A little background: I started with dominion as my first physical deckbuilding game, (Slay the Spire being my first ever deckbuilder). I've played others like: The Black Book, Inscryption, and Clank! However, I want to upgrade to a meatier 1 vs 1 experience.

I've been doing a lot of deep dives into combat deckbuilding games. After a few weeks of research I've become torn between a few options that not just look good, but also fit my budget.

First is [Shards of Infinity] This game seems to play fast and have tons of strategy. I love the card art. Science and magic is such a cool mixture to me.

Second is [Hero Realms] This honestly looks really similar to Shards of infinity, only it has a mideval fantasy design. I could be wrong though.

Third is [KeyForge] Looks more complicated than the others, but that isn't a deterrent. I love the world-building the card art manages to achieve, and the rules seem to be interesting, albeit–as I said–complicated. It is a little out of my budget range, but looks like something I wouldn't regret sinking a little extra money into.

Fourth is [Star Realms] To me, it looks to play similarly to Shards of Infinity and Hero Realms, but the low price tag makes me wary of it. I feel like "Hm... what's going on here?" Still looks good though. Although, I'm not a fan of the card art.

Lastly is [Ascension] Even more out of my budget, but this one looks REALLY interesting to me.

I would appreciate some helpful input from whoever. Also, if you have a different 1 vs 1 card game to recommend, then please do so.