It’s time to grab your starting cards and begin creating the deck that’ll decimate your opponent – as we check out the best deck building games!
Deck building is a hugely popular and widely used mechanic in tabletop games. Though it provides a huge component of the entire experience in collectible card games (CCGs) and trading card games (TCGs), in self-contained deck building games, the playing field is more level for each player.
That’s because players will generally have access to the same (or very similar) starting decks as their opponents – and will acquire cards from a selection available to each player over the course of the game, to add to and improve their deck on the road to victory.
Many deck building games incorporate boards and some even feature dice and miniatures as well as numerous other components and mechanics – but we’ve tried to stick to a selection of games which primarily revolve around the deck building as the primary mechanic.
There are a few outliers, as you’ll see – we have some favourites in here we simply couldn’t ignore – and we’ve even included digital deck building games too. So which are the best?
Let’s find out, as we check out the best deck building games!
1. Aeon’s End (2016)
So without further ado – here’s the game we’ve chosen for the coveted top spot of the best deck building games list: Aeon’s End!
Though Aeon’s End also has a Legacy edition, in our opinion the original title is the most satisfying version of the game.
A co-operative deck building game, Aeons End sees players cast as Mages, trying to protect the city of Gravehold from a Nemesis (chosen from a variety of monsters at the beginning of the game), which has emerged from a portal.
The base game of Aeon’s End has four different choices of Nemesis to face off against, with a selection of eight Mages to choose from too.
The different enemies and choice of player characters bring a unique feel to each session, with each Nemesis having a variety of complexity and abilities.
Aeon’s End’s deck building – which sees players start off with a small selection of basic, weak spells that gradually build up as new cards are added – makes the game incredibly compelling and gives it a nice sense of escalation and character development as it progresses.
2. Magic: The Gathering Arena (2019)
Though we haven’t included the tabletop version of Magic: The Gathering in our list – as there are so many different ways to play, with the deck building aspect of the game easily bypassed by players if they choose, as well as the collectible aspect making it different to the majority of deck building games – it was impossible to overlook the game entirely.
Removing the trading aspect of the game and adding in lots of visual flourishes that give the thirty year old game a brilliantly contemporary feel, MTG Arena is an incredibly satisfying way to play the world’s first and most popular collectible card game.
A very lengthy tutorial on how to play MTG ensures that new players can be comprehensively brought up to speed with the game and its mechanics, with a basic deck in each Mana colour being the reward for getting through the learning process.
There’s a vast and ever increasing number of cards available in MTG Arena, with publisher Wizards of the Coast continually keeping pace with the physical set releases too.
It felt like a long time coming, but MTG Arena is finally a way to keep up with the ever evolving meta and new cards in the physical game, with robust online play and user friendly deck editing and building features.
3. Clank!: Legacy – Acquisitions Incorporated (2019)
Legacy games have exploded in popularity in recent years, with players enthralled by the ways they’re able to permanently evolve, customise and personalise the gaming experience as more sessions are played.
Popularised by Risk: Legacy in 2011, Legacy mechanics see players opening up sealed envelopes and even writing on, adding or removing components to the game each time the game is played.
Adding this to the already excellent Clank! deck building gameplay is a fantastic formula for success.
Clank! – a deck building game which proved so popular upon release in 2016 that it has seen numerous spin-offs and expansions over the following years – forms the basis of Clank! Legacy.
In Clank! Legacy, players found their own franchise of titular company ‘Acquisitions Incorporated’ – and.over the course of multiple games, they grow their business by undertaking treasure hunts with their employees.
As it’s a Legacy game, the board, player decks and even the game’s world itself will permanently change as you play, making it a unique experience for your gaming group.
A story unfolds as you play too, with a great deal of humour to add to the proceedings.
It’s hugely immersive, incredibly compelling and feels entirely personalised as your own corner of the Clank! universe.
Though more casual players may well find the original Clank! – or perhaps spin-off, standalone Clank! In Space – more immediately accessible, there’s nothing quite like Clank! Legacy when it comes to deck building games!
