MTG Life Counter App vs Decksmith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MTG Life Counter App
This app is a comprehensive companion for Magic the Gathering players. It allows tracking of life totals, commander damage, and various game counters for up to 10 players. It also includes card search with price checking, dice rolling, and support for additional game modes like Planechase and Archenemy.
- Track life totals for up to 10 players
- Commander damage and Commander Tax tracking
- Card search with price checking and legality
- Dice rolling and coin flipping
- Support for Planechase and Archenemy modes
- Game timer and turn tracking
- Customizable player backgrounds
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Lotus is your all-around Magic the Gathering Companion app. Key features: - Track life totals and Commander damage for up to 10 players - Quick life total adjustments and custom starting health - Card search with price checking and format legality - Roll any custom dice (including D4-D20) or flip a coin - High-roll feature and coin flips - Track various counters: poison, experience, charge, storm, and more - Support for partner commanders and Commander Tax - Initiative and Monarch status tracking - Game timer with individual turn tracking - Customize player backgrounds and defeat messages - Battery-friendly design with sleek dark mode - Additional game modes: Planechase and Archenemy The best MTG Life Tracker We love Magic the Gathering! That's why we built Lotus. Supporting up to 10 players with custom starting health totals, Lotus makes tracking life totals as smooth as a well-oiled combo. Set unique colors or background images for every player, and swipe to track commander damage with ease. Beyond life tracking, Lotus handles everything from Poison counters to Storm count, Energy to Mana, and even keeps tabs on your Commander Tax. Advanced Game Management Swipe up or down on player cards to access a full suite of customization options. Set custom backgrounds, enable partner commanders, and manage players directly from their cards. Share your favorite profiles across devices, and when a player falls in battle, bring them back with our streamlined revival system. Plus, add some salt to defeat with customizable defeat messages! Card Search and Price Checking Need to check if that sneaky tech is format legal? Or maybe you're wondering about the price of that chase rare? Search for any Magic card to instantly see current prices and format legality information. Additional Game Modes: Planechase and Archenemy Planechase: Journey through different planes with a full suite of Planechase cards, including the newest Doctor Who planes. The deck shuffles automatically, bringing fresh challenges to each game. Archenemy: Unite against a common foe or take on the villain's role with integrated Archenemy Schemes, including the latest Archenemy schemes. Game Timer and Turn Tracking Keep your games moving with our integrated game timer and turn tracker. Whether you're in a casual Commander game or racing against the clock in a tournament, Lotus helps ensure smooth gameplay without slow play. Battery-friendly MTG Companion The app is designed to be energy-efficient with a dark mode that conserves your battery during those epic Commander sessions. Plus, there are no ads, so you can focus on your game without distractions. Watch on a TV and share recaps Turn on Allow spectators and tap Cast to TV to follow the game live on a TV, a laptop or the Lotus app on Apple TV. After a game, share a recap link with the winner, a life graph and the biggest hits. We'd love your feedback! If you have any feedback, please let us know! Your input helps us make Lotus even better and keeps it as your go-to Magic the Gathering life counter and companion app. This app contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy of Wizards of the Coast. This app is not approved or endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. © Wizards of the Coast LLC. --- This app contains an optional subscription. Lotus is free and has no ads. Nothing is locked behind payment, and nothing ever will be. If you want to support development, you can do so from inside the app, either as a monthly subscription or a one-time payment. It unlocks nothing: every feature is available to everyone. Monthly support renews automatically until cancelled. Link to our Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Link to our Terms of Use: https://lifecounter.app/terms/ Link to our Privacy Policy: https://lifecounter.app/privacy/
Decksmith
Effortlessly manage your Magic: The Gathering collection with real-time card scanning and price tracking. Build and validate decks for various formats, analyze their composition, and connect with a community of players. Enjoy offline access and robust privacy controls.
