There is something that always attracts me to deck builders. It’s gotta be the prospect of building a cohesive, powerful deck that just destroys my opponents. It is addictive, and this week I am on the playground slinging cards with cool stickers slapped on them with friends.

This week is my Early Access Review of My Card is Better Than Your Card!

My Card is Better Than Your Card! (My Card from now on) Is a deck builder from Utu Studios. The game was released into Early Access in early October 2025 and retails for $15.

I remember being in grade school and playing Pokémon on the playground, up until it was unilaterally banned from school. My Card has the feeling of just that; being a kid, outside playing a cool new card game with your friends, and not necessarily understanding what the hell you’re doing.

Each week is presented to the player as if a child had their week totally planned, with activities such as battles and minor story beats, while days may involve visiting game stores to buy stickers or picking up a new toy. At the end of each day, there is a chance to have your creative juices flowing and create your own card to add to your deck with the stickers you bought throughout the day/week. At the end of each week, a boss-like child must be defeated to progress.

There are lots of decks to choose from, all with adorable, simple themes: The car deck, which utilizes discarding cards; the starter space deck; the bug deck; the fish deck; and SO MANY MORE. On the surface, each deck seems underpowered until you play exactly one round with it, and then you realize that card draw is incredibly important to the core gameplay.

Toys are permanent upgrades that affect the game. Adding more favor to the favor bar, drawing extra cards, a reward dependent on how many cards you play, or how much the card costs, etc. The toys add a nice little layer that, personally, has not really broken the game.

The decks are varied enough to provide varied gameplay experiences. Combining existing cards with new stickers makes decks go over the top.

When the game begins, each player draws 3 cards. Each turn, an option of an extra card or a piece of candy is then decided. Candy is the resource in which cards get played, which is noted in the middle of each card; no candy? Then the card is free to play. The aim of My Card is to acquire more stars than your opponent, so having cards that deny your opponent stars while increasing your own is key. At the end of each round, stars are tallied, and the player with the higher number pushes the tug-of-war bar in their favor. Hit the max number and win. Wins reward money, which you can use to buy more stickers. Rinse and Repeat, unlocking new stickers and starter decks along the way. My Card drip-feeds new content at a good pace that keeps me playing.

The loop is really fun. It keeps me coming back for more, even though my opponents’ decks and draws are absolutely absurd in the later weeks.

The core gameplay of “having the bigger numbers wins” is limiting, but the nuances My Card adds make it exciting every time I boot up the game. There are moments when I strung 10+ cards together to get an overwhelming number of stars, which helped me win by round 2. The ability to lower the cost of cards or add to one overcosted card that has so many synergies that it puts you over the top is an absolute reward. Variance is a huge proponent of My Card, and it really shows when you just don’t draw the right cards and drown under the weight of the opponent’s stars.

All of deckbuilding is wrapped in the most vibrant, colorful, imaginative hand-drawn art. It really adds to the childish wonder kids have for the world. The cards match that energy with adorable stickers that can be edited to the player’s heart’s content. It’s all very nice to look at.

My Card is Better Than Your Card! is an extremely fun deckbuilder. The prospect of creating my own cards with potentially game-warping effects had me hooked. Games go relatively quickly, and I was never really bored when a game went a little longer than expected. The only gripe I have is that later battles are an absolute slog. I am never confident with my deck when I battle them.

I love the game’s look; it is incredibly colorful and a joy to look at. The explosion of stars is probably my favorite part. My Card is Better Than Your Card! At its price point, is a steal. It is a profound deckbuilder with a unique hook that makes for interesting cards and deckbuilding choices.

SO FAR: 8/10