There are boatloads of PVP games following in the footsteps of Clash Royale these days. The basic idea of the format is that you have a deck of cards you use — with an expenditure of energy that continually refills — to summon units on a field between you and an opponent, with the goal of destroying their base before they do the same to you.

One of the better clones I've recently come across is Wild Beyond, which shows a level of polish and personality that stands out in the crowd. The cartoony graphics belie a surprising amount of strategy, the depths of which I'm still picking up after several days of playing.

https://youtu.be/PQwqcYxzrcg

In the game, you can control one of three factions:

1. Ascension — A robotic race that combines advanced technology with ninja- and samurai-esque combat techniques. (They also look remind me a lot of EVE from WALL·E.)
2. Legion — These guys are the most militaristic of the bunch, with lots of guns, grenades, vehicle units, and mechs.
3. Rogue — A wild group of scavengers and anarchists that hit hard and fast, often to overwhelming effect.

Each faction has its own unique commanders and units to play, and as you unlock and collect cards for each one, you can edit their decks to fit your strategic style. I've had a surprising amount of fun just on the deck-building and unit-upgrading side of things.

The one thing to keep in mind with this game is that it leans hard on the "trying to get you to buy lots of IAPs" strategy, which can be a little annoying at times but not enough to make the game unfun. They also have a monthly "Elite" subscription in the game that allows you to double your reward pickup rate and unlocks instant unit upgrades rather than waiting 3 hours for each one. It's honestly a smart way for them to make money, but again, if you're looking for a free game experience, you'll just have to ignore their calls-to-action about it.

https://youtu.be/rARUMxORGOc

You can have a pretty good time just going through the single-player campaign, but the real excitement is in the online multiplayer realm. You can do the typical 1v1 battles, or if you join an alliance, you get to join 2v2 battles that add another layer of strategy to things. You and your teammate have to find a rhythm without really being able to communicate, which keeps things interesting.

If you're interested, go download Wild Beyond for free on the iOS App Store.