Our Top 10 Deck Building Games | Roll For Crit

Do you like building decks? Are you looking to build more? Let us walk you through some of our favorite deck building games in this top ten video!
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#BoardGames #CardGames #DeckBuilding

[@jonryan835]

Great list! Some others to consider: - Tyrants of the Underdark is my all time #1. Such a great game - the promotion of cards, mixing of 2 theme decks (similar to Legendary), and the area control on the board, combine with fun deck building. - Arctic Scavengers - great theme that utilizes Dune: Imperium's saving of cards for an end-of-round battle - The Quest for El Dorado - wonderful use of the deck building feuling a race on a board - Helionox: Deluxe Edition - combines pick up & deliver with many ways of getting points, and a unique card market - Shadowrift (2nd Ed) - coop deckbuilding with simultaneous play, personal and communal decks you're building at the same time, and lots of variability - A Study In Emerald 2nd Ed. - fun area control that also determines the acquiring of cards, with 2 secret teams (and 1 single winner). Not as crazy as 1st Ed, but easier to teach and get to the table. - Valley of the Kings - buy cards from a cool pyramid but they have to be removed from your deck to a burial chamber to actually score you points by the end of the game - Xenon Profiteer - deck deconstruction where the theme matches perfectly - Core Worlds (w/Galactic Orders expansion) - uses tableau building and multiple decks that put out more and more powerful cards as the game progresses so the cards you draft grow more powerful as you do. - Puzzle Strike - uses chips instead of cards, and you start w/3 unique chips that belong to your character. Good fun PVP that doesn't feel mean. - Dungeon Alliance / Star Trek Frontiers - worth checking out if you like Mage Knight. STF is basically a Trek retheme and DA uses similar card play to MK, but with your own drafted team of dungeon crawlers.

[@revimfadli4666]

Speaking of VotK, Dale of Merchants also has a similar tension if having to bury your cards

[@JakubWojtowitz]

Nice list, but for me top10 db is: 1. Shadowrun Crossfire 2. Cowboy Bebop: Space Serenade 3. Dungeon Alliance 4. Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game 5. Arctic Scavengers: Base Game+HQ+Recon 6. Shards of Infinity 7. DC Deck-Building Game: Rebirth 8. Aeon's End 9. Hero Realms 10. Dungeon Brawler

[@SeanUCF]

War of the Worlds The New Wave, Resident Evil DBG, Attack on Titan, The Veil, Kamigami Battles and Warmachine High Command are all deck builders that are great fun (especially war of the worlds).

[@heathwashburn194]

Have y'all played The Quest for El Dorado? It's a great tense racing game that uses deck-building.

[@RollforCrit]

We have played and enjoyed the original Quest for El Dorado, as well as the Golden Temples expansion!

[@aonline_abridged]

Edge of Darkness, Artic Scavengers, Dale of Merchants, Trains, Valley of the Kings.

[@brent272]

Shards of Infinity is so good a streamlined version of Ascension.

[@kobusbrits3523]

My favorite is Aeon's End. Superb game. New Age is my favorite version of it.

[@SeanUCF]

Yeah I'm not sure how Aeon's End isn't everyone's favorite deck builder. It just seems to perfect the formula.

[@chrisesposito5530]

I recommend you check out Puzzle Strike if you haven't already, it's a very unique deckbuilder that uses chips drawn from a bag instead of cards. Also check out Shards of Infinity, it's the best dueling deck builder I've ever seen. It has a Mastery mechanic where each player can power up to make their cards more deadly, and if anyone powers up to Level 30 they become a god and automatically win the game.

[@wfp9378]

Friday…..oooohhhhh…….one of the most crushing games I own. Never won it. Very frustrating. So frustrating that it is never played now.

[@mrp4242]

I’ve only played about half the games listed here; would love to try the others, especially Fort. I can respect Dominion for its impact on the hobby, but I just couldn’t get into it. Star Realms/Hero Realms is great; almost always a hit when I introduce it to new players. A great ‘gateway’ deck builder. But perhaps my favorite game that implements deck building is ‘Hands in the Sea.’ It’s a spiritual successor to ‘A Few Acres of Snow’ and not particularly well known, but I think it’s fantastic. Finding opponents is the trick part!

