For years, players have been clamoring for a perfect fit sleeve from Dragon Shield. Ultra-pro perfect fits are inconsistently sized so that sometimes cards slide in easily and other time they almost get bent from the difficulty of pushing them in, and BCW offers similar quality. The best perfect fits on the market were unquestionably the KMC brand.
But the new perfect fits from Dragon Shield that hit the market right before Christmas?
They’re definitely making a good showing, right out of the bag.
The Dragon Shield brand of perfect fits are consistently sized to be the exact right fit for a Magic the Gathering card, and fit snugly inside of a Dragon Shield, both Matte and Classic styles. But if the KMC sleeve is already considered adequate for the job, what’s the big deal?
The first reason is the price. A pack of 100 Perfect Fit KMC sleeves typically go for over six dollars, while the Dragon Shields sell at $5.49 for a pack. But that’s only a difference of less than a dollar, so what else is there?
One word: Smoke.
Dragon Shield released not one, but 2 perfect fit sleeve styles. The first, the clear line, is much the same as any other brand of tight sleeves. What really gets the gold star here is the Perfect Fit: Smoke sleeves. The name “Smoke” refers to the backside of these sleeves being transparent gray, adding a slight darkening effect to back of the card. This makes them ideal for double-sleeving double-faced cards, like the Werewolves of Magic the Gathering. Even in light-colored outer sleeves, the extra layer of interference disguises the backs of cards to the point where you can’t tell a double-faced card from a regular backed one.
Sure, you can use checklist cards and have to deal with digging for the real copy of your card each time you play it, but when you can just double sleeve it with Smoke, why bother?
-Kiara