If there’s one thing thatMagic: The Gatheringplayers care about it’s protecting their cards. Whether you’re heading to a tournament or are just casually playing at home, grabbing a pack of sleeves is the best way to keep those cards safe and pristine as you shuffle them up, slip them into deck boxes, and accidentally drop them when you’re carrying too many things between rounds.
Picking the right sleeve for the job is vital for keeping you at the top of your game and keeping your cards safe. Whether you want to protect your top-tier meta deck or favorite casual commander deck, you’ll want to check out the best sleeves you can find.
Updated July 16, 2025, by Kenny Kimberly:Keeping your cards safe is crucial, whether you’re a collector or an enthusiast who shuffles a little hard. We’ve come back to add a couple more sleeves for your consideration, as well as get rid of a product that was no longer available, so we aren’t sending you out on a goose chase. Enjoy!
Dragon Shield Sealable Inner Sleeve
For the ultimate protection
The Dragon Shield Sealable Inner Sleeve card sleeves are perfect for anyone looking for the absolute best protection they can find. These are also great for double-sleeving your cards.
If you’re someone who wants your cards to have the ultimate protection, then Dragon Shield’s Sealable Inner Sleeve is the perfect choice for you. These are the sleeves to go for if you like to double-sleeve your card, as this protection is best when there’s another sleeve on the outside of it.
These sleeves will seal fully, providing you with excellent protection against spills. Alone, they don’t provide wonderful protection against bends and chips in the side from shuffling, so definitely make sure that you double-sleeve these. Overall, there’s no better sleeve on the market to help ensure your cards are fully protected.
Dragon Shield Standard Size Matte Dual Card Sleeves
Dragon Shield’s unbeatable quality
Dragon Shield’s quality is unmatched, and with products like this, it’s easy to see why. These card sleeves come 100 to a pack in any color of your choosing.
Dragon Shield’s quality is tough to beat, and these sleeves help to prove why they have the dominance they do. These dual sleeves are perfect for anyone looking to double-sleeve their card without having to buy two packs of sleeves, though they come at a bit higher of a price than average for that.
In return, you’ll get 100 to a pack, enough to sleeve nearly two full MTG decks. You have your choice of matte colors, while we’ve included the Fury and Orchid colorations here for you. Overall, these are a great, easy-to-use, highly-protective option for sleeving your cards.
BCW Deck Guard - Double Matte Sleeves Purple
Color up your sleeves!
Great for sitting down with some friends for a few casual games, BCW has been in the trading card game for a while so you can trust them with your cards. Packs of these sleeves run a little smaller at only 50 sleeves per bundle.
Perfect forcasual Magic gameswith your friends, the BCW Deck Guard Double Matte Sleeves come in a wide array of colors and are another great budget pick, especially if you’re sleeving a bunch of decks in all the same color for consistency.
These sleeves are also great for long-term card storage, like in a binder, which might seem silly, putting a card in a sleeve only put them into a binder, but even then they can slide around and cause small scuffing on the surface of the card, especially on foil Magic cards.
KMC Hyper - Matte Sleeves Black
Can’t go wrong with matte black
Some of the smoothest matte sleeves around, these KMC Hyper Matte Sleeves provide excellent protection while giving you an unparalleled smooth shuffling experience.
Personal preference plays a huge role in what sleeves you end up using, between how the sleeve feels, what colors they have available, durability, and even how lucky you seem to be when you use those sleeves.
For one of the smoothest experiences, while still getting the matte feel, the KMC Hyper Matte sleeves are specially treated to give you the tactile feel of a matte sleeve while keeping the cards smooth to the touch.
The one downside of these sleeves is that a pack only has 80 sleeves while most packs have either 50 or 100, making it a little awkward to sleeve a Commander deck.
Dragon Shield Standard Size Card Sleeves Classic Gold
Ideal for oversized decks
Looking for that classic sleeve feel combined with some of the strongest sleeves on the market? Check out the Dragon Shield Classic sleeves, with a smooth back and that opaque gold sheen, these sleeves will keep your cards safe for tournaments to come.
One of the most trusted brands in thetrading card gamesleeve business, the tried and true Dragon Shield sleeves are a safe bet no matter what you’re using them for. A box of Dragon Shields always comes with 100 sleeves, giving you plenty of extra when you go to sleeve up a constructed deck plus its sideboard, or a complete Commander deck.
Dragon Shields has been putting out a wide range of colors to help you color code your decks. In recent years the company has even moved into producing sleeves with beautiful illustrations and designs you can further customize your decks, like sleeving your entire Commander deck in a solid color Classic sleeve, and then using a separate sleeve with an illustration on it for the commander to help it stand out and prevent you from shuffling it in your deck.
Ultimate Guard Katana Sleeves Black
Double-sleeves protect from scratches
The new kids on the block, Ultimate Guard have come out strong with some of the best sleeves to keep your cards safe while at tournaments or playing casually.
A newer player on the market, Ultimate Guard has come out strong and remains a reliable contender in the game. These sleeves feel nice, and are incredibly durable, and definitely set themselves apart from other sleeves on the market.
You might want to take a little caution when doubling sleeving cards in Ultimate Guard Katana Sleeves. They seem to run a little tighter than other brands, making inserting a card in a perfect fit slightly more troublesome than other brands. This will keep your cards safe, but has its own set of risks when sleeving your deck.
Dragon Shield Matte Protective Sleeves Black
Keep your grip in nervous situations
The cream of the crop when it comes to Magic: The Gathering sleeves, Dragon Shield Matte Black sleeves keep your cards safe, last a long time, and feel great, giving you both the smooth side of the front with the rough texture of the matte back.
Sitting at the top of the best sleeves you’re able to pick up to protect your cards, Dragon Shield Matte sleeves are one of the best types you can pick to sleeve your cards up in. You get all the durability of the Dragon Shield Classic sleeves, and get the added bonus of the texture of a matte sleeve.
They’re, of course, not going to be for everyone if you’re particularly sensitive to touch when playing these sleeves can be a little strange to play with, but if you like the feel, these sleeves are the best you can pick up to protect yourfavorite singles.
Conclusion
Dragon Shield is widely considered the frontrunner in the card sleeve world, and they’re the brand that we whole-heartedly recommend you go for. On this list, the Dragon Shield Matte Dual Sleeves are our favorite choice, as they give you the ability to double-sleeve your cards without having to buy a second option. If not, we recommend at least buying Dragon Shield’s sealable inner card sleeves to protect your cards fully with any other exterior sleeve option.
FAQ
Which Size Sleeve Do I Need For Magic: The Gathering?
Traditionally, a Magic: The Gathering card is 2.5 inches wide (6.3 cm) and 3.5 inches tall (8.8 cm) so you’ll want to pick up a sleeve with the dimensions 66mm x 91mm, the generally accepted standard size for Magic: The Gathering sleeves.
Why Do People Double-Sleeve Magic: The Gathering Cards?
Sometimes just one sleeve isn’t enough. Even in a regular Magic sleeve the card can move around, causing scuffing and tiny scratches on the surface of the card, especially on foils. Using a double-sleeve or perfect fit can keep your cards safer for longer.
Should I Double-Sleeve Cards Upside Down?
Yes! Putting a card in a double-sleeve or perfect fit upside down, and then in a regular sleeve correctly gives you maximum protection from any spilled liquids or from dirt that might get in your sleeve.