4. Slay the Spire (2019)
There’s a number of benefits when it comes to digital deck building games, as opposed to their tabletop counterparts.
For one thing, keeping track of increasingly complex card combos and damage can remove an awful lot of bookkeeping responsibilities from the player.
The structure of games, instantly choosing characters with decks that offer different strengths and weaknesses and even the asymmetry of tackling tougher, more varied opponents also become possible too.
These are all things that roguelite deck building game Slay the Spire makes great use of.
In Slay the Spire, you’ll take on the titular structure – tackling encounters on each floor as you ascend, with the ultimate aim of reaching the very top.
You’ll collect extra cards and refine your deck with ever more powerful options even as you fail, pushing forward with – hopefully – more success on each run.
It’s an absolutely fantastic and influential game; one that has spawned countless more roguelite deck building titles, many of which we’ll feature right here on this list!
5. Dominion (2008)
Though not the first deck building game ever made, Dominion is the game that really brought the mechanic to the forefront in the board game community.
With a second edition having been published in 2016, thats the one we would recommend obtaining. It takes an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach and made minimal changes to improve the already superb experience.
In Dominion, players are monarchs looking to expand their power and territory – with each participant starting the game with a very small selection of cards.
As play progresses, cards are used to gain actions; which then allow players to gain even more cards, leading to combos which build up victory points – until one player becomes the most powerful monarch!
Dominion really does play like a CCG, albeit one where it’s a self-contained experience and everyone has access to the same pool of cards.
It’s been expanded, of course, numerous times – so if you do tire of the base game there’s a lot more to explore too.
Despite its age and its status as one of the earliest deck building games, it’s still one of the best games of its type – and an easy choice for the top of the best deck building games list!
6. Pokemon TCG Online (2011)
Though playing the Pokemon TCG digitally is nothing new – and even the latest online version has been available since 2011 – it’s now playable on both computer and mobile devices, in a form that’s evolved (appropriately!) to feel right at home alongside modern deck building games.
Just like MTG before it, we haven’t included the physical version of Pokemon in our list of the best deck building games – for broadly the same reasons as we left out MTG – but it would feel like an omission if we didn’t include the digital version here.
That’s because the card collecting and deck building aspects are so tuned to perfection – not to mention the fact that online play is so well supported and implemented in Pokemon TCG Online.
Visually, it’s got a clean and appealing look that replicates that tabletop experience, but it doesn’t shy away from the more dramatic pyrotechnics that other digital deck builders do to differentiate themselves from their physical counterparts.
7. Star Wars: The Deck Building Game (2023)
Maybe this is recency bias or perhaps even just because we’re such huge and lifelong Star Wars fans (check out the list of the 10 best Star Wars board games of all time on our sister site Retro Dodo for further proof of that!) but despite the fact that it’s only just been released, Star Wars: The Deck Building Game has already become a firm favourite of ours!
A head to head, two player, somewhat asymmetrical game, Star Wars: The Deck Building Game sees players choosing to embody either the Rebellion or the Empire – beginning the game with a deck of just 10 cards.
Six cards are always available to acquire – with cards not just for your side of the conflict being in the mix, but also Neutral cards that can be used by either faction too.
Players build their decks by acquiring these cards, with bases to take out and even a Force track which shows whether or not the Force is with the Light or the Dark Side at any given time, with the bonus of extra resources becoming available as you gain influence over the Force!
It’s a straightforward, compelling and highly thematic game – the Star Wars licence has been used to great effect, with Star Wars: The Deck Building game effortlessly transporting players to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away!
8. Hearthstone (2014)
Hearthstone was an absolute sensation when it was released in 2014 – and the numbers prove just how big it became, so quickly. By 2015, an astonishing 25 million players had signed up to join in on the fun!
Hearthstone is an MTG/Pokemon-style card battling game that takes all the best features of tabletop games and adds all of the convenience of digital gaming, set in the lore-rich World of Warcraft.
