Comparison

Decked Drafter vs Slay the Spire

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

Head to head
About

Decked Drafter

Practice Magic: The Gathering draft and sealed deck skills with a full simulator. Get expert strategy tips, card ratings, and AI opponents to hone your deck-building abilities. Test your creations and improve your game.

Highlights
  • Draft simulator against AI opponents
  • Expert card ratings and strategy tips
  • Practice with various Magic expansions
  • Deck building and testing tools
  • Card sorting by color, type, and rarity
  • View card prices from TCGplayer.com
Features
Read full description

Decked Drafter is the only app designed to help Magic: the Gathering players improve their draft and sealed deck skills, featuring a full draft simulator and expert strategy tips and card ratings. The perfect app for any draft or sealed deck fan, players can pick the Magic the Gathering expansion they would like to practice with, then launch into an event against seven other A.I. opponents. Open powerful cards from sets like Scars of Mirrodin and easily sort the contents by color, type and rarity. Then pick the best card for your deck and pass the rest to your opponent, working to build the most powerful deck at the table. Making the right draft pick is never easy, but for the first time ever you're not alone. Marlon Egolf, DraftMagic.com columnist and Grand Prix Boston 2009 Champion, provides a full strategy analysis for each Magic card contained within the app. Improve your strategy skills with the help of these card ratings, which give a detailed look into the power level of each card. His expert ratings are also used to tune the A.I. opponents, making Decked Drafter the closest experience to actually drafting with the pros, and an incredible strategy resource. After the draft is finished, build your deck using the simple interface, swapping cards around with a simple touch. Once the deck is built, test it in the draw simulator, email the list to your friends, or print out the decklist and assemble the deck with your own collection! Or access the handy card ratings and strategy tips at any time, making Decked Drafter the perfect pocket guide for your next draft event. Whether you're a seasoned drafter looking to refine your skills, or a Magic noob just learning how to play, this is the app for you! Learn from the pros by practicing with Decked Drafter, and you will be sure to dominate your next draft! Features - The only Magic the Gathering draft simulator available for the iPhone or iPod touch - Practice drafting against skilled virtual opponents, learning which cards to pick and why - Access ratings and strategy tips for every card on-the-fly Improve your draft and sealed deck skills! Drafting and Sealed Deck - Open virtual packs from actual Magic the Gathering expansions - Sort the contents of each pack by color, type or rarity - Easily pick and pass cards using the simple interface - Stop the action at any time to examine your picks, or sneak a peek at your opponent's - Having trouble? Check Marlon's strategy tips; or press the Suggest button! - View the price of a card, courtesy of TCGplayer.com -- decide if it is worthwhile giving up your pick to select a card that will pay for your entire draft! Deck Building - Add and remove cards from your deck with a simple touch - Easily sort draft picks by type, cost, color or name - Test draw from your deck to see how it performs - Email your decklist to your friends, or print it out and play in real life! - .Dec support lets you easily import your decklist to Decked Builder, Magic Online or Apprentice New to drafting? Learn the rules with the included guide! Notes: Comes complete with access to the entire Scars of Mirrodin expansion. Additional expansions are available for purchase, including Mirrodin Besieged and New Phyrexia. Each of these expansions improves the Decked Drafter A.I. so it can draft with this new set of cards, and of course, features full analysis and strategy tips for every card in the set. We try to target about 100 words of writeup for each card on average, which results in about 23,000 words of strategy tips for just Scars of Mirrodin alone.

About

Slay the Spire

Build a unique deck of cards to battle through a constantly changing dungeon. Discover powerful relics and encounter bizarre creatures as you climb the Spire. Strategize your card choices to defeat enemies and reach the top.

Highlights
  • Dynamic deck building
  • Hundreds of cards to discover
  • Ever-changing Spire layout
  • Procedurally generated paths
  • Powerful relics to find
  • Unique card synergies
Features
Read full description

We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire! Features: - Dynamic Deck Building: Choose your cards wisely! Discover hundreds of cards to add to your deck with each attempt at climbing the Spire. Select cards that work together to efficiently dispatch foes and reach the top - An Ever-changing Spire: Whenever you embark on a journey up the Spire, the layout differs each time. Choose a risky or safe path, face different enemies, choose different cards, discover different relics, and even fight different bosses! - Powerful Relics to Discover: Powerful items known as relics can be found throughout the Spire. The effects of these relics can greatly enhance your deck through powerful interactions. But beware, obtaining a relic may cost you more than just gold…

