Speedy card battler Arcane Rush has just launched a new Gauntlet mode

Card games have swept over from the tabletop to the screen and taken over PC gaming like a Cyclonic Rift. From digital ports of classic card games like Magic: The Gathering to clever modern imaginings like Marvel Snap, via established PC hits like Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra, it’s a great time for gamers who like their strategising to come with a fair share of shuffling.

The thing with all the above is that they’re deep games that can take a long time to get into. Which one to choose? Well, that’s for you to decide, but one such game that’s accessible enough to be played alongside the big boys while being deep enough to keep you engaged over the long run is Arcane Rush.

What’s special about Arcane Rush is that it squeezes all the tactics of your favourite card battlers into a fast-paced format, pitting you against 15 other players duelling it out to be the last one standing. After each 1v1 PvP battle, you build your team, upgrade your lineup, then take on the next opponent. There are multiple game modes (more on those later), battles last only 10-15 minutes, and on top of that the combat is asynchronous, which means you can dip in during your commute or those quiet moments in the day when you have a few minutes of downtime. It’s a card game that fits neatly into the free moments in your life.

With every new game, you select a Dealer—each offering a unique mix of races, heroes, and cards. Mimi Sprocket, for instance, will augment your gnomes to unlock power greater than their size would suggest, or go with Captain Tuck to run amok with pirates, scaling their stats with powerful Treasures. Next, use gold to draft cards from a random selection in the rotating shop, level up your tier to access stronger cards, or even fuse cards into more powerful ones by combining three copies of the same card. The game’s dynamic drafting system means that each PvP battle is a fresh tactical puzzle that forces you to think on your feet.

Get your battle tactics ready by placing units on the front, mid, and back-lines of the battlefield. To get those precious synergies, build your teams around 10 distinct factions —which range from Gnomes to Pirates, from volatile Undead to Demons (that can consume and sacrifice weaker units to amplify your more powerful ones—it’s a high-risk, high-reward playstyle with these guys, but extremely satisfying when those short-term sacrifices help you establish long-term dominance on the battlefield).

Arcane Rush is constantly striding into new territory. It’s a hit with major streamers Kripparrian, Shadybunny, and more, and the game recently made its way over from mobile to Steam. Every two months, a new season launches, introducing new heroes, relics, and mechanics, expanding the strategic possibilities for veteran players. Just last week, the devs launched the Gauntlet mode too, where you get matched in 1v1 matches against 50 similarly ranked players in the global leaderboards. The twist here is that you need to complete two runs against the same opponent using identical cards, with the winner being decided in a final battle at the end of the day. There’s no possibility of rematches, so the stakes are super-high, though the rewards are great too as you get the opportunity to win weekly clan chests, which grant higher yields the better you do on the battlefield.

So ready to start synergising and give it a go? You can grab Arcane Rush free on the App Store, Play Store, and Steam now, and can also get involved with the community on Discord and Reddit. Arcane Rush is just as its name suggests: a game that turns card battles into a fast-paced sprint of flinging magic, tight tactical thinking, and working with the hands that you’re dealt. It makes for a fine accompaniment to whatever game you’re currently playing, and an accessible starting point if you’re dipping into the world of card battlers for the first time.