MasterSet

What is a Pokémon Master Set?

A Pokémon master set is a collection of every card required by a defined set of collecting rules. For an expansion, that usually means every numbered card, including secret rares, plus every variant printed for them, such as reverse holos.

Collectors don’t all draw the line in the same place. Alternate printings, stamped cards, promos, tournament and prize cards, error cards and other languages are counted by some and left out by others, so every master set starts with deciding its rules.

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01 · The rules

What counts in a Pokémon master set?

There’s no official rulebook, but most collectors agree on the first few rows below. The further down the table, the more opinions differ.

Numbered cards Every card in the set’s own numbering, up to its printed total: the 165 in 001/165. Always On MasterSet: Included.
Secret rares Cards numbered past the printed total (166/165 and up), such as gold, rainbow and special illustration rares. Always On MasterSet: Included.
Reverse holos A second version of a card with the foil on the card itself instead of the artwork. Most commons, uncommons and rares have one. Almost always On MasterSet: Included wherever one was printed, including sets with more than one reverse pattern.
Alternate arts The same Pokémon with different artwork, like full arts and illustration rares. Most carry a number of their own. Usually On MasterSet: Included, as numbered cards or secret rares.
Alternate printings The same card from another print run, such as 1st Edition, Shadowless and Unlimited in vintage sets. Varies On MasterSet: Each vintage print run is a master set of its own, and a grand master set combines them.
Stamped cards A set card with a stamp added: prerelease, staff, Pokémon League, Prize Pack or store stamps. Varies On MasterSet: Listed with the expansion’s promos, after its own cards. Included by default; Edit Rules removes them.
Promo cards Cards tied to a set but released outside its booster packs: box and blister promos, Cosmos Holo and Cracked Ice versions. Varies On MasterSet: A group you can include or remove on each expansion. Black Star Promos are Promo master sets of their own.
Tournament and prize cards Cards awarded to players: trophy cards for placing at a championship, and staff or participation prints from events. Rarely On MasterSet: Trophy cards are off by default on character master sets; Edit Rules includes them. Staff and league prints are regular cards.
Error cards Misprints: a missing set symbol or holo, wrong text, miscuts and ink errors. Rarely On MasterSet: Well-known, catalogued errors are listed as cards of their own; one-off misprints aren’t.
Language variants The same card printed in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French and other languages. Own set On MasterSet: English cards only.

Set your own rules

On MasterSet, character and expansion master sets have Edit Rules. Choose whether cameos and trophy cards count toward a Pokémon’s master set, or whether an expansion’s promos and basic Energy count toward its own.

The checklist, the set’s value and your cost to complete all follow your choice.

Edit Rules · Charizard Master Set

  • Include Charizard Pokémon TCG cards (on)
  • Include Cameo cards featuring Charizard (on)
  • Include Trophy cards featuring Charizard (off)

Edit Rules · 151 Master Set

  • Include regular 151 cards (on)
  • Include promo cards for 151 (on)
  • Include Energy cards (on)
Edit Rules on a character and an expansion master set, at their defaults.

02 · The difference

Complete set vs. master set

A complete set and a master set start from the same list of card numbers. The difference is versions: a complete set needs one copy of each number, while a master set needs every version printed for it.

Some collectors finish a complete set at the printed total (165/165); most include the secret rares. You don’t have to choose up front: on MasterSet the same checklist can be either.

Scarlet & Violet 151

165

numbered cards

42

secret rares

153

reverse holos

Total Count

360

151 has 165 numbered cards and 42 secret rares, 207 in all, and 153 of its cards also have a reverse holo: 207 + 153 makes a 360-card master set.
Includes Complete set Master set Grand master set
Every numbered card Yes Yes Yes
Secret rares Usually Yes Yes
Reverse holos and other variants No Yes Yes
Promos, stamps and special prints No No Yes
Scarlet & Violet 151 165 or 207 360 360 + promos

Prefer a complete set? Collapse variants.

On any expansion or character master set, open Edit Rules and choose Collapse All Variants. The checklist shows one row per card instead of one per version, owning any version completes that card, and your completion counts cards, not versions. Your cost to complete becomes a range, from the cheapest version of each missing card to the priciest.

Every version

  • Bulbasaur #001 Normal
  • Bulbasaur #001 Reverse Holo
  • Ivysaur #002 Normal
  • Ivysaur #002 Reverse Holo

Collapsed

  • Bulbasaur #001 2 versions
  • Ivysaur #002 2 versions
151’s first two cards, with every version listed and collapsed.
Try it on the 151 checklist →

03 · Going further

What is a grand master set?

A grand master set is a master set plus everything else connected to the set: promos with its set symbol, prerelease and staff stamps, Prize Pack prints, Cosmos Holo and other special versions, and for some collectors jumbo cards.

There’s no official definition, so two collectors’ grand master sets of the same expansion rarely match exactly. Decide what yours includes before you start.

Vintage collectors use the term for every print run of a set, too. Base Set was printed in four runs, and MasterSet has a master set for each, plus the Base Set Grand Master Set with every run in one checklist.

Base Set

1st Edition

the first print run

Base Set

Shadowless

no shadow beside the art

Base Set

Unlimited

the long main run

Base Set

4th Print

a later UK printing

Base Set Grand Master Set

Every run in one checklist
Base Set’s four print runs, each a master set, combine into the Base Set Grand Master Set.

