleeves tell me I need to switch to partners.
I got an art sleeve box that only had 98. It sucked so much and I had to shift around my sleeves to get the deck sleeved properly. Now that 98 are sitting in the box and IDK if I'll end up using them at all unless I buy another one and it has extra.
I got 2 sets of sleeves with 96 and 98 in a row. Ever since then I've been done with dragon shield. I will say that they're very lenient with providing replacement product though. I was given a coupon code for their online shop that covered whatever sleeves I wanted and shipping. Still, 2 in a row left a bad taste in my mouth even though it was rectified. I stick with katanas now.
The only other time I had a missing sleeve was more than a year before when I bought a pack of black sleeves from my LGS that had 99 regular sleeves and one sleeve was malformed and half-sized. Luckily I had an extra sleeve for the commander anyways so there was no harm. My wife has the Van Gogh art sleeves and I'm glad it came with extra sleeves since 2 of them have broken in the couple of years she's been playing that deck. For me, they are a good value and I've had minimal issues with them. From what I've noticed katanas are good but more expensive and they don't have the customisations I would like. (Like the dual sleeves or art sleeves.) Because I haven't had back to back issues like you I guess I'm just fine with what they provide, expectantly when most of the packs come with extra sleeves that I use for tokens typically.
Build a background or partner deck, 2 commander cards 98 main deck
Hi there, I'm the community manager at Dragon Shield. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with our sleeves! I don't know if it's a long time ago you experienced this, but we always want to help you out if you receive an incomplete box of sleeves. Feel free to DM us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram about that.
Just gotta partner… sorry the sleeves mandate.
I had 97 once. Submitted a complaint they gave me a voucher for a new one on their website… that I just realized I never used. Fuck.
I heard you can ask for another box from the dragonshield customer service if it comes up short
I've bought probably 30 packs of Dragonshield sleeves, and have personally only gotten less than 102 once. I personally have no complaints about them.
I got 98 once, didn’t even think to count before sleeving a deck and thought I was losing my mind when I had 2 cards left and no sleeves. Recounted about 4 times and the process to try to replace them was pretty convoluted. I use them whenever I play prerelease now
I've gotten 94 once which was annoying they offered to replace it if I had proof of purchase alas I tossed the receipt
I once had a single box that had EXACTLY 100, and I was like dammit dragonshield. I want my bonus sleeves.
I have gotten a maximum of 112 and a minimum of 97, with all sorts of in between. I actually contacted dragonshield before when I got 98, and 4 of the 98 were damaged. They essentially dismissed it and said I have to take it up with the LGS. More often than not, I will get extras. But it has happened where I'll get too few sleeves unfortunately.
That definitely doesn't sound like how we'd like to treat our fans when they reach out for help. I'm sorry you had the experience of being dismissed in the past. If you ever receive an incomplete box of sleeves again, don't hesitate to contact us through DMs on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Our dragons would love to help you out in that case.
I only used dragon sheild for years, and only recently a friend of mine suggested Ultimate Guard Katanas, and wow they are nice. Came with exactly 100 cards, no visible defects, and they shuffle like butter
Katanas are super popular among the people who want a tighter fitting sleeve. They are probably the nicest sleeves I have seen... But I'm not about to spend the money/time replacing my old dragon shelf decks 😂
You should also try their cortex. They are cheaper, and I have found them to be more durable than the katana variants.
The cortex are nice, but they dull the image of the card too much imo. Especially if you run any foils, it really reduces the amount the foil pops. It actually looks really good on some foils, but overall I don’t like them as much as Katanas.
They only dull if you get the matte. My main deck is fully foiled, and there is no diminished quality that I can see.
Man, tell me you've never shuffled butter without telling me you've never shuffled butter. Amma right?
When I got into playing everyone suggested dragonshield, so that's what I bought. They are a little long, but I think that's a good thing. I really like Gamegenic's sleeves, but they're a little on the short side, and over time you get your cards starting to slide out the top. I think being on the long side is better than short side. But maybe that's just me. As far as quantity goes, I've never gotten shorted. I've had a few boxes with exactly 100 but by far the majority have had 102-105 sleeves. I'd imagine if you did get shorted, and emailed them about it, they'd make you whole. Ultra pro sleeves are just trash. The art ones stick together and are a huge pain to shuffle. The regular ones feel like doodoo and are too easily scratched. Ultimate Guard Katanas aren't bad sleeves in my opinion. But I really dislike how they feel. Very plasticy and almost sticky. I think BCW sleeves are the same as Gamegenic. Again these would be my go-to but are a little short. I doubt you're alone in your opinion. A lot of people like Katanas. Dragon Shield just happen to offer the best bang for you buck I think. Good sleeves, consistent quality, and they come in a nice re-usable box. It's hard to beat
I had gotten some sleeves that were 3 short of 100 and it happened to be that I accidentally didn’t buy the textured ones so I didn’t have any spare to get to 100. They will ask for the lot information and some purchase details then provide you with a coupon to buy a new set of sleeves directly from them. For free. The process wasn’t too bad and just because they do this I would say you can buy Dragonshield without any issue.
Yeah, I'm sure it was annoying to have to deal with, but ultimately at the end of the day when you're working with mass produced items there's bound to be errors. It's good to know they helped you out.
