The Perfect Playmat for Every Gamer

When you think of hobbies and fun things to do to pass the time, trading card games (TCG) almost instantly pops into your head.  It might be something that you have played as a kid with your friends, but there are those who develop a passion for the game and invest a little more time and effort than others. Some invest in extra items such as custom card sleeves.

As with any game played at a competitive level, you need the right equipment. Whether you play professionally or just enjoy playing trading card games, there is no reason not to have these tools to enhance your game and protect your cards.

Here are a few essentials that any serious Trading Card Game player should have:

Custom Card Sleeves

The trading card game industry has evolved a lot since its release way back in the early 90s. When the card game rose to popularity, the actual card value shot up as well. Innovators thought of ways to protect cards from external damage and make them must-have last longer, thus card sleeves were born. 

These card sleeves are designed to do one thing, and that is to protect whatever is inside it. However, these simple card sleeves are not enough to keep your precious cards safe from damage. All the excessive shuffling and practicing with the cards can take its toll on a simple sleeve. 

This is where custom card sleeves come in. This is a must have for anyone wanting to protect their cards and make them aesthetically pleasing in the process. Custom card sleeves are made from a variety of materials which have undergone testing to ensure your cards will last for a long time. 

Even if you don’t plan on reselling or collecting rare cards, custom card sleeves should be your priority. It just makes sense to cover them up and put an interesting design or perhaps a picture at the back. Most custom card sleeve sellers already have a template ready for you, all you have to do is pick out a design.

Nowadays, no serious player would be caught dead without custom card sleeves on each of their cards. Not only does this keep your cards in pristine condition, custom card sleeves actually give you a sense of ownership of your entire deck. 

The type of card sleeve you have will determine the longevity of your playing cards. If you don’t put any type of sleeve on them, you might risk bending or getting dirt on them. Almost all of the players today have a sleeve on each of their cards. It has gotten to the point where it just doesn’t look or feel right if it doesn’t have one.

Be careful when choosing card sleeves as this is your first layer of protection for your cards.

Duplicate Deck

It doesn’t matter if you are playing professionally or just doing it for fun. Any trading card player should have a duplicate deck handy. Apart from the original deck being at risk of getting damaged, having a duplicate deck handy helps make sure you have spare cards in case some of your original ones somehow get lost.

Consider your cards as your main weapon in the competitive world of trading card gaming. It’s best to have a spare or a secondary weapon handy in case something happens to the original. You wouldn’t go charging off into battle with only one weapon (or would you?) In any case, there are more pros than cons to having a spare deck.

Having a duplicate obviously means having copies of cards that you already have. What does that mean for your other decks? While you have a set of cards ready for play, you can also have the same set available for display. By having more than one deck, you are able to make the original one last longer. You won’t have to completely destroy them or damage them before replacing them. 

You can even put different custom card sleeves on the cards of the duplicate deck. Can’t quite choose between that awesome anime background or a picture of your dog? Well, why not get them both? When you’re getting a little tired of the sleeves on your original deck, just switch them out.

Having an extra deck handy is a simple but effective way to sort of “back up” your existing roster of cards. Let’s say you get tired of your current collection and have no plans of keeping them. In the event, you wish to sell your cards some shops buy them in bulk. That means that you get more value out of your cards if you have a spare deck. 

At present, most fans of trading card games have more than just one extra deck. It has become a hobby to collect as many cards as they can. That means they have extra cards suiting a different style of play, depending on the game being played.

As a general rule your main deck should be your strongest, so keep that in mind while building your duplicate.