Summary
Card games are one of the most popular genres in both the tabletop and digital gaming scenes, especially since the release and success of the indie gameSlay The Spire, a game that combined the deck-building and moment-to-moment card play of games likeHearthstonewith a rogue-like structure.
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Deck-building and card games are rich in abundance now, butas more games cloneSlay The Spireand its various off-shoots, fewer games are choosing to borrow ideas fromHearthstone, such as its emphasis on summoning and buffing units. However, some games takeHearthstone’scard summons made up of health, mana, and abilities, and apply this mechanic in unique ways.
The digital card game genre is an extremely saturated one, so it’s highly likely that there are great games out there that are easy to miss. Furthermore, this list aims to provide games that have a generally good reputation at the time of writing, and thatHearthstonefans might enjoy. This means that games likeShadowverse CCG,Magic: The Gathering Arena, andYu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUELwon’t be included, despite having their fan bases - these games are either too polarizing or too dissimilar toHearthstone.
6Super Auto Pets
Yes,Super Auto Petsis not a card game. In fact, it’s the only game on this list that doesn’t use cards in some fashion, but for fans ofHearthstonethat like the idea of adapting and building their team (of minions) on the fly, there’s a lot of fun to be had withSuper Auto Pets.
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InSuper Auto Pets, players buy and sell the titular pets, each having their own health, attack, and special ability. This ability can activate in the shop (where players construct their squad), or in one of the game’s asynchronous multiplayer battles.Super Auto Petsis extremely different fromHearthstonemechanically, but the strategic thinking and synergy-building of combining unit abilities is something thatHearthstonefans are likely to get a few kicks out of.
5Undaunted Normandy
This digital adaptation of a board gametakes place in WW2 and has players deploying various troops and controlling them with cards representing a variety of soldiers. These cards are drawn from a deck that can be built upon over the course of a game by taking units from the supply.
This gameplay loop of deploying units and attacking one another via card plays is very similar toHearthstone, but the game adds a hefty amount of randomnessvia dice rolling, which is something that fans ofHearthstonemight not appreciate. Regardless, forHearthstonefanswho enjoy WW2 gamesand digital adaptations of tabletopgames that don’t mind a little randomness,Undaunted Normandyis worth a look.
4Slay The Spire
This indie rogue-like is almost inarguably responsible for themassive boom of deck-buildersthat have launched (especially on Steam, PC) since its release. Although fellow indie titleDream Questreleased a few years before,Slay The Spireperfected the rogue-like/deck-building combination with its slick moment-to-moment card play.
Just by looking atSlay The Spire, it’s clear whatHearthstonefans would like about it. It’s got a plethora of synergies to discover, made stronger by its selection of “Relics” that grant players passive abilities and add further variety to the game, as well as its highly similar card play. However,Slay The Spiredoesn’t really toy withHearthstone’score mechanics of summoning and battling with minions.
3Legends Of Runeterra
This card game from Riot Games, the team behindLeague Of Legends, is based on theLeague Of LegendsIP, using familiar characters from the popular MOBA. While this may ring alarm bells for some,Legends Of Runeterrais far from a money grab. Instead, it’s a well-thought-out and unique take on the digital card game and deck-building genre.
Legends Of Runeterrais rather unique toHearthstoneand arguably more complex, but it’s very clearly inspired byHearthstone(just take a look at the way the game is visually laid out), and fans of Blizzard’s card game titan are likely to have a good time here.
2Monster Train
One of the few rogue-like games inspired bySlay The Spirethat managed to be unique while remaining successful is a lot more similar toHearthstonethanSlay The Spiredue to its focus on summoning units (monsters) to defend the titular train.
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InMonster Train, players play cards using a very familiar mana system and a customizable deck that is built throughout a run. These cards range from spells to units that can be placed on the train’s various levels, taking up a specific amount of space when doing so. This makes the placement of monsters an important and tactical decision, and it’s also important to decide when to bring out specific monsters, as once they are dead, they’re gone for the rest of the battle. Furthermore, the game features several boss enemies that bring unique challenges to each run, as well as various factions with their unique cards that can be combined to create various synergies, making it a highly replayable experience.
1GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
This free-to-play gamebased on theWitcherfranchise was developed by CD PROJEKT RED and features various factions to choose from, each promoting a different playstyle and unique leaders.
LikeHearthstone,GWENTfeatures a deck-building system, with each card having its own recruit cost on top of its regular attributes. Players build decks similar toHearthstone, but unique toHearthstoneisGWENT’s battlefield, which has two rows as opposed toHearthstone’sone. These rows are melee and ranged, and the positioning of cards on these rows is crucial to player success.
