Collectors, Intermediate
What is a master set? Write the definition before the checklist
“Master set” has no single collector-wide definition. Specify whether your goal includes numbered cards, extra-number entries, every finish, stamped promos and product-exclusive variants.
For intermediate readers, read 8 Nov 2026.
Build a scope statement
Write one sentence: I want every English numbered card in this release, plus the following variants. Then list the exceptions explicitly. Another collector may include every regional stamp, while yours may stop at standard pack variants. Neither label alone communicates the same task.
Reconcile three different counts
A printed denominator, a provider’s official-count field and its total catalog count can differ. A fourth count, the number of physical variants you choose to collect, can be different again. Our set pages display the cached fields and full returned text list, but do not certify every finish or promo exception.
Make progress portable
Store language, set ID, exact local number and variant as separate columns. A checkbox keyed only to species or local number will collide across releases. Keep your owned copy’s condition and acquisition cost in another layer so a damaged copy does not accidentally change the definition of completion.
Crown Zenith: the Gallery has a separate denominator
The cached 160-entry Crown Zenith main list is not the whole combined numbered project. One fan reference separates 159 ordinary main-set cards, one additional-number card and seventy Galarian Gallery entries, for 230 main-plus-Gallery entries. Keep the provider’s main-set field at 160 and record the Gallery separately; neither 160 nor 230 establishes all reverse finishes, stamps or product variants. This page’s existing returned checklist is main-set-only, not an invented complete Gallery checklist.
3 checks before you act
- Build a scope statement
- Reconcile three different counts
- Make progress portable
Read next
Sources read for this page
- ReadTCGdex metadata and known limitationsread 7 Nov 2026
- ReadFan reference: Crown Zenith count breakdownread 7 Nov 2026