Comparison

Awesome Magic Life Counter vs MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner

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

Head to head
About

Awesome Magic Life Counter

A highly customizable life counter for Magic the Gathering players. Track life totals, poison counters, dice rolls, and commander damage with a clean, user-friendly interface. Supports up to four players and offers advanced EDH features.

Highlights
  • Life total tracking
  • Poison counter tracking
  • Dice rolling (up to 4 d20)
  • Commander damage tracking
  • Customizable background
  • Animated coin flip
Features
Read full description

AMLC is a full featured, customizable Magic the Gathering life counter. Supports life totals, poison counters, coin flip, up to four d20 dice rolls, Planechase*, customizable background*, and full EDH features with commander damage tracking and recast count. Designed to look good with high-resolution quality graphics. Made by players, for players! AMLC has everything the casual or serious player would need in a counter, to keep track of you and your opponents for the most common things in a game. While still keeping a clean, uncluttered and user-friendly interface, Awesome Magic Life counter supports: - From 1 to 4 players - Intuitive EDH/Commander interface with recast count. - Intuitive poison counter interface - Tracks game conditions, and interface reflects who's lost, with cool graphics depending on how they've lost! - Nobody's playing poison? Not playing EDH? Turn off the features you're not using to keep the interface nice and clean! - Quickly set or change player names, and save them for next time! - Starting life presets for standard, EDH and more - Animated coin flip - Animated dice roll - Roll up to four 20-sided dice - Easy game resets - Interface re-arranges itself based on number of players for optimal layout *Available with in-app purchase. cada9ed23e

About

MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner

This app is a comprehensive companion for trading card game players, offering tools for deck building, card scanning, collection management, and life tracking. It helps players tune decks for competitive play, discover combos, and find local game stores.

Highlights
  • Multi-device life tracker for up to six players
  • Instant card scanning with price and legality
  • Smart deck builder for all formats
  • Collection manager with price tracking
  • Deck tuner for competitive play
  • Combo finder and commander discovery
Features
Read full description

MTG CODEX is the all-in-one companion app for trading card game players who want every tool in one place. Scan cards instantly with your camera. Build smarter decks for any format. Tune your deck for competitive play. Find game-winning combos. Track life from every phone. New look. Patent Pending. WHAT MTG CODEX DOES: MULTI-DEVICE LIFE TRACKER Built for the table. Everyone joins from their own phone with a room code. Life, commander damage, and poison sync for up to six players. Per-player backgrounds and game stats. CARD SCANNER Point your camera at any card and get the full picture in seconds. Live prices, card details, format legality, oracle text, and strategy tips from industry sources. Works on any printing, any language. Faster than typing. COLLECTION MANAGER Build your collection by scanning, importing, or pasting your cards, and carry it with you everywhere. Sort by name, type, price, or rarity, browse by creature type, and track what your collection is worth. The deck builder cross-references your collection as you build, so you can see which cards you already own and build new decks from what you have. SMART DECK BUILDER Build, save, and refine decks for every format: Commander, EDH, Modern, Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, Legacy, Vintage, Brawl, and more. Get strategic recommendations. Cross-references your collection so you can see the cards you already own while you build. Cloud sync keeps decks safe across devices. Import from Moxfield, Archidekt, or any text list. PRECON BROWSER Browse every official preconstructed Commander deck with its exact, complete decklist. Pull up the real cards in any precon, load it as your starting point, then tune and upgrade it. POPULAR BUILDS See the real community build for any commander, or search by theme like tokens, aristocrats, or madness, and load it in. DECK TUNER FOR COMPETITION Optimize any deck for competitive play. Get specific card swap suggestions to raise your power level. Cross-referenced with community deck data so suggestions are battle-tested. DECK PLAY TESTER Test decks solo and take real turns to gauge your deck's speed and consistency. London mulligan, real card faces, and Commander bracket speed anchors so you know how your build actually performs before game night. DECK GRADING Get your deck rated and graded with detailed feedback on power level, mana curve, win conditions, and weaknesses. COMBO FINDER Discover infinite combos, win conditions, and synergistic interactions. Search by card, by strategy, or by deck. DISCOVER COMMANDERS Browse commander decks by color identity, archetype, or budget. PRICE TRACKING Live pricing from major marketplaces. Track your collection value. Alerts on price changes. LOCAL GAME STORE FINDER Find tabletop-friendly stores near you. Featured partners: Natural 20 Gaming and Stomping Grounds TCG. WHO IT IS FOR: Commander and EDH players who want better deck-building help Competitive players tuning decks for tournaments Standard, Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy grinders Casual players learning the formats Collectors tracking value and prices Local game store regulars Anyone tired of switching between five different apps WHY MTG CODEX: Built by a player who got tired of jumping between half a dozen tabs every game night. One app. Every tool. No clutter. Free to use with optional PRO features. No ads in core gameplay. No tracking pixels. LEGAL: MTG CODEX is a brand of Media Meta Products LLC. USPTO trademark application Serial 99783592, filed April 23, 2026. "MTG" is used here only descriptively as a common abbreviation for the trading card game category. MTG CODEX is unofficial fan-made software, is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast LLC, and makes no claim to any third-party trademarks. All third-party trademarks belong to their respective owners. Privacy Policy: mtg-codex.com/mtg/privacy.html Terms of Service: mtg-codex.com/mtg/terms.html Support: support@mediametaproducts.com

