what is the best box to store mtg cards
Final updated on Feb 23, 2022
Serra Angel | Illustrated by Donato Giancola
The more I play Magic, the more I realize that I'm being smothered by an avalanche of cardboard. Fancy cardboard, but cardboard all the same. I mention this not to draw ire or feelings that I'm poking fun at the hobby we all share (there will exist better times for that), but rather to point out that these items we all enjoy are a couple steps in a higher place newspaper, and paper is fragile.
You need to protect your cards if you want to keep them long term. For play, this means playmats and sleeves. But what about when the cards aren't in our decks? Surely they can yet degrade or get damaged if I just left them out on my bedside table like some ironically placed AOL CD used every bit a coaster.
Navigating the globe of storage can be daunting. There are a ton of different items and ways to store your MTG cards out there. I know. I've weighed them. There are a lot.
I've been researching and investigating storage solutions for my own collection and found myself overwhelmed with the possibilities, both because of the work involved and the toll of some of them. Well, I'm going to talk about what you demand to consider when buying or creating card storage, and my recommendations to assistance protect these oddly pretty and expensive pieces of paper.
The Best Overall
Before I go to the big list and talk you through every point of this and that, I know what y'all desire. Fine, you accept the peak of the bong curve first: .
Yep. That's it. That elementary. All the products out there in the world and I'm recommending that you lot wrap your precious cardboard upward in more cardboard. For the everyman, sometimes the simplest solution is the best. I similar the 800-count variety myself. All that said, if you want to know more than and how I came to this decision, please read on.
Figuring Out Your MTG Storage Needs
Archdemon of Paliano | Illustrated by Evan Shipard
What storage do yous need for MTG? Well, this profoundly depends on the quality and quantity of your drove. Are we talking most less than one,000 cards? Between ane,000 and 5,000? Greater than that, like carte store levels?
On the quality spectrum, you may someone who'south looking to store your majority, the commons and uncommons from by sets that might be useful to build a deck someday (I'm in this category) or maybe yous're a collector who needs to shop your very expensive cards safely, simply still within reach and organized.
Wherever you fall on either spectrum, you should ask yourself some primal questions:
- How much am I willing to spend?
- How much room am I willing to dedicate to this?
- How much time am I willing to dedicate to this?
- How much protection to I feasibly need for this?
The answers to these will aid guide you more. Beginners to the game really don't need much space at all. But you're going to demand to cleave out part of a closet or part to store things in one case you've been in the game for a few years .
I'll use myself as an case as I go through this, both because I know myself best simply as well because I'yard currently going through this. I'm moving from a considerably basic storage solution to one that will exist more than dedicated and that I can hands aggrandize and customize in the time to come.
So, for the above questions, I gave these answers:
- I want to spend as little equally possible; no more than than $100.
- I want it to take up simply a few cubed feet in my office (for now).
- I am willing to put in some piece of work. I can sort with the all-time of them, only I take Gruul'south motto to heart.
- My collection is several thou cards (small to some, decent to others), and not worth much in the end to anyone but me and other weird collectors like myself, then bones protection is fine.
I know what my baselines for my search will exist with this info. This is important since some solutions that you might want are outside of your parameters. It helps to keep yourself focused and non drift toward temptation.
Buyer'southward Guide
Chasm Guide | Analogy by Johannes Voss
What is it that makes a good storage solution? Since price is always a constraint, I think the better question should be, "what's a adept storage solution inside my budget?" There are fantastic solutions that will bank check all the boxes that y'all might be looking for but will besides crusade your bank to call you in business concern. Speaking of those boxes, let's talk criteria!
Looking at storage solutions, I counterbalance them in terms of:
- Durability
- Capacity
- Expandability
- Ease of utilise
- Ease of locating cards
- Await and appeal
- Security
- Accessibility
- Price
Let's accept binders every bit an instance. They're somewhat flimsy, can but contain as many pages as volition fit on the rings but you can add as many of those pages equally you like and tin always purchase more binders. They're also very easy to apply but information technology tin can exist a chore to find specific cards and they may wait terrible unless you get the expensive ones. They offering no real security, but you can find them in whatever office supply shop and they range in price from $1 to more than $xx.
I'thou looking to store over six,000 cards, not fill a trade folder, so those are out except for the choice cards that I want ready at hand for trading or to display for others but still have easy admission to.
To say I went through a lot of solutions like this is an understatement. For many, it was an piece of cake determination to but toss in the bin merely for others it was a little tougher to pick.
It's pretty easy to quickly and efficiently grade the different solutions as you research. Equally for bad or cheap storage solutions, some things you need to experience yourself. They tend to not have anything to protect the cards. I recommended the BCW brand of cardboard boxes for a reason.
Other companies I've seen in carte shops use a very thin paper-thin that looks like your fingers would go through just touching it. At that place are some plastic options that, while transparent, didn't latch properly. While I won't be going through each and every bit of criteria for my recommendations, know that these were what I was predominately looking at.
But that's plenty of that. Before we move on to official recommendations, let'southward look at some other examples.
Fatty Pack Boxes
- Durability: Adequately durable, but packaging tin be cumbersome.
- Capacity: Can only shop 250 cards at a maximum.
- Expandability: If sources can be plant, they do sit well together.
- Ease of use: Good. You pull the top off and there are your cards.
