Marvel Champions Captain America hero pack was the first of its kind for Marvel Champions: the card game, and it kicked things off with a serious bang. He remains one of the strongest heroes we’ve got, with his multiple activations, high defense stats (with that iconic shield made of pure vibranium), and ability to get out lots of allies. He comes complete with a prebuilt deck that leans into allies and the new Avengers’ trait, with quite a few cards that still make sense in decks today.
What is a Hero Pack Anyway?
A hero pack includes a fully playable deck right out of the box, including a two-sided identity card (hero and alter-ego) along with 15 cards that are unique to that hero and can only be played when using them. There are 25 other cards added that make up the pre-built deck. These cards can later be used with any hero and will be limited (in almost all cases) to basic cards and cards from a single aspect.
In addition to the prebuilt desk, these hero packs usually come with a few extra cards from the other aspects. The idea is that, since you can play the new hero in any aspect, these new cards can give you some options and ideas for building other decks. There is also a hero obligation card, to be placed in the villain’s deck, as well as a unique nemesis set that can show up to aid any villain if triggered during a game.
If you like the deck construction element of Marvel Champions the card game, you’ll want all of these. Eventually. If that’s not your jam, they all come with a fully playable deck right out of the box, so just get your favorite hero and start playing. Having both options is part of what makes Marvel Champions: The Card Game so great.
Check out my comprehensive buyer’s guide for more info on this.
The Marvel Champions Captain America Hero Pack
Captain America includes a fully playable deck in the leadership aspect (which makes sense) and is the definition of a well-rounded hero. He starts with a 2-2-2 stat line, but can immediately boost his defense to 3 with his trusty shield. He has cards that allow him to boost his thwart and since he can always toss a card for an additional activation, he’s great at efficiently removing threats across various schemes. On the alter-ego side, Steve Rogers gets to reduce the cost of the first ally played, which is a strong benefit to any strategy, and means he can lead any group into battle.
He’s got a strong attack card, Heroic Strike, that stuns the villain if you use a strength resource, which is VERY easy to do since he has TWO copies of Super Soldier Serum which are resource generators that can be tapped to give you a strength resource.
His shield block means you can cancel any amount of damage for zero cost (provided his trusty shield is in play). His helmet allows you to come back after being defeated and reset your hit points to zero. We’ll see that type of card again with a few heroes in the X-men cycle, but this was the first of its kind and it remains quite satisfying to die, but not lose.
Prebuilt deck
His prebuilt deck brings Captain America and a host of allies that lean heavily into the Avengers trait (again, this makes sense) including a host of allies and Avenger supports and upgrades. He can put a lot of allies out on the board and can, potentially, reduce the cost of playing them by 1 per turn. So, as far as prebuilts go, this one has a solid theme and a well-tuned (maybe over-tuned) play style.
Curiously, one of the weakest things in his kit is his signature ally, Agent 13, who is not an Avenger and does not sync well with his prebuilt deck, but does work (much later) when you have the cards that support a S.H.E.I.L.D strategy, which come in the Sinister Motives box and hero cycle. He also gets another copy of Mockingbird from the core set, and she doesn’t belong here either. He does have three copies of Honorary Avenger, so you can give them the trait, but it’s just too fiddly to make it work.
Nemesis Set and Obligation
The cunning Baron Zemo, all decked in his purple outfit (a bit shocking for those who also know him from the films), and a host of Hydra villains. He comes out swinging – with his side scheme dealing some indirect damage and Quickstrike (meaning he attacks immediately upon entering play) – so drawing Shadows of the Past with Cap has been known to be a game-ender. Plus, when he’s in play, you cannot thwart him, which is brutal and demands that he be cleared immediately.
His Hydra Soldiers (which we will see again in the Rise of Red Skull expansion) aren’t that menacing, but dish out an encounter card when defeated. Of course, they have guards, so you have to defeat them or you can’t attack the villain. Good theming and a great, tough set.
Captain America’s signature obligation is pretty run-of-the-mill, to be honest. They all used to require flipping down and exhausting in order to remove the card from the game and this is no different. These cards don’t get interesting until much later in the game’s development when they start to get more hero-specific.
Aspect Card Highlights
If you want to play Avenger-themed decks, you have to have this pack. No way around it. You’ll get the Avengers Tower, which gives you another ally slot and a discount on Avenger allies. Also, Avengers Assemble, lets you read all Avenger characters and gives them a plus 1 to their stats. It’s expensive, but at the right moment can be a game-ender. Honorary avenger is an important card, obviously, for playing that keyword, but the Quinjet, which gains counters each round and allows you to play an avenger by spending all the counters, is weak and not worth adding to your decks.
