We know how you feel. After a while it all becomes the same old thing – people play the same builds in Hearthstone Battlegrounds, the same Hearthstone meta decks keep popping out in Wild and Standard mode and you start looking at other options. Well, at least in our case, we always come back to Hearthstone eventually but it’s a good idea to try out some other card games if you feel burned out of HS. This is why we are writing this article in which we will analyze the most similar games to Hearthstone. In our list, we will present some less-known alternatives to Hearthstone as well. Though some games on our list may not look like Hearthstone, some of the key game elements will be there. Without further ado, check out our ultimate list of games like Hearthstone to play in 2024.
10. Monster Train
Image Credits: Shiny Shoe
Monster Train is a tower-defense, rogue-like dungeon crawler that has received a lot of praise ever since its release back in 2020. The fun thing about this game is that you are defending the Pyre – but not just any pyre, this is literally the pyre from hell as you are playing on the bad guys side, defending hell from the forces of Heaven. Imaginative, right?
The deckbuilding side of the game is just astonishing. As you can choose from different clans and select different champions, the plethora of combinations for deck-building is really vast. Many players cite that the best thing this game has to offer is unlimited game-play time as it’s super replayable. It’s not a well-known game, but it is something that you might try if you are looking for a game like Hearthstone.
9. Eternal
Image Credits: Dire Wolf Digital
Eternals looks and feels like Magic the Gathering mixed with Legends of Runeterra while having mods similar to Hearthstone. Yeah, visually speaking, it resembles LoR the most but the gameplay, with instant cards and similar mechanics resembles more on MtG. Unlike both of those, Eternal is fairly simple to understand and very beginner-friendly.
Furthermore, with its quick game style, it resembles Marvel Snap to some degree as well. The game has a very good deck builder and overall, the whole setting feels kinda epic and attractive, something that modern games kind of lack. It’s worth a try if you are looking for something similar to Hearthstone.
8. Night of the Full Moon
Image Credits: Giant Network Group
Night of the Full Moon is a card battler that visually looks stunning. The players literally play Little Red Riding Hood who goes into a dark forest searching for her grandma. We know that it doesn’t sound too interesting, but the quirky approach to the storytelling mixed with card-battler is really cool.
The mechanics are similar to the ones of Slay the Spire but this game takes them to the next level. Players start with 10 decks and obtain more as they progress through levels and open various chess – so in that way, it’s standard. The lack of this is that there is no tutorial to the game so if a new card player tries it, this will probably be a problem. Be that as it may, the deckbuilding options are great and the game is even playable in offline mode!
7. Shiba Eternity
Image credits: PlaySide™ Studios
To be frank, this one is a bit controversial. Although Shiba Eternity started out strong and promised a lot (even some crypto-currency incentives), the game, judged by many players, didn’t meet the requirements. Don’t get us wrong, it is worth a try – but there are some long-term problems with the overall experience of the game.
To start with the good things – generally speaking, the visuals in the game are pretty good and likable. The combat system is pretty much a mashup of well-known mechanics from HS, MTG, and LoR so that’s a good thing. The lore is almost non-existent and there are several problems reported regarding meta-decks. In short, it is okay to try this one but don’t expect to stay too long on Shiba Eternity.
6. Magic Spellslingers
Image credits: Wizards of the Coast
Magic Spellslingers is like a Magic the Gathering spin-off with a unique twist to a well-known franchise. It features several elements from the original title, such as plainwalkers, much of the combat is similar but it has a modern vibe as well. This is why it’s on our list of games like Hearthstone although Magic Spellslingers lean closer to Legends of Runeterra.
You will start with one Plainswalker (Chandra) and soon get another one. After that, you can either do weekly quests and grind for more cards and decks or you can buy the boosters. It’s not pay-to-win but paying does speed things up. When it comes to combat systems, the game has a modern design so you will not need to deal with enormous decks. The whole game is basically a simplified and more modern version of card games that we played 20 years ago so it’s definitely worth a try.
5. Marvel Snap
Image credits: Second Dinner
Marvel Snap is probably the most popular card game at the moment of writing this article. There are several reasons for that – Marvel Snap is great for beginners, the cosmetics are just astonishing and Marvel Universe is pretty much well-known to all players in the world. Another great thing about this game is the fact that it’s super quick – the matches are usually around 2-4 minute long. Furthermore, the deck-building aspect is amazing as well, since every deck comprises of 12 cards and there is a pool of over 300 cards for now, meaning that there are more combinations for decks that the author of this article can calculate.
The game is not pay-to-win at all (at least not for 99,9% of users as things are a bit different in the top 200) and this one is a must if you like Hearthstone. There was a debate about which game is better: Hearthstone or Marvel Snap and we found that they are evenly matched. If this was a list of the most modern card games at the moment, we are positive that Marvel Snap would be the winner.
4. Yu-Gi-Oh
Image credits: Konami
It’s time to D-d-d-d-uel! Sorry about that, but yeah, this game brings back some old memories. We are sure that no explanation is needed for how Yu-Gi-Oh works as, along with Magic the Gathering, this was one of the first mega-popular card games in history.
Currently, the best way to play it is to choose between either the Goat format or the Edison format. The GOAT refers to the original title that was played back in the summer of 2005 with all the mechanics from that time (Goat being the scapegoat card, one of the most popular ones in the control meta deck). The Edison one refers to the later stages of the game, but still over 10 years old so you can try that one as well. Both have very strong communities and they are free.
3. Magic the Gathering
Image Credits: Wizards of the Coast
What is said for Yu-Gi-Oh can be said for Magic the Gathering as well. Simply put, it’s a classic in terms of card games, IRL and online. Coming from Wizards of the Coast, Magic the Gathering arena brings you the well-known world online and easily accessible. We won’t go deep into the gameplay style as many of you already know how this game works. We will just say that most modern games, especially Legends of Runeterra and even Hearthstone (to some degree) “burrowed” the established elements from MtG so much that it pretty much became a standard practice now.
Many new online card games don’t bother with making their own combat style – they just take the existing one from Magic the Gathering and add something extra to it. In case you are wondering what “the original” looks like you should try Magic the Gathering as it is one of the games like Hearthstone for sure.
2. Legends of Runeterra
Image Credits: Riot Games
Set in the world of League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra is a card game that’s basically a mix of Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone. Don’t get us wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing – there are plenty of new elements to the game and the whole narrative is different so it won’t feel more of the same, we are just speaking in terms of game mechanics.
Legends of Runettera is a nice mixture of beginner friendliness combined with complex deck-building options for later stages. This means that it feels simple when it should feel simple, in the beginning, and as you advance through the game things get more difficult keeping you wanting for more challenges. The narrative is quirky at best but if you loved League of Legends, you will like this one for sure as well.
1. Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle
Image credits: Cygames
Instead of writing a long paragraph, we can just describe it in one sentence: Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle is a Japanese version of Hearthstone. Sure, it’s not exactly the same, it has its own mechanics, but it is for sure the game most similar to Hearthstone at the moment.
What is different is the dark-themed anime art as well as certain combat mechanics. The game is F2P although one might argue that you do need to grind a lot in order to get more cards. Note that Shadowverse is way faster than Heartsthone so in that way, it’s more similar to Marvel Snap. This can be a problem for beginners but luckily the game also offers a story mode in which you can get used to the new surroundings. Have fun!
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