Free WOTC Variant Cheat Sheet (Printable PDF)

Most Pokemon set checklists give you one tick box per card. That is fine until you own three copies of the same Charizard and none of them are the same card. Vintage WOTC cards were printed in runs, and the run is often worth more than the card.

So we made a free one page reference. Print it, slide it into the front pocket of your binder, and stop guessing.

Download A4 (PDF)Download US Letter (PDF)

What is on the sheet

• The four Base Set print runs and the order to check them in: 1st Edition stamp, then the art frame shadow, then the copyright date, then the Vulpix tiebreak.
• Release date, card count, holo count and the checklist columns you need for Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge.
• The errors and oddities worth knowing: the Jungle no set symbol holos, what Starlight and Cosmos foil actually mean on Fossil, Dark Raichu 83/82, the Dark Dragonite 5/82 no holo and the Blaine's Charizard energy misprint.
• A QR code back to the full written guides, so it is useful at a card show when your hands are full.

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We are working through the WOTC era one set at a time, covering the print runs, the holo patterns and the errors that a plain checklist misses. Leave your email and each new guide lands in your inbox as it goes live. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Read the full guides

• Base Set print runs: 1st Edition, Shadowless, Unlimited and 1999-2000
• The Jungle no set symbol error, explained
• Fossil holo patterns and why the names are a mess
• Dark Raichu 83/82, the first secret rare
• The Dark Dragonite 5/82 no holo error
• Blaine's Charizard: error and corrected copies

Made by Pokemom is an independent fan project. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Nintendo, Creatures Inc., GAME FREAK, The Pokemon Company or Wizards of the Coast. Card names and set names are used only to describe which cards a checklist covers.