Comparison

Duelist vs MTG Mate

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

Head to head
About

Duelist

Features
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Duelist: A life counter for your games. Fantasy role names and a funny "critical hits randomizer" to avoid dice rolling. Keep track of life totals for each character during the game. Useful for trading card games like Magic: The Gathering. No in-app purchases. Be a RPG Character: Get a different role character in every game. A randomizer will assign a classic RPG character to you and your opponent. More than 140 different roles! Be a: hero, pegasus, paladin, unicorn, skeleton, cleric, lion, angel, bodyguard, knight, elemental, doppelganger, wizard, phantasm, merfolk, djinn, efreet, wraith, demon, skeleton... and much much more! Duel Randomizer:ย  Forget to roll the dice. Enjoy a conversational duel to decide the winner randomly. A bunch of critical hits available! Life Registration: Complete history of all life transactions in the current game. Including the data/time they occurred. Useful to settling disputes. Color Customization: Customize each life counter's background with one of ten special dual lands gradient. Dark Mode now available!

About

MTG Mate

Features
Read full description

MTG Mate is a life tracker and card library for Magic: The Gathering on iPhone and iPad. Use it at the table for Commander, Standard, Two-Headed Giant, or a custom game. Keep decks, collections, and trades on the same device, even if you never create an account. Life tracking Track 1 to 6 players with layouts that fit the table. Commander damage covers partners and companions, with a dedicated view and D-pad navigation. Poison and infect share a combined total. Energy and other counters sit on each player card. Hold +/- to move life quickly, and turn on unlimited life when a combo goes off. You can also stop the app from marking a player dead if they can keep playing at 0. Game night tools Start a game with Commander, Standard, Two-Headed Giant, or your own starting life. Player panels can show commander art. A dice roller and coin flip sit in the game so you are not hunting for a D20. Life history on a player card helps when someone asks what happened two turns ago. Card library Save cards, build collections, and move cards in bulk. Import lists from Manabox, Archidekt, or Moxfield, or paste a text list. Export when you need to share a list elsewhere. Collection value and match history live in the stats hub so you can see how a collection and a play group change over time. Decks Build decks with commander, partner, companion, mainboard, and sideboard. Check format legality, mana curve, and type split. See an estimated deck value. Look up synergies and combos on a card when you are brewing. Card search Search Scryfall for prices, rulings, and legalities. Results collapse reprints so the same card does not appear ten times. Download the card database to search on the device with no signal. Online results keep loading in the background when you have a connection. Friends, trades, and sharing Add friends and set private aliases only you can see. Keep a trade ledger of cards and cash with a person or a friend. Shared collections and decks can be viewed from a share link. Sign in with email if you want Cloud Sync across iPhone, iPad, and the web library at mtgmate.app. Local first Cards, decks, and games stay on the device unless you turn on Cloud Sync. No ads. Free. MTG Mate is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. Magic: The Gathering is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Screenshots

Duelist4 screens
MTG Mate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MTG Mate at Free against Duelist's $0.99. MTG Mate also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). Duelist's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

MTG Mate is free to download; Duelist costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duelist ships an update every 3 months, MTG Mate every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Duelist versus MTG Mate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuelistMTG Mate
Price$0.99Free โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB8 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAntonio Rodriguez CiaJacob Suchorabski

In-app purchases

None

Duelist

No in-app purchases

None

MTG Mate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Duelist free?
Duelist costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MTG Mate free?
MTG Mate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Duelist or MTG Mate have ads?
Neither Duelist nor MTG Mate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Duelist or MTG Mate?
Duelist ships an update every 3 months, and MTG Mate every 3 weeks. Most recently, Duelist was updated on September 22, 2026 and MTG Mate on September 15, 2026.

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