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In 2019 Wizard's of the Coast introduced the Universal Promo Pack to Magic the Gathering. Since that time the pack has evolved, but several problems have been created. Here's how the packs are structured:

Regular promo packs contain the following four slots:

1. One promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from the most recent set.
2. One promo-stamped Standard-legal rare or mythic rare from a short public list curated by Magic's design studio.
   • Changed to "The List" with the Zendikar Rising set in 2020.
3. One alternate art basic land. Usually one of five different cards.
   • Changed to a "code" card for Magic the Gathering Arena with the Throne of Eldraine set in 2019.
4. One special, season-specific card with special treatments such as alternate frames/alternate art. Usually one of three different cards.

The problem is slot two. The cards from slot two can be released in multiple sets with no way to distinguish what set the card came from. For example a card that was found in slot 1 in a Core Set 2020 pack could be found in slot 2 of a Throne of Eldraine or any subsequent set's promo pack.

Here are two cards that are currently listed seperately on TCDB that are indistinguishable from each other that highlight the problem.

Here's a card from Core Set 2020 found in Slot 1 of a Core Set 2020 Promo Pack

Here's a card from Throne of Eldraine found in slot 2 of a Throne of Eldraine Promo Pack

Obviously a problem. Here's how other MtG collector sites have handled it

1) List the card only in the first set it appeared. In the example above it would only be listed in Core Set 2020 because it first appeared in that Promo Pack.

2) List the card under the set in was reprinted from. In this case in would also be Core Set 2020, because the card is reprinted from Core Set 2020.

I'm leaning toward the 2nd option....but I'm a little shaky. Are there other options?

I'd appreciate any thoughts. We currently have A LOT of duplicate cards on TCDB because of this issue.

I'm going to stop with that. There is another issue but I'll leave it for a later date.

I have nothing. I don't know these types of cards at all. However, I do know that you are the best suited and probably most knowledgable on gaming cards here. I can't speak for everyone but I'm sure most if not all the site members would support any decision you make

I agree with Ryan, Your Gaming knowledge is unmatched on the site so far.  My sons have a bunch that I will be adding, But I have little to no knowledge about these cards. Other than I've been told its Pokemon for adults, LOL

I can understand the struggle. I would want to put it with the set the promo was first released with - I know it isn't the case, but if the Core Set 2020 promo first appeared in Throne of Eldraine, it should go there. That said, if I got the card in hand, not knowing where it was from, I'd look to core set 2020 to look for it.

In that case, I think Core Set 2020 may be easier from a "finding it" perspective, but isn't as correct as listing the Promo in the first set that it actually appeared in.

I don't know if we could go the extra step by including somewhere in the Core Set 2020 information that Promo versions of card XYZ was released in Throne of Eldrain, etc.

Appreciate you thinking through this one - not an easy one!

I'd lean towards option 2 as well.  If I saw that card for sale at my LCS, I'd just assume it was Core Set 2020 & that's the first place I'd look for it on here.

Thanks for the votes of confidence. Not sure it's entirely deserved, but it is appreciated.

This is kind of a complicated issue and one that doesn't effect many members. Sorry to be long winded, but I need to collect my own thoughts in preparation of going to Admin with this issue and maybe someone will find it entertaining or useful. Most importantly maybe someone has a better idea than me.

If I was looking for this card on TCDB: (Notice the little foil "Planeswalker" symbol on the bottom right of the image area) to aid in my search I could use:

• the card name: "Assasins Trophy"
• the card number: 152/259
• or the set symbol  on the card: (Guilds of Ravnica is the set)
• or the copyright year: 2018

By searching "Assasin's Trophy" in the Gaming category on TCDB I get 9 different options.

1. 2018 Magic the Gathering Guilds of Ravnica #152 Assassin's Trophy
2. 2018 Magic the Gathering Guilds of Ravnica - Foil #152 Assassin's Trophy
3. 2018 Magic the Gathering Guilds of Ravnica - Prerelease Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
4. 2019 Magic the Gathering Core Set 2020 - Planeswalker-stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
5. 2019 Magic the Gathering Throne of Eldraine - Foil Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
6. 2019 Magic the Gathering Throne of Eldraine - Planeswalker-stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
7. 2020 Magic The Gathering Core Set 2021 - Foil Planeswalker Stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
8. 2020 Magic The Gathering Core Set 2021 - Planeswalker Stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
9. 2020 Magic the Gathering Secret Lair Party Hard, Shred Harder #139 Assassin's Trophy

Looking at the above list I can see that there are 3 cards listed on TCDB that indicate a "Planeswalker-stamp" (assuming I know that this is a non-foil version). The card numbers correspond, but the sets are all different than the set symbol on the card, which is a problem but I can compare images.

