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Which card game?

  • Shadowverse - Hearthstone with waifus

    Votes: 29 10.1%
  • Eternal - MTG-meets-Hearthstone

    Votes: 17 5.9%
  • Hearthstone

    Votes: 83 28.9%
  • MTG Arena - The REAL Hearthstone-meets-MTG

    Votes: 122 42.5%
  • Artifact - ... yeah

    Votes: 36 12.5%

  • Total voters
    287

Don Fluffles

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,055
Time to decide, ERA!

Personally, my vote goes to Eternal.

It has the great UI of Hearthstone combined with a deeper mix of Hearthstone and MTG's mechanics. Eternal even has a clipboard option that lets you instantly copy-paste custom decks online(provided you own the cards). Most importantly, it's far, FAR less stingy with rewards. Hearthstone only gives you a few gold from completing quests. If you win just one versus match a day, you get a free booster pack. That alone has kept it installed on my phone.

I only played a little of Shadowverse - it's pretty, but I heard that its deck meta's busted as hell. MTG I've just yet to get into. I'll try Artifact when they fix the business model.
 

OhMyZach

Member
Oct 27, 2017
407
Only reason why I prefer Shadowverse is the artwork and that the game hasn't become as obnoxious as Hearthstone... yet.
 

DSP

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,120
If there is only one card game you can play make it mtg arena. It's the most exciting product right now. Magic being extremely accessible finally and unlike other games it has something for every kind of player, there is a mode or event that should appeal to you when other games generally channel everyone into constructed.

hearthstone is extremely boring and stale right now but that should change with the rotation. 2017 sets were far too strong and that meant the game felt the same for a very long time. Otherwise it's in ok shape still the only thing you can do in the game is playing ranked and that's after 5 years. Still if you want an accessible card game and specially on mobile, HS is still the best most well rounded game. I don't think MTG Arena will ever come to mobile, the interface is just impossible to do on a small screen.

Don't see a point in playing Eternal when MTG Arena exists. It's redundant. Maybe on mobile only.

Last time I played shadowverse was over year ago before their first rotation but the game balance was done so poor, it turned me off the game. The decks in the game overall are too degenerate in a way that most games were simply decided in 4 turns and whether you go first or second. There is so much direct damage in the game and overall their focus on fast games made the game not that interesting to play. I don't know how it's like now and I don't care to find out. I reached master then I quit.

Artifact daeD gaem.
 
Last edited:

Totakeke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,673
MTG Arena is pretty nice, my only knock against playing more mtg is that lands always feel bad and it makes a portion of your games just pure land rng. Even when youre benefiting from it, it still makes those games feel like a pure waste of time.
 

HylianSeven

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,036
My personal preference is Artifact, but I know it's overall the least popular game on there. It's a very deep game, and also the fact that it's based on Dota was a factor for me. It's a lot of fun, and I like that it's draft and constructed modes can always be played without paying an extra dime.

I really hope Valve can turn Artifact around, because there's an excellent game there, it's just marred by bad marketing and misinformation. It also has some minor issues with the game, most of which stem from the fact that they wanted to treat it like a physical CCG in digital form. Originally they were not planning on doing balance changes, they changed their mind on that one for the better.

Oddly enough, despite the low number of players, I STILL get matches extremely quickly. It's just as fast as it was on day 1.
 

Miletius

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
1,257
Berkeley, CA
I voted HS because of inertia, have to admit, I'm just not diversified enough to start something else. But, I do think HS has great single player content now so anybody who just wants something to play on their commute or to kill 10-15 minutes it's the king, regardless of if you have enough cards to play MP.

On the other hand, I'm sure MTG:Arena beats HS at a lot of different things now, so I don't think it's a bad choice either.
 
OP
OP
Don Fluffles

Don Fluffles

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,055
Hearthstone is so stingy with giving out free boosters that it's practically P2W.

And yeah, Gwent and Elder Scrolls belong there.
 

Htown

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,318
It's Magic Arena. Played and loved Hearthstone for a couple years, then when Arena went open beta I decided to try Magic for the first time, since I wasn't liking the current state of Hearthstone.

I played for a couple weeks and immediately lost all interest in Hearthstone, because Magic is just a way more interesting game.
 

Hassansan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,125
Been thinking about this for a while, even though I enjoyed every single one of the games in the op (spent 200$+ on each), there's always something that keeps me away from saying "this is my favorite card game", for example am not the biggest fan of some games that have real world version (the whole playing on your opponents turn is just not as smooth), HS solitaire like gameplay, Shadowverse's "FBI knocking on your door" art, Eternal big deck size, and Pokemon's unfriendlyness to deck builders.