Screenshots

Decked Drafter4 screens
Slay the Spire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Decked Drafter at Free against Slay the Spire's $9.99. Decked Drafter also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). Slay the Spire's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 2.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

Decked Drafter is free to download; Slay the Spire costs $9.99 up front. Decked Drafter sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Slay the Spire asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Slay the Spire holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Slay the Spire has 3.2K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Decked Drafter's written reviews are positive against 61% of Slay the Spire's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Decked Drafter ships an update monthly, Slay the Spire every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Decked Drafter versus Slay the Spire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDecked DrafterSlay the Spire
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating2.6 (17 ratings)4.3 (3.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.3% of reviews61.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings173.2K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#3 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB890 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperTJ SoftBalor Games

Customer experience

Decked Drafter

All ratings17 ratings
Positive35.3%
Neutral17.6%
Negative47.1%
Written reviews113 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral14.2%
Negative26.5%

Slay the Spire

All ratings3,192 ratings
Positive79.7%
Neutral6.4%
Negative13.9%
Written reviews555 reviews
Positive61.4%
Neutral15.1%
Negative23.4%

User reviews

Decked Drafter

From 17 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Clean and intuitive user interface
  • 📚 Expert card ratings and commentary from experienced players
  • 🎮 Effective practice tool for improving drafting skills
  • ⚡ Works offline without requiring WiFi
  • 🤖 Functional AI drafting opponents

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive per-set pricing ($2.99-$5.99 each)
  • ⏱️ Slow updates for new set releases
  • 🤖 AI drafts unrealistically, ignoring color signals
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • ❌ Missing card art and image loading problems

Slay the Spire

From 3.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 💎 Excellent value
  • 🎨 Beautiful art style
  • 🔥 Highly replayable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🤔 Clunky controls
  • 📱 UI not optimized for mobile
  • 🔍 Small text and hard to read
  • 🔀 No cross-save between devices

Bugs and requests

Decked Drafter

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Card art fails to load, showing only card backs
  • Database update stuck at version 78
  • App crashes when adding lands to decks
  • Crashes when clicking feedback button
  • In-app purchases not delivering purchased content
Show 10 more
  • Unable to download new sets after purchase
  • Pack generator hangs at 'downloading 6 images left'
  • Crashes on recent iPhone updates
  • Two-finger swipe required to read cards (poor UX)
  • Inconsistent pack generation (missing guaranteed cards)
  • Redundant cards appearing multiple times in packs
  • Rare cards appearing too late in packs
  • Purchase restore functionality broken
  • RSS feeds broken
  • Image fetching causes UI flickering

Requested features

16 requests
  • 4-pack sealed draft mode
  • Multiplayer drafting with human opponents
  • Locally stored card database and collection system
  • Ability to save and review drafted decks
  • Landscape mode support
Show 11 more
  • Bundle pricing for multiple sets
  • Free access to rotated-out sets
  • MTGO cube draft support
  • Older set availability (Ravnica, Urza's, Time Spiral blocks)
  • Card storage/bookmarking feature
  • Deck rating based on card power levels
  • One-time purchase option instead of per-set fees
  • Ad-supported free version with limited sets
  • Ability to set default draft set
  • Improved bot color-fixing logic
  • Pre-release set availability before official launch

Slay the Spire

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes during boss battles
  • Inability to end turn
  • Glitched card unlocks
  • Sync/loading issues
  • Audio problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Controller support
  • Larger text and UI elements
  • Improved card selection mechanics
  • Cloud save/sync across devices
  • 60fps mode for newer devices

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Decked Drafter

One-time10
  • Mirrodin Besieged Set$1.99
  • New Phyrexia Set$1.99
  • Magic 2012 Set$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Innistrad Set$2.99
  • Magic 2013 Set$2.99
  • Return to Ravnica Set$2.99
  • Gatecrash Set$2.99
  • Magic 2014 Set$2.99
  • Theros Set$2.99
  • Shadows over Innistrad Set$3.99
None

Slay the Spire

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Decked Drafter free?
Decked Drafter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Slay the Spire free?
Slay the Spire costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Decked Drafter or Slay the Spire?
Slay the Spire is rated higher. Decked Drafter averages 2.6 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Slay the Spire averages 4.3 from 3.2K ratings.
Do Decked Drafter or Slay the Spire have ads?
Neither Decked Drafter nor Slay the Spire shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Decked Drafter or Slay the Spire?
Decked Drafter ships an update monthly, and Slay the Spire every 2 months. Most recently, Decked Drafter was updated on October 21, 2026 and Slay the Spire on October 26, 2026.

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