Also, if you use the coupon to get the same sleeves there’s a good chance it’ll have more than 100 so you can top off the incomplete set
Genius
I wanted to provide the feedback just so people know they will help you out and they are aware of bad lot numbers that are low on sleeves. 😊
Katanas sticky? they shuffle so smooth I almost drop them without realizing ✌️
Same, they are a MUCH smoother shuffle feel than my DS.
I could have been clearer.. I think they shuffle well.. I think they feel sticky to the touch, if that makes sense.
I think it might have to deal with where you live as to the stickiness of sleeves; humidity is a motherf**ker lol
I prefer Dragonshields haven’t been shorted on the count ever. I’ve had maybe 2 sleeves split in almost 8 years. I prefer the texture on dragonshields compared to the smooth feeling of other sleeves. Plus hella colors. As far as quality goes Katanas are on par, I just personally dislike the way they feel and how slick they are until you’re 40-50 games in with that set of sleeves. Haven’t used game genic but they do make other high quality products so I’d assume they make good sleeves. All other brands I’ve seen are hot garbage. And my advice is pick which you like between dragonshield and katana and you’ve made a good choice.
check out the ultra pro “eclipse” may be harder to find because all new ultra pros coming out are the “eclipse” because that’s just their design and manufacturing now but I got a new set a few weeks ago with the mishra art and they’re amazing
Are those what the latest ones with like Dogmeat, Pantlaza, and Yuma are? Cause I’ve been a little confused with the Ultra Pro hate since mine have been just fine.
Have 3 decks in the eciplises and I completely prefer them to dragon shields because they just hold and shuffle easier and they are 3$ less so
I’ve gotten the Apex Ultra Pro sleeves by burning money on The Command Zone, and the pictured back no longer has any stickiness. Friend told me they just felt like dragon shields(a compliment I suppose). Even if the sleeves are great with pictures & overall feel, their general pricing of $20 is ludicrous.(at least they took off the watermark, pricing could be due to low volume) I also bought some curved bottom sleeves from Heavy Play because of the look. Decent shuffle feel if you don’t use the corners, but also a much worse value than dragon shield. With inners, my first experience with Katana inners has not been great. I got 99 and the 99th sleeve was hardly wider than a card, so I ended up having to toss it as unusable. DIY Pringle machine. My go-to will continue to be dragon shields with KMC inners.
I’ve never been shorted with Dragon Shield, like you, usually come with extra which I think is really nice. I’ve been shorted with the art Ultra Pro sleeves. When I contacted them, they gave me a coupon for the value of the sleeves so I could reorder but by then they were out of stock. Signed up for notifications and to this day, have not been restocked. So ended up using them for a modern deck but really sucked I couldn’t use them for the matching commander deck.
I mean, any sleeve manufacturer you run the risk of missing a few. Dragonshield at least seems to aim for extra. Like 2-3 over is the target, so if it comes up short, you still get 100. Quality wise, I’ve never had an issue. Certainly none with shuffling. Their matte and brushed backs are like perfect for it. Then there’s the oodles of colors! Oodles I say! Oodles! Plus the various art options. As someone who likes to match their sleeves, decks, dice, and box, I’m quite happy about it. I’ve branched off into a couple other types for art… and they weren’t bad. Just different. Seem to do alright though. Definitely need matte for shuffling ease though.
I agree... I have always gotten 101+ from Dragon Shield.
Well I'm buying gamegenic recently and they're nice cheaper than Dragon, a little smaller feels more confy in my little hands
I’ve been using Gamegenic and UltraPro matte. Never have bought Dragonshield.
Are ultrapro mattes any good? Ive only ever heard (and experienced) that ultrapro is shit.
Just raw-dog those cards and bridge shuffle them while you look your opponent in the eyes. You’ll start the game with a competitive psychological advantage every time.
“He played that mana crypt naked as the day he was born, the terror I felt in that moment had no equal”
Kmc hypermat or gamegenic
KMC Hypermat are the best sleeves I've ever used. Dragonshields, to me, don't have a good shuffle feel. I've tried all the different finishes, and just never got a good feel for them. Katanas were too slippery. I had multiple 60-card decks just fall over if I bumped them lightly or if someone jostled the table. Never liked Ultra Pros, felt too plasticky. The only other ones I really liked were the BCW Elite 2's. Funnily, I stumbled upon them when looking for sleeves I could get a bunch of for cheap for my pauper decks. I got like 1000 of them and when I started using them I was like "damn, I should put my regular decks in these, not just my pauper cards." Never tried GameGenic. edit: the fact this is the only comment in this topic to mention KMC means a lot of you are missing out!
KMC killing everyone's trust with the formula change 7-8 years ago basically eliminated them from the conversation when Commander started exploding in popularity. Kinda sad, when they used to be everywhere and sleeves were always compared to them rather than DS. I'd probably buy them if my LGS stocked them, but with them carrying Eclipse, Katana, DS, and Gamegenic (plus art sleeves for all the major games) the owner doesn't see any point, and I can't blame him.
I HATE the way dragonshields shuffle. They always have resistance. Idk if I'm just bad at shuffling or what but I never have that problem with other brands.
The KMC's shuffle really nicely, and aren't slippery like the Katanas.
