Most damage comes from shuffling or debris entering from the top (which double sleeving prevents). If you mash shuffle then you can risk poking the face of your cards, which leave little indents on on the front/back of the card. If you riffle shuffle then you risk bending and wearing the structure of the card. If you’re playing the standard format, there aren’t too many cards that are super expensive in min rarity, so you could just buy HP lots. Expect any 8+ cards to go down to 5-6 due to risk of indentations.
Also beware that in Pokemon TCG, your opponent shuffles your deck just as much as you do.
Damaged as in crease or dent unlikely. Scratches, Slight corner / edge wear and the risks of stuff spilling on cards / dropping them / life happening is always a possibility. I don’t think they would drop below psa 8 condition unless you are very reckless. Source: I kept several of my old tcg decks together after they rotated, which included legend pieces, lv x, primes. I don’t think any would grade psa 10 but none are below psa 8 (all were pack fresh at the time).
I’ve never played the Pokemon TCG, but from my experience regularly playing minty, foiled-out MTG decks: if you shuffle correctly (i.e., don’t riffle shuffle lol) and you use perfect fits, your cards won’t get damaged. I don’t see why the same principle wouldn’t apply for Pokemon decks.
@mike444, what format are you making a deck for? as standard decks are fairly cheap –
i’d recommend just buying HP/MP cards you just cant have any DMG cards if they are expensive enough as there is just a lot of additional risk to damaging the card
Yup. Lots of Magic. Still lots of minty cards… Well, as minty as standard can be these days I think this was mentioned, but in PkMn TCG, your opponent shuffles your deck more often than in other games, so be aware of that.
@mike444,
If they’re really expensive cards, you can always use proxies: Keep the real card in your deck box, sleeved, and just write [ExpensiveCardName] in sharpie on a backwards card, or energy card, and place it in the same sleeves as the rest of your deck. AFAIK, this is as acceptable in PkMn as it is in MTG.
Okay thank you. I don’t think I’ll risk it due to the large amount of shuffling in this game. May alternatively find an online TCG emulator to play w/friends? Hmmm
I do not have any experience playing the game, but I guess deck sleeves would work better if you are shuffling the cards instead of penny sleeves. Penny sleeves are perfect in a binder or when the cards are stationary, but if you are playing with them I would guess deck sleeves offer better protection and are also more snug when you are shuffling your deck.
I started playing again in 2017 for a bit and like to bling out my decks, with double sleeving and just not shuffling like I hate the cards I’ve seen 0 damage in all my decks.
Since 2019 I’ve been playing 07/RSPK format too. These decks include gold stars (though I don’t use minty ones).
For retro formats I’d suggest to use proxies (proxycroak is good for this) unless you feel comfortable using real cards.
For modern I’d suggest just using the cards, after they rotate they drop heavily anyways
PS: I use KMC perfect fits and DragonShield mattes. Always use matte cards when you will shuffle cards!
As a vintage collector, I can always tell a played card. They have unique wear. It’s not the same as the wear and tear from handling or improper storage, a played card stands out to me as uniformly worn. So my gut reaction to the question “how badly does playing ruin cards” I’d say “pretty badly.” But this is under the assumption your cards are naked.
So, I wonder if it might be good to rephrase the question being asked here. Rather than ask how badly playing your cards damages them, maybe the question is what is the safest way to play with your cards without damaging them?
I’m interested in that answer myself. I see some people saying all you need are sleeves, but is that really all it takes?
NO, proxies are not allowed at Pokemon, only if they are assigned by a judge. This is only the case if a card becomes “marked/damaged” during a tournament. In all other cases you simply need to use the original card.
I have been playing the game for 20 years, and yes the cards do damage. (also the sleeves get damages). However most of our "played"cards end up as a 7 if I had to give them a number.
This is the reason I have boxes with “used” cards and with “new” cards. However my “used” cards look better than most so called NM cards on ebay.
I’d just print out proxies and not risk damaging the cards. Its what my friends and I have done and you really can’t tell the difference in regards to feel.
It depends how you shuffle and how often you play, I´ve had a good chunk of vintage (nm-mint) mtg double sleeved in decks until I decided to grade some of them two years or so ago, grades roughly ranged between BGS 8.5-9.5. I played these decks almost a decade. It´s definitely possible to preserve them nicely, you just got to be careful.
Basically this. Your results will not be my results or someone else’s.
I’d suggest you double sleeve/single sleeve depending on your preference and use your less valuable cards first. Play with them, shuffle them, drop them, … and see what damage you get and, if there is any, how you feel about that damage.
I know this is a collector’s forum but don’t forget the ‘G’ in TCG, most of the cards are still made to be played with! Have fun!
REALLY?! I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just astonished. That seems like a misguided rule, but I guess with Pokemon, they don’t have things like double sided cards that require proxies… However, for non-tournaments, I s’pose, it’s at least an option, for OP.
I remember being shocked when I learned MtG had the custom of handmade proxies. Pokémon is more regulated in this respect. You could never write the card name on a sleeve and play it.
That’s part of why the recent rise of “proxy” cards is so transparent. They’re often made for unsupported formats and wouldn’t be legal to play anyway. Not without express approval, anyway.
I think this was mentioned, but in PkMn TCG, your opponent shuffles your deck more often than in other games, so be aware of that.
