Storage Solution for Magic The Gathering Cards

August 28, 2018 6:28 AM

My daughter is recently into Magic, and the dining room table etc. is constantly covered with cards. I'm looking for some kind of plastic divider box that would have roughly 12 or so compartments, each being able to fit the 3.5 x 2.5'' dimensions of Magic cards. I've seen things like this, but having trouble finding appropriate dimensions. Figured there might be some good solutions that Magic players have come up with. Many thanks in advance for the help.
posted by dearleader to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Some Magic players I know kept their cards in a binder in plastic sleeves like this
posted by nuclear_soup at 6:45 AM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

For fancy boxes, you can look at Ultra Pro. But I think you probably just want a couple of trading card boxes with dividers for bulk storage. They're easy to find at hobby shops and comics stores.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 7:03 AM on August 28, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: This Stanley Tool case is supposedly the gold standard of repurposed organizers.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2018

Best answer: The Stanley 10-Compartment Deep Pro Small Parts Organizer is just the right size for Magic Cards. Home Depot

Here's an eBay listing showing one with MTG Cards
posted by zinon at 7:10 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

It has been a while since I was heavily into TCGs, but I think the old standbys are still good choices. To wit:

- For bulk storage, trading card boxes with a divider (mentioned above, find in a hobby shop)
- For rare/expensive cards, consider a 3-ring binder with card holder inserts (also at a hobby shop or online)
- It can be worth having a small number of plastic jewel box cases for individual decks (these typically fit inside card boxes)
posted by tocts at 7:15 AM on August 28, 2018

I bought this KMC plastic box earlier this year for my cube and am really happy with it. It holds ~1000 cards either in or out of sleeves, though you'd need some extra dividers for 12 compartments.

KMC makes some good stuff. If she needs sleeves I'd recommend their Hyper Matte ones.
posted by ODiV at 8:13 AM on August 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

There are boxes made specifically for this. Here is one; here is another. Searching trading card box on Amazon got me these results, maybe something here would work?
posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:41 AM on August 28, 2018

You don't say how old your daughter is and what the value of the cards are. Scale up & down based on if you care to preserve condition and value.

Magic card value is very non-linear. A single valuable card from a recent set could retail for $40, while bulk cards are as low as $3 per thousand. For bulk, the goal is to keep it in one place. For value, it's to keep it safe.

* Bulk - cardboard boxes, these come in sizes from 100-200 cards up to 5000+.
* Useful collection - I have a 2 row shoebox sized cardboard box for "playable" cards which often go in and out of decks. Not bulk, but not worth the time to put in and out of binders.
* Trade & Valuable cards - binders, either traditional 3 ring + pages, or premade ones. I'd prefer premade ones to prevent the rings from denting valuable cards.
* Built decks - deck boxes of various kinds exist. They can be anywhere from cheap, up to fancy magnet contraptions. I like these
posted by cschneid at 10:53 AM on August 28, 2018