
With decades of history in the game’s fabric before it even hit the internet, Magic already had an enormous fanbase and plenty of experience in monetising itself. It makes sense that Arena would be the number one contender for Hearthstone’s digital card game throne.
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It took Wizards of the Coast a few attempts to get a really solid digital version of its flagship card game into the public’s hands, but Arena is an incredibly well-polished and user-friendly way to play Magic: The Gathering - to the point where if you want to learn how to play MTG you’re better off just downloading Arena rather than grabbing a physical starter kit. How could they, with that kind of legacy?īuilt from the rules and card pool of the lucrative trading card game designed by Richard Garfield, Arena is a like-for-like digital version of the game we all know, albeit wrapped in fancy graphics and voice acting with animated card effects, single-player campaigns and oodles and oodles of content. There’s a countless number of digital card games out there that aren't Hearthstone, but none have come closer than the ancestor of the physical CCG, Magic: The Gathering Arena. Seeing a new opportunity to milk some money from their respective franchises, games companies throughout the world rushed to make their own version of the CCG hit and try to snap up their share of the pack money. Whilst Hearthstone’s success spawned a lot of innovation, it also spawned a lot of clones. Magic: The Gathering Arena The latest attempt to bring the original collectible card game to the digital plane MTG Arena offers a beginner-friendly way to get started with the long-running card game. Let's check the best of them out now - who knows, maybe it'll rekindle a love of card games?ġ. New games appear, taking the bones of their predecessors and twisting and turning them into new creations with innovative new ideas that can make the original games they were based on seem even a little dull in comparison. Whilst card games had existed in the digital medium for a long time, dating back to the Yu-Gi-Oh! RPGs on the original PlayStation, Magic: The Gathering Online’s release in 2002 and mini-games such as Triple Triad in Final Fantasy 8, this was the first time that a real standalone hit had garnered proper worldwide recognition and success.īut with new mediums comes innovation and competition. And not without success! Now there's a whole range of great digital card games out there, the best of which we've laid out for you to check out below. 5.The creation of Hearthstone changed everything when it came to card games, setting a whole new standard that everybody else has been trying to outdo - or even just catch up to - ever since it first debuted back in 2014. If you're partial to the thrills and upsets inherent to that kind of RNG, Elder Scrolls: Legends offers a lot of interesting card synergies to build around and a solid single-player story.
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Do you go all-in on one side and hope the enemy can't establish proper defenses in time, or do you play the odds and fortify both sides of the battlefield? There's also the unique mechanic of runes: automatic card draws that trigger, when you're reduced to certain life totals, which can potentially result in free casting costs, should you pick up a card with the Prophecy keyword. Its defining feature is the way it divides the board into two separate lanes, so the way you place your forces is crucial. It's the perfect card game for anyone who's spent hundreds of hours roaming the worlds of Skyrim, Oblivion, and Morrowind. The Elder Scrolls: Legends development has been put on hold, but the game is still playable and absolutely worth checking out.

What makes the game so popular, apart from the swift and surprising battles, is the generous rewards system that gifts players weekly chests and free battle passes that translate to crafting materials, cards, and Wildcards, which you can swap for a card of your choice as long as it has the same rarity value. An attack token lets you know when it's your turn to go on the offensive or defend, and claiming victory means wiping out all of your opponent's 20 health points before they can do the same to you. The one-on-one games start with both players holding a hand of four cards, and each round you can draw a new card from your deck. It's a tense, aggressive take on the collectible card game, but also an accessible one for those that might find games like Magic: The Gathering Arena a little intimidating. From Riot Games, the people that brought you League of Legends, comes the free-to-play Legends of Runeterra.
