Scoops Phase Apparel is Here!

Hey everyone! By popular demand, we have finally created 3 different designs for t-shirts, mugs, and other products on our CafePress site! You can find the full site here. Without further ado, here are the designs that are now available!

Design 1 - Drafts and Drafts

That's right! The popular Drafts and Drafts series finally has it's own shirt! For those unaware, the D&D series involves myself and Anthony Harrison doing a draft on MTGO (Magic the Gathering Online) where we do a Vintage Masters draft or the current set, and on Cube Tutor, where we do drafts of our cubes! We have only released a few episodes so far, but we have more coming soon!

Design 2 - Wrong Magic

Very often when I tell people that I "play Magic", they think I'm talking about some type of LARPing environment or doing magic tricks (or Illusions, as some would call them). This is obviously a common misconception as many people I speak with have never even heard of it before talking to me about it.

Design 3 - Untap, Upkeep...Scoops?

Now the Scoops phase is part of your turn! Untap, upkeep, Scoops! "Scooping" is a common magic slang meaning to concede the game by "scooping" up your cards, and since people call me Scoops, I figured the connection was a pretty easy one to draw. 

I hope you like the new apparel! If you want to purchase it, just click the link at the top of this post to visit our CafePress site! 

Shield of the Dragon

Yes, I'm talking about sleeves today.

Like any collectible card game (CCG), Magic cards can be expensive and worth protecting. I don't know of many players that don't use sleeves (unless they are either a brand-new player), but those who choose not to are making a horrible mistake.

That being said, there are many kinds of sleeves you can use. Ultra Pros, Legions, Dragon Shields, you know it. Personally, I am an advocate for Dragon Shield (Silver, to be specific)

There are a few reasons I use them, particularly because they just feel so slick and sleek when you are shuffling. I've noticed over the years that Ultra Pros and Legions tend to break very easily, particularly along the outside edges. For a long while I actually used KMC Hyper Mat sleeves, but I ran into the same issues. I've actually been using Dragon Shields pretty religiously for about 3 years now, so much so that I bought a case of them to sleeve the Cube I recently built. 

Some people argue that Dragon Shields get too dirty too quickly, and in some situations they would b right. The Black, Blue, and Green sleeves made by Dragon Shield get incredibly dirty and look like crap in only a few weeks of play. The only colors I've had particularly good luck with are Silver and, surprisingly, Pink. 

Yup, you heard me right. Pink. 

The ONLY reason I don't use the Pink ones is because the Silvers hold up just as well, and let's be honest, Pink would probably bring a lot of unwanted criticism. Regardless, I still endorse them as being a quality product.

So there you have it, I love Dragon Shield sleeves and they're the only ones I use when I play magic. I am also an advocate for using Ultra Pro Perfect Fit sleeves in tandem with Dragon Shields when sleeving an expensive deck, just to keep them super safe.

Here are links to each of my favorite sleeves, in case you're interested in buying some! It's important to note that each of these products comes with 100 sleeves, great for sleeving any 75-card constructed deck or even a 100-card EDH/Commander deck!

Silver Dragon Shields

Pink Dragon Shields

Ultra Pro Perfect Fits

What are your favorite kind of sleeves? Let me know in the comments below!