Teferi's ProtectionTeferi's Protection | Art by Chase Stone

So. You went and bought a Tropical IslandTropical Island, and now your Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid deck has suddenly doubled in value.

Are you really gonna show up to game night without some extra protection on that thing? Cheeto Fingers Chad has no qualms about reaching over and picking up your cards (without asking!). And you know Beer-Me Betty is always talking with her hands while holding cans of pumpkin ale (gross).

And the cats...can't be trusted.

There's no chance your Tropical Island comes away unscathed when all you have protecting it is a single piece of cheap plastic you've been moving from deck to deck since Return to Ravnica.

But you don't want to not play your expensive new card, do you? You gotta show off that bling. What to do?

Maybe You Should Double-Sleeve Your Commander Deck

Of course! Putting an extra layer of protection on your cards will ensure that the biggest of soda spills won't ruin the precious spoils of your tax return.

But how does it work? It's simple: You put your card into a sleeve, and then you put that sleeved card into another, larger, sleeve. Easy, right? Seems like a no-brainer.

But maybe you don't have a $500+ card in your deck. How do you know if double-sleeving is right for you?

Let's weigh the pros and cons.

Benefits ("Pros") of Double-Sleeving

There's really only one thing in the "pros" column, but it's a big one:

• Your cards will be super protected against spills, smears, smudges, and glitter bombs (you never know).

If you know you play around people who get a little clumsy or handsy, especially after a few drinks, then protecting your cards is probably a good decision, regardless of their value.

Or maybe you frequent your LGS's Commander Night or travel to MagicCons, and you're just not sure about strangers - or the TSA - keeping their grubby fingers off of your Alayna Danner-signed copy of Godless ShrineGodless Shrine. Double-sleeving will ease your worries.

Drawbacks ("Cons") of Double-Sleeving

Sounds smart. Why doesn't everyone do it? There are a few drawbacks against adding that extra layer of protection. The biggest one is...

• The bigness. No matter what kind of extra sleeve you use, it's gonna add to the thickness of your deck.

Why does this matter?

• It makes the deck a bit harder to shuffle. Unless you have gigantic hands, you'll find it a bit more work to get all those cards smooshed together into a random assortment without resorting to shuffling the deck in chunks rather than all at once.
• Along these same lines, the thickness of a double-sleeved deck means that it won't fit in your average deck box. You'll have to upgrade to a larger size to accommodate the extra depth created by the second sleeve.

Of course, there's also the extra time involved.

• Double-sleeving means that it will take you twice as long, or longer, to sleeve the deck. And with the double-sleeving process you may get pockets of air in your sleeves that you'll have to squeeze out to decrease the thickness. Think of it like "burping" your decks.

The last drawback is MDFCs.

• Double-sided cards can be a bit of a pain if you're double-sleeving with inner sleeves that aren't clear, because if you want to play the backside, you'll have to pull the card out of both the inner sleeve and outer sleeve in order to flip it. Not a dealbreaker, by any means - especially if you use clear inner sleeves - but still worth mentioning.

Options for Double-Sleeving

So, you've decided that putting your mind at ease by giving your cards more protection is worth dealing with the extra bulk of the deck. What kind of sleeves should you get for double-sleeving? Our friends over at Dragon Shield have some excellent options. Let's take a look.

Double Sleeve Options from Dragon Shield. Left to right: Perfect Fit Sealable, Clear Outer, Black Outer, Perfect Fit Smoke

Perfect Fit

The Perfect Fits are inner sleeves that are basically just regular sleeves, except they hold the card more snugly. Once you've put your cards in the Perfect Fit sleeves, you then slide them into your regular sleeves.

Perfect Fit Smoke sleeves by Dragon Shield. Top row is the sleeves, middle row is cards sleeved only in the Perfect Fit Smoke sleeves, and the bottom row is sleeved in the Perfect Fits and regular Dragon Shield sleeves.

Sealable Perfect Fit

The Sealable Perfect Fit sleeves are the next step up from the Perfect Fits. These inner sleeves also hold the card more snugly, but they have an extra flap that you slide into the sleeve with the card. This means that all four edges of your card are protected, as opposed to the three of the regular Perfect Fits.

Sealable Perfect Fit sleeves by Dragon Shield. Top row is the sleeves, middle row is Magic cards in only the Sealable Perfect Fit sleeves, and the bottom row is sleeved in the Sealable Perfect Fits inside of regular Dragon Shield sleeves.

Outer Sleeves

The Outer Sleeves are quite a bit different, because they go over your standard sleeves, rather than inside. Same protection as the Perfect Fits, just with a different method. These are also used if you want to triple sleeve your Commander decks (only the bravest will attempt it).

Clear Outer Sleeves by Dragon Shield. The top row is just the sleeves, and the bottom row is Magic cards in regular sleeves inside the Clear Outer Sleeves.

Verdict On Inner/Outer Sleeves

So I sleeved up decks with all three of the above options to get an idea of which one(s) I liked best, and what I liked - or didn't- about each of them. Here are my thoughts.

The clear winner, and what I plan to use on my decks going forward, is the Perfect Fit sleeves. Here are a few reasons:

• Using the Perfect Fit sleeves is super easy. The cards glide in and out of the Perfect Fits smoothly, and the Perfect Fits then slide just as smoothly into the regular sleeves. It took very little extra time to sleeve up the deck. I have recollections of trying to double-sleeve cards a few years ago with another brand's inner sleeves, and it was a nightmare. Bad enough that I lost all interest in double-sleeving until writing this article. These inner sleeves are light years better.
• The thickness of cards sleeved in the Perfect Fits, while noticeable, doesn't make them too hard to handle. Obviously, your mileage may vary, depending on your hand size. And do keep in mind, you will need a deck box designed to hold 100+ double-sleeved cards. If a box doesn't say it holds 100 double-sleeved cards, assume that it doesn't.
• While I really like the Sealable Perfect Fits, as they offer an extra bit of protection by covering an edge of the card that the Perfect Fits don't, they're a lot more work to sleeve up, because you have to slide in that extra tab for each sleeve. If you've got a lot of patience (I don't) or a lot of time on your hands, the Sealable options may be right for you. They're only negligibly thicker than decks with the regular Perfect Fit, and still fit in the 100+ boxes.
• The Outer sleeves add too much thickness. You can see in the picture below that they're about a third taller than a single-sleeved deck (Outer Sleeved cards are on the far left in the picture, and single-sleeved cards are on the far right). While they have a great shuffle feel, just like regular Dragon Shield sleeves, the thickness is going to be an issue for a lot of people. I tried to fit these in a 100+ box, and only got 98 cards in, so you're gonna need an especially large box to carry these. But if you don't mind the size, or if you're interested in the mythical triple sleeve (she is legend!), which is what these sleeves are actually meant for, then these sleeves are definitely for you.

Thickness Comparison of double-sleeved cards. From left to right: cards sleeved in regular sleeves inside Clear Outer sleeves, cards inside Sealable Perfect Fit sleeves inside regular sleeves, cards inside Perfect Fit sleeves inside regular sleeves, and single-sleeved cards for comparison.

Wrap Up (Literally)

So what do you think? Are your Commander decks worth a little bit of extra time and money to keep better protected? Did I change your mind about double-sleeving your Commander decks? Or were you already a fan of double-sleeving? Let me know in the comments.

And if you want to grab your own inner or outer sleeves from Dragon Shield, you can use EDHREC's affiliate link to order some. Just tell 'em Andy sent ya!