It’s a fantastic time to be a fan of Collectible Card Games (CCG) both online and in real life. Whether you’re looking for updates to a well-established franchise, or you want an entirely new CCG experience, 2020 is shaping up to be a banner year.
1. Hearthstone
- Developer: Blizzard
- Publisher: Blizzard
- Release Date: March 11, 2014
Despite getting caught up in politics and facing some PR problems, Blizzard (now Activision Blizzard) is still just an absolute monster of a hit-making machine. Seriously, is there a genre of video game where this company isn’t dominating? Well, the digital card games genre is no exception: Hearthstone continues to be one of the most successful collectible card games out there.
Hearthstone’s newest update, Descent of Dragons, is now playable, which will help make 2020 a big year for this industry-leading online CCG. Other franchises come and go, but Warcraft is seemingly going to stick around forever. Please make sure you catch our coverage of the Hearthstone Masters Tour and the Grandmasters in 2020!
2. Magic: The Gathering Arena
- Developer: Wizards of the Coast
- Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
- Release Date: September 26, 2019
Many of us older gamers were straight-up smoking fools with cheesy infinite fireball decks in the school cafeteria back when Magic: The Gathering was just a physical card game. Still, now we have the awesome PC CCG Magic: The Gathering Arena for when we don’t feel like going outside. Which is always. Never go out- it’s not worth it; trust me. Play Magic: The Gathering Arena instead.
3. Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
- Developer: CD Projekt Red
- Publisher: CD Projekt
- Release Date: October 23, 2018
Like many of you, an embarrassing amount of my total The Witcher 3 playtime is just all the time I’ve spent playing Gwent. I even have a save file right at the start of the grand Gwent tournament so that I can replay it every once in a while.
Gwent is a reasonably simple mini-game to grasp, yet more in-depth knowledge of the mechanics allows an experienced player to pull off some impressive comeback victories. Even just taking the time to admire the artwork on the cards and wax nostalgic over characters and events from the first two games is worthwhile.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game captures the magic of the original minigame, and is very much still going strong all these years after its initial release. The computer-controlled opponents in The Witcher 3 vary wildly in difficulty, and eventually, I ended up constructing several decks that were game-breaking. Playing against real-life opponents makes victory oh so much sweeter.
4. Pokémon TCG Online
- Developer: Dire Wolf Digital
- Publisher: The Pokémon Company
- Release Date: March 24, 2011
The Pokemon craze is showing no signs of slowing down, despite its age. Pokemon started as a physical CCG, and if you’ve never played it, you’re missing out: it’s one of the most popular collectible card games of all time.
Bonus feature: get that dusty shoebox full of Pokemon cards out of your mom’s attic, because you can use cards that you own in real life in Pokemon TCG Online!
5. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
- Developer: Konami
- Publisher: Konami
- Release Date: November 17, 2016
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links is an extremely well-received entry in the world-famous collectible card game franchise. I appreciate that it’s an excellent game on the smartphone, which is flooded with shovelware in the CCG genre. It’s free to play, although those in-app purchases will add up.
It pretty much plays just like any other Yu-Gi-Oh! game, including the physical CCG. The online PvP is fun, and there’s never a shortage of people to play against. Leveling up your character and moving up the leaderboards will keep you coming back for more.
6. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
- Developer: CD Projekt Red
- Publisher: CD Projekt Red
- Release Date: October 23, 2018
More story-driven than most online collectible card games, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is a must-play for serious fans of the Witcher franchise. As an RPG fanatic, Thronebreaker maybe my favorite online CCG, since it’s a unique hybrid of the genres.
Thronebreaker is a mix of RPG and CCG, with a dash of Choose Your Adventure on top. There are some similarities with Banner Saga in terms of choice and consequence mechanics, and Suikoden comes to mind when I think about Thronebreaker’s camp management and combat scenarios. If you passed on it the first time around, it does occasionally go on sale on Steam and GOG.
7. The Elder Scrolls: Legends
- Developer: Direwolf Digital
- Publisher: Bethesda
- Release Date: March 9, 2017
To guarantee Skyrim’s commercial success, Bethesda swore an oath to a Daedric Prince that they would never release The Elder Scrolls VI. How else do you explain The Elder Scrolls Online?
It’s very clearly a deal with the devil. But you should play The Elder Scrolls: Legends- it’s a non-main series title which is surprisingly good. Yes, it’s Bethesda capitalizing on the collectible card game craze, but it’s very well executed.
The Elder Scrolls Legends may not be getting any more expansions (check out this Polygon article for more info), but it still has a pretty active community.
I would understand if you don’t want to invest your time into a game that the developer is no longer supporting, but if you’re really into the Elder Scrolls lore and setting this game is still worth a shot. Who knows, if enough people keep playing, maybe they’ll un-cancel the planned console launch and make new content?
8. Legends of Runeterra
- Developer: Riot Games
- Publisher: Riot Games
- Release Date: 2020
League of Legends is one of the most popular games in all of esports. It recently passed the ten-year mark and shows no signs of slowing down. Itself a Warcraft spinoff, LoL is now getting an online collectible card game of its very own. Legends of Runeterra is generating a tremendous amount of buzz and should be on every card game aficionado’s list for 2020.
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