Rhino rampages through the streets of New York, Klaw peddles illegal weapons to the world’s most dangerous criminals, Ultron threatens global annihilation. The world needs champions to stop these villains, are you up to the task? Marvel Champions: The Card Game sees players taking on the roles of the iconic heroes of the Marvel universe as they try to stop infamous villains from enacting their devious schemes. With over 350 cards, 100 tokens, five hit point trackers, and more, The Marvel Champions: The Card Game Core Set gives you everything you need to start your journey in the Marvel universe. Choose to play as Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and She-Hulk! Combine your powers to take down the rampaging Rhino, the devious Klaw, or the utterly terrifying Ultron! Marvel Champions: The Card Game sees players taking on the roles of the iconic heroes of the Marvel universe as they try to stop infamous villains from enacting their devious schemes. With over 350 cards, 100 tokens, five hit point trackers, and more, The Marvel Champions: The Card Game Core Set gives you everything you need to start your journey in the Marvel universe. Choose to play as Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and She-Hulk! Combine your powers to take down the rampaging Rhino, the devious Klaw, or the utterly terrifying Ultron!
1-4 Players
Ages 14+
Staff Recommendation
"Rich recommends Marvel Champions as a 1-2 player option for anyone looking to indulge in some superb heroic escapism during quarantine.
It’s a really good jumping in point for anyone interested in other 'Living Card Games' like the Arkham Horror LCG and Lord of the Rings LCG. These are games that get updated over time with more packs of cards and content on a regular release schedule. Marvel Champions is arguably the first LCG to feel feature complete out of the core box. You don’t have to tinker around and deck build if you don’t want to, but the option is there for you. The number of cards in the box might seem intimidating but they’re all nicely organized with helpful 'Stop here' markers to let you know what to open when, and Fantasy Flight has done a good job of offering a solid tutorial.
The big hook that makes this game stand out when compared with the likes of Sentinels of the Multiverse or other LCGs (apart from having the Marvel License) is managing an alter-ego. Each deck is helmed by a double-sided hero card, one side is Spiderman, the other is Peter Parker and anyone familiar with the character can tell you it’s going to be difficult to get enough time as both. You must manage the threat deck helmed by the villain by striking the right balance. The game does scale up to four players nicely but I found things slowing down a bit at three players and feeling outright unwieldy at four. Your mileage may vary, but I think this game works at its best for 1-2 players. Once you’re familiar with the game it makes for a tidy 30 minute to 2-hour game.
Who is this game for? People who like Sentinels of the Multiverse but wish it was less fiddly. Comic-book fans looking for a fun solitaire or cooperative challenge, and folks like me who enjoy engine-building so much they realize halfway through games of Dominion that they’ve forgotten they were supposed to be trying to get points and win the whole time.
Who might want to stay away? People who don’t like reading rules on cards as they play. Folks who would rather play a faster game (solitaire and two player games can be pretty quick, but 3-4 players can feel slow.) Also, if you dislike cooperative games, this one probably won’t change your mind despite being a fantastic solitaire experience. This game is dripping with theme, but while it’s a very fun game and quite sound mechanically, if you’re “over” super-heroes or if the sight of a “BIFF!” or “KAPOW” writ large across some pages makes your eyes roll, this game is probably not going to be fun for you."
