It’s time to get a suit of armour for your freshly constructed deck as we check out the best MTG deck boxes!
Since the very first Magic the Gathering (MTG) set was released back in 1993, one of the biggest and most satisfying aspects of playing wasn’t in playing the game at all. In actual fact, it’s in putting together a custom deck from your collection of cards, which you hope will absolutely decimate your opponents!
Of course, in the years since MTG was released, it’s become apparent that players really want to keep their cards safe and in great condition (especially when some cards can be pretty valuable – check out our rare Magic the Gathering cards list for more on information!).
There’s plenty of options to protect individual cards, but once you’ve put together a deck it’s also important to store it in one place, ready to take on your next opponent.
So a deck box is crucial – and, just like card sleeves, there’s an often bewildering amount of choice when it comes to deck boxes.
With so many deck boxes to choose from, which are the best?
Let’s find out, as we check out the best MTG deck boxes!
1. Quiver Citadel Deck Block
Funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Quiver Citadel Deck Block has a number of practical, useful features that make it stand out against other MTG deck boxes.
We’re huge fans of what Quiver bring to the tabletop – we even featured their Artemis sleeves in our best trading card sleeves article!
With this deck box being covered in polyurethane leather, it immediately looks the part and feels like a premium, well-made product.
It also features a fully detachable, wraparound, magnetic cover – in the same vegan PU leather as the rest of the box.
With a soft, velvet interior and a cleverly designed elastic strap that goes around the entire box to keep it even more secure, this is clearly a product that’s been designed by MTG enthusiasts!
There’s also a solid plastic divider included, which allows for accessories such as dice or other tokens to be kept in the box without potential damage to your deck of cards.
If you’re just looking to hold your deck in this box, it can accommodate up to 130 depending on how they’re sleeved, but of course this number will go down if you’re also including accessories.
Still, even if you include dice, tokens or other accessories, this deck box will still allow you to store and transport 60 plus cards; more than enough for a standard game of MTG.
Though this particular deck box is fairly expensive, it’s incredibly well designed, reliable and versatile – so in our humble opinion, it’s most definitely worth the extra cost if you’re a serious MTG (or Pokemon!) player.
2. Ultra Pro Magic The Gathering – Mythic Edition Alcove Flip Box
That’s right – another Ultra Pro deck box!
This one earns its place near the very top of this list, however, with a beautifully minimalist, officially licensed MTG aesthetic and a very protective, yet accessible, overall design.
There’s an embroidered Planeswalker logo on the front of the box, but the same logo also features, embossed, in the velvet-style interior.
The magnetised lid can be undone on both sides – and unfolds flat – with thumb notches that allow for easy access and removal of the deck.
As for this box’s storage capacity, it’ll hold 100 double sleeved cards and even more for single sleeved or unsleeved cards.
This is most certainly not a cheap deck box by any means – but it’s an incredibly stylish and brilliantly practical deck box that’ll make you the envy of your MTG games!
3. Card Guardian Premium Deck Box
Now this is a gorgeous, nicely featured deck box.
It does earn that Premium label for sure!
This Card Guardian Premium Deck Box has a really smart, nicely solid design – with anti-slip, anti-scratch outer material and soft microfiber lining throughout the interior.
It also has a magnetised clasp to keep cards secure; when opening, it unfolds to ensure very easy access to your deck.
This deck box will hold up to 120 sleeved cards too; which is two standard sized MTG decks or a Commander deck and some spares!
There’s also a range of seven colours to choose from with this particular design – and, given the quality of the product, it’s surprisingly affordable when compared to similar, more high end deck boxes.
So if you’re looking for a functional, very protective storage solution for your MTG deck – this is certainly a great choice.
It’s worth pointing out that Card Guardian also produce a version of their Premium deck box that carries 200 plus cards, but for carrying a standard deck or two, this 120-card option is a good starting point.
4. Vault X Premium Exo-Tec Deck Box
Another Vault X deck box, this one is a real step up from the box in the previous entry on this list.
Though it isn’t – sadly – bundled with any card sleeves, the deck box itself definitely feels like a much more premium product and does justify its higher cost.
The exterior of the deck box has what Vault X call Exo-Tec material – which is just a fancy way of saying that it’s water resistant, rigid and non-slip.
Inside, you’ll find a soft microfiber material lining and the clasp also has magnets for extra reassurance that this box will keep your cards protected too!
It’ll hold 200 unsleeved cards or 100 single sleeved cards (if you’re extra careful or paranoid, it’ll hold 80 double sleeved cards), so it’s reasonably and practically sized for the needs of most TCG/CCG players too.
This particular design is also available in eleven different colour options, so you’ll be able to choose one that fits either your deck colours or just your particular preference!
5. Vault X Large Deck Box
A similar plastic design to the more basic Ultra Pro MTG deck boxes we’ve covered, the Vault X Large Deck Box is plain in colour and design – though it does come in a nice variety of six different colour options – but it does have a trick up its, ahem, sleeves.