Leadership Aspect
His ally set is hit-and-miss. Squirrel Girl and Hawkeye are great and were just what we needed when facing off against Ultron in the early days. Still interesting for pinging tough and making minions more manageable. But Wonder Man is really bad. Discarding a card is too high a cost, so he’s only really interesting if you can exhaust him without actually attacking – like with Teamwork for instance (which isn’t in this pack). Falcon is cool and has an interesting effect, but he’s too expensive to justify most of the time.
The Captain America hero pack is how you get Strength in Numbers, which is so good it is essentially broken. Exhausting any number of allies to draw cards, is powerful and that hasn’t changed. The only reason people don’t use this card as much anymore, I think, is because it essentially breaks the game. That much card draw, especially when you can put out more allies than your limit, like with Avengers Tower, this card quickly becomes too good.
Back of the Pack
This pack, like all hero packs, contains additional deck-building cards in addition to the pre-built deck. My favorite is Followed, which is great for solo justice since it allows players to do damage when clearing a side scheme. Expert Defense was good at the time it was released for giving protection more options for boosting Defense but isn’t all that interesting anymore. Enraged is a cool card for boosting the damage done by allies, but now that we have more weapon attachments, this has become relatively obsolete. However, because it adds consequential damage it can be tricky to make useful.
Enhanced awareness I don’t love, because it’s 3 effective resources in exchange for 3 resources later on. Tends to not be worth the tradeoff, but early in the game we didn’t have many resource generators so it made more decks at the time – especially with kickers that required specific resource types.
Play Style and Recommended Decks
Because Captain America is so flexible, you can build decks for him in any aspect really – particularly in solo, where his versatility really shines. His ability to read amplifies any strategy aimed at boosting his stats and his two copies of Super Soldier serum, means you’ll always have the resources you need.
He’s most commonly played in Leadership, because of his ability to get allies into play, and in Protection, because of his high defense stats and Retaliate 1 provided by his iconic shield. With protection, his most popular deck leaned into stun-locking the villain and was very effective in the early days – however, with the onset of more Stalwart and Steady villains, this strategy has become less viable.
With the shield trait being boosted during the web-warriors cycle, Justice has become a valid choice as well, but I wouldn’t say he has a particular advantage over other characters for this strategy.
Recommended decks on Marvel CDB
My favorite deck for Captain America is a protection deck that has no allies and is just a slugfest between you and the villain from jrise33 and is a deck that everyone who loves this game should try at least once.
I also like the tried and true Ally spam strategy, which again, everyone should experience. This one from RolandWright is a good example and includes mostly cards available in this pack and Marvel champions the card game core set.
Conclusion: Still (maybe a little too) Strong, Still Relevant
Captain America continues to be a fan favorite, with his versatile play style and strong card pool making him powerful, especially with a deck full of allies. While some of his cards may have become less relevant or even obsolete as new expansions and packs are released, he remains an integral part of any Avengers-themed deck and a solid hero choice for solo players looking for versatility.
This is a pack you’ll want to pick up. The theme here is great and he is a strong hero and gives you some interesting cards to add to your deckbuilding options. Even though he was the first hero pack released, I’d still consider picking him up as one of the first you buy, especially if you are a leadership player. But no matter when you grab him, the Captain America Hero Pack will be a great addition to your Marvel Champions card game core set.
We earn a commission if you make a
purchase, at no additional cost to you.
For more Marvel Champions content, check out our comprehensive list of expansions with links to all of our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is the Captain America hero pack necessary to enjoy Marvel Champions the card game?
A: Nah, it’s not strictly necessary, but if you’re all about that Avengers theme or want to explore leadership decks, it’s pretty much a must-have. Without it, you’re missing out on some cool synergies and, honestly, some fun gameplay moments.
Q: Are there any cards in the pack that work well with non-Avenger heroes?
A: Absolutely. While the pack shines brightest when Captain America can lead some Avengers, there are a few gems in there that can fit nicely into just about any deck. It’s all about how you mix and match ’em with your play style.
Q: Has the meta outgrown Captain America/Steve Rogers?
A: You might think that, but nope. Cap’s versatility and the strength of his card pool keep him pretty relevant. Sure, there are new heroes and strategies popping up all the time, but good ol’ Cap has a way of holding his own, especially in solo play.
Q: What’s the best aspect to pair with Captain America?
A: While he’s like a Swiss Army knife and can work with anything, Leadership or Protection are his bread and butter. Leadership amps up his ally game to 11, and Protection plays nicely with his defensive capabilities. But hey, don’t be afraid to experiment. That’s half the fun.
Q: Can this pack be played right out of the box?
A: Yep! Like all hero packs, it comes with a pre-built deck so you can jump right into the action. Of course, as you join the fight and grow your collection, you’ll likely start tweaking it to suit your play style or tackle specific scenarios.