# Stormbound vs Card Guardians

Stormbound and Card Guardians both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of Card Guardians's written reviews are positive against 64% of Stormbound's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Stormbound sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Card Guardians sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Stormbound against 4.6 for Card Guardians. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.1K and 3.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of Stormbound's written reviews are positive against 75% of Card Guardians's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Stormbound | Card Guardians |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (9.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stormbound/id1234446615/reviews) | **[4.6 (3.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-guardians-deck-builder/id1566663161/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.1K** | 3.1K |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews | **75.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 526 MB | 415 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Stormbound Games Sp. z o.o.](https://appshunter.io/developer/6803661956) | [Tapps Games - Jogos Eletronicos](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532941330) |

## What reviewers say

### Stormbound

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stormbound/id1234446615)

Engage in strategic turn-based tactical battles by building a powerful deck of collectible cards. Outsmart opponents worldwide in real-time PVP, customize your profile, and compete for seasonal rewards.

**Highlights:** Deck building, Collectible cards, Turn-based tactical battles, Real-time PVP, Four distinct kingdoms, Seasonal events and rewards, Profile customization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium pass | $7.99 | per month |
| Daily resources | $1.99 | one-time |
| Daily cards | $1.99 | one-time |
| Welcome Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Handful of Rubies | $4.99 | one-time |
| Generic package 7$ | $6.99 | one-time |
| Premium Pass | $7.99 | one-time |
| Bunch of Rubies | $9.99 | one-time |
| Weekly cards | $9.99 | one-time |
| Heap of Rubies | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Better than Clash Royale
- 🔒 No ads
- 👍 Fantastic game
- 👍 Fun and creative cards
- 👍 Cohesive combat

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Pay to win
- 🐛 Unbalanced cards
- 🐛 Unfair matchmaking
- 🐛 Slow progression for F2P
- 🐛 Frustrating level caps

**Reported bugs**

- Login/loading issues
- Card placement bugs
- Deck editing problems
- Inconsistent card rotation

**Requested features**

- Offline mode
- Clan/guild system
- Chat functionality
- Spectate mode
- Leaderboard/ranking display


### Card Guardians

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-guardians-deck-builder/id1566663161)

Embark on a roguelike adventure to save a corrupted land by building a powerful deck of cards. Engage in strategic CCG battles against monsters and powerful guardians, exploring diverse realms and uncovering an epic story.

**Highlights:** Strategic CCG deck building, Roguelike adventure gameplay, Monster and boss battles, Explore diverse realms, Hero selection, RPG strategy elements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Some Crystals (160) | $1.99 | one-time |
| Pile of Crystals (500) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Welcome Bundle | $4.99 | one-time |
| Piggy Bank (S) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Base Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Bag of Crystals (1200) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Full Blessing | $9.99 | one-time |
| Piggy Bank (M) | $12.99 | one-time |
| Piggy Bank (L) | $19.99 | one-time |
| Premium Pass | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Fun gameplay
- 🕹️ Engaging card mechanics
- 🎨 Charming art style
- 🔓 Fair free-to-play model
- 💰 Good value for paid version

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🕰️ Slow progression and grindy
- 🎲 Lack of deck customization
- 🧠 Imbalanced difficulty
- 💰 Excessive microtransactions

**Reported bugs**

- Gear drops not matching the active character
- Inconsistent behavior of status effects
- Infinite loading screens and progression blockers

**Requested features**

- Ability to sell/recycle unwanted equipment
- More character classes and deck variety
- Longer and more replayable adventures
- Better randomization and less RNG dependence
- Quality of life improvements (claim all, etc.)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Stormbound free?

Stormbound is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Card Guardians free?

Card Guardians is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Stormbound or Card Guardians?

Card Guardians is rated higher. Stormbound averages 4.5 out of 5 from 9.1K ratings, while Card Guardians averages 4.6 from 3.1K ratings.

### Do Stormbound or Card Guardians have ads?

Both Stormbound and Card Guardians show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Stormbound or Card Guardians?

Stormbound ships an update every 3 weeks, and Card Guardians every 3 weeks. Most recently, Stormbound was updated on November 5, 2026 and Card Guardians on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*