There are many games like Magic The Gathering, but only a few of them offer a variety of different playstyles while maintaining a good balance in other aspects of a card game. While Magic The Gathering is the most popular card game, there are that are more accessible and easier on the wallet. One of the most important things when choosing a card game is the monetization strategy that the developers have implemented. The reason for this is that you don’t want your favorite card game to trick you into buying expensive card packs, expansions, etc.
While being inexpensive is a huge factor, it’s not the only thing to look for. We will take into account things like beginner friendliness, variety of playstyles, and overall depth of the game itself. Keep in mind that there are pros and cons to every card game, so finding a good balance is the key. Nevertheless, here is our list of the best card games, ranked by a good balance between variety, depth, payment, and overall experience.
13. Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge
Image Credits: Everguild Ltd.
Warhammer game is something that we’ve all been waiting for. The game features 6 different fractions from the original Warhammer 40k; Ultramarines, Hive Fleet Leviathan, Goff Clan, Black Legion, Sautekh Dynasty, and Saim-Hann. The point of the game is simple, be the first one to slay the Warlord of your opponent. You get to choose 1 Warlord from a legendary faction and you should base your whole deck with 30 cards around that Warlord. The biggest problem with the game by far for most players is monetization. In most games like MTG, this can be the death of a game.
As you can see on Reddit and other social media, players are complying about how “predatory” monetization is, but let’s face it guys it’s everywhere. Especially in games that have deep lores and are part of huge franchises. That’s one of the reasons why I stopped playing Marvel Snap after a while. The overall experience of Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge is positive and the mechanics feel similar to Hearthstone.
12. Teppen
Image Credits: GungHo Online
First Japanese game on the list and a crossover between many of Capcoms famous franchises. This means you’ll see famous characters from games like Devil May Cry, Tekken, Resident Evil, etc. Teppen is played in real-time which is different to some other games like Magic The Gathering. The gameplay looks kinda slow at first, but it requires a lot of fast thinking and fast fingers. At the beginning of the game, players get 5 random cards from their decks, 30 health, and 4 mana. Players gain mana automatically and they must spend it so they’ll gain “Art Points”. These points are used to charge Hero Art, the hero’s special move.
Battles are 1v1 and you have a deck of 30 cards. There are two types of cards in the deck Unit Cards and Action Cards. Unit Cards are placed on a field and will deal damage to the player in real-time. Action Cards a special phase called “Active Response”, which turns Teppen into a turn base strategy. Players have a short time to respond with their Action Card or let the phase end. Cards resolve in reverse order, allowing players to counter opponent moves. If you like anime- Capcom-based games you’ve hit the jackpot. It’s a free-to-play card game similar to Magic The Gathering available on Android and iOS.
11. Artifact Classic and Artifact Foundry
Image Credits: Valve
Dota 2 digital card game which is by some standards “the biggest Valve’s flop”. Even if it was a flop and was super engaging for some time, it’s still one of the most unique games on the market. What Artifact Classic was trying is to bring the Dota experience into a card game. The game is simply stunning when it comes to graphics, animation, and music as well as voice acting. Similar to Marvel Snap there are three lanes in the game but you only need to win two. Just here each lane is independent and it has its heroes, creeps, and towers. There are no cosmetic, rankings, or stat trackings in the game. In my opinion, what ruined Artifact Classic besides no viable progression was the insane monetization.
After some time Valve released Artifact Foundry. Unlike Artifact Classic, Foundry is a more hero-centric kind of game. You have a campaign that has a deep Dota lore behind it. If you’re a Dota fan you’ll probably like it. There’s also a mode where you play against bots and PvP mode. Strategy card games like Magic including Artifact Classis and Foundry are fairly well-balanced. Both games are free to play.
10. Mythgard
Image Credits: Rhino Games
One of the most competitive games among smaller TCG games is Mythgard. By smaller we mean not in the ranks of Marvel Snap, MTG, or Pokemon card games. The board positioning is similar to chess in a way and it’s cool and sets the game apart from other TCG games on the market. Resource management as you can shuffle one card per turn into the deck to gain more mana. Now this is where decision-making and tactics come in as you have to balance resources in your hand, cards, and mana necessary for your strategy. Mythgard is one of the rare card games similar to Magic The Gathering that gets the meta right.
What we didn’t like about this game is that it’s highly competitive for beginners, so that isn’t well-balanced. Also, the story isn’t the best and we feel like there are better games with much better stories on this list. The community in the game was great, but we just hope that by the time you read this, the game will still be alive. This is unfortunately the fate of smaller indie games like Magic The Gathering.