- Ease of locating cards: Not corking, only bully either with some marked labels.
- Look and appeal: Nice fine art, and if I don't accept a ton of that specific prepare, it's already labeled.
- Security: None to speak of.
- Accessibility: Unless you buy the fat pack/bundle, or your LGS sells the boxes, good luck!
- Toll: The boxes alone are around $five a piece, while new bundles are around $xl each
Fat pack boxes are nifty for a beginner but not skillful for long term or high-capacity storage.
Stanley 10 Compartment Organizer
- Durability: High cheers to its tough plastic exterior.
- Capacity: Able to store approximately 1,000 to 1,200 cards.
- Expandability: Loftier since they stack very nicely on top of one some other.
- Ease of use: Bang-up, and you can pull each compartment out freely.
- Ease of locating cards: Bottomless; cards are stacked vertically on top of each other and y'all accept to pull out the entire stack to get diving.
- Security: Meliorate than other basic solutions equally these are heavier to lug effectually, but it doesn't lock.
- Accessibility: Available in most big box hardware stores.
- Price: Nearly $sixteen (don't buy it on Amazon).
Stanley organizers are great for storing decks or moving them from place to place, but having to pull out entire stacks of gratis cards to go looking for one hurts it a lot. The price is also a bit high for the amount of storage provided.
The "Cadillac" of MTG Storage
For this category, I'm looking for max protection and security. Brand it something that can withstand the elements as well as theft. For that, we accept the Mesa Rubber Visitor Burglar and Burn down Rubber.
Yeah, I realize that I'm recommending a safe. At the cease of the day, if security and durability are your concerns and toll isn't, this is the way to become. I wouldn't suggest throwing your bulk in hither only a safe this size could easily fit more than 12 of the standard carte boxes inside. It would be difficult to open and would survive most disastrous events.
Possibly this would be a proficient place to keep your Power 9?
All-time Budget MTG Storage
It's hard to trounce the BCW carte du jour boxes. There's a reason that card shops use them. With card dividers and a flat white front end that allows for clear, curtailed labeling (my favorite is to put the set icon on the front), it'southward difficult to find something that works better.
The counts are perfect for a playset of virtually sets, as well. BCW also offers plastic variants in their Collectible Menu Bin and partitions, but information technology'due south difficult to crush the price and dimensions of the cardboard ones. I'd highly propose buying these from your LGS. Non merely does information technology help back up them, but they besides go them directly from a benefactor then they'll be cheaper.
Best MTG Bill of fare Boxes
For larger collections or if you're someone who wants to maximize your space, the BCW 5k Super Monster storage boxes are male monarch. Just like the 800-count variant, these come in 200lb-test cardboard to protect the collection from outside bangs and harm. Everything I said about the 800-count applies here, although their larger plastic offering is smaller than this.
As an added bonus: with Magic cards being thinner than other collectible sports cards, you tin can wait to fit closer to six,000 cards in i of these. I strongly suggest finding a mode to put these on shelves, though, as moving them effectually can become mighty heavy.
Best Storage Hotel: A Box for Your Boxes
This one was tough. At that place are lots of cube storage options bachelor out there, then I more than focused on availability and ease of use for the standard collector which gives us the Ikea KALLAX shelf unit.
Sadly the internal width is 13" then yous tin't fit the five,000-count boxes, but there's more than enough room for several 800-count boxes in each cube. I ended up getting a 4×2 one of these for my part and it stores my MTG collection plus my record collection pretty nicely.
If you're looking for anything larger or more specific, you'll probably need to kickoff looking at custom cabinets.
DIY Storage Solutions
Obviously, buying something and expecting it to work for you 100% is unlikely. Fifty-fifty the best recommendations may non requite you the feel or infinite that y'all demand. While I'chiliad non the handiest of gentlemen, there are definitely some of you lot out in that location who are. You're welcome to have some inspiration from others who take washed some great work.
Mini Card Catalog
One reddit user built their own mini card catalog.
Vintage Style Card Storage Box
Source
Other MTG Storage Solutions
Source
xv,000 Card Storage Box
Multiple Deck Card Box
Two-Layer Storage Box
Unusual Storage Solutions
This is where we can become into some odd, but overall understandable things to shop cards in. One of the classics is library card catalogs. With everything becoming digital, it's possible to find these at antique stores or other such places.
Taking collecting ane footstep farther is another level. A company has created an MTG sorting and pricing robot for resellers. While not a permanent storage solution (tired of that word yet?), where else am I going to talk nearly this matter?
Wrap Up
Clever Impersonator | Illustrated past Slawomir Maniak
The immortal problem of storing our cards will continue to be, well, immortal. But with so many unlike solutions available to you, information technology's hard to know where to starting time and even more stressful to really come to a decision.
Don't desire to build your own custom storage solution or spend an arm and a leg? Just go with the quick and easy choice I recommended above:
I hope that this ane human being's journey through it has helped some of you come to your own decision! In this way, cardboard begets cardboard, which begets particle board in some strange fashion. BCW would love your patronage and I hope you love their boxes likewise. #notsponsored
If you desire to share any neat solutions I missed or that you love, we welcome them in our Discord or in the comments below. Be sure to follow Draftsim on Twitter and Facebook then y'all know when we publish more than not bad articles similar this i. See you side by side time!
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