So yeah, I found my favorite genre but I'm yet to find my favorite game, was ready to make artifact that game, but the long matches and the dry 1st set stopped me from that. So right now my eyes are on the future digital version of Keyforge.

I picked Eternal because that game deserve more attention and love.
 

Lyng

Editor at Popaco.dk
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
2,206
For me it's Faeria. Best business model and most strategic game play. (And best Soundtrack)
 

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,169
For me, I picked Artifact. At it's core, the gameplay design just beats the others for me, and the monetization model is by far the best of the bunch. 20$ for unlimited drafts is great, and you can pick up most constructed decks for much cheaper than any of its competitors (because dead game). It's pretty sad most people just aren't willing to give it a chance.

Unfortunately, Valve has just gone completely radio silent, and seems content to just let the game die. I'm guessing they're preparing for some sort of free to play overhaul or something, but the lack of communication, combined with no progression or ladder system makes the game pretty hard to actually recommend to people.


MTGA would come second. It's just a very solid adaptation of the physical game (with some very annoying issues with how it handles ceratin rules and interactions). Unfortunately, the parts where it deviates from the physical game are where it sucks. The focus on no-sideboard gameplay just ruins the meta, as there is no way to make an overall balanced deck without a sideboard. So you either make a deck that beats aggro but loses to control, or the other way around. The meta also kind of sucks, with way too much control decks running around. Control just isn't fun to play against, but this particular version of it doesn't even have a win condition, so you either just concede or you have to sit there until your deck runs out. I have no idea why the latest set decided the deck needed a buff.

The limited modes are also completely busted. Draft against the AI just doesn't work, and sealed is way too expensive. Plus, playing them is just shooting yourself in the foot, as you don't get wildcards from opening packs. The economy is also super shitty. The real money transactions are much too expensive (ad kind of scammy), and the free to play rewards are stingy and Wizards is slowly but consistently making them even worse.


Eternal is pretty much just MTG, but with not broken limited modes. The asynchronous drafting system actually works here, and the sealed mode is super well made and very affordable. But overall, it's hard to recommend when MTG exists, as I feel like it's still the better game at its core. The cards are just kind of too boring here.


PTCGO is way better then the complete lack of anyone ever caring about it would make you believe. Just a solid adaptation of the physical game with a monetization model that is still expensive, but no where near its competitors (except for Artifact).


Shadowverse
is kind of bad. The gameplay is just too simplistic. It used to be super free to play friendly, but that's not even all that true anymore, as most decks are filled with expensive legendary cards.


Hearthstone is whatever. The gameplay is just too simple, and the monetization sucks.


Gwent is just too boring to me. Most matches are basically just you doing the same thing over and over again with no really significant ways to interact with your opponent, and the changes they make with updates just really don't make sense most of the time.

Faeria is cool and has a lot of interesting design decisions, but it's also super dead.

Lord of the Rings LCG is pretty interesting conceptually, and I'm hoping they can polish it up until launch. It's not as good as the physical version, but still decent in its own right. The monetization model seems like it could be pretty bad (turns out, LCGs are actually pretty expensive for the amount of content you get), and right now it has a severe lack of content.
 

PsionBolt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,299
Paper MtG is by far the best TCG out of the nine or so that I've played a notable amount of... But I just can't get into Magic Arena. They've tried so many times over the years, but I've still yet to be convinced that it's even possible to make a digital version of MtG as fun as the paper version. It always ends up clunky and ugly -- the exact opposite of paper MtG.

Someday though, we'll get another Pokemon TCG RPG, and it'll dethrone every other digital TCG instantly. Believe!
 
Oct 26, 2017
2,780
Gwent.

There was one called Infinity War or something like that that I liked, but at this point it's mostly dead.
 

Deleted member 1849

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,986
Artifact > Eternal > Shadowverse (from when I played it months ago, no idea what the current meta is like or if it's still F2P friendly) > Hearthstone

Haven't played Gwent. Have heard many good things about Faeria.

I really, really like Artifact and think it's a shame that the game isn't as healthy as it should be.
 

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,169
Which one has the best singleplayer?

The ones in the OP are all mostly multiplayer focused. Hearthstone, Shadowverse and Eternal all have some sort of singleplayer, but I wouldn't recommend them just for that.

Instead, You'd be better of looking at singleplayer focused games. Of those, I'd say Slay the Spire is the best one I've played, although it's a deckbuilder rather than a traditional TCG.
 

