Best binders & sleeves for MTG: TopDeck, Dragon Shield & more

Jack Bye
MTG sleeves and folders on azorius background

If you’re looking to keep your MTG cards in the best condition possible, you’ll want to take our advice on the best card sleeves and folders out there right now.

As anyone who’s gotten into MTG can tell you, your collection of cards can quickly balloon out of control. What starts as a pack or a deck will quickly become stacks and stacks of gorgeous, unfortunately, fragile cardboard.

If you’re spending your hard-earned cash on MTG cards, you’ll want the best storage and protection for those cards. Card sleeves are the best option for protection, and folders will help keep your cards safe and organized.

We’ll help you find the best sleeves and folders available for your MTG cards, allowing you to keep your collection in tip-top shape.

Best card sleeves for MTG

Playing MTG – or any TCG for that matter – with unsleeved cards is sure to lead to wear and tear within just a few games. If you want to keep your cards clean and undamaged, sleeving them up in a high-quality, long-lasting product is the way to go.

Best Pick overall: Dragon Shield Pro Matte sleeves

MTG Sleeves Dragon Shield

Fantastically durable over a long period of time, great to use, and with a wide range of styles, the Dragon Shield Pro Matte sleeves are our pick for the best overall MTG sleeves.

While these sleeves have a huge list of positives, there is one downside to keep an eye out for. Dragon Shield Has a wide variety of sleeve colors available. While this might be great news for personalizing your collection – choosing the right color for a theme or Commander – it can lead to something of a roulette, as a few of these colors run the risk of being somewhat see-through.

Thankfully, this only really becomes an issue with double-faced cards, but it can be worth trying out a pack of Dragon Shield Pro Matte sleeves before using them in competitive play, just in case.

Best new sleeves: Ultimate Guard Katana Sleeves

MTG Sleeves Katana

While this product is relatively new on the market compared to stalwarts like Ultra Pro and Dragon Shield, they’ve absolutely made an impact through reliability, durability, and ease of use. It’s surprisingly tough to find a set of sleeves that feels great but won’t have your cards slipping everywhere during the first few shuffles, but the Katana Sleeves have managed it.

Best Style: Ultra Pro Deck Protectors

MTG Sleeves Ultra Pro

While Ultra Pro sleeves are a reliable choice, the basic designs in their collection can be somewhat costly. What sets Ultra Pro sleeves apart is their close relationship with Magic: The Gathering, with the best Ultra Pro Deck Protectors featuring incredible art designs right from MTG.

With these sleeves you can display your favorite MTG creatures and Commanders right on the back of the cards themselves, showing everything from gods and constellations to heroes from across the planes. Ultra Pro Deck Protectors are simply the best choice for decoration, allowing your deck to show off a little before it’s even entered play.

Best folders & binders for MTG

Getting a high-quality folder or two will allow you to store your rarest and most valuable MTG cards in pride of place, without resorting to loose piles in shoeboxes and Tupperware. These are the best all-purpose folders for MTG available right now, allowing you to store Commanders, Planeswalkers, Tokens, art cards, and much more:

Best folder overall: Vault X Premium Exo-Tec Zip Binder

MTG Black folder on prismatic bridge background

In terms of storage capacity, durability, comfort, and display style, the Vault X Premium Exo-Tec Zip Binder has it all.

Storing a whopping 480 cards over 20 double-sided pages, this is an investment that will allow you to build up your collection in the long term. A padded layer is built into every double-sided page, keeping your cards safe from accruing small-scale damage during storage.

Whether building up a portfolio for trade, putting rare cards in pride of place, keeping cards within deck-building reach, or simply storing your favorites, the Vault X Premium Exo-Tec Zip Binder is the best MTG folder around.

Best Budget Folder: Ultra Pro Eclipse 9-Pocket binder

MTG green folder on prismatic bridge background

At significantly cheaper than most card folders on the market, Ultra Pro offers the ability to keep your cards safe for less than the premium price. The cut cost is felt most in the material, with hard plastic replacing the more comfortable style of more expensive binders, while still being durable and rigid enough to ensure that your cards won’t bend and crumple whilst inside.

Still, the cards are the main attraction here, and this binder can safely store up to 360, making it a great choice for anyone growing their MTG collection.

Best alternative for collectors: TopDeck Binders

The TopDeck binders combine not only the protections of our recommendations above but also come with top loaders already installed. These will help keep those precious rare cards safe, especially if you’re in the market for selling and trading.

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About The Author

Ecommerce writer with an MA in Creative Writing, covering MTG, DnD, and everything tabletop for Dexerto. Previously at WePC and VideoGamer. When not rolling dice and shuffling decks, he's playing old RPGs and wishing someone would remaster Skies of Arcadia already. You can reach him at Jack.Bye@Dexerto.com