Best Deck-Building Games

The original. Still the purest expression of the deck-builder formula. No board, no luck except the shuffle: just you crafting a lean engine from a chaotic market of Kingdom cards. Over 20 expansions add variety without breaking the design. The Intrigue and Seaside expansions are the best starting additions.

Dominion meets a dungeon crawl. You're a thief sneaking into a dragon's lair, grabbing treasure and getting out alive. Every card you play generates "Clank!" noise, and the dragon attacks based on accumulated noise. Brilliant tension you don't get in pure Dominion. Clank! in Space is the sci-fi version and equally excellent.

A two-player deck-builder that costs $15 and fits in a pocket. Build fleets to attack your opponent's authority directly. Fast, cheap, and deep. Has a free iOS/Android app if you want to try it before buying. One of the best games ever made for the price. Colony Wars is an excellent standalone expansion.

A cooperative deck-builder where Marvel heroes fight Masterminds like Magneto and Loki. Each hero has unique cards. Synergies between heroes create interesting decisions. Enough expansions to fill a room. The best Marvel-licensed game in the hobby and one of the best cooperative deck-builders made.

Build a deck to fight monsters in a dungeon, then use dungeon loot to upgrade your deck. The adventure mechanic breaks Dominion's pure market-buying loop by adding a dungeon element. More complex and thematic than Star Realms, less pure than Dominion. Outstanding for fantasy fans who want dungeon crawl feel.

One of the earliest Dominion rivals, still excellent. A shared center row of cards refreshes randomly, adding chaos that Dominion lacks. The Honor point system creates end-game tension. Great digital app. Best for players who want the deck-building structure but with more randomness and variety in the available cards.