It's been a while since I've put up an update, but I haven't been up to nothing. I found out that I have access to a beefy laser cutter through my work, and have been throwing various projects at it over the last few weeks. One of the first things I wanted to try was precision inlay and making a rudimentary deck box. My first target was my Lazaav EDH deck, and it provided a good opportunity to get my feet wet with both laser cutting, inlay, and wood staining. The material itself comes from an 1/4" thick oak project board. I had pondered putting on a few layers of shellac or other finish to smooth it out, but decided that I'd already learned what I'd wanted to, and kinda preferred the woodgrain look.
The pattern for the box itself was generated using MakerCase, but I think for later projects I'm going to opt for actually making the joints myself to ensure they fit. There seemed to be some inconsistencies with the laser kerf (similar to the saw-depth for conventional cuts) that prevented perfect mating, and I haven't dialed in the compensation for that.
Over all this served as a proof-of-method and tools for doing nacre inlay on later projects, and bonus points: it still works as a box.