[@Hudsonbba]

Played all the top 7 on here and though they are great Dale of Merchants is most definitely our favorite out of all of them!

[@MsGinahidesout]

I LOVE Tea Dragons! So glad to see it on Will's list

[@revimfadli4666]

Slay the Spire, Dicey Dungeons, Poker Quest, Roguebook, and Monster Train are my favourites Wait a second...

[@SeanUCF]

Neoverse is also pretty good. Monster Train is my favorite though.

[@HALOX30]

Clank.................................................in space. Then Will's dissapointing...OH! Glad someone is picking this one over normal Clank because this one is such an improvement on the first one.

[@gronith]

I really love Cthulhu Realms off the top of my head it's probably my favorite.

[@revimfadli4666]

I like how it's got a two-dimensional "bingo"/suit synergy, instead of just one. Autobattlers show how fun & creative its flexible synergy building can be

[@jalenhorm5784]

Tyrants of the Underdark is a bit overlooked. Combines deck building and area control.

[@nicmichaud7868]

Tyrants is a really good game! but very few people played it sadly!

[@jaysonbarlow3540]

Hard to find for a decent price

[@KarimTheilgaard]

Legendary Encounters Aliens is one I have yet to try and really want to!

[@SeanUCF]

It really is a great game. Alien and Predator are probably the best versions of Legendary.

[@XxBreath4MusicxX]

One I haven't seen mentioned in the comments and should be considered is Cartoon Network: Crossover Crisis. So much nostalgia and your main base character is chosen at random that allows for different abilities that go with cards so it allows for tons of replayability

[@Coldshadow]

Nobody ever mentions Hand of Fate Ordeals

[@ronthal]

Thanks for the video! I would've mentioned that Thunderstone the original game is kind of the 2nd grandfather of the genre, alongside Dominion. I realise I've never played Shadowrun Crossfire although I know the initial RPG, the turn-bades PC games... Need to do that! Honorable mention to Saint Seiya the Deckbuilding game with beautiful art and card quality, nice combos when you get your deck well built, even if a game lasts a bit long for how simple it is. I 100% second your choice of Clank in space, more time to build your deck rather than rush to get out, expansions add a degree of complexity and some fresh mechanics (haven't yet played the Cyberstation 11 board which I got for Xmas!)

[@whataboutthepotatoes6085]

Great rundown. Quick question: I recently bought the Star Realms Box Set and Frontiers, both made by Wise Wizard Games as written on my boxes. I see in the video here it says Star Realms by White Wizard Games. Was is initially called White Wizard Games?

[@edwardlasso3092]

Arctic Scavengers, Trains, Undaunted (series) and Dune Imperium are all great games as well.

[@noodlemans]

My top 6 in no order: Dominion Eminent Domain Marvel Legendary Legendary Encounters Alien Aeons End Resident Evil Marvel Champions (do lcg’s count?)

[@SeanUCF]

Marvel Champions is a deck construction game, not a deck builder.

[@Michael_Eisenberg]

I like Vikings Gone Wild and also Fort, Clank in Space and El Dorado!

[@shortbuspimp]

My favorite is Thunderstone Advanced.

[@ErnieB573]

Wikings Gone Wild is fun and I like the ramping up of Core Worlds

[@danielsommerlykke9475]

Great video. Though D&D is not about character progression. D&D is a game about nonlinear exploration of an area or world through cooperative storytelling, involving role playing, and if run well also with survival elements and emergent gameplay.

[@jagottremblay7387]

Marvel Legendary is my favorite deckbuilder. Rune Stones would be my second then Hogwarts Battle. I'm waiting for the Power Rangers one to come out and see where that one comes up.

[@truerockfan]

I'm just happy someone finally said DC Deck Building game. I feel it really never gets any love from the board game youtube channels, by which I mean the big ones. I can honestly say I will probably never play Dominion because I am just not a fan of the look or the theme of it, and Aeon's End? I already know without playing it my group would lose every time. I feel having to plan the deck is just too difficult for me because if I screw up one card, its game over. Good video though lol

[@RollforCrit]

Thanks! If you enjoy the DC deck builder, I hope you had the chance to pick up the new DC Multiverse box. I just got mine in the mail and its pretty nice to have the new box that even holds the large cards well.

