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About Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Marvel Champions is a cooperative Living Card Game from Fantasy Flight Games, designed by Michael Boggs, Nate French and Caleb Grace. Each player builds a deck around one hero and fights a villain who is advancing a scheme. The clever part is the identity card: in hero form you attack and thwart, while in alter-ego form you recover and the villain schemes rather than hits you. The core box has five heroes and three villains, and a long line of expansions follows.
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Is Marvel Champions: The Card Game Right for You?
Best for
Marvel Champions is for Marvel fans who enjoy card games, and for solo players looking for a deep game to explore on their own. It plays best at one or two players, where turns are quick and decks can be tuned against each villain. Anyone who likes deckbuilding before the game will find a long hobby here.
Maybe skip it if…
The Living Card Game model means a steady stream of expansions, and the full experience costs more than the core box. At three or four players the game slows down considerably.
How to Play Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Setup
Each player takes a hero identity and their deck. Set up the villain, its main scheme and an encounter deck made from the villain's cards plus a modular set.
On Your Turn
- In the player phase, play cards by discarding others from your hand as resources, and use your hero to thwart, attack or defend.
- You may flip between hero and alter-ego once per turn.
- In the villain phase, threat is added to the main scheme, the villain activates against each player, and each player draws encounter cards.
How to Win
Defeat the villain through all of its stages. You lose if the main scheme completes or every hero is defeated.
💡 Strategy Tips
Watch the scheme as closely as the villain's health. Most lost games are lost to threat, not damage.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring the main scheme. Threat builds every round and a completed scheme loses the game even if the villain is nearly dead.
- Staying in hero form every turn. Alter-ego form lets you recover and changes what the villain does, and it is part of the rhythm of the game.
- Spending too many cards as resources. Every card you discard to pay for another is a card you did not play.
- Forgetting that each player takes encounter cards. More players means more surprises from the villain deck.
Advanced Strategy
- Build decks around one aspect's strengths. Aggression, Justice, Leadership and Protection each solve a different problem.
- Flip to alter-ego when the villain is about to hit hard. A villain scheming against you is often cheaper than taking the damage.
- Clear minions early. They attack every turn and add up quickly.
- Track the encounter deck. Knowing what is still coming lets you take risks at the right time.
Variants & House Rules
Expert mode
The core rules include a harder mode with tougher villain stages and extra encounter cards for experienced players.
Campaign boxes
Larger expansions add linked campaigns with persistent upgrades between scenarios, alongside new heroes and villains.
Custom decks
Mix a hero's signature cards with a different aspect's cards to build your own deck rather than using the preconstructed ones.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Marvel Champions is the most accessible of the cooperative Living Card Games and one of the best solo experiences in the hobby. The hero and alter-ego system is a smart idea that makes every hero feel like the character on the card. Start with the core box; you will know quickly whether you want more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the core set enough?
Yes, for a good while. It has five heroes and three villains, which is plenty of combinations before buying expansions.
Is it collectible?
No. Every expansion has a fixed set of cards, so there are no random packs to buy.
Does it work solo?
Very well. One or two heroes is where the game is at its fastest and most satisfying.