How to Read a Dragon Ball Card Number

Dragon Ball card numbers look noisier than they are. The format is PREFIX + NUMBER + POSITION — BT27-019, FB05-119, SB02-022 — and once you can read the prefix you can place any card in a listing in about two seconds, including telling the two games apart.

Masters prefixes

• BT — the main booster series. BT1 is Galactic Battle from 2017 and the number climbs with every set; the current run reaches BT31. This is the largest family in the catalogue by a wide margin.
• TB — the themed sets: Tournament of Power, World Martial Arts Tournament, Clash of Fates. Only a handful of them, each built around one arc or theme rather than continuing the main line.
• DB — the draft boxes, a small side line printed for draft play.
• EX — expansion sets and anniversary products: Ultimate Box, the anniversary boxes, the Magnificent Collection, the Collector’s Selection volumes. These are numbered to EX25 and above.
• SD — Masters starter decks, a ready-made deck in one box.
• XD — Masters expert decks, the same idea tuned for an existing player.
• EB — the Battle Evolution booster, a one-off booster line.

Fusion World prefixes

• FB — the main booster series, starting at FB01 Awakened Pulse in 2024.
• SB — the Manga Booster line, which prints manga-panel art and carries its own energy marker designs.
• ST — the Story Booster line.
• FS — Fusion World starter decks, numbered FS01 upward.
• E — Energy Markers, which are a card type of their own rather than a rarity. They get their own numbering and their own packs, and they are covered in their own article.

The digits

The number after the dash is the card’s position inside that product. BT27-019 is the nineteenth card of the twenty-seventh Masters booster. Leaders sit at the front of each set’s numbering, which is why the lowest numbers in a set are usually the Leader cards.

Promos break the pattern

Promotional cards in both games carry a bare P prefix with a running number — P-187, P-211 — and not the set they were handed out with. That is deliberate: the same promo can be distributed at several events, and its code identifies the card, not the occasion. Which is why, on a promo, you have to ask about the distribution rather than read it.

What the number does not tell you

It does not tell you the rarity. Rarity is a separate mark, and it has its own page. It also does not tell you the language or the edition; the same card number is printed in Japanese, English and other languages, and the edition is stated on the product, not in the code.

Frequently asked questions

What do the letters at the front of a Dragon Ball card number mean?

The set family. The format is prefix + number + position, such as BT27-019, FB05-119 or SB02-022, and the prefix is what places the card.

How do you tell a Masters card from a Fusion World card by its code?

BT, TB, DB, EX, SD and XD are Masters. FB, SB, ST and FS are Fusion World. E is the Energy Marker type, which numbers itself.

Why do promo cards break the pattern?

Promos use a P prefix in both games, and some are issued with no number at all. That is why the code alone is not always enough to place a card.

Does the number tell you the language or the edition?

No. The same card number is printed in Japanese, English and other languages, and the edition is stated on the product rather than in the code.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — Dragon Ball Super Card Game and Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World official product pages and rule manuals.
2. PriceCharting — Dragon Ball console and individual card listings. PSA 10 values retrieved 2026-10-04.
3. CardSpicy — the Dragon Ball card index, on how the pool and its priced cards are counted.

Prices quoted are secondary-market observations at the date cited and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.