MTG Sleeves and Card Sizes
Magic: The Gathering cards are the standard trading card size, so sleeves and accessories are everywhere once you know what to look for. This guide covers the card dimensions, which sleeves fit, double-sleeving, and how to protect everything from a Commander deck to a single valuable card.
What size are Magic cards
Magic: The Gathering cards measure 63 by 88 mm, which is about 2.5 by 3.5 inches. Magic is the game the "standard size" label was effectively built around, so any sleeve or accessory sold as standard, regular, or simply "for MTG" fits. You do not need the smaller Japanese or "small" size (roughly 59 by 86 mm) that games like Yu-Gi-Oh! use.
Which sleeves fit
Standard-size sleeves have an inner opening around 66 by 91 mm, leaving room for the card. Anything labeled standard, regular, or Magic-size is the right class. Avoid small or Japanese-size sleeves, which will not close over a Magic card.
Sleeve types and trade-offs
- Penny sleeves: thin, clear, and cheap, sold in packs of 100. Loose-fitting and made for sorting, storage, and shipping rather than shuffling. Good as a first layer or under a toploader.
- Premium or deck sleeves: thicker, more durable, and usually opaque-backed. Built for repeated shuffling and to keep card faces hidden during play.
- Matte vs gloss: matte sleeves reduce glare and shuffle more smoothly, gloss sleeves slide more freely but reflect more light. Neither is objectively better; pick for how the cards will be used.
Protecting a Commander deck
A Commander deck is 100 cards, and sleeving adds real thickness, double-sleeving more so. When picking a deck box, look for one rated for 100 or more double-sleeved cards rather than a bare 100-count box, which a sleeved deck will not fit. If you shuffle a deck weekly, premium sleeves earn their cost; a deck that mostly sits on a shelf is fine in cheaper sleeves inside a box.
From sleeve to box: layering protection
- Sleeve: the baseline layer for almost any card you handle or keep.
- Toploader: a rigid 3 by 4 inch holder (35pt fits a standard sleeved card) that stops bending. Slip the card into a penny sleeve first so it does not rub against the hard plastic.
- Binder: a 9-pocket binder holds standard sleeved cards; side-loading pockets keep cards from sliding out when you turn a page.
- Storage box: for bulk and long-term storage, an acid-free box keeps sleeved cards upright, sorted, and out of the light.
You do not need every layer for every card. Bulk commons can live unsleeved in a box, a playing copy is fine in a single sleeve, and a valuable or sentimental card is worth double-sleeving or a penny sleeve plus a toploader, kept away from sunlight.
Track your Magic collection and current card values on TCG Stacked. If you want to pick up sleeves or storage, the searches below open current listings.