9. Eternal: Card Game
Image Credits: Dire Wolf Digital
Those who like games like Magic The Gathering must’ve heard about its baby brother Eternal. Some fans call it a baby version of MTG, which kinda is, but that’s nothing bad. Simply imagine MTG with fewer cards. If looking for something similar but more exciting and quicker Eternal is the best option. The game is packed with lore and you can play a campaign with any hero. In Eternal both players start at 25 health and the first one to hit zero loses. If you are bored with PvP, PvE is something that Eternal is famous for and it’s free. The learning curve isn’t as long as in MTG except for the tutorial which is 25 minutes or even longer.
You’re going to need some time to learn about the Influence System. There are five types of influence systems Fire, Time, Justice, Primal, and Shadow. Players must combine different influences to play certain cards in the deck. Eternal the game isn’t doesn’t have the worst economy, but like in other games, it slows other players down. The good old “you got what you pay for” is what most gaming industry is about nowadays.
8. Shadowverse
Image Credits: Cygames
One of the games like Pokemon that’s gained a cult following status is Shadowverse. It even has animes, physical cards, and even a video game based on it. The game is super easy to play and the mechanics are evolving since the game was released back in 2016. You’ve got eight distinct classes to pick from and each one has it’s own pros and cons. Battles are simple, you’ve just got to reduce your opponent’s Leader’s (Hero’s) defense to zero. Unlike other games like Magic The Gathering, this one has a maximum of 40 cards in a deck. There are three types of cards: followers (creatures), spells, and amulets (permanent effects).
One of the most interesting parts of the game is the evolution within the battle. Players can evolve their creatures to get unique abilities and stats. This makes this game stand out in terms of strategy and dynamics. Just be careful since evolution points are limited and you have to be two steps ahead. The story campaign is awesome and the lore is huge; classical Japanese megalomania. The game is free for all mobile devices, PC, and Nintendo Switch. If you like games like MTG and would like to see it in anime style, you don’t have to wait anymore.
7. Elder Scrolls: Legends
Image Credits: Sparkypants
We know that a lot of big developers are trying to get their hands in the card game market, and that is also true for the Elder Scrolls: Legends. This game has, like any other card game, many pros and cons. We don’t want to get too much in-depth into their overall mechanics, but some interesting things revolve around prophecies, runes, and the overall complexity of the deck building. However, we must warn you that the overall sense is that the game is half dead, and at some point, there were some questionable implementations regarding the balance of the game and overall mechanics. This is most prominent within the introduction of the Houses and the Tricolour control.
The things that made this game fun are the lack of RNG elements and overpowered decks that tend to pop out in games like Magic The Gathering. This is not the case anymore, since there were a lot of bad updates and the game is in a steady decline. There seems to be a strong community revolving around it since the whole Elder Scrolls is kind of “outdated”. This is generally because the last big game that came out was Skyrim, which is more than a decade old. Nevertheless, this is a game made for the Skyrim universe fans.
6. Marvel Snap
Image Credits: Nuverse
Marvel Snap is a recent game that takes the card experience directly into the Marvel universe. The trend of different companies and brands trying to create the perfect card game experience is very established now. We always welcome innovations and ways of playing. The game itself is pretty beginner-friendly friendly and the overall experience feels satisfying. Probably the best innovation in the game is the location system, which in a way gives you modifiers for every new game based on the location that it’s played. The visuals are extremely impactful and well done. Each card has a little fun animation, and you can see that a lot of thought has gone into creating a good overall experience.
While the games are really short, it does not influence the depth of strategies and playstyles that Marvel Snap has to offer. It sort of gives you a little short burst, instead of a half an hour long game, which can be a positive in some scenarios. There are some heavy monetization strategies that we are not fans of. Nevertheless, you can go pretty far with free play, and you can also spend a little on a battle pass to give you a lot of new opportunities and cards. While it may not be the best card game ever, we have to acknowledge that Marvel Snap has done a lot of things correctly and is worth giving it a shot.
5. GWENT
Image Credits: CD Project RED
This card game has a very unique history because it was first found in the original Witcher 3 game. It is much more evolved than the card game in the Witcher 3 and it is somewhat similar to Magic The Gathering. Overall gameplay has parallel mechanics to Magic The Gathering and deckbuilding is deep too. Moreover, the cards have beautiful aesthetics and a lot of lore behind them. There aren’t any campaigns or single players, so it’s strictly an online multiplayer game.
If you are a fan of Witcher and don’t prefer the overall Hearthstone, and Magic The Gathering “vibes”, this is a good alternative. It gained massive popularity because the developers knew that the card game that has been implemented in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gained traction and was very successful in capturing broad audiences. This was a green light to invest time and energy into GWENT and it paid off.
