Base Card Progress vs Variant Progress

Base-card progress

Base-card progress counts distinct logical identities, usually set code plus card number. If you own one regular copy of a card, that base identity is represented. A second finish may add collecting depth but does not add another base-card slot.

Variant progress

Variant progress counts the published variants themselves. Regular, holo, alternative art and language-specific records can each be separate published variants. This is the view to use when your goal is a full treatment archive rather than a playable or displayable base set.

Use the right denominator

The denominator must come from the published catalog at the time you measure. Do not count unpublished records, fixture-only rows or a future product as missing cards. PalTCG shows these indicators with explicit labels so a collector can answer “how much of the set do I own?” and “how many variants remain?” without merging different questions.