Which Pokémon accessories do you need as a beginner?

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• Sleeves, toploaders, a deck box or a binder? Here is what a beginner really needs, the order to buy it in, and what can safely wait.

Your first Pokémon cards are in the house, and the shelf is full of sleeves, toploaders, binders and deck boxes. Good news: you only need three of them to start, and together they cost under nine euro. Below is the order to buy them in, and what can safely wait.

Sleeves: the first 1.49 euro you spend

Sleeves are thin plastic covers your card slides into. They are the cheapest protection there is, and the first thing you buy. A card does not need to be dropped to get damaged. Cards sliding over each other in a drawer, or sitting loose on a table, pick up scratches and white edges all by themselves.

For storage, penny sleeves do the job: a hundred of them cost 1.49 euro. Every card you want to keep in good shape goes straight in.

If you play with your cards, you need a different type. Deck protectors are thicker and have an opaque back, because your opponent should not be able to see through your cards. A pack of 65 covers a 60-card deck with spares. Not sure about the size? Read our guide to sleeve sizes.

Toploaders: rigid protection for your best cards

A toploader is a stiff 3 by 4 inch plastic holder that a sleeved card slides into. Twenty-five of them cost 2.99 euro.

You do not use them for your whole collection, only for the cards that matter: an expensive pull, a card you are trading or selling, or a card going into the post. The rule is simple: sleeve first, then toploader. A bare card rubs against the hard plastic, and then the protection works against you. There is more on that in our toploader guide.

Deck box: where your sleeved cards live

A deck box is the case that keeps your cards upright. Without one, they sit loose in a bag or a drawer, and that is exactly where corners bend.

A basic model for a hundred sleeved cards costs around 4.49 euro. That is enough for one deck plus spares, or for the cards you want to trade. If you play often, look for a box that clicks shut firmly. A box that pops open in your backpack protects nothing.

Binder: only once your collection grows

A binder is the album with clear pages where you store and browse your cards side by side. That is the difference with a deck box: a binder is for showing, a deck box is for carrying.

Under a hundred cards you do not really need one yet. As your collection grows, a 9-pocket binder for 360 cards puts everything in its place for around 17 euro. Watch two things. Pick side-loading pages, so cards cannot slide out when the binder is turned upside down. And pick a PVC-free binder, because that material can damage the ink on your cards over time.

What can wait

A playmat is nice to play on and keeps your cards off the table, but it protects nothing while you are not playing. Magnetic holders and premium storage boxes are built for cards worth tens of euro, and you rarely have those in your first weeks.

Buy that gear once you know what you enjoy most. If after a month it turns out you mostly collect, your money is better spent on a binder. If you mostly play, a second pack of deck protectors makes more sense.

Your starter set in one go

Penny sleeves, a pack of toploaders and a deck box: together you stay under nine euro, and your cards are protected from day one. You build the rest up at your own pace.

Below are the accessories to start with. Everything ships from Oudenburg via bpost, usually at your door within 1 to 4 working days.