1. 2019 Magic the Gathering Core Set 2020 - Planeswalker-stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
2. 2019 Magic the Gathering Throne of Eldraine - Planeswalker-stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy
3. 2020 Magic The Gathering Core Set 2021 - Planeswalker Stamped Promos #152 Assassin's Trophy

Which card do I have? Looking at the images, they all look exactly the same. In fact they are all exactly the same. Unless I know the pack I opened to get the card, there's no way to tell them apart. The card actually was available in packs of Core Set 2020, Throne of Eldraine, and Core Set 2021.

I actually do have this card. I got it as part of a bulk lot so I don't know what pack it came out of. Therefore I don't know where to list it.

Most Magic the Gathering databases list this card as a "promo" for the set Guilds of Ravnica despite the fact that you couldn't get a Planeswalker-Stamped version in any of the Guilds of Ravnica products.  The Guilds of Ravnica set has had 36 cards reprinted with the Planeswalker-stamp, including "Assasin's Trophy", that have been released in various sets. Many cards were released in several different sets.

I have a feeling I will end up going to Admin for guidance with this one.

My reccomendation...and this is only for Magic the Gathering sets....is to have "Planeswalker-stamped" cards listed under the set that the original version of the card is from; regardless of the product that the "planeswalker-stamped" card was released with. 

Using the set Guilds of Ravnica as example, I would like to create a "Planeswalker-stamped" Promo Set that includes all 36 cards from Guilds of Ravnica that have been reprinted with a Planeswalker stamp. In the notes for that promo set would be a statement to the effect, "Guilds of Ravnica Planeswalker-stamped promos were released in promo packs from Core Set 2020 (10 cards), Throne of Eldraine (16 cards), Theros Beyond Death (22 cards), Ikoria , Liar of Behemoths (30 cards), and Core Set 2021 (27 cards)."

Thanks for letting me ramble on and collect my thoughts.

A card should not have multiple listings just because it was available in different types of packs.  In various sports categories, we don't have checklists for cards from retail packs separate from cards from fat packs (for example) unless there is a visible difference between the cards.

In the Racing category, I can think of several 'year-long' insert sets that were released across many products.  The checklist for the set has all of the cards listed and the notes for each card describe which product or products that card was inserted in.  Maybe a strategy like that would work for these?  Unless all cards from the set were available from all types of packs that they were inserted in, then maybe simple release notes would suffice.

-Tom

I gave this one a lot of thought last night. I reviewed everyone's suggestions, revisted some older forum postings, and compared other multi-year and promo set listings on TCDB.

I think I've come up with a solution that fits this scenario and avoids duplicate listings in the future.

First, my apologies to Coloradohusky who identified this issue and brought it up in a forum thread when this issue first appeared. Unfortunatley I failed to see the potential issues as early as he did.

The light-bulb went off when i was revisiting Burno's (Sandyrusty) forum thread about the 1977 Edito-Service World War II set. That post contains a really good discussion about grouped sets and I think it applies here.

Based on all that, my suggestion is to create one multi-year set with no base checklist but rather a list of "included sets" like the 1977 Edito-Service World War II set or the 2019-20 Leaf Superlative Collection set.

The set could be titled "2019-21 Magic the Gathering Planeswalker-stamped Promos". 

"Included Sets" would contain a list of all Magic the Gathering expansion sets that have had cards reprinted with the Plansewalker  foil stamp. The release notes for each "included set" could contain a description of the Promo packs that the cards were available in.

Chad, I agree with the above sentiments that you are the expert, and will support whatever you think is the best option. 

One thing to consider..not sure if I missed it, I kind of stopped comprehending up there, to be honest...I believe Admin can set it up where you can get to the same listing via different avenues. So in theory you could click to both sets but get the same listing, so the card only gets listed once but is found both ways. 

I'm not sure of the way that's done and if it's possible. Every time I've suggested it in the past I was admonished but it seems like it would be the ideal solution, to me, for this problem.

I've wished for the same functionality, Billy.  I think there is a way to have the same insert set checklist appear in the "Inserts & Related" seciton of multiple products, but I'm not sure if a specific card can appear in multiple checklists.  From a web page (HTML) standpoint it would not be difficult, but on the database side doing so might not work well with all of the other database functions.

-Tom