Dragon Ball card collecting runs on two vocabularies at once. One belongs to the game: Leaders, energy, colours and turn phases. The other belongs to the market: slabs, populations, gem rates and raw copies. A new collector meets both in the same listing and neither is explained there. CardSpicy defines the terms in the order you are likely to encounter them.
Quick answer
If you only learn six terms, learn these. A Leader is the single card a deck is built around. A card number identifies the exact printing of a card and is the only reliable identifier in a listing. Raw means ungraded. A slab is the plastic case a graded card comes in. A population is how many copies of a card have been graded. A gem rate is the share of submitted copies that reached the top grade. Everything else follows from those six.
Game terms
Leader. The one card that sits outside the main deck and begins the game in play. It has a colour and two printed sides, and every other card in the deck must share a colour with it. It is the first decision in deck building and the hardest constraint on the result.
Battle card. The ordinary card type: drawn, played, and used to attack or defend. The bulk of a deck is Battle cards.
Extra card. A card type that is played for its effect rather than as a fighter. It is subject to the same colour rule as a Battle card.
Energy marker. A physical token used to track the energy you spend during a game. It is a game accessory, not a card you play, which is why the most expensive item in Dragon Ball collecting being an energy marker is less strange than it looks: it is a printed collectible that happens to be a game piece. The energy marker overview covers them in full.
Charge, main and end turn. The three phases a turn is divided into, in the order they are played. The publisher’s rule manual defines them and the sequence is fixed.
Awakened side. The second printed side of a Leader card, reached during play. It usually changes the Leader’s power or effect, so a Leader is really two cards for the price of one.
Colour rule. Every Battle card and Extra card must share at least one colour with the Leader. It is the rule that makes a Leader choice binding on the whole deck.
Ban and restricted list. A published list of cards that may not be played, or that may be played only in a limited number of copies. It is updated periodically and applies to organised play, not to collecting.
Collector terms
Raw. An ungraded card, in whatever condition it is in. The term is neutral: a raw card is not a worse card, it is a card whose condition has not been independently assessed.
Slab. The sealed plastic case a graded card is returned in, with a label identifying the card, the grade and the grader. The slab is part of the product: a graded card is bought and sold in its case, and removing a card from a case destroys the grading.
Population, or pop. The number of copies of a particular card that a grading company has graded. A low population means few copies exist in a case; it does not mean few copies exist, because ungraded copies are not counted.
Gem rate. The proportion of submitted copies of a card that received the top grade. A low gem rate means the card is hard to find in top condition, which is a different kind of scarcity from a low print run.
Alternate art. A printing of an existing card with different artwork. Same number, same game function, different picture.
Chase card. The card in a set that collectors most want, usually the one at the top of the rarity ladder or the one carrying the highest-end treatment. It is a description of demand, not an official category.
Sealed product. Unopened packs or boxes, bought and sold as such. Its value rests on the seal being intact as much as on the contents.
Chase versus need. Two different reasons to buy the same card. A need completes a deck or a set; a chase is wanted for itself. The buying checklist puts that distinction to work before a purchase.
What we will not tell you
CardSpicy will not define a term the publisher defines differently, and we will not invent shorthand for a mechanic. Where a term above is a game term, its authority is the rule manual; where it is a collecting term, it is a convention rather than a rule and different sellers use it loosely. If a listing uses a term in a way that changes what you are buying — particularly a card number, a grade or a treatment — the listing is the thing to interrogate, not the glossary. Nothing on this page is a valuation of any card.
Frequently asked questions
What does raw mean for a Dragon Ball card?
Ungraded. A raw card has not been sent to a grading company and has no case or grade attached to it. The word describes the card’s status rather than its condition: a raw card can be in excellent condition, it simply has not been independently assessed.
What is a slab?
The sealed plastic case a graded card is returned in, carrying a label with the card, the grade and the grading company. The case is part of the card’s value and removing a card from it destroys the grading, which is why graded cards are bought and sold in their cases.
What is a gem rate?
The share of submitted copies of a card that received the top grade from the grading company. It measures how hard the card is to find in top condition, which is a different thing from how many were printed. A card can be common and still have a low gem rate.
What is an energy marker in Dragon Ball?
A physical token used to track energy during a game. It is not a card you play, which is why it is worth being precise about it: the most expensive item in Dragon Ball collecting is an energy marker, and it is expensive as a printed collectible rather than as a play piece.
What is a chase card?
The card in a set that collectors most want, usually the top of the rarity ladder or the one with the highest-end treatment. It is a description of what buyers are chasing rather than an official category, so which card it is can change as a market changes.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- Bandai — the official DRAGON BALL SUPER CARD GAME Fusion World rule manual (Version 1.20), which sets out deck construction, the colour rule, the Leader card and the charge, main and end turn structure referred to on this page.
- Bandai — the official Fusion World and Masters product listings and published release dates for the sets named here, and the official card-list finder, which is the source of every set make-up quoted.
- Bandai — the official Fusion World and Masters tournament regulations and the published banned and restricted card list, which is the source of the format statements made here.
- CardSpicy — the Dragon Ball card index, which tracks how many cards each character has and how many carry a graded value.
Set contents, release dates and event regulations are taken from the publisher’s own announcements at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations 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.
Where to go next
- The CardSpicy card index — every card we track, with its PSA 10 population and market history (195 cards).
- The illustrator index — every artist behind those cards, card by card (110 artists).
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