Trading card games like Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering have spawned large accessory markets to help players play their games more comfortably and stand out from the crowd. The cost of these items can add up quickly however, so if you have access to a 3D printer, you can actually make most of these items yourself!
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Deck Boxes
Card deck boxes vary from just the cardboard box your card sleeves came in to elaborate handmade works of art that cost hundreds of dollars. Personally, I’ve always just bought a nice UltraPro box and called it a day, but perusing the creative options on sites like Thingiverse or Cults means I can now have more variety in my deck enclosures without selling a spare organ.
There are so many options, ranging from simple decorative boxes to elaborate mechanical models and intricate sculptures. So there’s no reason to go with a dull cardboard rectangle.
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Tokens
I don’t know about you, but I never really liked using cardboard tokens, or stones, or any of the other ad hoc substitutes that always come up during games. The good news is that you can print out as many tokens in whatever style you want.
Coins are pretty versatile, but I’ve seen cool ideas like a dry erase token the original custom token counter idea it’s based on, and embossed ability tokens. Those examples are for Magic: The Gathering, but you’ll find similar versions for games like Pokemon.
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Life Counters
In most trading card games (or any tabletop game to be honest) you have to keep track of various numbers, principally how much life you have. There are many different takes on how to do this, though these days spindown dice are popular, or people just use smartphone apps to do the job. However, batteries die and spindown dice can be “accidentally” knocked over, so maybe its worth trying a few of the 3D-printable life counter ideas that players have come up with.
I particularly like the combination lock style counter, since it’s easy to use multiple colors on any type of printer thanks to its design.
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Dice Towers and Trays
The best way to ensure that no one accuses anyone of finessing their dice rolls is to use a dice tower. Sure, you can buy one from a store, but it’s much cooler to print and then paint one to your own taste. I particularly like the tower that incorporates a clear Dr. Pepper bottle, so you can see the dice making its way down the stairs.
There are also plenty of tower designs that include a tray and even make use of magnets, which you can buy and glue into the appropriate slots.
Speaking of trays, with all the tokens, dice, and other gubbins that you have to sort and keep around during a typical TCG, it’s a good idea to have some sort of sorting system and I’ve found plenty of cool sorting trays. I particularly like this customizable Commander tray for Magic: The Gathering.
You can even mix your games up and print a MTG commander tray that looks like a Pokedex.
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Card Display Stands
If you’ve got an Alpha Black Lotus then it’s probably on display under several inches of bulletproof glass. However, for your more modest cards that aren’t worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, a 3D-printed display stand is a cool way to show off that rare foil with its sick artwork.
There are also stands meant to accommodate cards that you’ve had graded by the PSA or other similar grading bodies. So the sealed enclosure will fit in the stand snugly.
Now you can impress all the other TCG geeks the next time you head out for a tournament. Though I can’t guarantee it will help you play any better.
