Card games are my favorite type of game. This usually means physical cards, as digital card games are a more recent thing. I started playing Magic: The Gathering over a decade ago as just a kid, completely on accident, and I've been flicking cards back and forth in my hands ever since.

But in recent years, I've found that while Magic is still the eternal king of the world, there are other games that are absolutely fantastic, and worth investing in(investment levels vary). Some are physical, some digital, and I love them all. I'm not going to put all the games that I am digging these days, as some of them are still new to me, and I want to give them more time to figure out exactly what they offer.

Android: Netrunner

I have been really into Android: Netrunner lately. I learned the game using a borrowed copy of the Core Set, bought my own later that week, then bought the deluxe expansions, then another Core Set to get more copies of those cards. After buying the Data Packs a dozen at a time, I now have nearly every card in the game (I'm missing only the most recent "The Underway" and two packs that went out of print before I went on a buying spree).

The main mechanic of player interaction is "server running". I won't explain it here, as it has a lot of lingo that I would have to explain. Fantasy Flight Games has a solid tutorial video on YouTube that can do that better than me. But I love the way the servers are set up in the game, and how it is so different from most games out there. Android: Netrunner isn't about cards fighting other cards, and then those cards dying. It is about concealing information, and having the proper tools to either put up impenetrable walls to protect your stuff, or having the right weapons to break those walls open, depending on what side you are playing.

It is also refreshing in how it handles resources: card advantage isn't really a thing like it is in so many other games, and the game supports hyper aggression and glacial paced decks, while always starting quickly, with very few boring turns.

Android: Netrunner is more about you playing your opponent, rather than your cards matching up against their cards. Sure, having a lot of cards means that the resulting deck will be more efficient, but sequencing, bluffing, and timing are at a premium here.

I shouldn't be surprised that I love Android: Netrunner. Original Netrunner released in the 90s, designed by Richard Garfield of Magic: The Gathering fame.

I recommend Android: Netrunner to anybody who enjoys building decks, and strategically deep games.

Yomi

I have spent a lot of money on Yomi over the years, mostly because I am fascinated by the design. It is not a game where you customize your deck- you pick your character (there are 20 to choose from), and that character's deck will be the same for everyone playing that character. It is a refreshing change of pace for me, as it I don't ask myself "How do I make my deck better?", but "How can I use card X better?" or "How do I play this character better in this matchup?"

The game itself is a combination of a lot of familiar and clever elements. Every deck is arranged like a standard 52 card poker deck, with two jokers. That means that there are 4 of each of the 13 unique cards in the deck. Other values on the card are also tied to the poker value of the card, as a way to more easily remember all the cards, which is good when you start getting deeper into the game.

Yomi also uses a Rock/Paper/Scissors mechanic to determine combat, but each character's options are valued differently. Attack and Throw cards have a speed value on them, and faster attacks will beat faster attacks, faster throws beat faster throws, obviously. This means if you are playing a character with fast throws, but slower attacks than your opponent has, you need to weigh your options differently. And each of the 20 characters play incredibly different. It is surprising to everyone I have ever taught the game, how much the game changes when you change characters.

Yomi has always been in a weird spot as far as games go though. If you want every character in the game, you'll be spending about 200 dollars, give or take. One character is about ten dollars. So, I've seen people look at Yomi as a $200 board game, and they just scoff and laugh at it. The thing is, Yomi scales really well with budgets. All you need is any two decks to start playing, about $20. And since it isn't a customizable game, that character you bought for $10 is the same as the top players in the world's character. If you wanted to play in a Yomi tournament (I wish they were a thing), you could go from not having a deck to entering the tournament on an even playing field (deck wise) for $10 + entry fee. This is unheard of in any card game. Even Android: Netrunner asks for about $40 to assemble enough cards for a tournament legal deck, but you will probably get crushed.

Every character is designed beautifully, with so many small details in every card, that the strategy goes much deeper than it seems at first. Yomi doesn't force you into a particular playstyle as dictated by your character- you can play more aggressively or passively, judging by how your opponent is playing.

I recommend Yomi for fans of interesting competitive games. It is kinda weird, but it is so unique and so damn well designed that I've thrown a lot of money at it. It deserves to be a lot more popular than it currently is.