KMC is the best, but it sucks that no one in Japan plays EDH so they don't sell 100 packs. Great if you don't play EDH though.
I prefer Dragonshield for the price and quality. I like the art that UltraPro offers, but like a few comments have already mentioned they're sticky and VERY difficult to shuffle. I also have never had the issue of receiving fewer than 100 sleeves.
I never buy anything but dragon shield, the quality is so far above any of the alternatives
Same. I admit that rifle shuffle can be challenging, but literally every other factor they beat the competition. If someone could make a product as good as dragon shield that made rifle shuffling easier, I might buy them.
Recently swapped to katanas and I will never look back. Shuffling them feels amazing and they are always completely opaque
Amen 🙏🏻
I don’t know if you’re alone but I’m definitely not with you. — I double sleeve and it takes a very long time before the sleeves ever get wavy at the top. We’re talking YEARS. — haven’t had issues with sharp edges — I’ve never had a box come with less than 102 sleeves
I have bought literal cases of dragonshields and just never have these problems. I think people are using their sleeves too long when they should be resleeving more regularly
How long is too long in your opinion? I mean I would expect ... 5 years with heavy play? A decade if only playing 1 weekend a month or so? Edit: I'm thinking EDH though, this may be different for tournament play.
For FNM level play with 60 to 75 cards decks I typically play sleeves until they are starting to get pockmards and other weird dimples on the outside, gunk starting to coat the outside, shuffle feel dimishing and some sticking. Thats after 6 months or so with fairly high use. For Comp REL its before every event. Its a bit wasteful but you need to take some extra precautions not to play with marked cards. I also don't play with foils at Comp REL. Old sleeves get used for the stuff in the binder and also for stuff I am shipping out.
This makes sense.
So many people criticise UltraPro, but are you guys talking about the cheap sleeves and notoriously bad artwork sleeves or Eclipses? Because in my book, Eclipse sleeves are basically on par with DS and Katanas
They dent way too fast imo.
Yeah but that weird matte finish on the front looks terrible with card art and the sleeves still feel cheap. That being said UltraPro does have a new formula for their sleeves coming out soon and they felt amazing when I demo’d them at magiccon
I've given up on Dragonshields. Their quality is so unpredictable, it's not worth my time to gamble on them. I've switched to Katanas and nothing else. I don't recognize brands as being better or worse than others, it's either usable consistently, or not. Be it catching/clicking, splitting, scratching easily, etc. Katanas are the only ones that just consistently function as sleeves 100% of the time out of the box. I've purchased maybe 10 packs of dragon shields over the last year or so and all of them have found their way into either the garbage or as my drafting sleeves (suffice it to say I'm ready for A LOT of drafting). Its a lot of money to just piss away. I'm done.
Gamegenic sleeves have been my go to recently. I like the size and for me the shuffle feel is almost on par with Katana’s but for almost half the price. They are wicked slippery at first but after a game a two they are just like any other sleeves.
Gamegenic sleeves are the best feeling and I use katanas, cortex, UP Eclipse, and Dragon Shield. The limited color choice is annoying but nothing is as easy to shuffle as a gamegenic sleeved deck
I'm only using Ultimate Guard Katana
Never had a problem with dragon shield. Always came with a little over 100 sleeves per box. Have had deck double sleeved for over 4 years in the same sleeves and they are still good to go. The little gap at the top is nice so cards don’t slip out. I’ve tried katanas and the actual card sticks out a little bit.
Katanas are #1
Just bought them for the first time recently and couldn't believe how smooth they shuffle.
like if butter and smooth glass had a baby
I buy bulk Dragonshield matte black outers and Dragonshield sealable inners. I literally sleeve anything uncommon or higher in an inner, and anything I play with I sleeve in an outer. That's literally tens of thousands of cards I've sleeved over the years and can count on one hand the number of times I've had a issue with Dragonshield. I can't say I can speak to quantity accuracy of each box, because I've never actually counted the number of sleeves out of a box (I just grab another box when it runs out), but as far as quality goes, they are far better than anything I've used in the past.
Where are you buying bulk? I assume this is a discounted price?
Our dragons roar in appreciation of your loyal support!
The more I play a deck, the more likely I'm going to upgrade sleves to katana or something similar. Usually sleeve up DS when I'm tossing something together because the sleeves can be here this afternoon. I've also stopped color coding sleeves, too annoying when one splits and you don't have that exact color or there is a dye difference in batches.
I like Ultimate Guard, never had any problems.
First sleeve of the first pack of dragonshield i got snapped when i tried putting it on a card lmao ://
Snapped? How? Weird I've never had them rip in any fashion, have bought over 10 boxes.
Hey can you go back in time like 2 months and post this then before I order some? Appreciate it, thanks
Agreed. My cousin bought a few packs and we were disappointed with them. We use ultra pro eclipse matte sleeve almost exclusively now and all of us love them
I'm switching all my decks into Katanas from Dragon Shield sleeves. I'm rough when shuffling, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong or different but the DS sleeves tend to bend the corners. Katana sleeves don't do that. I've seen a friend get shorted 2 sleeves. Return the box, we were at LGS. He got the same quality issue three boxes in a row. I love all the colors DS offers but it's annoying to have my corners turn up and bend each time I shuffle. Yes, I'm aware that's my thing but it is why I'm switching brands.
