These are the Best Deckbuilding Roguelikes Ever Made

The thrill of a well-built deck colliding with unpredictable odds is what makes deckbuilding roguelikes so addictive. These games challenge players to think several turns ahead while adapting on the fly, constantly tweaking strategies as the stakes rise. Each run feels like a new puzzle, and each card drawn can be the difference between a flawless victory or a slow spiral into defeat.

Related

10 Best Roguelikes For Beginners

Roguelikes can be an incredibly tough genre to get into, but there’s quite a few that are easy to pick up and play, and this list compiles the best.

What sets these games apart isn’t just their card mechanics but how well they integrate roguelike systems into gameplay. Whether it’s through procedurally generated maps, branching paths or unpredictable encounters, every game on this list delivers a unique blend of tension, strategy and replayability that keeps players coming back for just one more run.

8

Vault of the Void

When Precision Outweighs Luck

Rather than leaning on the randomness that defines most roguelikes, Vault of the Void gives players more direct control over their fate. Before heading into battle, players can fully edit their deck, choosing exactly which cards to bring along. That level of preparation makes every loss feel earned and every victory more rewarding.

The game also introduces a unique energy management system and Void Stones that add bonus effects to cards. These layers of the strategy make the learning curve steep, but they also prevent it from feeling unfair. For players who get frustrated by bad draws, Vault of the Void is a dream, a roguelike that values calculated decisions over blind luck.

7

Roguebook

Richard Garfield Didn’t Miss

Created with help from Richard Garfield, the designer of Magic: The Gathering, Roguebook is a blend of deckbuilding and exploration that rewards experimentation. Set in a magical book whose pages form the map itself, players must uncover tiles using ink and brushes to reveal treasures, enemies and new paths.

Each run allows players to pick two heroes from a small but diverse cast. Their synergy determines which cards you can play and how combat unfolds. With an upgrade system that lets you socket gems into cards and unlock traits across multiple layers, Roguebook encourages creative builds that grow stronger the longer you survive. It’s a tight loop of risk and reward, wrapped in a vivid fantasy art style.

6

Tainted Grail: Conquest

Arthurian Horror Has Never Felt This Bleak

Set in a haunting reimagining of Arthurian legend, Tainted Grail: Conquest throws players into a cursed land filled with shifting fog, grotesque enemies and fading hope. Its deckbuilding is grounded in class-based archetypes, with each class having its own playstyle and upgrade tree.

Runs are long and grueling, often feeling more like a slow crawl through despair than a sprint to victory. There’s base-building in between runs, and each upgrade unlocks new cards and passives, allowing for gradually more powerful builds. For those looking for a roguelike with a heavier atmosphere and a more traditional RPG structure, this is one of the most ambitious entries in the genre.

5

Across the Obelisk

Multiplayer Madness Meets Card-Based Chaos

What makes Across the Obelisk stand out is its fully cooperative multiplayer support. Up to four players can team up, each controlling a unique character with their own deck and role, from tanks to healers to damage dealers. Every turn in combat is a back-and-forth of decisions that must be weighed with team synergy in mind.

But even solo, the game works beautifully. Its campaign is massive, with branching paths, random events and permanent choices that change how a run plays out. The deckbuilding here leans more into RPG-style loot, with gear influencing cards and stats. For players who want something a little more expansive and social than the typical single-player loop, this one delivers.

4

Griftlands

Negotiation Is Half the Battle

Griftlands is one of the only games in the genre where talking can be as deadly as fighting. Players take on the role of mercenaries navigating a harsh sci-fi world where almost every interaction can be influenced through negotiation. To reflect this, the game splits combat into two separate decks: one for fighting and one for dialogue.

Related

10 Things Every Good Roguelike Game Needs

Roguelikes are a complex genre that have to balance skill with randomness, and this list boils down the ways to make the best roguelike possible.

Both use the same mechanics — turn-based card combat with buffs, debuffs and unique mechanics per character — but feel wildly different in execution. Choices during conversations can lock off quests or change how characters perceive you, making it feel more like an RPG with deep roguelike underpinnings. The mix of moral choices and deckbuilding makes Griftlands a standout that doesn’t feel like anything else on this list.

3

Inscryption

Where the Cards Remember You

Inscryption starts as a creepy card game played in a cabin with a sinister opponent, but what it evolves into is something entirely different. Its first act alone would be enough to stand alongside the best in the genre, with its permadeath mechanics, limited deck control and unsettling atmosphere.

But as the game progresses, it begins to break its own rules. New mechanics are introduced mid-run, cards begin talking back and the fourth wall crumbles in surprising ways. There’s a meta-narrative that ties everything together and makes replaying the early parts feel essential. Inscryption isn’t just a deckbuilder, it’s a commentary on the genre itself, wrapped in horror and mystery.

2

Monster Train

Hell Runs on Multiple Tracks

What separates Monster Train from its peers is its multi-layered battlefield. Enemies invade a train with three vertical levels, and players must deploy units on each floor while casting spells and managing card draw. It’s a frantic balancing act that rewards forward-thinking and punishes tunnel vision.

With multiple clans to mix and match, each with their own deck archetypes and upgrade paths, no two runs ever play out the same. The game’s upgrade system lets you modify cards in radical ways, and choosing which path to take between battles adds another layer of decision-making. It’s as chaotic as it is addictive, and few deckbuilders feel this explosive once a good combo engine starts firing.

1

Slay the Spire

Still the Blueprint Everyone Follows

Slay the Spire didn’t invent the deckbuilding roguelike, but it perfected the formula in a way that became the genre’s gold standard. Every card, every relic and every elite fight forces players to think hard about synergy and long-term planning. The game never holds your hand — victory comes from deeply understanding your deck and the enemies you face.

What makes it so replayable is how tightly it balances risk and reward. Do you fight an elite now and risk losing half your health, or rest and forgo a relic that might be critical later? The answers change every run, and that uncertainty is what keeps players hooked hundreds of hours in. Nearly every game on this list owes something to Slay the Spire, and for good reason.

Next

The 10 Best PS5 Roguelikes

Roguelike fans are spoiled for choice on PlayStation 5. Here are the ten best that everyone who has the system should try.