Comparison

Deckforger vs Deep IQ

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Deckforger

Easily create and manage decks for your favorite trading card game. Search for cards, view their details, and analyze your deck's statistics. Includes a life counter for two players and the ability to test sample hands.

Highlights
  • Deck creation and management
  • Extensive card search filters
  • 2-player life counter
  • Card statistics analysis
  • Sample hand and mulligan testing
  • Up-to-date card database
Features
Read full description

A simple deck-building app for your favorite trading card game. Simply create a deck, search for cards, and add them to the deck. Includes a 2-player life counter. View details on any card and search by name, rules text, type, color, cost, set, format, and more. Share your deck via e-mail, message, and more. Check out statistics on your deck by its cards' colors, types, and cost. Draw sample hands and test mulligans. Look up card rulings and prices. Card database always up to date. 100% free. No ads, no in-app purchases.

About

Deep IQ

This app simulates a Magic: The Gathering opponent for solo play with physical cards. It uses dice rolls and lookup tables to determine opponent actions, allowing you to test your decks without a live player.

Highlights
  • Virtual opponent for solo play
  • Simulates opponent actions with dice and tables
  • Deck testing tool for physical cards
  • Supports multiple rule versions
Features
Read full description

Play Magic: The Gathering solo. Deep IQ is the second player. You bring the deck and the table. Deep IQ brings the opponent — a virtual adversary that rolls a d10 each turn against its current action table and resolves whatever it lands on: summoning creatures, casting setbacks, growing its board, attacking, and graduating to harder tables as the game goes on. There is no decision-making AI to second-guess; outcomes come straight from the dice and the tables, exactly like the pen-and-paper Deep IQ system that players have hand-rolled since 1996. The app just does the bookkeeping — faithfully, instantly, and without a single missed trigger. REBUILT FOR 2026 This year Deep IQ was rewritten from the ground up: • A clear two-phase turn cycle — watch Deep IQ take its turn, then take yours. The board locks while it's thinking and hands control back when it's your move. • A living board — tokens fly in as Deep IQ summons them and out as they leave, with life totals, counters, and a running turn log you can follow at a glance. • A responsive layout that reshapes itself for phone, tablet, and desktop, with the turn log docked beside the board on larger screens. • Six brand-new color rule sets — mono White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green plus a colorless build — each with its own flavor of opponent. • Multiverse Trial: a tougher, modern rule set with layered mechanics. • A built-in help and reference section that explains every screen and rule set. 14 BUILT-IN RULE SETS Every published Deep IQ variant, faithfully implemented: Rick Moscatello (1996), Bruce Richard (2013), Andy Tuque (2016), Nevan Vermillion (2016), Phill Webb (2017), John Taylor (2022), Wrath of Zorr (2021), the 2026 color suite, and Multiverse Trial. PLAYS YOUR WAY • Pick a rule set, choose Deep IQ's colors, and start a game in seconds. • Adjust life, apply setbacks, and manage the board with a tap. • Settings persist instantly — locale, theme, log position, and more. • Available in 11 languages. DEEP IQ PRO Everything above is free. Deep IQ Pro is a one-time in-app purchase that unlocks the custom rule set editor — build your own action tables from scratch, tune the mechanics, and import or export them as JSON to share with other players. If you have ever wanted to design your own solo opponent, this is the workshop. Bring a deck. Deep IQ brings the fight. Deep IQ is an unofficial fan tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. Magic: The Gathering is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Screenshots

Deckforger3 screens
Deep IQ4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Deep IQ at 4.8 against Deckforger's 3.8. Deep IQ also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%). Deckforger's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 27 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Deep IQ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Deckforger asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Deep IQ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Deckforger's written reviews are positive against 100% of Deep IQ's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deckforger ships an update fortnightly, Deep IQ every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Deckforger versus Deep IQ: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeckforgerDeep IQ
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (17 ratings)4.8 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings17 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 27 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB25 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperGabriele PregadioJohn Taylor

Customer experience

Deckforger

All ratings17 ratings
Positive70.6%
Neutral5.9%
Negative23.5%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%

Deep IQ

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Deckforger

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Deep IQ

One-time1
  • Deep IQ Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Deckforger free?
Deckforger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Deep IQ free?
Deep IQ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Deckforger or Deep IQ?
Deep IQ is rated higher. Deckforger averages 3.8 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Deep IQ averages 4.8 from 5 ratings.
Do Deckforger or Deep IQ have ads?
Neither Deckforger nor Deep IQ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deckforger or Deep IQ?
Deckforger ships an update fortnightly, and Deep IQ every 27 months. Most recently, Deckforger was updated on September 17, 2026 and Deep IQ on October 3, 2026.

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