Katana Card Sleeves

^{review by Luca}

What kind of card sleeve should I choose? Avid fans of collectible card games (such as Magic: The Gathering, the Pokemon Trading Card Game, Lorcana, One Piece, or the newly released Altered) are well aware that cards ought to be sleeved - especially when certain cards can be incredibly valuable (I'm looking at you The One Ring ). The Dragon Shield Dual Matte collection has proven to be quite popular, offering a diverse array of colorways, as well as Dual Matte technology that ensure you can't see the back of a card (especially important for dual-faced cards). 

However, I would like to recommend the Katana line of card sleeves by Ultimate Guard. Now, what makes the Katanas superior to the Dragon Shields? For me, it all comes down to shuffling - Katanas shuffle like butter, whereas the edges of Dragon Shields are more prone to catching on each other. I've noticed that this can almost double the amount of time that it takes me to shuffle a deck thoroughly as I readjust the cards to properly riffle into each other. Considering that MtG Commander uses a whopping 100 cards per deck and at least a few shuffles are needed to get a sufficiently random distribution of cards, that extra time saved means I can get to playing faster. Another feature that I like about the Katanas is that they're incredibly thin, which allows me to save space in my deck holders for other accessories, such as tokens, dice, and counters. 

Now, do the Katanas have any downsides? Of course - no sleeve is perfect. Since the Katanas are so good a shuffling, they can be a bit slipperier and can slide out of one’s grip. However, with careful handling, this has not been a significant issue for me. Another weakness that the Katanas have is their limited selection of colorways. Sleeves are available in Transparent, Blue, Red, Green, White, Black, Turquoise, Yellow, Orange, and Purple. However, Ultimate Guard just released another set of 10 different colorways. More color options are soon to follow. With this in mind, Ultimate Guard will, given enough time, be able to provide CCG players ample opportunities to customize their sleeves to suit their decks. And, while Katana does not offer sleeves with matte inner linings, like the Dragon Shield Dual Mattes, I have not found this to be a problem with my dual-faced cards. 

Now, I haven't had time to test out the durability of Katana sleeves over time compared to the Dragon Shields, but in the short time that I've been using them, the Katanas have become my go-to sleeves for all of my MtG Commander decks.

Katana Card Sleeves are available now from our webstore.