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Card Condoms
The Who, What, When and Where of Card Protection
Everyone is familiar by now with the polypropylene sleeves that we affectionately call "card condoms". They are required by the guild to be used on all decks and should be marked in a fashion that the cards can be easily identified by the owner. Recently, the Praetor found metalized PVC free vinyl card sleeves. This made his deck stand out from all others and made identification of his cards easy.
The Vinyl card condoms are expensive at $3.75 for a 50 pack at Dakota Cards, but you might be able to find them for less elsewhere. They are thicker and more durable than poly condoms and should be worth the extra expense if they hold up longer than the poly sleeves. They are made by Ultra-Pro and come in Silver, Gold, Cranberry, Blue, Green and Bronze.
Another product by Ultra-Pro, is the Shielded Deck Protectors. These are very much like the vinyl card sleeves and come in clear, black, red, white, and green. They are made out of the thinner polypropylene and come 100 to a box. More expensive than other sleeves, but may be worth the expense to give your deck a "cool" look for quick identification.
The Praetor's choice for all of his other decks is the Ultra-Pro Platinum Card Sleeves. They are usually twice the price of other sleeves but tend not to degrade as fast as standard poly sleeves.
Ultimately it is your choice as to which type of card condom you prefer, but if you would like something to spice up your deck, you now have options.