For folders, I got some of these:
I wanted plastic so they would not get bent and torn like paper.
Sleeves - These are the only sleeves I’ve really ever used. They are REALLY consistent in terms of size and I can see card backs.
I think these were the pages:
As Pointy Finger noted, KMC Hyper Matte is the way to go. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AQG34TQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The key point here is that these cards have a “pebbled” surface on the back of the card. This greatly reduces friction, making them noticeably easier to shuffle, and less likely to stick to one another. I think this is great for all games that require shuffling, but is doubly useful in Codex, because it means that the back copy of each 2-card duo is less likely to stick to the page when you remove it from the Codex.
Hmm, I’m thinking I’ll probably spring for some sleeves for Codex, and get enough to put my Yomi cards in too. So the question is are the KMC Hyper Mat sleeves really 50% better than Dragon Shields to justify the cost?
(Amazon UK prices: KMC £6/80, Dragon Shield £5.50/100. I think I’ll need about 1000 to do the ~700 Codex ones and have enough for my half-dozen Yomi decks, so it’s £55 for 1k Dragon Shields or £78 for 1040 KMC ones.)
How do you like the pages? After some BCW side-loaders were too tight (for 2x sleeved cards, anyway) and stuck out past the edges of the 3-prong folders, I hunted for some very hard to find Ultra Pro 18-pocket toploaders, and they’re too tight.
Also, the folders I’d recommend are these Comix ones I found on Amazon (here), mostly because they’re just like every other polypropylene 3-prong pocket folder, but they were $10 with Amazon Prime free shipping, and came in a pack of six in a very familiar set of colors (black, blue, green, red, purple, and white). I couldn’t find a bunch of matching binders for all the colors anywhere else anyway, so that seemed like an eerily perfect option. Finding just a different color for neutral if desired should be comparatively easy.
I saw some bowing in the couple of test fits I did with the KMC Perfect Fits as you and @Tallergeese reported. I hadn’t planned on actually using them, and when I tested a few different ones the issue varied, so I suspect your slight stretch recommendation would work well for most people who run into some fit problems.
My “here’s how different sleeves fit” ended up a much longer post that was like 90% not about sleeves (brevity in explanation is not my strength), so I created a new thread rather than derail this one. I’m definitely happy with the KMC Hyper Mats for these cards, and I went 100% clear, although the blend of two colors for “things that get shuffled” and “things that don’t get shuffled” is one I nearly opted for, and if I played with tournament-minded people I probably would have opted for the matte black for the codex/starter cards.
I went with these: (200) Ultra-Pro Black Deck Protector Sleeves 2-Packs - Standard Magic the Gathering size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009EXIAOC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WyI6xb4HHX9CN
They fit very nicely, both around the cards and in the binders. They don’t stick, at least not that I’ve noticed, and the opaque backs solve my worn card / shuffling fairness issue, though they do present a problem where the double sided cards are concerned. The backs are a nice matte, non-sticky texture that shuffles well, and the fronts are nice and clear. They do have an unnecessary-seeming little silver sticker on the bottom, but it luckily doesn’t seem to block anything important.
I would have to say these are the best sleeves I’ve ever used! (They are the only sleeves I’ve ever used. But they do seem to get the job done.)
The pages are great! I think Fantasy Flight sleeves are a little thicker and I did PnP using card stock and a backing card, so my setup will be much thicker than everyone else’s. I don’t have to worry about cards sticking inside and they don’t fall out if I toss the binders around either.
I’m using the official Codex sleeves for all of the standard unit cards. I’m using standard size Fantasy Flight sleeves for the cards with different backs, like the heroes, workers, and tokens.
Are there sleeves that fit the mini cards?
Hey @olanmills, see Rico’s comments on mini cards in his travel / storage guide. He said
For the mini cards (spec choices and add-on buildings):
- I only tried some Mayday Mini Chimera Game Sleeves (these were the non-premium type, they come in a pack of 100 with a red cover), which are officially 43mm x 65mm. They’re a little long (the 65mm bit) but fit perfectly on the sides. This form-factor isn’t available from a lot of the manufacturers, and my local store didn’t carry it so I ordered them from Amazon (which delayed this particular post).
- The Premium ones say they’re 41mm x 63 mm, which is weird because that’s the size of the Mini-USA ones. I haven’t tried them, but suspect that’s just not going to fit, given the fairly perfect fit of the 43mm non-premiums.
- I was worried I’d have to get the Mini Euro boardgame sleeves (officially 45mm x 68mm), which would be even longer, but didn’t end up trying them.
- When all stacked up, they puff up a little and one or two wants to float out of the designated holding area in the deluxe box, but it’s not a big deal.
- If anyone doesn’t like sleeves, by all means skip them, (especially for the mini cards which aren’t handled much anyway).
I picked up a pack of 100 “penny” sleeves (a misnomer, since the pack cost $2) to sleeve my heroes, workers, and tokens. It was exactly the right number of sleeves to do all of that, I was amazed. I haven’t counted the number of token cards to know if that was a fluke or not (it’s not uncommon for packs of sleeves to be plus or minus a couple sleeves). And now I don’t have to worry about accidentally shuffling those cards into my decks, since the sleeves and card backs are quite obviously different!
Update: I’ve been shuffling my Codex-sleeved Yomi foil aces at work intermittently for about 2 weeks now. So far, I have not noticed any fading or wear on the sleeves. I will update again either when a) I notice any fading or wear, or b) enough time has passed that I get accused of being Garth Torken for resurrecting this thread.
I’m currently using old glossy dragon shield white sleeves. I can barely see the back of then codex card which allows me to adjust the cards so they are all right side up (I’m picky like that). No issues with the codex binders at all (2 cards in each pocket). Barely any sticking for me, but my home is AC’ed. However, even with the thick dragon shields, the cards feel extremely thin. I may end up double sleeving codex since these are the thinnest cards I own. My print and play games are actually thicker when sleeved.
Thanks @FrozenStorm. That helped me with the sizing. For the mini cards, I’m using Fantasy Flight “Mini European Board Game Size” which are 44 x 68 mm. That’s just what I was able to find easily at a local store. 43 x 65 mm would definitely fit a tad better. The 68 mm side is too long, and I may try to trim it at some point, but it’s not really a big deal.
I used 43x65 and it was still too long. I used a big paper cutter at the library to trim them up by hand and the result was really good.
Are most people sleeving their cards as they codex them into a match, or are they having them sleeved in their binders?
I sleeved everything as I put it into the binders, and they will stay sleeved unless I think of a good reason to remove them.
Sleeving cards as you tech them in (and, presumably, unsleeving when the game is over) sounds like a maddening hassle to me.
I used Black Matte Dragon Shields for all starter decks and all cards in a binder. I used Clear Matte Dragon Shields for all heroes, all tokens (except the dancers), and the map cards. I used Clear Dragon Shield sleeves for the workers and dancer tokens (since they were double sided, didn’t want one side matte). FFG Mini-American board game sleeves were slightly too tight for the small tokens (forcing a card in caused it to bed). I’m going to try the Mini-European board game sleeves.
I used Black Matte Dragon Shields for all starter decks and all cards in a binder, while i sleeved worker cards, heroes and tokens (all cards that do not get shuffled) into ltra-Pro Clear Deck Protector Sleeves. All works like a charm!
Guys, i’d like to buy a good binder for my neutral faction too. Can someone recommend me something? bonus points if resembles the deluxe ones. ty