04 · Quick answers

Do reverse holos count in a master set?

Yes.

Reverse holos are the main difference between a master set and a complete set, and nearly every master-set collector counts them.

A reverse holo has the foil on the card itself rather than on the artwork. They first appeared in Legendary Collection (2002), so earlier sets don’t have them. Since then, most expansions print a reverse holo of each common, uncommon and rare, while ultra rares (ex, V, VMAX, full arts) and secret rares usually don’t get one.

A few recent sets print more than one reverse pattern of the same card. Prismatic Evolutions has Poké Ball and Master Ball versions alongside its standard reverse holos, and a master set counts each pattern as a card of its own.

Do promo cards count in a master set?

Usually not.

Not in a master set, but usually in a grand master set. Promos are cards released outside a set’s booster packs: in collection boxes, blisters and tins, at prereleases, or as Black Star Promos with their own numbering (SWSH001 and on). Many carry the set’s symbol or a stamp, which is why collectors disagree about them.

On MasterSet, an expansion’s promos are listed in their own group after its regular cards. They’re included by default, and one switch in Edit Rules removes them. Each era’s Black Star Promos are a Promo master set of their own.

05 · Four kinds

Explore real Pokémon master sets

A master set doesn’t have to be one expansion. MasterSet has 1,650 master sets of four kinds, and each one is a checklist you can start right now.

Expansion master sets

Every card in one Pokémon TCG expansion, with its reverse holos and other variants. The set’s promos and basic Energy are listed as groups of their own, which you can include or remove, and vintage print runs, like Base Set 1st Edition, are master sets of their own.

Browse all 175 →

151

422 cards

$23,659.17

↘$179.51 (-0.8%)

Evolving Skies

403 cards

$10,539.35

↗$325.34 (+3.2%)

Prismatic Evolutions

488 cards

$8,914.75

↘$901.33 (-9.2%)

Base Set 1st Edition

103 cards

$20,178.57

↘$2,821.97 (-12.3%)

Character master sets

Every card featuring one Pokémon, from every set and era. A Charizard master set holds every English Charizard card, plus cameos: cards where Charizard appears in another card’s artwork. Trophy cards can be included too.

Browse all 1,025 →

Charizard

198 cards

$64,695.03

↘$480.38 (-0.7%)

Pikachu

510 cards

$45,413.10

↗$2,198.89 (+5.1%)

Umbreon

94 cards

$26,888.63

↗$857.42 (+3.3%)

Gengar

114 cards

$32,752.10

↗$2,915.25 (+9.8%)

Artist master sets

Every card credited to one illustrator, across their whole career, for collecting an artist’s style rather than a set or a Pokémon.

Browse all 418 →

Mitsuhiro Arita

1,420 cards

$87,595.90

↗$3,478.34 (+4.1%)

Ken Sugimori

2,303 cards

$91,519.37

↗$7,466.22 (+8.9%)

Atsuko Nishida

809 cards

$27,721.62

↗$2,802.99 (+11.2%)

Kagemaru Himeno

1,313 cards

$27,641.60

↗$1,273.09 (+4.8%)

Promo master sets

Promotional series with their own numbering, collected on their own: each era’s Black Star Promos, McDonald’s collections and World Championships decks.

Browse all 31 →

Wizards Black Star Promos

60 cards

$7,441.16

↗$111.87 (+1.5%)

SWSH Black Star Promos

351 cards

$17,712.51

↗$4,659.63 (+35.7%)

SM Black Star Promos

320 cards

$24,782.68

↗$272.69 (+1.1%)

McDonald's Collection

136 cards

$1,473.15

↗$101.90 (+7.4%)

06 · Before you start

Is a master set worth collecting?

For most collectors, yes, if you pick the right one. A master set gives a collection a finish line. Every pack, binder page and card show has something to look for, and filling the last slot is a satisfaction an open-ended collection never quite gives you. A few things are worth knowing first.

  1. 1

    Most of the cost is in a few cards

    In a modern expansion the commons, uncommons and reverse holos are usually cheap, and a handful of chase cards make up most of the value. Check a set’s estimated value and cost to complete before you commit.

  2. 2

    Buy the expensive cards as singles

    Opening packs is the fun part, but it’s a costly way to find one specific card.

  3. 3

    Decide your rules first

    Whether promos, stamps or trophy cards count changes both the size and the price of a set.

  4. 4

    Start with one you can finish

    A small expansion, a promo series or a Pokémon with a few dozen cards makes a better first master set than a 400-card modern expansion.

  5. 5

    Keep track as you go

    A master set runs to hundreds of cards, many in two or three versions, and without a checklist it’s easy to buy a duplicate or miss a variant.

  6. See what a set costs

    Every checklist on MasterSet shows the set’s estimated value and, as you tick cards, your cost to complete.

    Browse master sets →

07 · Start tracking

Find a master set checklist

Search 1,650 master set checklists by Pokémon, expansion or artist. Tick the cards you own and MasterSet keeps count of what’s missing, what it’s worth and what it will cost to complete. Your checklist saves in this browser, and signing in keeps it on every device.

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