Questions, Answered

What MasterSets is, what it costs, and how your collection is kept.

Everything below is what people actually ask us. If yours is not here, ask it — the ones that come up twice end up on this page.

Getting started

Is MasterSets really free?

Yes — all of it, permanently. There is no paid tier, no trial that expires, and no feature held back behind an upgrade prompt. Our pricing page lists three plans and all three cost nothing, which is a joke we enjoy more than we probably should.

Do I need an account to look around?

No. Anyone can browse the card database, open any set, and try the tracking tools straight away — no sign-up, no email. What you are using in that case is a shared live demo collection, so anything you tick is visible to other visitors and is wiped clean each night. When you want a collection that is actually yours, make an account and it takes about ten seconds.

Which trading card games are supported?

Eighteen and counting, including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lorcana, One Piece and Star Wars Unlimited. The full list with set and card counts is on the homepage, which is generated live from the database rather than typed by hand.

My game is not on the list. Can you add it?

Ask and it goes on the list to be considered. New games are added in full — every set, every card, every variant — rather than dropped in half-finished, so it takes a while per game and the order depends on how many people want each one.

Tracking your collection

What is the difference between a Base Set, a Complete Set and a Master Set?

Roughly: the base set is the numbered run, the complete set adds the extras printed alongside it, and the master set is everything — reverse holos, promos, the lot. It is the single most-asked question we get, so it has its own page: Base vs. Complete vs. Master.

How are variants handled — reverse holos, promos, alternate art?

Each variant is tracked separately rather than lumped into one checkbox, because owning the reverse holo is not the same as owning the regular. That is what lets a set show you at 100% base but part-way to master, and it is why the completion rings on a set can differ from a plain card count.

Can I see what I am missing?

Yes — the Missing Cards Finder inverts your collection and shows only the gaps, per set or across a whole game. It is the fastest way to turn a collection into a want list before a show or a trade.

Can I track graded cards?

Yes. Slabs are tracked separately from raw cards, with the grader, the grade, and optionally what you paid for it.

Do you track what my collection is worth?

No, and that is deliberate. MasterSets is built for collecting rather than investing — the aim is to help you complete sets, not to watch a portfolio tick up and down. You can record what you paid for a slab as a personal note to yourself, and that number is yours alone. The longer answer is on why MasterSets works this way.

Privacy and your data

Who can see what I paid for a card?

Only you. Purchase prices and personal notes are never shown on shared views, and they are stripped entirely from the public demo collection. Nobody browsing the site sees what anything cost you.

Is the Kids Registration safe?

It is built so there is nothing to leak. A child's account needs no email address and collects no personal details — it exists to hold a collection and nothing else. A parent can claim the account and keep control of it, and the whole thing is described on the homepage.

What happens to my collection if I stop using the site?

It stays where it is. Nothing is deleted for inactivity, and since there is no subscription there is nothing to lapse.

Everything else

What is the Store Map?

A map of card shops and card shows, maintained by the people who go to them. You can browse it at the store map, and add or correct a listing if you know one we have missed.

What is Card Basher?

A free browser game, made for the same reason the tracker was: we wanted it to exist. It costs nothing and asks for nothing.

Something is wrong in the card data. How do I report it?

Please tell us — misprinted names, missing variants, wrong set totals. The database is large enough that errors are found by the people using it far faster than by us.

How do I learn my way around?

Short video walkthroughs live on the tutorials page — two minutes each, one per task.

Still stuck?

The short video walkthroughs cover the things that are easier shown than written.

Watch the tutorials