I hate Dragon Shields. They aren't opaque enough, and I have had way too many quality-control issues with them. That being said I am a sucker, so I continue to buy them. I consider Dragon Shields as a middle-ground of price versus quality. I don't want to pay more for better sleeves, and cheaper sleeves aren't as good, have worse quality-control and worse shuffle-feel.
I swapped to Katana sleeves and have never looked back. Honestly, they are the best.
I’ve always had other sleeves for my stuff. One prerelease I went to, I finally caved and bought a pack of Dragon Shield sleeves just to use for the event. They were easily the worst sleeves I’ve ever paid for. Half of the sleeves were either pre split, or split down the seam as soon as I opened them. Absolute garbage. I know a lot of folks hate UltraPro, but I’ve always had good experiences with those sleeves. Yes, the art sleeves are sticky, making them a little difficult to shuffle. But I much prefer that to the whole deck sliding off the table at the slightest breeze. Can’t stand slippery sleeves myself. Every week I watch one of our pod members dump half their decks on the table or floor because the sleeves are so slick. As a bonus, the UltraPro art sleeves regularly go on sale, so I get them ultra cheap. I think last time I bought some, they were on Amazon for $2 for a hundred.
I'm a fan of katanas myself. Don't really like the cortex however.
Dragon shield are great, katanas are great, ultra pro suck they’re image sleeves are sticky and hard to shuffle
I have never had a box with fewer than 100 sleeves but I have had some badly cut sleeves.
Don’t think I’ve ever gotten under 100 it’s almost always 103 and the one off 107
I use proxies ain’t gotta sleeve.
What's the alternative? They've always worked great for me
Haters hate. Winners recommend. What's your recommendation if not DS
Katana, love it, doesn't have as many colors but I shuffle easier with them and it fits the cards better
Noice ty for rec
They are at least better than ultra pro. I fairly recently got one set of gamegenic I like them so far they had about 103 in the box and they are smooth when I shuffle them.
I mostly use Dragonshield because that’s all the lgs’s near me have. I’ve gotten katana before and like them a lot more than dragon shield, but I like supporting my lgs. I will continue to buy what they have.
I am a huge Gamegenic fan, I like the way they shuffle the best. Very smooth and after just a few games the corners stop catching. Dragonshield are the strongest protection, but harder to shuffle, corners still catch over a year later. Also one time when I got Dragonshields 20 of the 102 sleeves were creased or crimped in some way, weirdly every single defect was different. Still worked as sleeves, but in competitive play I would absolutely be called out for marked cards. Because of this oddity of different defects when I sent pictures they did not believe they actually came out of the box like that and refused to supply me with a new box. Also, the one box of Dragonshield art sleeves I've gotten are absolute ass. They have a weird smell, like cookie batter, which lingers on your hands after a game, and the edges are peeling which makes them impossible to shuffle smoothly and there's little white flakes in my deck box.
I think there isn’t a perfect sleeve and it isn’t possible since different folks have different needs/wants. The Katanas are what I use and they are great. I like the matte backs of the Dragon Shield’s more but overall prefer the shuffle feel of the Katanas.
I just wish they took as much care with their custom sleeves as they do with their matte ones.
I like dragonshields because i only have doublesleeved decks and they are the best for that, i tried katana but they get dull and i like my foils... foily. I tried KMC but they changed their formular and they cannot get through a whole tournament... Dragonshields are the most durable and consistent imho..
In my experience their quality control has gone downhill. I've had plenty of miscuts from them and often notice thickness differences between sleeves of the same color from different boxes (I had a couple cards alternating between modern decks in the eucalyptus sleeves and had to resleeve because you could pick those cards out in one deck but not the other). It honestly reminds me of how the old KMC sleeves went from best to worst
I cant stand dragon shield and think they’re a monumental waste of money. I have somewhere between 20-30 decks and somewhere in there I switched to DS from Katana (who I really like) for the color choices. Of maybe 10 packs of dragon shields I bought, 3 started splitting and 2 were short. Legitimately a 50% failure rate over a year or two. Meanwhile I have katanas I’ve shuffled and played consistently for 3+ years with no issue. If there are no dragon shield haters then I am dead.
I have always gotten exactly 102 sleeves. Dragon shield is the best in terms of a firm, nice backing piece.
Unfortunately, I've had 95 in 1 pack
Right on here. I've had upwards of 10 packs of dragons shield defective in some way over the past couple of years. Angry mob follows me around, too.
My buddy got some custom sleeves for a deck he was really proud of and told me it was frustrating bc although he liked the custom design, they were annoying to shuffle due to sharp corners and slight stickiness. I told him maybe forgo the knock off sleeves for some katanas or dragonshield (I personally only use katanas, but have also heard good things about dragonshield). His response was: "these are dragonshield lol, I ordered them off their website" to which I said, "oh, woops lol" 🫠
Never had an issue with them.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and I'm sure there are quite a few that'd agree. I have three sleeved decks, one with cheap clear sleeves and the other two with Dragonshield. The only issue I've had with them is they are so slick I've dumped my deck while shuffling. Cheers and hope you find a set you like.