[@truerockfan]

@@RollforCrit my friends and I put in for the 10th Anniversary kickstarter and we have all our stuff. Just waiting for our grand sleeving weekend

[@RollforCrit]

I just bought more sleeves as I used up my reserve stash.

[@aceattorney3999]

I've never played Legendary but clearly I need to. I almost exclusively play cooperative games Thanks for the lists gentlemen! Shout out to DC deck game and Aeon's End - so damn fun

[@justmike75]

Clank!, Xenoshyft are solid... Hero Realms over Star Realms... and a shout out to a cult of the new deck building game: Dune: Imperium

[@ilirtanku9722]

Gloomhaven has deckbuilding too

[@Witcher96]

Resident evil deckbuilding game is also very nice

[@alexandrebrochu4265]

It's a light Deck Building Game but "Bloodborne: The Card Game" is really nice. Also "Dark Souls: The Card Game" can be fun.

[@terrysalt]

My issue with games like Legendary and Aeon's End is the set up options. Choosing which 9 cards to have for sale or which heroes to use totally overwhelms me, especially once expansions enter the mix. If someone else (often a randomiser) makes the decision for me, the actual games are awesome but there's too much riding on those initial choices.

[@RollforCrit]

Understandable! We often use a randomizer app (there are a few out there) in the case of Marvel Legendary to help us decide.

[@lotterwinner6474]

You almost got it right, next year we will see Aeon's End in the number 1 spot. I really recommend you try the new Last two Aeons End releases. Exhibition mode takes the game up a level.

[@kirkbeiser]

Deckbuilding is one of my favorite mechanics and you can tell how big the genre is since very few of your favorites match up with my favorites mainly because I haven't played them. My favorites (probably forgetting a few) Dale of Merchants Aeon's End After The Virus Valley of the Kings Shards of Infinity Mystic Vale Clank! Vikings Gone Wild Star/Hero Realms

[@Vascariz]

Endless Winter!

[@flintsteel]

Personal favourites not mentioned are Helionox, Undaunted and Shadowrun Crossfire.

[@scyldscefing3913]

Terrors of London is on my list.

[@clintonjeffrey6699]

Favorite game of all time: Alf Seegert's Fantastiqa.

[@paulhamrick3943]

Personally I think that “deck building”should require that the deck is shuffled and a hand is drawn from the shuffled deck. Otherwise isn’t it just hand management?

[@aonline_abridged]

Aeon's end is a deckbuilder and there is no default shuffling...you are still building a deck by acquiring cards as a main mechanic of the game.

[@paulhamrick3943]

@@aonline_abridged I just think that cycling over a shuffled deck needs to be part of definition, otherwise it’s just set collection. The reason why bag building is considered an alternate form of deck building is, again, there are random item draws, the only thing the player has control over is what’s in the bag, and only very limited control over what’s in their hand.

[@aonline_abridged]

@@paulhamrick3943 Set collection is a different mechanic, there are no sets in Aeon's end to continue this example. Building a deck is literally in the name of the deck building mechanic (deck construction being a pre-game thing, like in the LCGs), so if during the game the players are adding to a deck they will reuse, it is very much a deck builder. Recently I played Aquatica, you do not shuffle your deck on that one either (similar to Condordia), but yet you deck is not the same as what you started with because you buy cards for it. Regardless if shuffled or not, there is a deck and you are adding to it and will cycle back to cards you've used before. That being said, of course if you have certain specifications to consider what a deck builder is then you care entitle to your criteria (I have same pickiness for tile placement and city building games), I just really appreciate these terms have already been defined and BGG is working towards maintaining a standardized classification matrix that helps us gamers look for similar games based on a mechanism.

[@ScytheNoire]

Two great games that have deck building are Spirit Island and Viscounts of the West Kingdom.

[@Vascariz]

Agreed on Spirit Island!

[@juliv.4892]

I love Legendary Encounters Alien, Star Realms and Shards of Infinity actual...and Imperium Classics

[@RollforCrit]

Haven't tried Imperium Classics. Will have to keep an eye out for that.

