Here at Card Gamer, we’re always keen to get our hands on the latest deckbuilding roguelike games. Since the emergence of Slay the Spire, the genre has absolutely exploded. That’s in terms of both popularity and the number of games in the genre to have emerged. Another to add to the list is Heroes of Magic and Cards, which fuses poker-based mechanics with combat-focused roguelike action. Let’s check it out!
How to Play Heroes of Magic and Cards
If you’ve played any roguelike deckbuilding games over the last few years, the general mechanics of Heroes and Magic and Cards should be pretty familiar already. The major difference is that, instead of themed, bespoke cards, you instead begin Heroes of Magic and Cards with a deck of standard playing cards. That’s right; cards numbered from 2 to Ace, including standard suits of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades, and face cards. As you make your way through each stage’s path, you’ll take on increasingly challenging combat encounters against fantasy creatures, with your attacks and defensive moves requiring specific cards, or card combinations, to be activated.
Between rounds of combat, you’ll interact with a variety of encounters; you may be able to rest, or train to improve your abilities, buy and upgrade cards or pick up consumables. There’s sometimes the opportunity to engage in mini-games too, such as fishing or gambling, for example.
Combat itself will see you making the best use of cards drawn. Some standard attacks will require you to use two red cards from your hand; the values of the cards combined add up to the damage you’ll deal. Other abilities, such as blocking, might require the use of a single black card. This will also use the card’s value as the amount of damage you’ll block when being attacked. When you unlock more complex, higher level abilities, you might need to use consecutive cards, or cards from a specific suit. The more effective the ability is, the more difficult it’ll typically be to use.
As in the combat of other roguelike deckbuilding games, you’ll be able to see what your enemies will do next. Thanks to an icon above their heads, you’ll be able to plan your moves accordingly. Combat will be very intuitive if you’ve played any number of roguelike deckbuilding games in the last few years, with the addition of easy to understand, poker-based mechanics.
With relics and card enchantments to add to your deck’s effectiveness, you’ll discover and use powerful synergies to progress and defeat increasingly tough foes on your way to the boss of each stage. You’ll also be able to unlock new characters, with their own enchantments and abilities too.
Is Heroes of Magic and Cards Fun to Play?
Though there’s a good few layers of mechanics in Heroes of Magic and Cards, it does feel as if it’s lacking in depth somewhat. The variety of upgrade types can initially feel a bit overwhelming, but everything is easy to understand and the effects of one artifact or enchantment over another is very straightforward to absorb.
It can be frustrating that combat encounters sometimes feel like drawn out battles of attrition. Healing encounters on the map are also far too stingy, offering very little in terms of recovery, particularly in the latter stages. That said, the straightforward combat mechanics and variety of ways to use abilities tends to remain pretty compelling, though Heroes of Magic and Cards does lack the just-one-more-go nature of games such as Balatro, for example.
That said, the pixel art aesthetic is clean and appealing, with cute, if understated animation and a great sense of style overall. The cards and all of the game’s icons are clear and easy to understand from a visual standpoint, and the gameplay does have an immediacy, aided by a helpful tutorial, that’ll get you up and running in no time. It’s also very fairly priced too, so you get a good amount of bang for your buck!
The Card Gamer Verdict
Though it’s not the deepest of experiences in terms of mechanics, Heroes of Magic and Cards has enough elements to provide some compelling, poker-based gameplay, and there’s lots of in-game content for items for players to discover.
In terms of presentation, Heroes of Magic and Cards does have some charm, with colorful, appealing pixel art.
Overall, Heroes of Magic and Cards is enjoyable, but despite fun additions like mini-games, it can feel a little repetitive at times. Given its low price, it does still feel like good value though, and roguelike fans should be pleasantly entertained.
Heroes of Magic and Cards is available now on Steam. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBOX One and XBOX Series X|S versions will be available on September 24th, 2026. Check out our reviews of other digital card games, such as Grail and Masters of the Universe: Legends Unite.
Many thanks to the developers and publishers of the console version, Forever Entertainment S.A., for providing us with a game key for review purposes.