Much of the content – including the art and several game mechanics – featured in the classic World of Warcraft Trading Card Game which, somewhat unbelievably, released all the way back in 2005!
Though it’s waxed and waned in popularity over the years, Hearthstone is still going strong – and it’s still an incredibly polished, as well as very addictive, experience.
With solid online multiplayer, a huge amount of content (including single player campaigns) and a surprisingly generous in-game economy – supported by microtransactions for the most competitive players, of course – Hearthstone is set to grace computer and mobile screens for many years to come.
9. Star Realms (2014)
Another classic deck building game, Star Realms has also seen numerous expansions and re-implementations (including the fantasy-themed Hero Realms) since it was released.
Star Realms sees two players battling it out in deep space, using the Trade resource to purchase new Ships, Bases or even generate more Trade to buy bigger and better cards.
The aim of Star Realms is to reduce your opponent’s Authority total to zero. Outposts block you from attacking your opponent directly, however, and there’s always the option to take out Bases to slow down your opponent’s economy instead.
Easy to learn and reasonably basic in terms of its mechanics, Star Realms has a genuinely compelling gameplay loop – and is full of compelling decisions.
Its numerous expansions add a great deal to the experience – but there are lots of standalone sets which can also be used to expand the base game and even give players the option to play with more than just two players.
Star Realms: Colony Wars and Star Realms: Frontiers are two titles which can be played alone or integrate with the base game – and, intriguingly, there’s even a Star Realms Legacy title on the way, in the form of Star Realms: Rise of Empire!
10. Star Realms (2014)
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you – we really do have Star Realms in our list of the best deck building games twice!
That’s because we also have the digital version of the game, which is available on mobile as well as PC and Mac.
It’s got the same CCG-esque gameplay that players of the original will know and love; along with a comprehensive tutorial and online play which mimics the tabletop experience, there’s also an extensive campaign that’ll see you face off against increasingly difficult opponents, with challenges to earn in-game rewards as you play.
All physical expansions are available to purchase in addition to the base game – and, with a game account, you only need to make one purchase of a DLC pack to unlock it across all platforms, which is a very refreshing and consumer friendly feature.
The standalone expansions – which combine with the base game if you choose, as with the physical versions of the game – Colony Wars and Frontiers – also unlock extra campaigns, adding further value to the base game experience.
Star Realms also features an unusually excellent soundtrack for a tabletop adaptation.
Though it must be said that the visuals are somewhat basic and lack any video game-esque flair, they do provide a clear look at the cards and board state at any given time – plus, for players familiar with the tabletop experience there’ll be little to no learning curve in getting going, particularly as touch screen controls are also intuitively implemented.
It’s a great lesson in how to bring a tabletop experience to digital platforms, in a way that can bring new players to the game as well as satisfying players of the physical titles too.
11. Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2014)
HR Giger’s terrifying Xenomorph has proven to be an enduringly resilient pop culture horror icon, even when the quality of the films it features in has dropped significantly over the years.
Thankfully, in the tabletop realm it’s been treated far more gracefully in recent years – with Ravensburger’s excellent Alien: Fate of the Nostromo co-op game and Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps miniatures-based board game as just two examples of superb licensed games featuring the Xenomorph.
The Legendary deck building system was originally utilised in a Marvel-licensed game in 2012 – which also features on Retro Dodo’s list of the best Marvel board games – and has since formed the basis of a surprisingly varied selection of licenses.
Predator, The X-Files, Firefly, Buffy, James Bond and, perhaps most surprisingly, Big Trouble in Little China Legendary deck building games have all been released over the last decade or so.
Yet it’s the Alien version of Legendary which remains the most popular and highly rated of them all.
In the Alien version of Legendary, characters, settings and situations from across the saga are used to give the game a unique flavour. Though the cartoony artwork featured can be an acquired taste, the numerous movie references in both the look and text on the cards demonstrates a deep love for – and knowledge of – the franchise from the designers.