[@Ottoppers]

android netrunner, core worlds, shards of infinity , hero realms, baseball 2248, dune imperium

[@jascat7297]

I've only heard of maybe half on both lists. I only recognize Friday Shadowrun, Aeon's End Clank, and Legendary as Solo-able. Anybody know which of the others are solo-able?

[@EHngelic]

Star Realms is solo able via the Gambit expansion. I recommend the app, which is free on mobile and Steam *expansions are extra Mage Knight is solo able. Most people recommend this as solo only

[@nicmichaud7868]

Hero realms got 2 campaign expansions which can be played solo! ;)

[@LarryNealJr]

Ascension is soloable as well.

[@marcosseven8872]

Nice list and video! I'm looking to buy add one Deck building game in my collection (I don't have any yet).

[@twdpepper6012]

(Haven't watched the video yet, so im sorry if I'm repeating anything already said) I've just recently gotten into deck-builders. The three I've played so far are Dominion, Quest for El Dorado, and Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated. My favorite, by far, has got to be Clank! Legacy! I've thoroughly enjoyed all three. But Dominion is a little too bare bones deck building for me. And turns can feel repetitive as you trigger the same cards again and again, domino-ing through your whole deck. Satisfying, but not overly interesting. I could see how that would appeal to some, though. In El Dorado, the game isn't just the cards. Which is definitely what im looking for. But there's actually not much to the cards. I don't feel like im doing anything special or unique with my deck. You're all doing pretty much the same thing. Not a lot of interesting cards, imo. But Clank! Has a board where you run around, gather treasure, and try to get to safety before the big bad gets his hands on you. Which would be a really cool game just by itself, with some regular action point system. But it perfectly implements the deck-building system into it as well! The cards are not overly complicated, but there is a lot of information they can have.(Movement, swords, money, and then possibly a special effect) And it's not just some abstract, milk your turn attempting to get money to buy points. Nor is it just racing to the finish line. You're buying cards, some worth points. But you're also maneuvering through a dungeon, making decisions of which treasures to take, which market items to buy to help you in your journey. Backpack(to carry an additional treasure.) A pickaxe (to move through mountains more easily) Not really complicated stuff, but fun directions to take your game. The thrill of the theme really shines for me, in this one! Also the Legacy game (which is playable after the campaign) was really enjoyable for our group. Even the one who doesn't love games, really enjoyed it! (They even dreamt about it! Lol) Clank! Is the perfect system for me! Best of luck in finding the system that you enjoy!

[@wesleyvandenbroucke9670]

Dune Imperium also great.

[@keith2570]

The Taverns of Tiefenthal is the best deckbuilder to date. I just got Lucky's Misadventures, and I'm about to give it a go. We'll see how it fares.

[@zilla333333]

Aeon's End Legacy was fun for the first half. The whole "fractured crystrals" mechanic about halfway through absolutely ruined it. We lost every game after that and gave up on the whole campaign. Such a negative experience that we haven't played any Aeon's End games since.

[@scottarmstrong8178]

New gamer and went all-in on the last Aeon's End kickstarter. Would you suggest starting with Legacy or just the first big box release?

[@RyuBateson218]

The New Age or Outcast have more replayability then legacy but do give the campaign feel.

[@smooth122]

Yeahhh my favourite marvel legendary!

[@CDCyD]

Nostalgia is a diff criteria than goat

[@whitesoxMLB]

You prefer random lineup markets? Worst mechanic in the genre. Guess I shouldn't put much stock in this list.

[@AdamShelar]

No one mentioned Arctic Scavengers. It’s basically Dominion, but actually good. And actually has a theme.

[@paulhamrick3943]

I just got into the hobby two years ago and came across these dismissals of Dominion, and along with the bad artwork it wasn’t hard to disregard it myself. Then I saw there was a official website for it and I started playing with friends over Zoom (we use the app to play, but use Zoom to “hang out” and talk smack). Now it’s one of my favorite games, amazing variety and the basic mechanics are great. I honestly think people who don’t like the game just haven’t played enough.

[@josevelajr]

@@paulhamrick3943 yup, still one of my favorite games. I don't understand the hate.