Deleted member 1041

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,725
mtg arena is fantastic

Hearthstone is ok but well

MTG has a great f2p system in terms of being able to earn currency+cards, for example their 'arena' version you keep all the cards. Hearthstone is alright, but MTG allows more strategy with instant play cards and what not.
 

mtlspider

Member
Oct 26, 2017
953
Went with Eternal. The closest runner-up would be Artifact.

Eternal has a generous f2p model and a decent ranked ladder/expansion release cycle. Seems to have flown under the radar for some reason though.

Artifact is extremely engaging on a turn-to-turn basis with multiple boards to look at and tons of opportunities to bluff your way through.

---

For those who don't care about multiplayer, Slay the Spire and GWENT: Thronebreaker indeed are the best PvE experiences for digital card games.

Honourable PvE mention goes to Sentinels of the Multiverse if you don't mind scooping up all the DLC. It has tons of skirmish content and there virtually endless permutations possible in terms of scenarios.
 

SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,462
Shadowverse is losing to Artifact? WTF.

I knew Hearthstone and MTG would be the leads but I figured Shadowverse would have a comfortable 3rd.
 

Thorrgal

Member
Oct 26, 2017
12,303
I play HS because I was a HC WoW player from vanilla to cataclysm, so it brings back the nostalgia aspect
 

Soy Bob

Member
Dec 3, 2018
136
Which of these games would be best for two players looking to play against just each other? I'm looking for a card game to play with a friend, but we're unlikely to get deep into playing against strangers online.
 

Austriacus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
722
Which of these games would be best for two players looking to play against just each other? I'm looking for a card game to play with a friend, but we're unlikely to get deep into playing against strangers online.

I guess it would sort of depend how deep you want your gameplay to go. Most of these card games come with lot of premade decks that are perfectly fine for fooling around with a friend, and they are all free to play (exept artifact) so you guys can just try them all till one clicks.
 

jerfdr

Member
Dec 14, 2017
702
Gwent. (Honestly, why wasn't it included in the poll? It's bigger playerbase-wise than some of the included ones.)
 
Feb 16, 2018
2,680
mtg has the best limited, so i'll vote for that

in terms of constructed potential, i'd probably say no resources (gwent )> free resources (artifact / elder scrolls) > random resources (mtg) > curvestone

but in reality, they all focus too much on ignoring whatever is fun and trying to win in the lamest way possible, so the constructed ends up being fairly weak
 

Jasper

Member
Mar 21, 2018
740
Netherlands
I tried MTGArena, but I simply got frustrated by the slow progression and facing the same decks over and over.

Since those are two points Eternal does a lot better on, I returned to that game after a long absence. And over the years it has only gotten better. More cards (sorely needed back when I quit), a very nice Sealed format, and the art is getting better too, although that'll always be a weakness compared to MtG.

One big reason to leave MtG to physical play areas is that a game like Eternal can use the digital format so well. Is a card over- or underperforming? Just buff/nerf it. This allows for small tweaks that can shake up the meta a little bit and support various strategies.

Also, way less mana screw thanks to the game always selecting a hand with 2-4 'lands'.

Did I mention it's incredibly easy to build up your collection (compared to MTGA and HS at least)? It's also very viable to play ranked with homebrew decks, if you're any decent at deckbuilding.
 

Qvoth

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,885
voted mtga
i got artifact for free so i'm not complaining, haven't played ever since week 2 though
 

ApeEscaper

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,720
Bangladeshi
---
For those who don't care about multiplayer, Slay the Spire and GWENT: Thronebreaker indeed are the best PvE experiences for digital card games.

Honourable PvE mention goes to Sentinels of the Multiverse if you don't mind scooping up all the DLC. It has tons of skirmish content and there virtually endless permutations possible in terms of scenarios.
I'm mainly interested only in PvE thanks will get these three
 

lacer

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,693
voted Hearthstone because i can still play it without paying but it's more of a case of Stockholm Syndrome than anything else i think
 

Deleted member 16849

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,167
Which one has the best singleplayer?

1) Gwent
2) Elder Scrolls Legends
3) Hearthstone

You have to pay for the single player modules in each. Elder Scrolls Legends give you a taste. Gwents SP is actually a 20 hour RPG with amazing writing. The other 2 pale in comparison to Gwent, the other offerings on the market have non-existentant SP or is just bot-matches.
 

Zephon

Member
Dec 10, 2017
297
How long is an average match in MTG arena and is arena a good one to jump in to learn the game?
One reason I keep playing Hearthstone is how quick the games are usually.