Players must work together to stop the Xenomorph threat, by purchasing cards to add to their deck from a selection of face up cards.
With a massive selection of 600 cards included, the Alien version of Legendary is also played by choosing one of four scenarios that mirror the plots of the first quartet of Alien movies.
It’s even fully compatible with the Predator version of Legendary – allowing players to bring an exciting Alien vs Predator style experience to the tabletop; hopefully not evoking the terrible AvP movies in the process!
12. Wildfrost (2023)
By far the newest deck building game on the block – yep, even beating the Star Wars Deck Building Game by a few months – Wildfrost is a wonderful digital deck builder that also features roguelite elements.
With an adorable art style and mechanics that are easy to pick up – yet hard to master – Wildfrost is another digital card game that’s well worth getting your hands on.
Though its overall feel and mechanics won’t be new to anyone already familiar with digital deck building games, it does bring a fresh spin on proceedings with elements such as countdown timers on cards, as well as the fact that you build a town as you progress too!
The town itself will give you ongoing bonuses as it grows alongside your progression – and remains standing even when your leader is killed, which sees you lose everything but the town!
Wildfrost is a fantastic game with a low learning curve – but make no mistake, like many other roguelites it does put up a steep challenge!
13. Undaunted: Normandy (2019)
Though there’s definitely a more board-game based feel to Undaunted: Normandy – with its two player struggle for dominance during a number of World War II scenarios – its deck building elements are certainly very prominent.
There are some great mechanics at play in the Undaunted games, of which the Normandy edition is the first.
Players are in charge of either German or American forces, using their deck of cards to issue orders and control troops on the battlefield.
Suffering casualties in battle will mean that players having to remove cards from their deck, making it ever harder to fight back against enemy forces.
The Undaunted system is a clever and compelling one – it’s another of those games that’s easy to learn, but hard to master; the included scenarios give it a great deal of variety too.
It’s an excellent game and has been supported by some equally brilliant sequels – Undaunted: North Africa and Undaunted: Stalingrad – along with the superb Undaunted: Reinforcements expansion.
14. Monster Train (2020)
Another great example of a digital deck building game, Monster Train sees players in charge of a denizen of the underworld – Hell has frozen over and you’re tasked with protecting it from the forces of good!
The titular train is being invaded by Heaven’s armies – and you must protect the last burning pyre from destruction by the angelic invaders.
Of course, this is achieved through clever card play and addictive deck building; monsters are placed on each floor, with combat feeling deeply strategic and endlessly satisfying.
Monster Train features a huge selection of cards and even unique characters to unlock, with numerous hellish factions to embody too.
It’s a superb title that brings some fantastic touches to the usual roguelite, deck building formula – with brilliant sound design and wonderfully polished visuals too.
15. Dungeons and Dragons: Tyrants of the Underdark (2016)
Another game that has a more board game-esque feel than most deck building games, Tyrants of the Underdark is a Dungeons and Dragons game which blends mechanics from several different types of tabletop game – including deck building, of course – to compelling effect.
Players are cast as power hungry leaders of Dark Elf factions, located in the Underdark – a subterranean section of the Dungeons and Dragons world.
Each player vies for control over the Underdark, recruiting minions to their deck, assassinating enemies and taking control of different territories as the game progresses.
It’s a genuinely great use of the Dungeons and Dragons licence – and with many paths to success, thanks to several methods of collecting victory points, it never seems to outstay its welcome.
Tyrants of the Underdark’s combination of board game and deck builder is inspired and compelling – this is a great game that more than earns a place on the best deck building games list!
16. Pirates Outlaws (2019)
Available on PC, mobile and now Switch, this fairly modest, indie deck building game with – yes, again – roguelite elements is a low key game that deserves a bigger audience.
It’s another title that’s easy to learn but difficult to actually excel at; your chosen Pirate Captain – more unlock as you play, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and selection of cards – leads the crew on a series of adventures, taking in card-based combat and short narrative diversions between encounters with other pirates.