Screenshots

Awesome Magic Life Counter4 screens
MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Awesome Magic Life Counter at none against MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner's shown. Awesome Magic Life Counter also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (38 vs 7). MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Awesome Magic Life Counter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Awesome Magic Life Counter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Awesome Magic Life Counter has 38 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Awesome Magic Life Counter's written reviews are positive against 83% of MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Awesome Magic Life Counter ships an update monthly, MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Awesome Magic Life Counter versus MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAwesome Magic Life CounterMTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (38 ratings) — better4.4 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings38 — better7
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB124 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJambo Group LLCMarcus Richardson

Customer experience

Awesome Magic Life Counter

All ratings37 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral2.7%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews120 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative5.0%

MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Awesome Magic Life Counter

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App crashes and loses score data periodically
  • Memory issues on older devices (iPhone 4)
  • Poison counter resets when app is closed
  • Multiplayer mode occasionally reverts to 2 players only
  • App loses data when exited briefly
Show 3 more
  • Poison counter doesn't display properly in some cases
  • Compatibility issues with some iPhone models
  • Cannot track commander damage from player's own commander

Requested features

17 requests
  • Support for more than 4 players
  • Player profile saving to avoid re-entering names
  • Screen rotation capability for better two-player viewing
  • Timer and alarm functionality for match time limits
  • Ability to track individual card counters (e.g., for Hydra decks)
Show 12 more
  • Arch enemy mode support
  • Moveable player name boxes
  • Offline-accessible Magic rules reference
  • Bundle pricing option for all features
  • Ability to assign commander damage from player's own commander
  • Larger, more accessible buttons
  • Custom starting life totals (e.g., 30 for Two-Headed Giant)
  • Better visual indicators (minus symbol instead of skull)
  • iPad version with rotation support
  • Notes or memo feature for tracking game details
  • Different dice roll options
  • Persistent poison counter and settings on app restart

MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Awesome Magic Life Counter

One-time4
  • Planechase Features$0.99
  • Buy Sean a Drink$0.99
  • Change Background$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Remove Ads$2.99
2 purchases

MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner

Subscriptions2
  • MTG CODEX PRO Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • MTG CODEX PRO Annual$54.991 Year

Questions

Is Awesome Magic Life Counter free?
Awesome Magic Life Counter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner free?
MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Awesome Magic Life Counter or MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner?
Awesome Magic Life Counter is rated higher. Awesome Magic Life Counter averages 4.6 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.
Do Awesome Magic Life Counter or MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner have ads?
MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner shows ads; Awesome Magic Life Counter does not.
Which is updated more often, Awesome Magic Life Counter or MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner?
Awesome Magic Life Counter ships an update monthly, and MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner every 4 days. Most recently, Awesome Magic Life Counter was updated on October 23, 2026 and MTG CODEX Life Counter/Scanner on October 31, 2026.

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