Sword & Shield Base: How to Identify Cards From This Set

• This set introduced Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX card types and the first Generation VIII Pokémon to the TCG.
• Cards carry the printed Regulation Mark 'D' near the set symbol; this was the very first Pokémon TCG set (in the international release) to use the regulation-mark system at all.
• Independent card database confirms card No. 1 of this set is marked with Regulation Mark D.

• Japanese 'Sword' and 'Shield' single-block sets: In Japan this era was released as two separate 60-card sets, 'Sword' and 'Shield', each with its own set symbol; the English release merged both into one 202-card 'Sword & Shield' set.

• Japanese standalone 'Sword'-only or 'Shield'-only booster sets: Cards from the standalone Japanese 'Sword' or 'Shield' sets are numbered out of 60 (e.g. 001/060) with their own set symbol, unlike the combined 202-card English/Japanese 'Sword & Shield' set.

Bulbapedia's infobox lists 216 total English cards (202 main + 14 secret/alternate-art cards numbered 203-216, e.g. Rare Rainbow and Rare Secret cards). Official English abbreviation SSH is confirmed by JustInBasil's TCG resource guide and by limitlesstcg.com's URL scheme (limitlesstcg.com/cards/SSH).

• Bottom-left or bottom-right corner: the set symbol and the collector number (e.g. 4/102) tell you the set; older cards have no symbol at all, which itself narrows them to Base Set.
• Left of the number: a 1st Edition stamp, if present, sits below the art on WOTC-era cards.
• Regulation mark (a letter in a box near the bottom, D through H so far) dates modern cards to a two-year window.
• Back of the card: the blue Poké Ball back has changed little since 1999; a washed-out, blurry or wrongly colored back is the first sign of a fake.

Lay the card flat on a dark surface in daylight, straight on, with the whole card in frame, then a close-up of the bottom edge where the set symbol, number and any edition stamp sit. Tilt holo cards under the light for a second shot to show the foil pattern. Photograph the back too. The app reads the card and set; the edition and rarity checks above tell you which version you have.