What is in a master set? Pitch Black, all 120 cards by type
A complete set is one of every numbered card; a master set is every printing of every card. Pitch Black has 120 cards in eight rarity tiers and 74 reverse holofoils, so a master set is 194 cards. Every card pictured, grouped by type, with what one of each costs on 18 September 2026.
A "complete set" and a "master set" are two different finish lines, and the difference is where most of the cost and most of the confusion sit. This piece sets out what each term means, what kinds of card a modern expansion contains, and then counts one set all the way through: Pitch Black, the fifth Mega Evolution expansion, released 17 July 2026, with every one of its 120 cards pictured below by type.
Complete set, master set
A complete set is one copy of every numbered card, including the secret rares numbered past the printed total. A master set adds every printing of every card. TCG MasterSet's guide puts it this way: "A Pokémon master set is every card printed in a single set, including every variant — base cards, reverse holos, holo and non-holo versions, 1st edition prints, and the secret rares numbered beyond the set's printed total." The same guide notes that reverse holos "can come close to doubling the card count" and that "a master set commonly runs two to three times the size of the complete set."
Whether a card has a reverse holofoil printing follows a rule. Bulbapedia's Holofoil page: "A Reverse Holofoil counterpart is usually available for every card in a set, excluding Ultra Rare and Secret Rare cards, and any full-art cards." Since Scarlet & Violet, two reverse holofoils come in each booster pack (same page).
Promos are the grey area. Prerelease and store promos exist for most sets (PokéBeach's Pitch Black set guide lists this set's), but they are not numbered inside the set and most checklists leave them out. Code cards, the digital redemption cards in every product, are never counted.
The card types in a modern set
Rarity is printed on the card and filed by every database. These are the eight labels pokemontcg.io uses for Pitch Black, with what each one holds in this set. The printings come from TCGplayer's product listings as served by PokemonPriceTracker, checked on eleven cards, at least one per rarity, on 18 September 2026; the counts below assume every card of a rarity shares its checked card's printings.
- Common (37) and Uncommon (26): the bulk of the numbered set, printed without foil. Each also exists as a reverse holofoil, so a master set needs two of every one.
- Rare (11): holofoil in its regular printing, and also printed as a reverse holofoil. In Pitch Black: 9 Pokémon and 2 Special Energy cards (Shadowy Darkness Energy, Voltaic Lightning Energy).
- Double Rare (10): every one a Pokémon ex, 6 of them Mega Evolution ex. Holofoil only; TCGplayer lists no reverse printing for them, which matches Bulbapedia's rule.
- Illustration Rare (11, numbers 085–095): single Pokémon in an alternate illustration, the first tier past the printed total of 84. Holofoil only.
- Ultra Rare (18, numbers 096–113): 8 Pokémon ex and 10 Trainer cards (4 Supporters, 4 Items, 2 Pokémon Tools). Holofoil only.
- Special Illustration Rare (6, numbers 114–119): 4 Pokémon ex and 2 Supporters. Holofoil only.
- Mega Hyper Rare (1, number 120): Mega Darkrai ex, the last card in the set. Holofoil only.
Bulbapedia's own summary of the set agrees with these counts: "six Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, four regular Pokémon ex, 11 illustration rare Pokémon, 18 ultra rare Pokémon and Trainer cards, and six special illustration rare Pokémon and Supporter cards."
Counting Pitch Black
- Printed total: 84. Secret rares: 36 (numbers 085 to 120). Complete set: 120 cards (pokemontcg.io; Bulbapedia gives "120 (84 + 36 secret)").
- Reverse holofoils: the 37 Commons, 26 Uncommons and 11 Rares, 74 cards.
- Master set: 120 + 74 = 194 cards, one of each printing TCGplayer lists. No Poké Ball or Master Ball pattern variants exist for this set: the provider's set listing carries exactly 120 cards plus five code cards, and nothing else.
- Not counted: prerelease and store promos, and the code cards.
What one of each costs, 18 September 2026
TCGplayer market price, near mint, regular printing, via PokemonPriceTracker, read the same day the set was added to this catalog. Reverse holofoils are not priced here; the figures are for the 120-card complete set, one copy each.
- Whole set, one of each: $693.72.
- Common: $3.53 for 37 cards. Uncommon: $2.94 for 26. Rare: $2.17 for 11. Double Rare: $6.67 for 10.
- Illustration Rare: $31.68 for 11. Ultra Rare: $81.28 for 18.
- Special Illustration Rare: $416.54 for 6, 60% of the set's value in six cards. Mega Hyper Rare: $148.91 for one card.
- The top card, Mega Darkrai ex 116/084 (Special Illustration Rare), is $187.89, 27% of the whole set on its own; the top three cards are 60%. That is the number the chase concentration screen reports for every set, and Pitch Black joins it with the next report refresh.
Put differently: the 84 numbered cards together cost $15.31, and the 36 secret rares $678.41. A complete set is almost entirely a secret-rare purchase.
The 120 cards by type
Tap any card for the full-size scan and its page. A card with no scan on file shows a placeholder.
Common (37)
Uncommon (26)
Rare (11)
Double Rare (10)
Illustration Rare (11)
Ultra Rare (18)
Special Illustration Rare (6)
Mega Hyper Rare (1)
The sealed products
TCGplayer market via PokemonPriceTracker, 18 September 2026, for the products a set collector meets: booster pack $5.84, sleeved booster pack $7.43, booster box of 36 packs $183.54, Booster Bundle $41.12, Elite Trainer Box $74.43, Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box $123.12, Build & Battle Box $37.82. Pack counts for the bundle and the trainer boxes are not curated for this set yet, so no price per pack is given for them. None of this says whether to open packs or buy singles; the box EV screen answers that only for sets with a published pull-rate study, and Pitch Black does not have one yet.
Sources: pokemontcg.io set me5 (card list, rarities, images, read 18 September 2026); PokemonPriceTracker (TCGplayer market prices, printings and sealed products, read 18 September 2026); Bulbapedia, "Pitch Black (TCG)" and "Holofoil (TCG)"; TCG MasterSet, "What Is a Pokémon Master Set?"; Serebii's Pitch Black list for the secret-rare grouping; PokéBeach, "Pitch Black Set Guide" (promos and product lineup, title only, the page blocks automated readers).