Top 25 best card battler games for iPhone and iPad (iOS)
Card carrying genius
Whether you call them deck-builders, collectable card games (CCGs) or trading card games (TCGs), there's now a whole loosely aligned genre of iOS games based around assembling a deck of virtual cards and strategically pitching them against an opponent.
Of course, there's a strong case to be made that there are actually several distinct genres in here. And that's not to mention those hybrid games that work in elements of RPG, tower defence, and real-time strategy.
But we're not interested in splitting hairs. Indeed, this list is intended as a celebration of the sheer diversity and depth of card battlers on the App Store.
1
Hearthstone
This is, in many ways, the perfect card game. Hearthstone's got Blizzard's trademark perfect polish - it looks gorgeous, sounds amazing, and it's possibly the greatest example of the free to play model ever.
2
Clash Royale
Along with Hearthstone, Clash Royale shares the crown of hands-down best card battler on mobile. The entire experience is finely-tuned and balanced to perfection, with Supercell bafflingly finding a way to make free to play mostly fair. It's all visual as well, and includes elements of RTS and tower defence. The ultimate mobile game.
3
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Actually, maybe this one's the perfect card game. It isn't too confusing, and yet has enough depth to keep you playing for ages. Oh, and of course, it's got Pokemon in it, which instantly makes a great game even better.
4
Five Card Quest
Complicated one, this. It's a quest, right, aaaaand you've got cards, right (bear with me here), aaaand there are five of them. Cards, I mean. I know, I don't really understand it myself. It is well good, though.
5
Magic 2015
Alongside the mighty Hearthstone, Magic 2015 is arguably the big card came on iOS - and it's undoubtedly got the better pedigree given its links to the original Magic: The Gathering, but it's not quite as polished. Still, deck-building doesn't get any more sophisticated than this.
6
Card City Nights
Card City Nights injects something that can often be in short supply in games of this sort: humour. Not only that, it's also a mightily accomplished card battler in its own right.
7
Heavenstrike Rivals
An extremely polished combination of CCG and strategy, with a hefty dollop of Square Enix JRPG magic stirred in for good measure.
8
Calculords
Combining mathematical puzzling lane-based strategising with familiar deck-building elements, Calculords isn't quite like anything else on this list. It also drops the hyper-detailed art for something more retro-tinged.
9
Earthcore: Shattered Elements
Earthcore goes back to basics with its unique spin on the CCG, stripping things back to an ostensibly simple rock, paper, scissors system. Of course, there are layers of depth to be discovered once you're hooked.
10
WWE SuperCard
How on earth did a wrestling-themed CCG get on this list? Because WWE SuperCard is super-fun, that's how. Yes, it's a little goofy seeing cards literally fighting one another, but that's all part of its charm.
11
Dead Man's Draw
The first mobile effort from strategy and UI software specialist Stardock is predictably slick. What's less expected is the company's fresh approach to card battling, which is all about risk management and reading the deck.
12
Star Realms
Star Realms is a particularly novel and accomplished deck-building game - which means that you assemble your deck (and thus your strategy) on the fly, during the course of the game. You won't find many better examples of the form on the App Store.
13
Tekken Card Tournament
You would have expected a card battler based on a beat-'em-up franchise to be all about the fireworks, but Tekken Card Tournament shows most other games of this sort a thing or two about strategic nuance.
14
Lost Cities
Lost Cities is based on a highly regarded physical card game originally designed by a German professor of mathematics. The game's maths-flavoured brand of deep strategy is perhaps predictable, its high level of spit and polish less so.
15
Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers vs Evil
A solidly build deck builder with the added benefit/drawback of the attached Penny Arcade IP. Your feeling on this matter will probably determine your response to the game, but there's no doubting its quality.
16
Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf
Are other card battlers too bright, colourful, and sanitised for your liking? Check out Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf, a hyper-violent, visually opulent and hard-as-nails example of the genre.
17
Summoner Wars
Like many card games, Summoner Wars started off as a physical entity. Luckily, its transition to the virtual world treated it well, and it's one of the best out there.
18
BattleHand
Chances are, you won't find a better-looking card battler than BattleHand. It's built by ex-Fable developers - and it shows, with the fantasy setting and humorous tone more than slightly resembling the off-kilter RPG series. If you like the sound of a card battler crossed with an RPG, BattleHand is the one for you.
19
Skylanders Battlecast
Skylanders Battlecast does a great job of porting the Skylanders universe into the card battling genre. I mean, it's not much of a leap. There are a bunch of characters to collect, an attractive art style, and a ton of cards. If you're looking to play your first ever card battler, this is a good place to start.
20
World of Tanks: Generals
World of Tanks Generals separates itself from the pack (heh) by allowing you to place and move your cards about on a grid. It's basically a mixture of chess and Fire Emblem, with you having to try and outsmart your enemy, push into their territory, and destroy their base - as well as selecting the best card combination to bring with you in the first place.
21
Card Crawl
And now for something completely different. Card Crawl isn't strictly a card battler - it's actually more Solitaire meets a dungeon crawler. But it's utterly, utterly brilliant. When you start a game, you're dealt 54 cards which represent a variety of monsters, equipment, spells, potion, and, of course, gold. To win, you have to use - or equip - all of the cards in your deck.
22
Spellstone
Spellstone isn't the freshest or deepest card battler on this list, but it's colourful and intuitive enough to be a great entry point for those wondering what all the fuss is about.
23
Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer
This one was designed by Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour champions, so you know it's got a solid tactical core. That's not to say that Ascension is a mere copy - in fact, it offers quite a different experience.
24
Mavenfall
This smart and inventive card battler folds in a neat positional tactics system. If only it didn't have such a stifling free to play structure.
25
SolForge
As all good card games should have, SolForge has got some lovely artwork. But it's not just a pretty face. It's also a deep and involved card battler, and it'll keep you entertained for ages.