Top 10 Free to Play Digital Collectible Card Games

Digital card games aren’t just a nerd thing anymore; they are actually big right now, similar in a sense to the growth of MOBAs, so much that a lot of you just can’t stand to hear about them anymore. Nevertheless, there’s this new and huge portion of players who are willing to spend big time in digital decks and that’s why everyone seems to be working on card games nowadays – even Bethesda, with the upcoming Elder Scrolls: Legends. Once again, we would like to leave it out there: a Fallout card game would be absolutely rad!

Anyway, here are our current best Digital Collectible Card Games. We’re pretty sure you already know a couple of them, but maybe you’ll be surprised by some of the names.

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10 – MIGHT & MAGIC: DUEL OF CHAMPIONS

Might and Magic: Duel of Champions is a damn fine game, with over 770 cards from the popular universe of Might and Magic. With different factions, dozens of heroes and different game modes, this game was bursting with life and players during 2014 and a bit after. So, if it’s such a good game, why isn’t it ranking higher in our top 10? Because the release of the Draft Mode in October 2015 brought with it some really bad and unexpected news – Duel of Champions isn’t getting any more updates and the patch also added some bugs and crashes that are too frequent, and it also took a turn into pay-to-win territory, with the need to buy card packs becoming too evident. A great, fun card game that turned into a ghost ship – try it if you’re a Might and Magic purist, but we strongly recommend you not to spend money in an abandoned game.

9 – SOLFORGE

Solforge is a fairly simple card game that isn’t particularly inventive with its board layout, but at least the card artwork if pretty good, although not exactly extraordinary. While this may look like just one more, it has this twist to make it stand out from most of the competition – the card levelling. So, you’re playing with these cards and you know you have to try and get a stronger version of them just in case. It’s a fast-paced game and levelling the cards can have this addictive feel to it, but Solforge doesn’t have the gameplay depth of other collectible card games.

8 – WORLD OF TANKS: GENERALS

While the Wargaming trilogy World of… is pretty popular and with high production values, collectible card game spin-off World of Tanks: Generals seems to be rather low profile, for some unknown reason. The gameplay is simple enough to learn but offers enough depth for some interesting strategies, however you won’t find anything here that you haven’t seen in other digital card games. It’s more suited for the big fans of World of Tanks or even those with a passion for armored vehicles, but we doubt that casual players will choose this one over some of the other more popular offers. And those visuals… well, let’s just say that the cards don’t look completely terrible, but that board… so much could be done with it to make it more appealing, because first impressions usually count a great deal to catch a player’s attention.

7 – CHRONICLE: RUNESCAPE LEGENDS

Not your run-of-the-mill card game, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends adds tabletop game elements to the mix and the results are very promising to say the least. The universe of RuneScape is a strong starting point and players will have to complete quests by choosing a character (known as Legend) and using a customized card deck. The game unfolds in a beautiful board game where two players battle to see who is the best. There are hundreds of cards inspired by RuneScape’s lore and the amount will surely rise during the following months. Chronicle: RuneScape Legends tries something new and while it may take some time for players used to more traditional card games to get used to it, this is a game that will probably grow and become one of the big names in the genre.

6 – SPELLWEAVER

If Hearthstone and Magic the Gathering had a baby, it would probably be called Spellweaver. The biggest drawback of this game is something that could be pinned to many others: it can look a bit generic. After all, it’s the usual fantasy fare that some of you are probably already tired of. However, don’t skip it yet as it has a few things going for it, such as a really nice, rewarding free-to-play model, or at least at the time that we’re making this. It’s also extremely polished, visually top notch and the mechanics take inspiration from the games mentioned above, but still adding a twist or two of its own, such as hero development. A card game that looks good, is fair to players and is fun to play.

5 – CARD HUNTER

Card Hunter is a clever mix of digital board game and card game that will just suck the hours away. This can be extremely fun as a solo game but shit gets serious when you get into some multiplayer mayhem. Don’t let its apparent simplicity fool you; it can get quite complex as you level up and unlock more and more items. Also, there’s plenty of humor to go with it. This is just as much fun as playing an actual tabletop game such as Dungeons & Dragons, except that you don’t have your nerd friends nagging you right at your side.

4 – HEX: SHARDS OF FATE

Hex: Shards of Fate includes a solo campaign that the naysayers may consider as little more than an extended tutorial, but they would in fact be very wrong – this is a robust game mode on its own that offers different paths that may lead to a conversation with an NPC or, most of the time, a duel. The map artwork is great and the distinct tactics that your rivals use will teach you more than any standard tutorial ever will. The unique classes provide specific mechanics and equipment slots add another layer of possibilities to the game, with the weapon and armor collected being used to add special effects to some cards in your deck. PvP is of course where the main appeal of Hex lies. This is a great card game that is still growing and definitely one of the big names in the genre.

3 – INFINITY WARS

Infinity Wars is one of the several collectible card games that are out there, trying to make a name for itself with some cool features. First of all, it’s impossible not to notice the outstanding card artwork, and the cherry on top is that every card is animated in a smooth, beautiful way. As far as presentation goes, Infinity Wars is one of the best of its kind, but it’s not just about looks. This game tries to differentiate itself from the standard card games, adding a few twists to the mechanics such as a Support Zone, Defense Zone or Command Zone, and you can win the battle in two ways, draining health or morale. Other highlight is simultaneous play, so both players choose their actions and then the game begins resolving, which means that you have to be a true tactician to anticipate your rival’s move. A truly great game that asks you some time to learn its mechanics but then rewards you greatly for it.

2 – HEARTHSTONE: HEROES OF WARCRAFT

When Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft was announced, people said Blizzard was losing it, it was going to suck so much, and they were milking the franchise to the max. When it was released, all the haters became addicted to its wonderfully simple design and gameplay with noticeable depth, a game that was accessible to anyone but that provided a huge tactical freedom for the most skilled. With a clean presentation and accomplished atmosphere, Hearthstone is above everything else fun but as it is usually the case, you’ll only be able to rival the best players if you spend many hours playing the game to get the best cards or use your real money to get some better chances. Nevertheless, it’s a very fun game even without spending a dollar and it started a digital card game frenzy that isn’t about to end anytime soon. Hearthstone may not be the most in-depth collectible card game around, but it certainly is one of the most fun to play and the one with the biggest mass appeal right now.

1 – DUELYST

Duelyst isn’t your typical card game – if you take a quick glance at it you would be excused to think it is a turn-based tactical game… and it is. The board where you can see yours and your rival’s units is one of the game’s major triumphs as it gives Duelyst a pretty distinctive look, one that very few games have already tried – there’s PoxNora, for example, or Mojang’s Scrolls, but this one is a step ahead of those. Maybe it’s the unusual mix of beautiful, dreamy hand-drawn backgrounds, or the pixel art used for the units, but the combination of these very conflicting styles somehow manages to work wonders. Of course, what matters the most is the tactical depth and Duelyst has it in spades. With hundreds of cards and frequent updates, Duelyst is one of the best, if not the best digital card game available at the time, and we could call it a tie between this one and Hearthstone, two very enjoyable games that manage to have a lot in common despite looking so different. Pick your favorite, but be true to yourself and do it only after trying both of them – you may end up loving both games.

Granted, this is far from the most exciting genre to watch, but playing these games has the exact opposite effect – even if you’re not too fond on card games, if you give them some time and learn the mechanics, begin messing around in ranked matches and absorbing all the little details, you may end up hooked without noticing it. If there’s another game that you like to play regularly and that we left out, let us know in the comments. Definitely keep an eye out for Labyrinth, an upcoming card game and RPG hybrid in the same style of Duelyst.