I'm always looking for a good MTG-like game for iPad, and in my search I've discovered several that don't seem to ever get mentioned in these forums. So, I thought I'd try to make a complete list of all the fantastical card battling games I've discovered. The reason I say fantastical is because I'm not really interested in basic card games, or boring-themed/abstract ones either. If anyone has additions or corrections for me, please let me know. I'd love it if people who have played any of these could respond with a quick review too. Arena-9: A somewhat basic battler with an interesting anime style. It uses a grid where positioning is important with number-matching and an elemental system. Local (multiplayer): No Online (multiplayer): Yes Versions: iPhone and iPad Button Men: Technically these are circles (buttons) and are not card-shaped, but it's still a quick and entertaining battler with dice-based combat. Local: Yes Online: No Versions: iPhone Fantasy Adventures: An interesting, if not entirely successful single-player battler with action elements. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Heroes Blade: I'm sure most of you are familiar with this one. It's a really fun MTG-style game with nice art and rpg leveling mechanics. Local: Yes Online: No Versions: iPhone and iPad Infinite Battles: Since the game is online only, and not well-known, it's hard to find opponents. Thankfully, the dev is going to release a free, ad-supported version to get more people playing. Local play is also on the table. Local: No Online: Yes Versions: iPhone Necronomicon: This one is more of a boardgame, but since the single-player card battling is its main focus, I thought I'd throw it on the list. Plus, it's Lovecraft-themed! Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Orions: Legend of Wizards: Another well-known game. Combines exploration strategy and deck-building. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Pagans TCG: A new battler that I haven't tried out yet. It's free for the time being though, so I probably will. Has a mythology theme. Local: N/A Online: N/A Versions: iPhone Riese: Battle for Eleysia: This is a single-player battler with RPG elements and professional voice work set in a steampunk world. Multiplayer is coming soon. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Stack and Deploy: Combines real-time strategy with card battling in a sci fi universe. Free right now. Local: No Online: Yes Versions: iPhone BattleSpell: One of the closest matches to MtG gameplay. There are only two decks, but it's free. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Urban Rivals: Definitely more fantastical than I was expecting, so it makes the list. Has a cool rpg leveling system too and in-depth card auctioning and trading. Says free, but you'll apparently need to buy card packs or points to stay competitive. Local: No Online: Yes Versions: iPhone Soul Card Master: A 16-bit monster-summoning battler, with an actual story. Has a cool card fusion mechanic for unlocking new cards. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Dungeon Solitaire: Recreating a fantasy dungeon crawl with nice art, this could have been a classic, but the very luck-based gameplay holds it back some. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone Summoners: The focus of this one is on summoning monsters (duh) and moving them around on a chess-like board. Possibly inspired by a real-life card game called Summoner Wars. Local: Yes Online: Yes Versions: iPhone and iPad Battle of Gundabad: A card battler with the deck building incorporated into the game a la Dominion. Nice presentation, but seems a bit limited with only 27 cards. Local: No Online: No Versions: iPhone
Still waiting for elementsthegame to make its way to the ipad. Dev said he was not open to the idea about a year ago but just recently said it might be something he might do with the help of others. To me that's the one I was most addicted to.
Thank you for this list, there were a couple that I didn't know about. I'd like to add one more: Urban-Rivals It is online only. You have a deck of characters where 4 of your characters get chosen for each battle. You get a set number of "pillz" to power up your characters and try to overpower your opponent. It is fun and I enjoyed playing it for quite awhile.
Dungeon Solitaire came before the Necronomicon card game which has (almost) the same battle system. Unfortunately, the expansion packs are unbalanced and it needs an update to fix crash bugs.
Thanks for the list! I think I'll publish a full roundup of all these games after Orions 2 finally comes out.
There's one called Soul Card Master, where your cards summon monsters to the playing field. Its a nice balanced game but in my opinion is a bit limited with card types. Its also takes quite a while to get stronger cards. 'Summoners' just came out on iphone to..
On the TA forums you mean? I was planning on keeping the list updated as games are released. Or, did you mean something else?
Added Battle of Gundabad to the list. Those of you looking for a Dominion fix on iPhone should check it out.
Thanks. $2 - I think I'll wait until the price drops as, otherwise, it seems to be a bit on the basic side (27 cards only etc.)
Dungeon Solitaire was updated three months ago with a new deck and some minor fixes. It's definitely supported.
It's a shame Necronomicon and Summoners don't work on 3G, I woulda loved to play them. I guess I'll just get Arena-9 then, since it's free, cheers for the list anyway.