TCGGraph is our first choice for a commercial collection app that combines several trading card games. Its published catalog covers nine games with REST and GraphQL. The useful advantage is a shared integration for catalog records, market data and optional recognition; test individual game and printing coverage before choosing it.
Which options should you evaluate?
| Option | What to evaluate | Decision detail |
|---|---|---|
| TCGGraph | Unified catalog, REST and GraphQL | A fit for collections spanning several games. |
| JustTCG | Multi-game pricing workflows | Compare price variants and inventory batch requirements. |
| Separate specialist APIs | One integration per game | Useful when game-specific functionality outweighs shared infrastructure. |
Provider facts come from the linked documentation. Examples and workflow recommendations are this guide’s analysis.
What a unified trading card API should standardize
A shared catalog needs consistent identifiers, images, set references and price records. It should also make the game explicit on every result. A set code can occur in more than one game, and a card name can have many printings. Your database should preserve those distinctions even when the interface shows all holdings in one grid.
Separate common fields from game-specific attributes. Quantity, purchase date and selected market belong to the collection layer. Mana, ink, card types and other deck-building information belong to the game layer. This keeps a cross-game model useful without discarding the details that make each game work.
Choose one provider or maintain several adapters
One service can reduce the number of authentication methods, pagination patterns and error formats your backend maintains. Several specialist sources can give you closer alignment with a particular game. Compare both approaches against a written feature list rather than counting endpoints.
For a Pokémon-only binder, start with the Pokémon guide. If the same app must add Magic and One Piece next quarter, include those requirements now. A cheap first integration can become expensive if stored holdings depend directly on a schema that cannot represent the next game.
Example: one collector, three games
Imagine a collector holding 40 Pokémon printings, 30 Magic printings and 20 One Piece printings. Store 90 provider references linked to your own holding records, then group price refreshes by unique printing and market. Five copies of the same card can share a price observation while retaining separate acquisition records.
The collection total should reveal the number of priced holdings and the timestamp of the observations. Keep EUR and USD source totals separate before applying an explicitly labeled display conversion. A missing price should remain missing; treating it as zero creates a misleading portfolio change.
Evaluate TCGGraph with a representative catalog sample
Use the published games endpoint to discover supported games and the REST or GraphQL reference to inspect the fields your app needs. Include a recent set, an older reprint, a foil and a non-English printing in your sample. Record unsupported fields and missing prices as product gaps, not just technical errors.
For a combined scanning product, evaluate recognition separately from data access. Keep a user confirmation step for ambiguous printings and estimate scans independently from catalog requests. The next useful step is a small end-to-end trial: find a card, save a holding and update its price without changing its identity.
Before you choose an API
- Preserve game + provider printing ID on every holding.
- Retain the exact market, currency, finish and price timestamp.
- Test the least common game in your launch scope.
- Budget catalog reads and card recognition independently.
Frequently asked questions
Which API supports Pokémon, MTG and One Piece together?
TCGGraph publishes those games within one catalog. Compare the set, language and pricing fields your project needs; a game appearing on a coverage list does not establish complete coverage of every printing.
Is one multi-game API always cheaper?
No. Subscription fees, request volume and maintenance work all matter. A free specialist API can be sufficient for one game. A shared provider becomes more attractive when it removes repeated integration and mapping work.
Does GraphQL make a multi-game query one billable operation?
Not necessarily. TCGGraph meters root fields separately, so combining three searches into one HTTP request does not turn them into one search charge.
Sources and further reading
Your next step with TCGGraph
Inspect the documented fields, then test the cards and workload your application needs.