Finally, here we are. The official release is here and people open their boosters. Ever since Star Wars: Destiny was announced and more details became clear as to the deck size and number of characters you bring to the table, there has also been the question of: “How does one store the decks including the dice?”
A few weeks ago, I started my quest to find an answer to that question, starting from the most the obvious and simple answer for any card game: “Decks belong in deck boxes.” I have to admit that I have not played collectible or living card games in quite some time, so I did not own any deck boxes to start with. Luckily, the friendly folks from Ultimate Guard sent me a few samples of their high quality deck boxes to help me in my quest.
Firstly, I will give a quick overview of their different boxes and what I think about them. Then I will return to the initial question and look into how these or similar deck boxes can be used to transport your ready built decks to a FLGS or to a friend’s house for a few games of Star Wars: Destiny.
The picture above shows the Flip Deck Case, the Sidewinder, the Flip’n’Tray and the Twin Flip’nTray. All four boxes look well-made and built to last. The outside features Ultimate Guard’s signature Xenoskin covers. The inside is covered in soft microfiber, so your cards (and potentially dice and tokens) are well protected. All the flaps feature strong magnetic closures, so these will not open accidentally in your backpack.
Basically, the Flip Deck Case is a standard top loading deck box, while the Sidewinder turns the concept by 90 degrees. I personally prefer the design of the Sidewinder, as the flap lies flat on the table and the two cut-outs in the front and the back make accessing the cards really easy, even when the deck box is filled to the brim. Easy access is also a given for the Flip’n’Tray, where the card deck sits in a tray that, once removed, can be accessed from all sides. In addition, this deck box also features a separate “dice tray” in the top section. While a little more chunky, the Twin Flip’n’Tray adds a second deck tray allowing you to carry more decks.
In regard to Star Wars: Destiny, I see that the small extra tray in the Flip’n’Tray products is very appealing since it can easily store the tokens that come with the game, or ones produced by third parties. They are definitely big enough, as even the smaller one easily holds two sets of the cardboard tokens. In addition, I used them during our local launch event, and I found no need to separate the different tokens into extra piles. There are only four different tokens and one can easily grab what is needed directly from the tray. Personally, I see myself using the Sidewinder for a ready and tested tournament deck.
The Twin Flip’n’Tray, I will use more often to either hold two different decks “in-progress”. Similarly, one tray could hold a deck that I want to test during game night, while the other tray holds a set of those cards that I might want to try out in that deck during the fine-tuning.
So in summary, Ultimate Guard produces some high quality deck boxes for all tastes, but returning to my original quest, the question remains, how does one fit a deck of Star Wars: Destiny into a deck box?
All of the deck boxes from Ultimate Guard are available in two sizes: 80+ cards and 100+ cards (with the Twin Flip’n’Trays using two trays of the respective size). These numbers refer to double sleeved cards, so they are great for card games that utilize large decks. Star Wars: Destiny, however, is not such a game, as it only has a 30 card draw deck, plus a Battlefield and a few characters. However, depending on the deck, one would need to also transport quite a few dice together with those cards.
So what is needed is a way to use the spare space in a deck box to store the dice in. With the dice being 22mm, they actually cover a card in a 3×4 grid. So as a very first solution, I thought of creating a tuckbox design that holds dice instead of cards and provides a simple way to carry 12 dice in a tuck box. Following a couple of prototypes I built, I can present you with a good first solution:
The Chance Cube – Dice Tuckbox
The template features five different backgrounds and write-on labels that can be selected by switching between different layers. While the page size is A4, it should also print on US letter. In either case, make sure to neither have your PDF-viewing software, nor your printer software change the original picture size. I used 210g/sqm plain paper.
A 80+ card deck box will hold your 32-35 card Star Wars: Destiny deck and one dice tuckbox which holds up to 12 dice. The 100+ card deck boxes and trays hold the card deck and two tuckboxes, though it might be a bit of a tight fit, when all cards are double sleeved. This option holds up to 24 dice, which really should be enough for any deck. The dice tuckbox also work as a great divider to separate the draw deck from the characters and battlefield cards. I more have shuffled them all together more than once. In my games, I took out the token tray from the deck box and set it to my side of the table. Then I took out the cards and poured all my dice from the tuckboxes to the now empty card tray for easy access. In a tournament setting, I would simply place an empty tuckbox on the tray, so my opponent cannot see the dice I brought.
Please do give me your feedback on the dice tuckboxes. Is there anything, you would like to add or change? I am set on improving the design. Ideally, dice should be held and protected individually and stopped from moving and potentially scratching each other.
May the Dice be with you!
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I’m using one of those 200-card deck boxes, too, but I took out the two big trays and just keep the cards and dice stacked next to each other. At the moment the dice are loose, so those tuck boxes are a great idea! However, I would modify them so they don’t open at the smallest side, but at the largest, so you can see all the dice in that box at once. Basically, make it a flat box instead of a tall one 🙂 Of course, you’d need some moderately sturdy cardboard instead of just thick paper… I’ll try that later.