That comes in the form of 150 standard sized Vault X card sleeves!
So not only do you get yourself a perfectly functional deck box, but you get sleeves for even more cards than the deck box can hold – given that this is another that’ll hold 100 sleeved cards.
Though this doesn’t come packaged with a divider, it could be argued that these are generally unnecessary anyway – especially if you’re a Commander player!
This Vault X box is a great choice if you want to kill two birds with one stone – making it exceptionally good value for money, particularly as Vault X card sleeves also feature on our best Magic the Gathering sleeves list, so you know you’re getting good quality sleeves in addition to a functional deck box.
6. Ultra Pro Full View Deck Box with Tray
Yet another Ultra Pro design – they really are experts at providing great MTG accessories – this is also a deck box featuring officially licensed artwork.
Instead of art from a specific set – such as Phyrexia – this deck box takes its inspiration from a land card; in this instance, Plains. The artwork even features inside the card storage section of the box too!
Though it’s not the fanciest of deck boxes – being made of plastic – its clever design gives up to 100 sleeved cards a good amount of protection, as well as allowing a good view of your deck once you open the extended front of the box.
Additionally, there’s even a tray at the bottom of the box, which slides outward and can hold dice or other small accessories.
There’s even a divider too – again featuring the official artwork. If you have a 100 card Commander deck, you won’t need the divider of course – but it’s really useful if you have a 60 card deck and a sideboard (or two!) to keep your safely stored deck competitive against any foe!
7. Ultra Pro – Magic The Gathering – Phyrexia: All Will Be One Deck Box
This deck box is fairly basic in terms of its construction and build quality.
It doesn’t do anything special in terms of its functionality, though – like the more basic deck boxes from Ultra Pro that we’ve already covered – it does have a self-locking design that’s easy to open and close.
It also features a divider, so if you aren’t rocking a Commander deck, you can keep your 100 cards separated into two sections in the box.
What sets this apart from other basic deck boxes on the list is the gorgeous artwork; this Ultra Pro deck box is officially licensed and features art from recently released set, Phyrexia: All Will Be One (which we took a look at in our upcoming MTG sets article).
We also chose a Phyrexia: All Will Be One design on our best Magic the Gathering Play Mats list, so if you got your hands on that too, having this deck box would be a great way to synchronise your MTG accessories!
8. Rayvol Deck Boxes and Dividers – Set of 5
As with several other deck boxes we feature at the lower end of this list, there’s nothing particularly special about these specific products.
What we at Retro Dodo have found is that these are incredibly cost effective and perfectly functional, however.
Basic in their design, you actually get five different colour deck boxes in a pack.
Each deck box comes as a different, single colour of the MTG mana wheel too – so if you’re looking to store decks or cards in their individual colours, this set makes it very easy to do so!
There’s also two dividers per deck box, with each box holding between 80-100 cards (depending on whether or not the cards are sleeved, as well as the size of the sleeves used).
These deck boxes are a great choice for newer players who want a quick solution for multiple card types and decks, especially as getting five deck boxes in one purchase is convenient – and won’t break the bank!
9. GameGenic 100-Card Deck Holder
For the most part, this is just a basic, no-nonsense deck box.
It’ll hold 100 cards (and will even cope if they’re double sleeved!) and you can even choose from a range of 10 colours too.
A card divider matching the colour of the box is also included.
They do have a somewhat hidden – at first glance – feature, in that the lid can be opened up to 180 degrees, enabling much easier access to your cards than some other boxes on this list!
These GameGenic deck boxes are also an incredibly cost effective option – they tend to be priced very competitively, so if you need a quick, cheap deck box these are a great choice.
Another great feature is that they’re completely compatible with GameGenic’s Dungeon storage boxes – which accommodate multiple GameGenic deck boxes and store hundreds (in some larger options, over a thousand) cards at a time!
10. Casematix 200 Card Hard Shell Deck Box
Though traditionally sized and shaped deck boxes are likely the overwhelming preference for most MTG (or Pokemon, or even other TCG/CCGs) players, this nicely portable solution is a good choice, particularly as it holds double the amount of cards as a standard deck box.
A hard shell and fabric lining means that cards should be very well protected too.
Holding 200 non-sleeved cards (but what serious MTG/Pokemon player doesn’t sleeve their cards?) or up to 120 sleeved cards, it also has a decent capacity for your deck (or decks) too.
With a carabiner clip allowing you to attach this to just about any backpack you have, along with the case’s solid, protective design you can be sure that it’ll keep your cards safe from harm too.
Jason – who lives in the UK – has had a lifelong interest in video games, which all started when he discovered Space Invaders in the early 80s. The first game he ever completed was Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Sega Master System – which remains one of his proudest gaming achievements. Jason is a passionate writer – and has been writing about gaming since the late 90s. He currently runs pop culture blog midlifegamergeek.com, which he updates on a daily basis (and has written more than 700 articles on the blog alone!).
Outside of video games, Jason is a keen tabletop gamer, film buff and comic book fan.
