I've just started playing 3rd edition (although I played 1st a lot, 2nd a tiny bit . I was confused initially as to which sets to get, but with some reading and watching the ~40m promo video on the site, I figured out basically that I wanted the Creature/GM/Player Guide/Vault basically. As it turned out, however, my local store didn't have any dice packs. So, initially for our instant gratification factor, I bought the Core set instead (for the dice). I'm planning on buying the guides/vaults this weekend, but there are a few edge products I'm not sure the value of. The main product being the GM's Toolkit. Are the rules presented there included in the GM's Guide? Are the tracking pads (which I probably don't really need, but...) included in the GM's Vault? I had the impression that things like the Adventurer's Vault were subsumed by the the dual triumverate (certainly Signs of Faith, Winds of Magic, and Gathering Storm are--minus the actual adventure from Gathering Storm I guess).

Can Anyone lay it out for me?

The Players Vault and GM Vault contain what you have in the core (I believe the core has more dice). Now that you have the core, they are duplicate purchases. The Adventurers Toolkit, Signs of Faith, and Winds of Magic aren't included in the Vaults. They have material in the Guides, but if you are using the cards, you will have to buy the separate sets.

The Creature Vault is worth picking up, though, as it is separate material.

The GM Toolkit has some new material, not found in the GM Vault/Core. IMHO it's not a great purchase, especially if you don't have Lure of Power or Omens of War yet (as they are much more useful supplements).

Having looked through them, now, it seems that the Player's Guide and the Gamemaster's Guide include rules from Winds of Magic, etc. but their associated vaults /do not/ contain their associated cards. Which is a little frustrating. As far as I can tell, this includes the GM's Toolkit. The optional rules introduced in the toolkit appear to be included in the GM's guide, although it is possible they are not as fleshed out. I didn't get the toolkit (yet at least). I did get the vaults and guides. I feel the guides were worth it, the vaults... it's less clear. But I can support more players now, so it's not all bad. I suspect your advice was correct vis a vis the vaults.