Which Dragon Shield sleeves are opaque?

You might have heard about the opaqueness of a card sleeve before, especially in tournament settings, but what is an opaque card sleeve and why does it matter?

Opaque means not being able to see through something, it is the opposite of transparent (see through).

Opaque card sleeves stop players from being able to see any of the card back, this rules out the possibility of players cheating with marked cards. In card games, knowing when you are going to draw a certain card from a randomized deck gives you access to extra information and gives you an unfair advantage over your opponent. This is why marked cards or sleeves is considered cheating and will result in match losses in tournament settings, even if unintentional.

The Dragon Shield colors that are opaque are Black, Jet, Purple and Silver.
All Matte Dual sleeves are fully opaque.

It is important to use opaque sleeves in competitive settings. Using non-opaque sleeves can easily lead to a match loss in tournament or competitive settings. This is due to the potential of cheating with marked cards and being able to see double-faced cards. The opacity of the sleeve will depend on the lighting conditions of the room you are in but it is always better to be on the safe side in tournament settings to avoid issues.

Using non-fully opaque sleeves is generally considered okay in casual local game store settings, but its still a good idea to use fully-opaque sleeves if you have double faced cards in your deck.

If you are still worried about your card sleeves not being fully opaque then Dragon Shield Perfect Fit Smoke Inner Sleeves can be used to sleeve a card before it is put in a regular sleeve. The back of the Smoke inner sleeve is dark which helps to further obscure the card back so it can’t be seen.

Our new Dual sleeves have a black interior, making them fully opaque. Dual sleeves let you have a colored card sleeve back whilst still having a fully opaque sleeve. Dual sleeves are a great option if you want to play with colored card sleeves in a tournament setting.

If you are playing in a competitive setting where card sleeve opacity is important, it is important to follow the rules of the tournament and play with opaque card sleeves. If you are playing casual games or kitchen table games with a friend then card sleeve opacity isn’t a big worry and you can pick whatever color sleeve or art sleeve you like the most.