The ammo resource mechanic is well integrated and gives Pirates Outlaws a deeply thematic feel; ranged weapons require ammo to function, which essentially form the basis of your available actions per turn. With melee weapons not requiring ammo, they’re essentially ‘free’ actions, yet there’s a trade off with power and targeting there too.
Pirates Outlaws is a very addictive game with a great, minimalist art style – and it’s well worth checking out!
17. Millennium Blades (2016)
Billing itself as a ‘CCG Simulator’, Millennium Blades is a game which feels incredibly meta; it simulates playing and putting together a card game, in the form of being a card game itself!
It parodies games such as Magic: The Gathering (check out Retro Dodo’s list of MTG booster boxes for more on that game’s actual cards!) and Yu-Gi-Oh to bring the experience of buying, selling and trading CCGs into its gameplay – as well as also simulating CCG tournaments, using the cards acquired as you play!
Millennium Blades is designed to take players through their first build deck to the finals of a tournament over the course of a few hours, with the possibility of chaining game sessions together in order to make a campaign.
In a campaign, you can ramp up the size of the final tournaments your CCG player enters – going from Regional championships to World tournaments over the course of several sessions.
It’s a really clever game and a hugely satisfying experience, particularly for CCG/TCG players who will understand and appreciate all of the references and mechanical touches that add to the game’s clever atmosphere.
There’s a huge number of expansions too; if you’ve ever wanted to become a CCG champion – but lack the skill and resources to do so, you can live out your dreams in a matter of hours with Millennium Blades!
18. Neurodeck: Psychological Deck Builder (2021)
Adventure, fantasy and sci-fi feature heavily in deck building games; Neurodeck, however, takes a unique approach and instead zeroes in on psychology and phobias.
That’s right – in Neurodeck, you use cards that function as coping mechanisms to deal with a variety of different phobias and trauma; relaxation and leisure activities, for example.
Your character can meditate and choose different personality traits to assist them as they progress, with the aim of keeping both sanity and stamina at manageable levels as you fend off different negative conditions.
The subject matter can feel a little dark and it’s not necessarily handled in a genuinely sensitive way at all times – but from a gameplay and audiovisual perspective, there’s no question that Neurodeck does put a unique spin on deck building games.
19. Friday (2011)
Legendary, prolific game designer Friedemann Friese is responsible for a huge number of critically and commercially successful games, and he’s also the person behind solitaire deck building adventure game, Friday.
Cast in the role of Robinson Crusoe’s loyal companion Friday, the player is tasked with keeping the shipwrecked Crusoe alive – as well as preparing him to face the imminent pirate attack!
Players tackle hazards using the cards in their deck, optimising their selection of cards as they progress.
Ultimately, the – hopefully – fully optimised deck will be enough to deal with the pirates who arrive at the game’s end, allowing Crusoe to depart and leave you to enjoy your island paradise in peace!
It’s a great game, especially for players who may struggle to find an opponent but still want to scratch that deck building itch in physical, rather than digital form.
20. Dicey Dungeons (2019)
Though a much better game than its placing in this list would suggest, Dicey Dungeons occupies the bottom spot of the best deck building games list because it only just about fits the description of a deck building game!
Your six-sided character – with more unlocking as you progress through the game – must survive a deadly game show, pitting themselves against deadly creatures and bosses as they descend through the titular dungeon.
Though the mechanics are mainly dice-based, your available actions in each round come from the weapon and ability cards – that you must fit into a specific equipment template in order to use them.
It does have the feel of a roguelite deck builder, especially in terms of its art style and structure.
Dicey Dungeons can be really punishing, especially with the weaknesses of certain character classes – but this makes it all the more rewarding when you’re successful on a run through the dungeons of the title.
So there you have it – our twenty choices for the best deck building games!
What do you think of our choices? Whether you agree, disagree or want to let us know your own recommendations, let us know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram!
