I’ve been playing a lot of inscryption and while kaycee’s mod is fun, it can get a little boring after a while. Is there anything that will scratch that itch? (that’s not magic the gathering, too predatory).
Edit: Just bought slay the spire and it is really fun so far. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.
Slay the Spire is THE card game to try on pc. Absolutely start with that one, then check out the other recommendations in the thread
I love Slay the Spire, but it makes my eyes bleed on mobile. It definitely needs a bigger screen.
And it being $10 on the Play store with reviews that say it crashes and deleted the game progress if it loses focus - wowsers
- Slay the spire
- Monster train
I like monster train’s combat better, but slay the spire has runs that are long enough to feel like you can actually take advantage of your deck building.
- Fights in tight spaces
It’s grid based tactical combat married with card game mechanics. It’s very much a card game, but it’s executed on a grid and you need to fight off multiple enemies using careful positioning and execution.
Fights in Tight Spaces is awesome. Randomly came across that game during a Steam sale and it was surprising and really interesting. Definitely recommend.
In the order of recommendation as a longtime fan of deck builders:
Slay the spire is a must. Cannot recommend enough. Just play it, it’s the quintessential deck builder. There are plenty of mods on steam. The full version complete with achievements is on Android as well.
One Step From Eden is a favorite of mine, it blends deck building and real time combat in a system heavily inspired by the megaman battle network series. It scratches that itch like nothing else I’ve ever played. Steam and Switch. Again, lots of mods on steam.
Star Realms and Ascension are vs style deck builders that are played in a multi-player format like magic or hearthstone. They are unlike any other game in this list in that every match is against an opponent with the capability to play the same cards as you. Your deck is built during the game out of a shared pool, not pre-built before, so neither player has an advantage going into a match. Android and Steam, and hotseat multi-player as well as online multi-player and ai games. These two games also have actual physical tabletop releases if you really like them.
Quantum Protocol is a quaint little deck builder that is more like a puzzle game than a traditional battle style. It was kind of short but super addicting once you get into the gameplay loop. Still recommended if you like deck builders. Steam.
Dawncaster is the one on Android I’m currently playing. It’s extremely similar to slay the spire. Its mechanics are surprisingly deep and it has a large pool of cards, even though the battles are only ever one on one.
Tower Tactics Liberation is a deck builder that blends into the tower defense genre, if you’re into that. This one can be difficult at the higher levels though, and a single playthrough can take half a day. Steam.
Loop Hero is technically a deck builder. The best way I can describe this one is an idle battler that you build up yourself each round. Steam.
Card Quest is an older one on Steam and Android, one of the first ones I ever found. It’s a pure deck builder-roguelike with minimal graphics, but addicting for the genre nonetheless.
Hope you guys find what you’re looking for in this list.
Edit: added links
Slay the spire is the best, I probably have 400-500 hours played in it, but as I don’t see anybody else recommending it, I would check out Nowhere Prophet as well. It has some slight tactical elements but the core is a good rogue-like deck builder. It’s much harder than slay the spire IMO which has meant it’s not quick as pick up and play fun to me.
Dicey Dungeons. Collect cards with effects, roll dice, pay dice to activate card effects. Pretty great.
