Drop into nearly any card store right here in the USA and also you’ll discover the identical set of sources for shielding your playing cards lined up behind the counter. Manufacturers like Dragon Protect, Higher Deck, and Gamegenic are the most typical in my expertise, however by and enormous they provide very related options — particularly in terms of sleeving playing cards. The gang at Heavy Play does issues slightly otherwise, offering glorious high quality with a extra refined match and end.
I ran into the Heavy Play workforce at this yr’s MagicCon Chicago, and the very first thing that jumped out at me had been their playmats. Most followers of tabletop video games might be aware of rollable neoprene mats. These will usually be printed with illustrations from the playing cards for video games like Magic: The Gathering or Star Wars: Limitless, however over time they have an inclination to get slightly ratty. Heavy Gear’s playmats are stable, three-piece affairs that fold up for journey. They match effectively contained in the laptop computer compartment of your backpack, and after utilizing one usually for just a few months I’m completely satisfied to say it just about appears like new. It’s an fascinating adaptation, and if you will get previous the refined seams that divide the three items, it’s a wonderful, rugged answer for taking part in on the go.
Look slightly deeper at their product line, nevertheless, and also you’ll quickly discover numerous different fascinating options. The Heavy Play card sleeves have rounded corners on the backside. It’s a singular function shared by each the colourful outer sleeves and the tightly becoming internal sleeves as effectively. When shuffling, I discover that they’re a lot gentler on the fingers than Dragonsleeves and different manufacturers with extra pointy corners. The asymmetry additionally helps me preserve my playing cards all going through in the suitable route after I shuffle. Loading and reloading playing cards into your deck is usually a bit finicky thoughts you, because the rounded corners make them extra susceptible to ripping in my expertise. However in movement I truly desire the texture of those sleeves to all of the others I’ve tried up to now.
Lastly, many alternative merchandise within the Heavy Play line — from deck containers, to accent containers, to the aforementioned playmats above — are all magnetized. Which means you possibly can fold up your playmat, snap your deck field and your cube field on to it, after which load the complete meeting immediately into your bag. Their deckbox carriers take that to the subsequent degree, permitting you to hold a number of Heavy Gear containers internally with a playmat — or a standard neoprene mat rolled up inside their magnetized case — as a single unit.
Keep in mind, nevertheless, that every one of this does come at a little bit of a premium value. You’re completely going to spend extra on Heavy Play gear than on comparable equipment from different manufacturers. The sleeves are additionally a bit extra delicate. For that motive, I wouldn’t essentially advocate turning over your whole card storage system. But when your every-day assortment of sleeves, containers, and mats is trying a bit ratty it is likely to be time to look into some new equipment made by Heavy Play to see if it really works for you.
Heavy Play gear is accessible on-line and at choose retail shops. The gear was reviewed utilizing retail product supplied by Heavy Play. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships, however not with Heavy Play. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought by way of affiliate hyperlinks. You will discover extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.