4. Legends Of Runeterra
Image Credits: Riot Games
Legends Of Runeterra strikes an extremely compelling balance between the complexity of the game and beginner friendliness. The payment model has been well implemented, and it is seen as one of the best games like Magic The Gathering. On the other hand, we just can’t get into the lore and atmosphere of this game. Even though the mechanics, variety of deck building, and overall experience are good, it just isn’t the complete package with the overall dumbed-down story of League of Legends. On the other hand, if you’re a League of Legends fan, this card game is a must-try.
We don’t like Riot for essentially copying games all the time, for example, CS: GO into Valorant, Dota into League of Legends, Dota Autochess into TFT, and now this. Riot is good at the execution of a formula, but not creating formulas itself. This is why we can’t give this game “the respect it deserves “, but we got to give credit where it’s due. The fact is that Legends of Runeterra is an extremely well-made card game.
3. Yu Gi Oh! Power Of Chaos Series
Image Credits: Konami
As you all know, Yu-Gi-Oh! Yu-Gi-Oh! has been around for some time. While the newer games are pretty good and have a lot of different cards, we tend to go back to the old-school classic, and that is the Power Of Chaos series. These include Joey The Passion, Yugi The Destiny, Kaiba The Revenge, and Marik The Darkness. There are a lot of cards in this series. This game doesn’t have any monetization strategies, and you unlock all the cards by playing the game or simply downloading the cheat file that unlocks all the cards.
The game can be played online but with a little bit of work and tinkering around. The cards don’t include the new-age Yu-Gi-Oh! quirks and mechanics and they stick to the old and classical way of playing the game. On top of all this, the visuals are done correctly, and the playstyle of your AI opponent is highly varied. The cards and the overall experience feel exactly like they should, compared to some other newer Yu-Gi-Oh! titles that are not so well regarded. We highly suggest that you try this game if you love Yu-Gi-Oh!
2. Slay The Spire
Image Credits: Mega Crit
Slay The Spire is a game that took everybody by surprise. Its dungeon crawl elements combined with Magic The Gathering format of play is perfectly combined into a very addicting and replayable game. The main difference from other card games is that it’s mostly single-player, and that means no additional costs to the game besides the base cost. This is extremely important since many card games can lure you in and backstab you with a paywall or some other restriction that you need to overcome with a heavy wallet.
The game combines a lot of elements that are present in games like Magic The Gathering. The RNG element provides that replayable factor and it makes sense here. If you ever played similar games, this game will feel very good from the start. It has well-made mechanics and fluidity that make this game so addicting and playable. It averages a rare 10/10 Steam review and is extremely popular among the newer card games.
1. Hearthstone
Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment
Without a doubt, Hearthstone is one of the most popular card games ever and is one of the best games like Magic The Gathering. While we are not the biggest fans of recent Blizzard practices, it can’t be denied that Hearthstone is an extremely robust and in-depth card game. It has some of the same principles as similar games like Magic The Gathering. These include yearly card rotations (last year’s cards are rendered unplayable in the standard mode), and some new modern ways of playing like the Battlegrounds mode. If you want to have the regular experience, you can play the Standard Mode of the game at no cost, but there are a few catches.
The best decks can be acquired with free play, this is because new cards come out every year and the old ones can’t be played. This mechanism prevents old-school veteran players from making extremely powerful decks from cards that they acquired over a decade. You can get a pretty powerful deck with the crafting mechanism. You naturally receive a lot of free card packs from free-to-play, and you can disenchant these cards into dust and focus on buying the most powerful cards for one or two decks only. So the game is generally not paid to win, but it’s more “pay to have a variety of different powerful decks”.
Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment
This is pretty understandable, and we’ve seen much worse from similar card games. In recent times, we had a lot of fun playing with the new class, Death Knight, with 3 very powerful decks (Blood, Frost, and Unholy) that we crafted with no cost. Also, the ranking system is pretty beginner-friendly and it doesn’t require extreme dedication, at least at lower levels. If acquiring cards and sticking to only a few decks seems like a hassle, which sometimes it is, there are other fun ways of playing the game.
The most popular one is surely the Hearthstone Battlegrounds mod. This model of playing Hearthstone is completely free, everybody gets the same opportunities and cards, and it’s something that you can play with absolutely zero cost and time investment. This is perhaps our way our favorite way of playing the game because there are absolutely zero catches, paywalls, unbalanced things that are created with additional spending, and other sorts of shenanigans you see in today’s online card games. Battlegrounds mod stands out in this regard and honestly, it’s a big surprise from Blizzard. Combining all of these factors, we can say with certainty that Hearthstone is probably the best card game in 2023.
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