Ruling Question regarding card sleeve legality.

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Punpun

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I am wondering what card sleeves are considered official Pokémon card sleeves and were I can find them. I would like to get some to use at city championships. Links and/or pictures would be incredibly helpful. Thanks!
 
I personally recommend Dragon shields. They're the best. Most durable. Most any kind of monochrome sleeves will do. If you have any Japanese cards in your deck, you need to check if the card back is showing through the sleeve. The back should not be visible through the back of the sleeve. Any holographic sleeves are not allowed (at least here) because they can have differences in the sleeve back and could be more easily marked.
There are a couple of pokemon themed sleeves on the markets too that are allowed for tournament play. The pokeball printed one is popular but a tad more hard to get.
A general rule is that you can't use any kind of sleeves with art on it's back (exept some of the pokemon themed). Those could be marked, so that it's hard to notice.

Just to be on the safe side, buy some simple monochrome sleeves. Dragon shields if possible.

You can buy sleeves atleast in almost any card game related stores. And of course there is ebay/internet stores, if you feel unwilling to leave your house in search for sleeves :p
 
I think here in the U.S. and Canada Hard covered sleeves are allowed if you have one on every card. I think the clear ones are allowed too but I am not sure. My friends use them but they may have changed the rules because I have not seen them for a little while now.:)
 
What about the old official sleeves, like the ones with Plusle, Minun, and Rayquaza I think it was? Are those disallowed as well?

Is this Dragon shields a brand or something? Can you show me a picture of them?
 
I am not sure if they are allowed or if they are disqualified now or not but My friends had hard covers and the ones with the black backs on them as well as the clear ones so I am not sure about those.:)
 
Thank you so much for the quick replies. I tried the PokeGym forums and the Pojo.com forums first and did not get an answer. I'll make sure to come here with questions first next time!
 
Punpun said:
Thank you so much for the quick replies. I tried the PokeGym forums and the Pojo.com forums first and did not get an answer. I'll make sure to come here with questions first next time!
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Pimpwalkin' Mateo Johnson said:
What about the old official sleeves, like the ones with Plusle, Minun, and Rayquaza I think it was? Are those disallowed as well?

Is this Dragon shields a brand or something? Can you show me a picture of them?
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Dragon Shield Deck Protectors These are practically the only sleeves I trust to last the longest. I have some that are over five years old and not one has broken yet. The pink ones are neat :p

The old sleeves (Legendary birds, Rayquaza/Plusle/Minun, Sharpedo) are still allowed here where I live.

See through sleeves are allowed as long as the cards in the sleeves are all in good condition. There should be no marks of wearing down, dirt spots or anything else on the card back that could distinguish the cards from each other. They should all look the same.
Same goes for the sleeves themselves. If one sleeve is more worn down than the others, it could be considered to be marked! Be sure your sleeves are in equally good condition!

Hardcover sleeves are not allowed or at least not well looked upon :/ ( I mean the really thick sleeves you use to store valuable cards in. I think they are called "penny sleeves")

To be sure, ask your tournaments head judge before the tournament, and always have spare sleeves with you when going to events.
 
^I got the exact same Dragon Shields you mentioned (the Purple ones, in fact), but I was forced to take em off my deck at Nationals since they thought they were too shiny. Now I only use them for PR and League, but yeah, they rock. Maybe I just got an old version of them or so...since the sleeves you showed came in packs of 100 and mine in packs of 50.
 
Too shiny?! What does that mean? If they had some kind of holographic appearance I understand them not being allowed. Being too new so that the surface in smooth and "shiny" should be more than allowed.
And Dragon shields have always come in packs of 100 as long as I can remember.
 
Pokemon TCG 2007-2008 Tournament Rules said:
14.2. Card Sleeves
Card sleeves are allowed to be used at Pokémon Organized Play events, provided that they meet the following requirements:
  • All of the sleeves on a deck must be the same color, condition, size, and texture.
  • The fronts of the sleeves are clear, clean, and free of designs, holograms, and emblems that may obscure card information.
  • The sleeves completely cover the entire card, leaving no portion sticking out of the open end.
  • The sleeves are not reflective enough to be used to clearly determine the faces of cards that remain in the deck. A reasonable degree of glossy finish on a sleeve is acceptable, but sleeves that create a mirror-like surface, where the card above it is clearly distinguishable, are not permitted.
  • Each card sleeve contains only one card.
  • The use of sleeves with any form of pattern or artwork on the back of the sleeve is strictly prohibited at all Premier Events, unless the sleeve is an official Pokémon sleeve, where the color along all four edges of the sleeve is identical.
  • The Head Judge of a non-Premier Event has the final say over whether or not art-backed sleeves may be used at that event. Inappropriate sleeve images (as determined by the Head Judge) are strictly prohibited.
The Head Judge has the final say regarding whether a player’s card sleeves may be used in an event.

Players should keep in mind that card sleeves are not a requirement at Pokémon Organized Play tournaments or events. Should a judge inform a player that their sleeves may not be used at an event, the player has the option of replacing the sleeves with more suitable sleeves, or playing without sleeves.
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Also keep in mind that the Head Judge or Tournament Organizer is free to disallow sleeves at their discretion, even sleeves that satisfy the above requirements. (For example, our PTO has disallowed official Pokemon sleeves at States before, due to problems with marked decks -- it was flat color or nothing.)
 
general rule on sleeves, if the border is not all the same color, then they cannot be used.

So the plusle/minun/rayquaza, and the legendary bird sleeves cannot be used.

The Pokeball sleeves can be used however.
 
@Mewstor
Well, I doublechecked and I really have a pack of 50 Dragon Shields right here. And er, about the rules, I think this was the one I failed to follow: "The sleeves are not reflective enough to be used to clearly determine the faces of cards that remain in the deck."
 
Mewstor, those sleeves you linked, those are legal for tournament play? I might order some. Is there any link to what they actually look like?
 
Hard to find pictures, this is as close as I've gotten:

http://www.arcanetinmen.dk/html/products.html

Can't really tell how reflective they are or if the backs are slightly transparent, but everything else about them looks acceptable.

KMC sleeves are good also. My personal choice.

http://www.collectorscache.com/StoreModules/ShowCategory.aspx?CategoryID=271&tabid=9&tabindex=0
 
Pimpwalkin' Mateo Johnson said:
Mewstor, those sleeves you linked, those are legal for tournament play? I might order some. Is there any link to what they actually look like?
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I used them in Worlds 2005, so they should be more than legal for tournament play :p They are not reflective. Just opaque sleeves. They are like the opaque Ultra Pro sleeves but far more superior in quality and endurance.
I think the Dragon Shields might be some europe only sleeves cause we use far more of those than any other sleeve brand here. (At least here where I live) Some still prefer Ultra Pro though, but just because of the cool art on some of the sleeves back.

Chairman Kaga said:
KMC sleeves are good also. My personal choice.

http://www.collectorscache.com/StoreModules/ShowCategory.aspx?CategoryID=271&tabid=9&tabindex=0
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Very similar to those! (don't know about their quality though) IMO those look more reflective than the Dragon Shields :/

?man said:
Can you use the new Weavile sleeves?
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Yes. Any official OP/PUI released sleeves are legal.
 
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