When comparing Eternal vs Space Merchants: Arena, the Slant community recommends Eternal for most people. In the question“What are the best cross-platform PC/Android games?” Eternal is ranked 12th while Space Merchants: Arena is ranked 42nd. The most important reason people chose Eternal is:
Draft allows you to keep the cards you pick and earn some extra rewards. Unique mechanics allow signalling and signal-reading in draft while still allowing you to draft on your own time (no waiting for pod or passing).
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Exceptional limited (draft) format
Draft allows you to keep the cards you pick and earn some extra rewards. Unique mechanics allow signalling and signal-reading in draft while still allowing you to draft on your own time (no waiting for pod or passing).
Pro Sweet spot between MtG and Hearthstone
This game is not as complex and deep as MtG, but still it requires a lot more of strategic thinking and deck-building skills than HS. At the same time, a game of Eternal can usually be finished within 10 minutes.
Pro Very friendly to free to play players
Rewards for playing vs AI help new/inexperienced players not get obliterated in constructed, and keeping cards you draft helps you build the collection you want without simply opening packs.
Pro Frequent balance changes and diverse metagame
Devs are not afraid to frequently buff or reasonably nerf cards to balance the metagame.
Pro Huge variety of deck types
You can win with weapons, spells, units, and strategies of all kinds. Brewers and casual players can explore a near-infinite variety of fun decks without tanking their win rate.
Pro Respects your time
The game's reward structure understands that players want to be competitive without spending tons of money. Rewards can even randomly upgrade to higher tiers.
Pro Generous on rewards
The game is very generous on rewards and plays very fast once you're used to it. It's not a money sink like many of the CCGs you encounter nowadays.
Pro The dev team is motivated to make this a great game
Many professional MtG players on the dev team have ensured an eye for overall balance and metagame health throughout beta testing.
Pro Rewards thoughtful gamers
Many lines of decision making and careful deck management require you to always be on point.
Pro Very fast dev response to bugs and issues
Devs are active in discord channel and official forums.
Pro Beautiful and user friendly UI
The PC UI is incredibly smooth, and although the mobile/tablet UI is a little sluggish, it is still better than some other games.
Pro Community is mostly kind
Eternal's subreddit and discord server tend to be mature and respectful. People you friend in game are more likely to talk about how cool your deck is than to give you salt.
Pro Regular updates and content
Updates and promos once a month every month since open beta.
Pro Pack system is generous
Instead of trading cards with other players, there is a recycling/crafting system for handling duplicate cards and obtaining cards you want. Every pack gives you "shiftstone" on top of whatever cards you open, making it easier to craft expensive cards than in other games.
Pro Explores unexplored design space
Complex and interesting card design that makes the most of its medium.
Pro Card art is attractive and inclusive
Art is simpler than Magic's, but leans toward realism over cartoons. Women are represented in a respectful and diverse way.
Cons
Con It is a MTG clone minus any skill requirements
It has almost no way to out maneuver your opponent. Your draws decide the game. The screw/flood seen in MTG is made worse with the horrible design choice to use 75 card decks.
Con Mana screw happens
There are elements in the design to help prevent it, but you will still randomly lose games to drawing little or too much mana.
Con Power Creep
This game was very enjoyable from its release right through its first 3 expansions. Afterwards the balance was thrown off by developers releasing powerful and more powerful cards with each set or adventure.
Con Hearthstone clone
Con Visually lacks in flair and drama that might be appealing to players of other games
Voice-overs for many cards were recently added in a patch, but only one game board and no interactions between particular entities (calling out relationships or rivals) can make the game feel "stale" or "bland" compared to the level of polish of, say, Hearthstone.
Con Card art may be unappealing to some
While some of the art is appealing, the design of the card eliminates completely the attractiveness that the art could have.
Con Playing constructed is expensive
It takes a huge time or money commitment to have the most powerful cards for constructed. Many of the best decks require 10+ of the highest rarity card.
Con Requires waiting for a full board
Most of the time you have to wait to fill your board with the correct units before attacking. This makes the game quite slow and clumsy.
Con Toxic community
Con Not a mobile-friendly game
Best played on a PC or a tablet. Playing on a phone can be difficult as it's a direct port from PC so text and images can be tiny. Not a problem if you're familiar with the game, but new players it will be frustrating.
Con "PC" version is browser based with ads
In order to play the "PC" version, you have to access the website PACOGames in order to play.