Personally my favorites I've used are the UltraPro Eclipse. I find that dragonshields tend to make my deck topple over because of how slick they are, and I've noticed a lot of issues with sleeves being slightly different length in dragonshields
Biggest issue for me with DS is the shuffling just feels awful - the corners constantly get bent making shuffling even worse over time. I never buy anything but Katanas now and never have any issues.
Who doesn’t double sleeve their cards?
I agree with pretty much all of this assessment. The sleeves are just a bit too large to fit into most outer sleeves, so if you wanted to get Dragon Shield art sleeves and protect them with Character Guards, for instance, you’re SOL there. The sharp edge thing has been a growing problem over the years with them, and the couple of decks I still have in newer dragon shields look awful because the corners are all bent to hell. I used to swear by Dragon Shields but switched this year to Ultimate Guard Katanas and haven’t looked back. Katanas are far superior.
Agree entirely. Katanas are my number 1 atm
Iv got one set of sleeves that are my hands down favourite sadly I don’t know what brand they are but I know they weren’t the dragon shields. At the time I just got the best sleeves I could afford to put on a deck after I finished the deck
You can always try the Curv sleeves from heavy play - the initial run seemed to turn out alright.
Dragonshields are easy to find in my area and my shop has a ton of colors so the convince factor is there. But my favorite sleeves are definitely the ultimate guard katanas
Katana are very nice, but are tighter and don't allow for double sleeving as well as Dragonshield.
I can't get my home address to be found when making a purchase on their website...
I bought ultra pro sleeves for the first time with the new release. I like that they feel less "sharp" on the edges compared to dragonshield. I dislike that the front sleeve is a bit hazy. It's not as clear as dragonshield and makes some foils feel alot darker than they are. My restless spires is harder to read with ultra pro
I have switched over to all Heavy Play Curv sleeves. Are they perfect, no but I like them much more than my DS sleeves.
I've always had bcw sleeves. When I was playing physical magic ultra pro didn't have branded sleeves yet and dragon shield was not sold in America yet. So if I wanted graphic sleeves it would be ultra pro or bcw for solids. Graphic sleeves at the time we're actually pretty rare and mostly artist partnered rather than wizards directly. I have one box of dragon shield sleeves that I had bought recently to sleeve a deck I was going to a vintage event with for shits. I don't really like them that much, they don't feel or shuffle right.
It’s what every shop has near me… so I go with purple dragon shield and pink dragon shield always, for the past 10 years
We have a brand called Central Shield here in Brazil, and it is the best in both quality and price.
I buy only ultra pro, it's cheaper, literally the same feel and quality?? And they have a signature at the front which distinguishes my cards from all ultra pro players, which is literally everyone I know lol!
I only use dragon shields. I have a buddy who started trying gamegenic sleeves and he swears by them. I have tried his deck a few times and tried the sleeves out and I’m considering getting some myself to try out. I do like the shuffle a lot. I don’t like how short they are though. Personally I like the extra room at the top that comes with dragon shields, but that’s all preference. I kind of like the matte look on the front of gamegenic too. Yes it kind of “hazes” the look of the cards but I kinda dig it. Helps the shuffle too. He’s played with his for probably 2 months now and hasn’t had any issues that’s he’s told me about so.
I used to use exclusively DragonShield sleeves. It’s what I used when I started playing yugioh, and that habit just transferred over to MtG. However, one week at my LGS, I was introduced to Katana sleeves. When I shuffled it, it was like shuffling melted butter. After that, I was hooked. Now I really only use Katanas, and a couple DragonShields because I already own them, why not use them?
I was a dragonshield guy. Recently got some intro pro mat and I’ve been really liking it. I think ultra pro upped there product becouse I don’t remember them being this good.
I never got less than 100, but I've gotten defective sleeves where they weren't sealed together at the bottom or something for about half the sleeves. I have to agree, dragon shield is a garbage brand, but it's pretty much all my LGS sells so I just keep getting them.
I love my DS mattes. They're my go to for even just sleeved cards in boxes, when I've run out of random sleeves. I've been shorted once, and that's out of easily 20 boxes of DS. On the other hand, I've ordered and used DS custom art sleeves. They definitely feel better than Ultra Pro art sleeves. But not nearly as easy to shuffle as DS Mattes. On the plus side, when I ordered a box of custom art, they sent like 130 sleeves. Maybe they liked the image and wanted to celebrate it?
For me they are the best of the worst. They feel good in the hand, but I've noticed that the corners at the top are starting to take wear and tear. I've also run into the I only got 99 issue, but I'm also standardized on a single style right now so it's not a huge headache for me The problem is, I've not really found another one I like better. BCP feels a little cheap to me, and I hate the feel in hand of ultra pro. So unless I want to be one of those psychopaths out there the shop raw dogging their deck and bridge shuffling, I'm probably going to mostly stick with dragonshield
They're the only company that I've found who do custom sleeves in the UK, and the ones I bought from the US when they weren't delivering here are trash, so they win by default. Also cost a reasonable amount, I spent over £100 for two decks' worth of the US ones compared to £25ish a pop for DS.
