# Life-Pad — Competitive MtG Event Tracker

> Magic: The Gathering 1v1 life tracker with game state and note-taking features. (iPhone/iPad app by Joseph Bertolini.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-pad/id6759831411 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Joseph Bertolini](https://appshunter.io/developer/1881039207)
- Category: Utilities, Games, Card, Strategy
- Price: Free
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 4 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.6 · 43 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-03-31
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-pad/id6759831411/reviews.md

## What is Life?

A life tracker for competitive 1v1 Magic: The Gathering. Clean layout, simple controls, and nothing unnecessary.

Most players already know how to track a game. A notepad, two columns, a running tally of life totals. It's simple and it works. Life-Pad follows the same structure. The layout uses two columns like a notepad, adjustments happen with a tap, and the interface requires little explanation.  This app has been designed to get out of your way so you can focus on the match.

Life tracking here works the way you'd expect: every life change recorded in order. Adjustments can be staged before committing, so a complex combat step doesn't require rushed math. Common game counters (poison, monarch, initiative, night/day, and floating mana) are accessible without needing extra dice or separate tracking.  For tournaments that require it: notes can be locked to the main screen so they're visible to players at all times.  Recording known card information has been designed from the ground-up to be as quick and simple as possible in game - one tap to enter a card and one tap to dismiss it with customizable 'quick card' buttons available as well.

Most other apps just can't provide the utility of pen and paper.  Whether it's a Commander-focused app with four-player interfaces and a multitude of sub-menus, or a minimal counter with just plus and minus buttons, most life trackers don't offer match structure, notes, or history. Once the game ends, the information is gone.  

When at a tournament or FNM simply set up the event by giving it a name and every match and game are automatically tracked while they're happening.  After the match, Life-Pad supports notetaking while details are still fresh and reviewing past matches across all saved events. It's a practical way to identify patterns or just to simply remember to add more lands.  Import decks and link them to events as a snapshot so that you can always reference what was played on that day.  

Add your decks and track their history by attaching them to events.  Scryfall integration provides quick card lookup in deck view or during a game - perfect for confirming modern printings and for the guy who always plays with foreign language cards.  Pin up to 5 cards to the side of your play screen for quick reference during a game.  All cards in deck or previously searched are stored on device for fast reference even when cell quality isn't perfect.

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Features include:
- Clean two-player life tracking built for 1v1 play
- Optional top/bottom simplistic tracking for quick games
- Full game life total history
- Quick access card-name notes for revealed info at a glance - dismiss with a single tap
- Game state tracking for player-counters, monarch, initiative, and day/night
- Track floating mana in-game
- Scryfall integration for fast card lookup
- iOS integration allows for Siri and Quick Action card lookup without opening the app
- Optional ability to lock notes to main screen if required per tournament rules
- Event logging and persistent in-game and post-game notes
- Deck importing, editing, and linking to events as snapshots.
- Sideboard guide per deck with notes
- Event history exporting via JSON for backup, restoring, or additional analysis
- Customizable Die roller
- Top/Bottom traditional 2-player mode for quick games
- Match timer with Dynamic Island and Live Activity support
- Pre-Set themes including 6 with the classic Magic: the Gathering card borders
- Light mode and dark modes
- iCloud data backup for added reliability on updates & phone migration

## Key features

- 1v1 life tracking
- Game state counter tracking
- Integrated note-taking
- Deck importing and linking
- Scryfall card lookup
- Event history logging
- Match timer


## Frequently asked questions about Life

### What is Life-Pad used for?

Life-Pad is a dedicated application for tracking life totals and game states during 1v1 Magic: The Gathering matches. It also supports logging events, taking notes, and importing decks.

### How much does Life-Pad cost?

Life-Pad is a paid application, available for $0.99. This one-time purchase grants you access to all its features.

### Does Life-Pad have ads?

No, Life-Pad does not contain advertisements. It is a paid application designed to provide an uninterrupted user experience.

### What devices does Life-Pad support?

Life-Pad is currently supported on iPhones. It was last updated on May 1, 2026, with version 1.3.1.

### Can Life-Pad track more than just life totals?

Yes, Life-Pad can track common game counters such as poison, monarch, initiative, night/day, and floating mana. It also includes a match timer.

### Does Life-Pad integrate with other Magic: The Gathering resources?

Yes, Life-Pad features Scryfall integration for quick card lookups directly within the app. It also allows for deck importing and linking to events.

### Is Life-Pad suitable for tournament play?

Yes, Life-Pad is designed for competitive play and includes features like the ability to lock notes to the main screen, which can be useful for tournament requirements.

### What is the age rating for Life-Pad?

Life-Pad has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. The app was released on March 31, 2026.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.6 — 2026-08-21

Major Features

- Known Cards tracker.  Quickly jot down what an opponent reveals to a Duress.  Designed to be as efficient as possible.
   - 5 customizable Known Card Presets available for even faster note taking ("land", "removal", "counter", etc.)
- "Player Picker" now defaults to a card duel — deal a random legendary card each (higher mana value wins)
    - Or simply roll for it like usual (can be set in settings)
- 2-player top/down dice rolling has been reworked
- Deck view Sync indicator and picker fixes
- Colorways completely reworked with 12 new ones and a reimagined settings view
- Increased card search reliability when using Siri, the app icon Quick Action, or iOS Shortcuts
   - Fixed fuzzy-lookup error handling, added an UNMATCHED fallback search, cut search payload ~9x


Bonus content

- Optional one-time developer tip, with cosmetic extras as thanks
  -  No functional features will ever exist behind this paywall
- 23 alternate app icons across 4 collections, each in Normal, Foil, and Sleeved finishes
- Background artwork that tints itself to match your colorway
- New scorekeeper fonts for the life total