- Real-time card scanning
- Automatic price tracking
- Format-aware deck building
- Collection inventory management
- Offline access
- Community features
- Privacy controls
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Scan a whole binder page in one photo. Decksmith finds every card on it — nine or twelve pockets, or up to about 20 loose cards on the table — and adds them to your collection with artwork and live prices. Then build decks that check their own legality, track every game with your playgroup, and see which of your friends already owns the card you need. — A WHOLE BINDER PAGE, ONE PHOTO — • 9- and 12-pocket binder pages, or loose cards laid out any way round • Pick as many photos as you like in one go • Review everything Decksmith found on one screen before anything is imported • Missed a card? Find it by typing its name • Just opened a pack? Scan single cards live from the camera — THE DECKSMITH COMMUNITY — Magic is played together, so Decksmith is built for your playgroup. • Game tracker: life, poison and commander damage for the whole pod, a random first player, and a top row that turns to face the far side of the table • Every game is filed against the deck you played, with win rates per deck and per commander • Wishlist: track the cards you still want, priced separately from your collection • Search your friends' collections for your wishlist and see who owns which card • Follow players, browse their collections and shared decks, and search all your favorites at once • Share any deck with one tap and collect likes and comments • Friend requests, an activity feed and notifications keep you in the loop — KNOW WHAT IT'S WORTH — Live market prices in USD or EUR, kept next to what you paid — card by card and across your whole collection. — A DECK BUILDER THAT KNOWS THE RULES — Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, Pauper and Casual. Decksmith enforces deck size and copy limits, gives your commander its own slot, validates companions and tells you the moment a deck is legal. Mana curve, card types and average mana value come automatically. — FIND ANY CARD, INSTANTLY — Search the full Magic card database or your own collection. Filter by color, rarity, type, set, mana cost, finish and double-faced cards. Sort by name, price or date added. — SMART LISTS — Save any combination of filters as a list that fills itself — trade binder, EDH staples, every foil under $5 — or curate one by hand. — YOUR CARDS, FULL SCREEN — High-resolution art, glowing borders on foils, pinch to zoom, swipe from card to card and flip double-faced cards with a tap. — IPHONE, IPAD AND THE WEB — Sign in at app.decksmith.community with your free account, and your collection, decks and lists are on any computer, always in sync with your iPhone. — PRIVACY YOU CONTROL — Scanning, your collection, prices, deck building, lists and the gallery all work without an account, and your collection lives on your device. A free account is only needed for sync, the Community and the game tracker. Then you decide what is visible: your profile, whether you can be found, and each deck public or private. Block or report anyone. Export or delete your data at any time. — NO LOCK-IN — Import CSV exports from the popular collection and deck-building sites, restore a full Decksmith backup, and export everything to a single file whenever you like. No ads. No tracking. No subscription. The Community is free to use until December 31, 2026. Card data and images provided by Scryfall. Decksmith is an unofficial fan app and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. Magic: The Gathering is © Wizards of the Coast LLC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Decksmith at none against MTG Life Counter App's 6. Decksmith also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). MTG Life Counter App's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (11K vs 1). On price and ads 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
Both are free to download. MTG Life Counter App sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Decksmith asks for nothing beyond the download.
Decksmith holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MTG Life Counter App has 11K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of MTG Life Counter App's written reviews are positive against 100% of Decksmith's.
MTG Life Counter App ships an update every 2 days, Decksmith every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MTG Life Counter App | Decksmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (11K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #157 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Vanilla b.v. | Waldemar Schneider |
Customer experience
MTG Life Counter App
Decksmith
Bugs and requests
MTG Life Counter App
Reported bugs
4 issues- Life totals reset when app crashes
- Dynamic Island on iPhone 15 blocks UI
- Double-face card lookup not working
- Life total changes when swiping up to home screen
Requested features
5 requests- Add commander damage tracking
- Ability to save player profiles/presets
- Option to increase/decrease font size
- Landscape mode for 2-player view
- Press and hold to add/decrease 10 points
Decksmith
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MTG Life Counter App
- Common Supporter$0.991 Month
- Rare Supporter$2.491 Month
- Mythic Supporter$4.991 Month
- Common Supporter$4.99
- Rare Supporter$12.99
- Mythic Supporter$24.99
Decksmith
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MTG Life Counter App free?
Is Decksmith free?
Which has better reviews, MTG Life Counter App or Decksmith?
Do MTG Life Counter App or Decksmith have ads?
Which is updated more often, MTG Life Counter App or Decksmith?
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