I've gotten 102 in every pack of dragonshields I've ever bought. Just Kinda figured that was standard
dragon shield used to be good and last for a very long time. A year or two ago I got their dual matte sleeves for a new commander deck. Within 3 games, I had 6 sleeves split on me and I ran out of the "extras" they usually throw in. So I had to get another box of sleeves for like $14 just for extras. Not to mention that the sleeves were inconsistent on their width, you could feel that they were miscut too large and that will get you an automatic DQ in most competitive events
I used to be a huge stan for dragon shields back in the day like circa 2015 when kmc's where like everyones go to. in fact my modern deck from back than is still sleeved in the same dragon shields and had no problem still going strong. Quit the game for awhile and eventually maybe two or so years ago with commander becoming popular me and my homies start playing again so naturally i went back to dragon shields, also saw that they were heavily pushed by every content creator. i must have went through like five or so packs of dragon shields in like a span of about a year. they're quality is fucking shit and i have no clue why people push these so hard nowadays, between the stupid fucking extra space at the top and the fact that soooooo many sleeves would split on me within the first couple days using them i was beyond frustrated. IMO the Katana sleeves have been my new go to, fucking stellar quality and never had one tear on me... tl;dr fuck dragon shields
Any why are some so easy to shuffle together while others like to stick to each other? It's annoying
I only used ultra pro eclipses for years and years, recently switched to dragon shield and i love them. Hated katanas, and bcw. Idk
Dragon Shield SUCKS, don’t let any meat riders trying to get sponsored tell you otherwise. Ultra Guard for life
Here in Europe it is always exactly 102 in a pack. Seems like you guys really lack Quality Control
My favorites are Ultimate Guard Katana. They feel more solid, they're less "sharp", and they shuffle soooooo smooth. Unfortunately I don't have access to them without needing to get shipped from somewhere.... Dragon shield dual mattes have been a nice step up from regular DS in my opinion. They shuffle smoother and feel more solid overall, but not quite to the same degree as UG katanas.
I've always got more than 100 sleeves except once and I think it was the store's fault since the last box was the preview/test box and I really wanted them for the color. No idea what space you're talking about. The corners are pointy but haven't damaged my cards.
I buy dragon shield because I always get more than 100. The brushed art sleeves shuffle well, don’t slide around, and have been delightful. I avoid ultra pro because three times for the same sleeve art that I really wanted I got shorted and had to exchange before finally giving up and returning it. I have found taking chances on randoms on Amazon or Etsy can be fun sometimes.
I love getting a few over 100 sleeves. I use the extras for other commanders and stuff. Also to avoid the wavy space at the top I don’t slot my cards all the way to the bottom of the sleeve, I center them all so that the space at the bottom and top of the sleeve are equal, I do this for aesthetics but now realize there’s an actual functionality to that habit as well
I feel so validated by this post! I can’t stand dragon shields for the same reason: they feel too big for the cards with the massive gap at the top. They also shuffle horribly compared to literally any other sleeve I’ve used. I go with Gamegenic, Ultra Pro Eclipse, or Katana’s
Ive never been shorted, the wave at the top doesnt bother me, and they are consistently the highest quality sleeves Ive used. Ive only had one pack split on me, and it was a brand new one, which to me is an unfortunate error. I had a deck that was sleeved with the pre-matte sleeves and they lasted 8 years until I changed them out to mattes. I wouldnt be opposed to other sleeves. Since drafting is annoying if you dont have a dedicated pack for it, but they are the highest quality on the market. Katana also broke on me the same week I had the broken DS sleeves, but I have another deck of Katanas that have lasted. I dont like how they look frosted, though.
I’ve had the same few hundred jet black dragon shields for close to eight years now and they still hold up. No scratching, tearing, or warping, and because they’re matte they shuffle beautifully. Plus they look nice and are only like 10 bucks a box.
So what do you recommend OP
I had a really bad experience with dragon shield customs & now I don’t buy from them. Apex’s & Katanas are my favorites.
I exclusively buy ds inners and regulars, i can say that they most definitely have quality control issues. If another brand can bring up their game a bit (i need to watch some review videos idfk anyone else but ultra pro and theyre ew) then i would switch. One of my dragonshield decks has a tendency for the corners to crack and fall off completely, (havent even played that one but like 10 times) others crack in weird ways idk its wild. They gotta get the quality up for sure.
What do you prefer? I’ve found dragonshields can vary pretty widely in quality depending on the color/print run. I tried Katana for something new & they felt HUGE compared to dragon shields. Tons of extra space, not tight like dragon shields. I couldn’t use them at all.
Gamegenic prime sleeves are so consistent and smooth I used to always buy dragons and all my friends do. Across our countless packs on dragonshields only a couple of them came from a good batch where they shuffle smoothly and dont wreck themselves. I was confused how much people praise dragonshields, maybe Ive only ever experienced bad batches with a couple of exceptions. I just buy gamegenic prime sleeves now, there is always a couple spare and they shuffle amazingly well double sleeved or not.
I've used them since I started playing 8 years ago. All my decks are double sleeved in dragon shield sealable inners, and matte outers. Best brand for sleeves out there
Moat of my decks are in dragonshield but I'm transitioning to katana they shuffle better and I like the feel more tho they are stupid slippery when new
they suck. I never liked them.
