What happens when you take poker, magic and roguelike deckbuilding and throw them into the same adventure? Heroes of Magic & Cards has the answer.
Available for £10.74 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, this card-based adventure puts your deck firmly in charge of both your attacks and your chances of survival.
At A Glance
- Game: Heroes of Magic & Cards
- Developer: First Day Games
- Publisher: Forever Entertainment
- Formats: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
- Price: £10.74
- Genre: Roguelike Deckbuilder
Your Hand Is Your Weapon
Cards aren’t simply something to collect in Heroes of Magic & Cards – they’re effectively your sword and shield.
The hand you draw determines how much damage you can deal and which abilities become available, with poker hands such as pairs and straights acting as resources for special attacks. You might build up Rage or unleash Lightning depending on the cards sitting in front of you.
That means building a powerful deck is only half the battle. You also need to understand how those cards work together and keep improving your chances of drawing the combinations you need.
Change The Cards, Change The Game
Card enchantments allow you to manipulate your deck in some interesting ways. Values can be increased, suits can be changed and special effects can be added, including card cloning and poison. Combine those modifications with relics, skills, consumable items and class abilities and there’s plenty of room to create different builds.
There are three heroes to choose from, each with 36 skills and their own unlockable items, while more than 140 relics and 41 different card effects add further possibilities to your runs.
And then, the roguelike structure takes you across three levels filled with encounters, elite enemies, special events and minigames. The route is randomised, with 27 possible events appearing across each playthrough. There are more than 60 enemies to face too, including multiple bosses for each stage, while minigames such as mining, fishing and blackjack offer some distractions from the usual card-slinging.
We’ve also already put Heroes of Magic & Cards through its paces, awarding it 4/5 in our review. We described it as a “meaty and satisfying roguelike deckbuilder”, praising the way it combines poker tricks with the structure of the genre while giving you plenty of strategy to chew over.
So, while you might occasionally feel like you’ve been dealt a familiar hand, there’s plenty here for card-game fans to get stuck into.
Heroes of Magic & Cards is now available on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch for £10.74 (Xbox Store price). If your idea of a good time involves building a deck, chasing the perfect poker hand and turning a lucky draw into a devastating attack, this particular table is now open.
