It is the ever-present question for any game, especially a CCG: What is the best way to store and sort your collection? Not surprisingly, the SWU Harvest staff has some strong opinions about this. We spoke with everyone to find out how they manage their ever-growing Star Wars: Unlimited collections.
Binder, Box, or Other?
Andy: I’m team binder (#teambinder, get it trending on social media to confuse everyone – SWUEd). For Star Wars Destiny and Flesh and Blood, I had an UltraPro nine-card binder for each set. For the Star Wars LCG, I used the same style binder and fit as many objective sets in each binder as I could. For SWU, I followed Miketherebelspy’s lead and went with a 16-card binder, since it allows storage of each of the four different variants of each card on a given page.
Mike: #TeamBox all the way! I’m not collecting, so I just have my cards, minus hyperspace variants, in two 600 card plain white boxes that are easy to carry around. My trades and hyperspace are in an old X-Wing Minis Promo Deck box.
Jon: I use a box for my playset, and I keep a separate binder for my “collection”. This way lies madness, and I wish I had not started it. However, nothing short of the initial pack cracking feels as satisfying as slotting a missing card into its space.
Hunter: Both of em (Eloquent as always – SWUEd)
How do you sort your cards?
Andy: For SWU, I sort by number, which is conveniently also by color. For games like Netrunner, I sorted by color, then by card type. So I’d have an Anarch section, further sorted by hardware, programs, resources, and events. Basically, whatever makes the most sense for deckbuilding.
Mike: I go numerically for everything. I tried doing by cost, unit type, but numerically is just the way to go.
Jon: In the box (which are the cards from which I build my decks), I sort by Aspect then Card Type. So, I have Aggression Event Heroism, Aggression Event Villainy, and Aggression Event Neutral for example. In my binder, it’s simply by card number.
Hunter: Numerically for both the binder and the boxes but I have been entertaining the idea of putting the leaders of each aspect in front of their respective section.
How do you store and transport your decks? What about your trades?
Andy: I bought one of the GameGenic dual deck pods, and always have two decks built. I currently have Thrawn Blue and Leia Red built, so with that there’s no crossover between needed cards. I have my trades in one of the soft-shell GameGenic SWU deckboxes, since I have three of them. I may have been overzealous with the accessories for this one.
Mike: I have a rather infamous history with deck boxes (He does – SWUEd). If you ever meet me in person and we hang out, I MIGHT tell you about the great Deck Box Debacle of 2016. That being said, I carry my cards in the two white boxes described above.
Jon: I carry my decks in those UltraPro style plastic deck boxes you see everywhere. I transport everything in a Pac-Man/Star Wars mashup (both unauthorized I am sure) bag I got on Amazon. I keep my collection itself in a suitcase using an old Broken Token insert. I just now finally got my trades even sorted, so there isn’t much of a plan. I keep them semi-sorted by Aspect and stored in some Prerelease tuck boxes. Long live the tuck!
Hunter: The fancy schmancy GameGenic deckpods for the main decks and then all my dupes are in the lil black boxes from the prerelease kits.
How many of each card do you keep in your collection?
Andy: I keep a playset of each card. For SWU, that means up to three copies of each variant of a card, so up to twelve total. Anything above that goes in the trade pile.
Mike: I keep 6 of each common and then just hoard everything else so I can give them away or just trade for other cards. The exceptions being Legendaries, which I try to sell so I can buy more boxes or singles!
Jon: For my playset, 3 of each. Then, in my binder, I am attempting to gather each version of a card. So, a typical card will have one standard, one foil, one hyperspace, and one hyperspace foil. I know.
Hunter: 4, 1 for the binder, 3 for a playset in the boxes!
And finally: have you ever tried the “other” way (binder if you do box, box if you do binder)? Why did you switch?
Andy: When a game dies, or I’m finished playing it, I’ll move the cards from binders into bulk boxes, so that I can reuse the binders (those things aren’t cheap). I also have my Marvel Champions collection in a modified wooden artist’s box.
Mike: Yes, and after multiple instances of counting wrong and having to take out and put back hundreds of cards, I’m never going back to binders
Jon: I usually start a new CCG using a binder, then getting mad and remembering that I prefer the box with dividers method. There is another card game I recently played that did not have a deckbuilder site or app (shout out to my SuperShow players out there), so I stored the cards in binders to easily view them for deckbuilding.
Hunter: I usually just do boxes but with it being Star Wars and I really like the look of the cards I wanted to have a nice way to display the set in the binder!
So, that’s what we think. It seems like a pretty good split on which method works best. But what do you think? Leave a comment explaining why you chose your method of storage for SWU. It’ll be interesting to see if we stay tied, or if one pulls ahead of the other.
I’m voting for Team Binder, myself.
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