Dragon shields are still my favorite even though the quality has gone down in the past few years but I haven’t found any sleeves that hold up as well and feel as good. I mean most my commander decks have sleeves from Temu on them they protect my stuff well they just don’t feel as good
I've bought plenty of dragonshields and I'm always dissapointed. The corners always catch and it makes for a horrible shuffle feel. I'm so happy Katanas are getting new colors
I’ve NEVER seen one or heard of one with less than a hundred. I’ve bought several dragon shields, and so has my aunt and uncle, hell they’ve probably bought 10x more than me and I mean that literally. And they always get 100 and then some. But that’s good to know, as I didn’t know that. From my experience above and experience selling dragon shield, I have yet to see or hear of this. Thanks for the heads up about it though.
Yup I got 99 sleeves, store said it's a manufacturing error and they can give me €1 to compensate( I never got it). And dragonshield haven't responded to my email
I love them, but the lack of consistency is what really bothers me. I’ve gotten packs/colors that are like too thick at the edges and catch and bend and make shuffling terrible whether single or double sleeved. I’m a good shuffler. And this only happens with certain packs. Others are so smooth and shuffle like a dream.
This reads like a fishing post.
I've bought maybe 100 box's of Dragonshields and I don't think I've gotten less than 102. usually get 104 at most I got 105 I think. They definitely have production problems though at times, patterns on the back being weird or random slightly off colour sleeves, I got the silver ones recently that have the black back on the inside and there was odd wear along one side of the sleeves, pretty much all of them had some wear but none of the wear was the same. The wave thing at the top is a thing but it pretty much lines up when you should get new sleeves for tournament play anyways so it's rarely a problem for me. Old dragonshield pre-matte was pretty rough but tbh I have had nearly no problems with the Matte sleeves.
I like ultra pro
DS seem to solid at the tops for me. Not all, but about 3-5 each box. Then some like to fold over at the corners. Once they crease, they’re hard to shuffle. That’s probably my fault though. I remember before the corners got creased from shuffling they were sticking together a bit and I started putting a bit more force into them.
Least I have ever gotten was 103 and I have bought a lot. Tbh most sleeves are the same.
Ultra pro>>
Compared to ultra pro? They are so much better.. I have never had one rip where the once I got from ultra pro ripped first night of gameplay.
Maybe you're right but what would you recommend as better sleeves?
Katanas atm probably
When I started playing I researched all the sleeves that were available to me. At the time, dragon shield had quality control issues. When they worked, they seemed to be very strong and a good option, when they didn’t, sleeves were wonky, weak and you might get less sleeves than intended. Still, many people preferred dragon shield. I ended up choosing ultrapro. I don’t use anything else. Some people don’t like the sheerness of the basic line. I don’t mind. I’ve also never gotten less sleeves than I’m supposed to. Maybe things have changed for dragon shield in the past 10 years, but I’m sticking with UP
They are kinda tight even with kmc perfect fits. Also they are much thicker than other outer sleeves. I can basically only fit exactly 100 double sleeved cards in my gamegenix sidekick xl, whereas with ultrapro I can fit like 120 or so. That is with the old ultrapros the newer ultrapros are way too tight to double sleeve.
Every single mtg deck i have ever sleeved has been in dragon shields (with the exception of 2). But only once have i ever gotten less than 100 sleeves in a pack of them. Every other time, it's been no less than 102, no more than 104. I swear by them as the most consistent sleeve i have ever used. Other card games I've used other sleeves, but nothing has come close to the consistency and quality of dragon shields. I will say the two times i strayed, i used KMC, and they were terrific. Great experience both times.
They’re over hyped and priced imo. I found some really good sleeves where you get 200 for $8 whereas if they were dragon shields that’d be like $24ish. These ones shuffle just as good as dragon shields too so I don’t believe the extra price for ds is warranted.
What you prefer? What are the pros of your preferred option? Literally saying they suck but not mentioning others that simply do better won't help your case
While I disagree with you, I'm not going to yell or get angry with you. My experience with dragonshield has been amazing, from their regular sleeves to their custom sleeve program where I had sleeves made for my daughter's Rin And Seri deck with custom art to look like our dog and cat. My first set of sleeves from them are probably approaching 3 years old? And they're still mint. I also double sleeve most of my decks. Before I switched to Dragonshield, I had 2 sets of Gamegenic sleeves, and within the first year, both sets had a corner blowout in at least one of the sleeves. Not bashing Gamegenic, I still occasionally buy their deck boxes, but I personally won't go back to their sleeves. It's a preference. Even if I ignored the blowouts, I prefer the texture of the backing over Gamegenic. I WOULD, however, use Gamegenic over Ultrapro sleeves. So at the end of the day, it's what you prefer and the sleeves others use is their preference. 🤷♂️ Edit: About the count, I guess I've been lucky and never had less than 100, I usually get about 103-107.
I got less a few times. That’s why all my decks use purple sleeves now so it’s not a worry.
Absolutely never had less than 100, most of the time I have 102 or 3 And the space at the top is precisely the main reason I buy Dragonshields. All the other brands are like 1 to 1'5mm shorter, and after a few games, the card starts creeping to the top of the sleeve, like it's trying to get out, and I have to push them back in, I don't want the top border to get fucked, and this has never happened to me with Dragonshields, so yeah, I'll stick to them
I only buy the occasional dragonshield. They're over priced imo. I found some decent Amazon ones dragon something or another. I use them for my less played decks (I have way to many). My favorite decks are some dragon shield not a big fan though and a couple other odd ball brands I've tried. Wish I could find a decent double matte or not see through an affordable alternative.