Fixes & polish

- Event formats now selectable when setting up and event - a default can be selected in Settings
- Siri card-lookup now reports network failures instead of a false "not found"
- Increased reliability in database backup and restoring from older versions
- Now backups can be transferred directly across any device
- Various UI polish (deck editor, keyboard handling)

### 4.5.1 — 2026-07-24

NOTE: iOS Version jumped from 1.3.1 to v4.4 to align with development versioning

4.5 Update
- (4.5.1) Updated card search to give similar cards if none is initially found.
- (4.5.1) Updated store page information
- Added 2 player top/bottom mode
- Added iOS Siri/Search integration
   - Searching the app the selecting 'Look Up Card' opens a search window that shows results without opening the app
   - Much faster than searching on your web browser
- Added QuickActions on the app icon
- Fixed bug with importing Archidekt llinks
- Fixed bug where the deck format wasn't able to be changed.
- Various other bug fixes and storage optimization.



4.4 Update
- Reworked deck viewer with improved performance and UI
- Added ability to attach decks to events when creating them
- Optional background shading based on selected deck on main screen
- Using [[ ]] around a card name will create a link to view the card details in any Notes field
- Added MTGMeele deck import support
- Added personal stats page that pulls from Past Events
- Added the ability to undo before confirming a life-total change
- "Poison" counters now also confirm after 3s, if enabled
- Bug fixes around the timer and export/import of personal data
- Large amount of behind the scenes performance improvement
- Small, but plentiful UI/UX updates

### 4.5 — 2026-07-23

NOTE: iOS Version jumped from 1.3.1 to v4.4 to align with development versioning

4.5 Update
- Added 2 player top/bottom mode
- Added iOS Siri/Search integration
   - Searching the app the selecting 'Look Up Card' opens a search window that shows results without opening the app
   - Much faster than searching on your web browser
- Added QuickActions on the app icon
- Fixed bug with importing Archidekt llinks
- Fixed bug where the deck format wasn't able to be changed.



4.4 Update
- Reworked deck viewer with improved performance and UI
- Added ability to attach decks to events when creating them
- Optional background shading based on selected deck on main screen
- Using [[ ]] around a card name will create a link to view the card details in any Notes field
- Added MTGMeele deck import support
- Added personal stats page that pulls from Past Events
- Added the ability to undo before confirming a life-total change
- "Poison" counters now also confirm after 3s, if enabled
- Bug fixes around the timer and export/import of personal data
- Large amount of behind the scenes performance improvement
- Small, but plentiful UI/UX updates

### 4.4 — 2026-07-14

NOTE: iOS Version jumped from 1.3.1 to v4.4 to align with development versioning

4.4 Update
- Reworked deck viewer with improved performance and UI
- Added ability to attach decks to events when creating them
- Optional background shading based on selected deck on main screen
- Using [[ ]] around a card name will create a link to view the card details in any Notes field
- Added MTGMeele deck import support
- Added personal stats page that pulls from Past Events
- Added the ability to undo before confirming a life-total change
- "Poison" counters now also confirm after 3s, if enabled
- Bug fixes around the timer and export/import of personal data
- Large amount of behind the scenes performance improvement
- Small, but plentiful UI/UX updates

1.3 Update
- Integrated Scryfall search to both deck storage and in-game interface

*** NOTE: To update existing decks click the Scryfall logo in the Decks page to sync data ***

- Ability to pin quick-reference cards to a game for convenient, offline reference
- During an event pick a card right from the attached deckles instead of searching
- Added Moxfield deck import support
- Improved data storage and export process
- Added an optional 3s timer to confirm life-total changes in addition to existing swipe-to-confirm
- Deck details now include card types and mana values for more intuitive sorting
- Deck details now include card previews
- UX changes and improvements (more fancy blur)
- Various performance improvements
- (1.3.1) Fixed Scryfall search for edge cases
- (1.3.1) Updated card display visuals
- (1.3.1) Added ability to set Best Of # when creating event for quicker round results
- (1.3.1) Added ability to share to app from Safari via Moxfied/Archidekt directly

### 1.3.1 — 2026-05-01

1.3 Update
- Integrated Scryfall search to both deck storage and in-game interface

*** NOTE: To update existing decks click the Scryfall logo in the Decks page to sync data ***

- Ability to pin quick-reference cards to a game for convenient, offline reference
- During an event pick a card right from the attached deckles instead of searching
- Added Moxfield deck import support
- Improved data storage and export process
- Added an optional 3s timer to confirm life-total changes in addition to existing swipe-to-confirm
- Deck details now include card types and mana values for more intuitive sorting
- Deck details now include card previews
- UX changes and improvements (more fancy blur)
- Various performance improvements
- (1.3.1) Fixed Scryfall search for edge cases
- (1.3.1) Updated card display visuals
- (1.3.1) Added ability to set Best Of # when creating event for quicker round results
- (1.3.1) Added ability to share to app from Safari via Moxfied/Archidekt directly


1.2.01 patch
- Fixed an issue with the timer resetting during the addition of a new game during a match
- Fixed small UI issues

1.2 Update:
- Added themes with retro card borders
- UI overhaul for more consistent experience
- Reworked navigation with respect to Past Events
- Added the ability to resume and save Events within the Event Summary screen
- Rebuilt event and deck import/export backend for increased reliability
- Added automatic iCloud data backup
- Added in-game floating mana tracker (swipe right on it to quickly dismiss)
- Added the ability to lock notes to life-tracking screen
- Reduced the amount of menus that having default iOS bouncing animation
- Updated tutorial to reflect new UI
- Additional small bug fixes

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*
