I've had hundreds of cassettes during my life.
I've been riding since before there were cassettes. You could buy and change individual cogs. I've built up my own cog sets numerous times.
My theory on cassettes is that, yes, you should take the maximum high and low, you might ever need, into consideration, but another consideration is what gears you are going to use frequently. Using road bike gearing as an example, getting a 12X32 cassette when you'll only use the 12T or 32T cogs a few times a year, maybe isn't the way to go. You might be better off getting a 13X28 and just accepting that there will be a few times when the 13 and 28 aren't enough.