You Won’t Need Home Depot’s Help With These Five Great Deck Builder Games

Mistborn Deckbuilding Game

For fans of the massively popular Mistborn series, this game will let you explore Brandon Sanderson’s world through decks of heroes, metals, and powers. Gameplay is very approachable and easy to learn, but it will evolve with players as they add more cards and allies. And, there are options for competitive, co-op, and solo play. Step into Scadrial and all of its depth, richness, and flavor with character-driven strategy and cinematic card play.

Dune: Imperium – Uprising

Dune: Imperium – Uprising is a standalone expansion to the base Dune: Imperium game. It can be combined with the base game and those expansions as well, or played entirely on its own. The game combines the mechanics of deck building with the elements of worker placement. Plus, it’s obviously set in the Dune universe, so you’ll have to contend with nasty sandstorms and pesky sandworms.

Each player controls a different house from the world of Arrakis, and will build their deck with powerful cards with stunning cards inspired by the latest movies. But on top of all that, you’ll also have to balance various resources to maintain a viable strategy.

Star Realms

In Star Realms, players command space battleships through the stars. All with a deck of cards, players will build up their own military with shipping and trade, and then take their warships to destroy enemy bases or even directly blast enemy ships. Trade and upgrade ships for your base, engage in direct combat with opponents, and build up more and more powerful moves and effects.

Here to Slay

Fast-paced, adventurous, and cute, with Here to Slay, you’ll build your party, collect heroes, and go on quests to slay monsters. This is your average dungeon dive. But in card game form, and with a party of adorable little animals. Players of almost any age or skill level can enjoy Here to Slay. But as you play, your strategy will only get better.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth is a deck building game that has a required, albeit free, companion app. I used to be pretty staunchly opposed to app-assisted games, but I’ve since come around. App-assisted games offer a wider array of mechanics and systems that would be otherwise impossible in a purely cardboard-based gaming experience.

Plus, Journeys in Middle Earth is just a fantastic game anyway. The app acts something like a GM for your gaming experience, but ultimately the gameplay is left up to the card you draw and how you build your character through the campaign.

Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon

The Battle Wizards games are some of my personal favorites. The art is wild. The spells are wacky. And games get surprisingly competitive very quickly. One Battle Wizard is going to win the trophy, and it’s a battle to the cartoonish death to see who it will be. Of course, if you’re not familiar with the Battle Wizards games, Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre is the original game of cobbling together bizarre spells, and has been a top pick at my house for more than a decade.