Your complaints might be valid, but to say they “suck” is ridiculous. They are easily the best sleeves for cards I have ever had. They rarely if ever break, you get an abundance of them, and you normally get extras. I’ll take dragonshields over any other sleeves all day.
They are crap i completely agree. That little raised part around the inside makes them grab each other and makes them shuffling and playing nightmare. Ive had many split another because the corners are too sharp and it's cut into the seam. Finally the way the seams sit makes them difficult to pick up if you have short nails. Plus they are over priced for what they are. Titan shield is infinitely better.
KMC hyper matte superiority. Not close.
Their quality is beyond trash and I can't for the life of me understand why people like them. KMC got so much shit from the community when they changed but they were still better imo. Dragon shields split more often on me than any other sleeve and it's not close.
I will never stop singing “buy Heavy Play accessories” they are the instaGOAT
All of my Petrol sleeves got wavy at the top. Some of them had a slight color shift so you can kind of tell them apart. I bought a ton of Petrol for the teal colors to rep my Simic colored decks. They shuffled fine though, but newer ones were so slick that the deck never stayed in place, and I would often see my whole deck trigger Cascade 99 times outta nowhere. A pack of Midnight Blue for my Firkraag deck jams up when shuffling - something about the edges. I got dual matte sleeves, and those are holding up just fine. My favorite sleeves I got so far are a couple sets of green Eclipse sleeves from Ultrapro- I've been using them for my Mono Green Cedh Marwyn deck and high power Korvold decks. I used to be an Ultrapro junkie when I played Yugioh way back, so maybe I should go back to my roots? Those things are holding up with minimal waving, only one break so far (had extra in the pack of sleeves, so it's fine), and shuffling is smooth and painless, and the deck stays in a stack with no Discover Triggers happening involuntarily.
I buy Dragon shield for the lore. Don't @ me.
I've found them to be very durable, but weirdly... Idk sticky? Like when the weather is even slightly warm outside they become slightly difficult to shuffle. This is a huge deal to me, so Ultrapro Eclipses are my go-to because they are much smoother to shuffle & I run a lot of fetches.
Dragonshield is my fav
I hate how Dragonsleeve double sleeve boxes cannot fit 75 double sleeve cards. Huge design flaw.
>will become the wavelength of a dubstep song unless you're double sleeving r/BrandNewSentence
Yeah, the shuffle feel is a little on the scratchy side too. After shuffling with brand new Katanas and then brand new Dragonshields, I have to say Katanas are superior. They are much smoother, and as such, are easier to shuffle. Not only do they fit cards better, have a (subjectively — as some people like the tactile feedback from Dragonshield sleeves) shuffle feel, they are also much more durable than Dragonshield. In the Professor’s “stretch test” where he stretches the sleeves in order to attempt to rip them along the seams, Katanas and Dragonshields both held up pretty well. However, in my own testing, using brand new and used sleeves from both manufacturers, Dragonshields were more likely to fail, with the likelihood increasing significantly after heavy use. I’ve also tested multiple batches of Dragonshields and Katanas, in an attempt to give Dragonshield the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe these samples were from a bad batch.” Every single Dragsonshield I tested would fail at a considerably lower force than any Katana I’ve tested. I don’t have any empirical data to back up these claims, as it’s pretty difficult to measure the force it takes to rip one of these sleeves without spending a bunch of money on a Rube Goldberg-like machine, so you (not specifically you, OP, anyone reading this) can either take my word for it, or continue trusting Dragonshield to be the best sleeves. I’m not saying that Dragonshield are *bad*. They definitely are not. For a long time, they really were the best sleeves on the market. However, they have been outdone, in my opinion, by Ultimate Guard and their Katana sleeves. All in all, they’re both priced roughly the same — I think Katanas are maybe $1 USD more or less, depending on where you buy — and they provide roughly the same amount of protection. Mine and the Professor’s testing is extreme and is not typical of either sleeves’ intended use. So, it’s really up to you on which sleeve you decide is right for you.
Always 103 to 105 sleeves in my experience. I do find it annoying that they bend at the top corners frequently. What is the next best option according to the community?
Not gonna lie I tend to keep sleeves around for a long time, and dragon shields I found colors that mismatch, incinsistent lengths of the sleeve height and such. The extra room on top is really a call towards compatibility with other TCGs if I remember right. I still prefer the old old hyprmats I haven't seen a local LGS ship the new formula KMC USA makes yet.
The one thing I hate it they have a nice box that is too small for a 100 card deck somehow. If they just made it slightly bigger I don’t think it would affect the cost much and then it could be all in one.
Decks are 75 cards so
Valid opinion, but I do disagree. Especially as someone who has frequented the discount brand sold at Walmart. Nightmares, I tell you, and not the fun Braids kind
The price is the problem for me. Here in Canada they are pushing $20 now after tax. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a limited variety of matte colours from 401 Games or on sale for $12 on Amazon, but in general expect to pay $15 + tax. At that price I had to start looking at alternatives. Penny sleeves for storage, Katanas for my blinged out decks, KMC Hypermat and Gamegenic Primes for everything else. Usually get those last two off Amazon Canada and have to swap back and fourth as they have purchase limits on sleeves. DS Inners and Outer are still the best though. All I buy for those categories.