Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Pokemon Trading Card Game, vintage pokemon

Collecting Complete & Master Sets Of Pokémon TCG

So much of the conversation regarding Pokémon card collecting centers around grading. What doesn't get talked about as much is binder collecting. With this special piece on the hobby of collecting Pokémon TCG sets, I will discuss what does into collecting a complete set, the difference between a complete set and master set, and lay out what goes into picking a good binder.

Complete set vs. Master set in the Pokémon TCG

This is a very basic distinction, and both forms of collecting — and, really, any kind of collecting that you can dream up, is valid. There are so many different ways to showcase your cards. Let's go on ahead and make this distinction, though.

Complete Set: This is when one collects one of each card in a Pokémon TCG set. This includes every card in the numbered set as well as every Secret Rare card.

Master Set: This is a hardcore version of the above. Collectors who complete Master Sets seek to collect every version of every card in the set. The most basic idea of a master set is every card in the numbered set, every Secret Rare, and every reverse holo (which reprint the non-Full Art cards with foil on the card's border and text area rather than on the background of the art). This gets complicated, though, because there are also variants of cards that cannot be pulled in packs. Theme decks used to offer Cracked Ice Holo versions of cards that normally come holo. Build & Battle decks feature Evolution Packs that often feature a non-holo version of a normally holo card. Many Pokémon TCG fans who collect Master Sets also include every promo card from every product branded with the set's name, but on there are other collectors who instead treat an era's Black Star Promos like its own numbered set (which it is, as you can tell from the numbers on the bottom of the card) and thus collect it into its own separate binder.

How to lay out a binder collection

With this in mind, there are many ways to lay out a binder. What I do is build a Complete Set without reverse holos, as I don't personally enjoy them. Other ways include:

• Complete Set with reverse holos: Some will include the reverse holos they have, mixing them up with the standard cards. I don't personally enjoy the aesthetic of this method myself, as the cards end up not looking uniform.
• Master Set with layered cards: In order to conserve binder space, some collectors who build a Master Set will put the reverse holo card over the standard card in the same slot in the binder.
• Master Set facing out, in order: A popular method is to simply lay out the set in number order, and put the reverse holo right next to the standard card. This leads to a repetitive look with two cards appearing side-to-side throughout most of the set, but the appeal is that this is not only the most complete a set can be, but it also showcases every single card with none being hidden by doubling up.

When it comes down to it, customize and have fun. I have my way, which I'll sometimes break away from in order to make a binder my own. For example, I generally put every card in their numbered set. However, certain Pokémon TCG: Hidden Fates products contained Shiny Pokémon cards that were done in the Hidden Fates style, but were considered "Alternate Art" cards from other sets due to the numbered on the card. In those cases, I just put those cards in Hidden Fates, as they fit the aesthetic better.

Binder tips

As far as buying a binder and then building a set within it, my recommendations are:

• A zip binder to keep the cards safest. Strap portfolios are also great, which I will get to in my upcoming post about Dragon Ball Super Card Game collecting.
• Side-loading pages to keep dust from getting in the top.
• Brands like Top Deck, Vault X, Card Guardian, Wintra, and Ultra Pro offer great products.
• Sleeve the cards before putting them in the binder. Even the commons. This stops them from sliding around and creates a better, more uniform look.

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