[@ProbWontMaxUFC]

Who makes a 36 minute video and doesn't include the full list in the description or comments or anything no time stamps nothing...

[@travis_approved]

25:46 / 26:08

[@marcosseven8872]

Why when mentioning a game always is mention the publisher instead of the Designer (who should get the praise IMO) really don't understand

[@tabletopgenius77]

Have you guys not played Dune yet?

[@RollforCrit]

Still have not had Dune Imperium hit the table, I am very sad to say! Hopefully soon.

[@Ottoppers]

Radlands, sanctary the keepers era

[@Ottoppers]

core worlds, android netrunner, hero realms

[@joe-wi8nj]

Play some dune tcg 4 player !

[@zxccxz164]

isn't splendor a deck builder?

[@RollforCrit]

Splendor would be more engine builder. And while most deck builders are engine builders, you are not building your own deck of cards during Splendor.

[@keith2570]

Trains?

[@gioarca6623]

🤔 Great western trail is my favorite... Altho I'm not sure everyone will agree on calling it deck building game

[@lotterwinner6474]

Gwt would be my number 2, just behind Aeon's End.

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

did i miss a reason why marvel champions is not on the list?

[@RollforCrit]

Yes - We weren't including LCGs in our criteria, just games where you build during the gameplay itself.

[@Ottoppers]

mage wars arena, mage wars academy, summoners wars

[@TheMexicanSuperman1]

I love Hogwarts Battle!

[@patriziopastore9895]

Nice list a bit surprised that there is not marvel champion

[@nicmichaud7868]

it's not a deckbuilder. In deckbuilders you build your deck during the game while MC or Arkham are more like magic! you build your deck before playing and your deck does not change.

[@patriziopastore9895]

​@@nicmichaud7868 ok so in this video for deckbuilders they consider the mechanics Deck, Bag, and Pool Building not the deck construction one... good to know

[@nicmichaud7868]

@@patriziopastore9895 for terminology I think they call Marvel Champions and others like it Deck Constructors now

[@patriziopastore9895]

@@nicmichaud7868 I see very pro :)

[@JonathanNation]

Moonrakers

[@hywel4767]

As if Shards of Infinity isnt on here 😮

[@jaytpmc]

Fantasy Realms

[@josevelajr]

This is a hand management game, not a deckbuilder.

[@notripe109]

The attack on titan one

[@witchedwiz]

no ah:lcg? also i think that hero realms should be there somewhere :L a bit sad to see legendary marvel and not marvel champions, but i guess different taste :)

[@RollforCrit]

We weren't including LCGs in our criteria, just games where you build during the gameplay itself. But we're fans of the games you mentioned!

[@davidpepin3017]

Helionox

[@TheErnieforss]

I thought Arkham horror lcg was a deck builder game.

[@kalega311]

So, it is...but it doesn't meet the criteria of building/improving a deck MID-game. They address this towards the end of the video. Arkham Horror is an LCG and those - along w/ TCG/CCGs - you build your deck before the game starts. I was thinking about this as the video started, how to distinguish the 2 categories. My friend doesn't play board games, but is familiar w/ LCGs and TCG/CCGs. And he thinks board game deck building (i.e., mid-game deck building) is weird. But it's the common way in board games. Maybe the simplest way to distinguish the 2 types, if a game is called a deckbuilder/deckbuilding, it's like the games listed above. But if it's a "____ card game", then it's pre-game deckbuilding.

[@EHngelic]

From a post on Reddit by pumpkinhead76 "Deck Construction - Any game which requires a player to pre-build a deck/pool prior to play. Examples: Magic: The Gathering, Dice Masters, Android Netrunner, Arkham Horror LCG, Marvel Champions, Lord of the Rings LCG Deck Builder - Any game where players are building an improved/refined deck/pool as part of a game. No prebuilding is required. Examples: Clank, Thunderstone Quest, Ascension, Star/Hero Realms, Dice Masters, Shards of Infinity, Road to El Dorado, Taverns of Tiefenthal TLDR; Use Deck Construction when describing games where a deck needs to be pre-constructed to play a game and Deck Builder for the mechanism where a deck is being built while playing a game."

[@kalega311]

@@EHngelic I dig it.