A Marvel Champions Finale: Oh No You Drone’t, Ultron!
Face off against a scheming villain like Ultron with nearly any kind of hero in the tales of Marvel Champions: The Card Game.
Time for the finale matchup from the base game of Marvel Champions: The Card Game! After having a bunch of false starts over the years, I was ready to take on Ultron with my favorite team of Captain Marvel and Spider-Man. Never mind the fact that I had only recently started playing multi-handed solo… Still my favorite. Ha ha! Time for some more superpowers!
Game Overview
Game Name: Marvel Champions: The Card Game
Publication Year: 2019
Designers: Michael Boggs, Nate French, and Caleb Grace
Artist: Uncredited
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Each play centers around a villain and scheme, which are aided by encounters and minions. But never fear! Heroes with all sorts of abilities fight back, managing threat and damage. Deck construction provides a fun element with tons of variety, either via pre-made or custom sets!
First Play
August 8, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 21, 2025
Expansions
53
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
31
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
N/A
Game Area
36" x 22"
Low Score
N/A
Hello, Spider-Man?
The action was nonstop as soon as I started, and I barely had time to pause between phases! Naturally, I only had time to recap everything once this play was over.
Spider-Man kept to the background, as usual. His deck might seem a little less exciting, particularly since his tableau rarely builds up beyond 2-3 cards at a time.
Many are short-term, too, either with discard effects or events. So he seemed like a much less interesting hero.
However, that’s what worked so well! He took on a support role, but that didn’t mean he didn’t help out in major ways.
Winning from Afar
Quake was in Spider-Man’s starting hand. She dealt damage to a minion who schemed each round, which was perfect for the constant barrage of drones Ultron sent out. So many!
Meanwhile, though, Spider-Man put out a player side scheme early on. It just sat there, sometimes collecting a little more threat to make its final effect just a little far off.
Oh, but how the trap was laid! Spider-Man set this up for Captain Marvel to complete at the right moment.
Ultron took 10 damage! And Spider-Man? He laughed as he casually backflipped away from the late-game attacks. Ha!
From the Sky
On the other hand, Captain Marvel had a more interesting sort of tableau to manage. More on her allies in a moment, as that strategy paid off tremendously against Ultron!
The Sky-Destroyer didn’t show up until the very last turn, courtesy of getting caught up with the drones.
In a fitting tribute, the final damage done to Ultron came from above and a carefully timed attack. Boom!
I loved Spider-Man’s Heroic Intuition making its way to Captain Marvel, too, which helped the duo keep the main scheme from advancing until much later than expected.
All the Right Allies
When I put this deck together, I was a little worried that I went a little too heavy in the ally department. Since a hero is limited to a maximum of 3 allies at a time, this was a lot.
However, this was perfect! Everyone had a role to play, except for War Machine, who simply didn’t have a chance to show up. He had the day off, and that was fine with me.
Each ally played a major role, although Hawkeye’s arrows helped defeat a bunch of drones as they showed up. Nope!
I had a lot of fun, and finally can see why consequential damage isn’t so bad… Clearing full ally slots is important!
The Thrill of Victory… Even with an Asterisk
From everything I’ve learned, I played correctly without any rules mistakes. But this is a game that has a lot of intertwined actions, effects, and keywords. Did I actually get it all right? Only maybe. As a solo player, the biggest thing missing at the table is someone else to point out any blatant rules mistakes I make along the way. I only learn of these after the fact.
Yet… Does that invalidate a victory? I know there’s the concept of semi-counting a victory when something was played incorrectly. That’s something I agree with when I win and know something is wrong. A heavy game I never played, and I won in 15 minutes? Yeah, that’s a reason to read the rules again and restart. Ha ha! But what about after a grueling play?
Not that this is a grueling sort of experience, yet sinking around an hour in only to think I shouldn’t have won is a lot worse of a feeling. Better to go with the flow, learn from my mistakes, and laugh over what I got wrong. This isn’t a ranked tournament structure… My solo plays are there to celebrate the hobby and the delight that comes with games. All for fun!
Maximum SuperPowers
At one point, Captain Marvel managed to draw a bunch of extra cards before her turn began… And you better believe I took advantage of that, particularly with excellent luck!
First, she used Energy Channel to deal a cool 8 damage to knock Ultron over to his next form. But that wasn’t all.
With Energy Absorption and a few other cards, another Energy Channel was powered up by the end of her turn. Bam! And don’t forget that Photonic Blast. Ha ha!
Including allies, I think she dealt a total of 32 damage in one turn. Oh, yeah! That was an exciting turning point!
Stunned and Gone
Just as Ultron was starting to advance the main scheme and bring in some dangerous attachments, his plan was soon put to rest. Invasive AI? Didn’t even phase Captain Marvel!
This was a hard-fought victory, though, and I was prepared to do a little bit of deck re-construction if things didn’t work out. Yet I’m quite pleased with the versatility I created!
Spider-Man is never going to be the standout hero. But he’s an integral part of this team that I’m not about to drop.
Up next is to figure out if I want to take on the next villains with this team or switch heroes… Only time will tell!
Session Overview
Play Number: 31
Expansions: Many (Deck Construction & Standard III)
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Captain Marvel & Spider-Man vs. Ultron
Outcome: Win
This was still quite the adventure, and could have taken a horrible turn at one point. Yon-Rogg, Captain Marvel’s nemesis, showed up again and even created some havoc for Spider-Man. Seems like there’s an ongoing story here, and I absolutely love the Standard III set! Such a wonderful game and I’m excited for the many stories still left to be told.
%
30 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Working out the puzzle of how to defeat a villain is a lot of fun, and can be very different even with the same setup.
- Surprise encounters can turn strategies around or require an immediate pivot, yet finding solutions is awesome.
- Any hero has the chance to shine with so many deck construction options, and teams can be even more exciting.
- Deck construction offers a wonderful way to build on ideas, yet pre-constructed decks are available to quickly play.
- Growing tension makes every round feel important and there are rarely turns when little to nothing happens.
- The original Standard I set is great, yet Standard III feels balanced and adds looming nemesis threats and stories.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Multiple effects can be active at any given time, and it can be a little difficult to track everything correctly all the time.
- Storage and organization are a key part of managing more than a couple of expansions, which takes some effort.
- Constructing decks can be an excellent part of the fun, but it isn’t for everyone, as it can feel overwhelming.
- Understanding the keywords, especially from multiple expansions, often requires rules referencing during gameplay.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Villain
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Defeat each base game villain with a duo team. (3/3)
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite part of Marvel Champions: The Card Game? Do you have a favorite deck? I’m kind of hesitant to move away from Captain Marvel and Spider-Man, as they work well together but still have a lot of other strategies to uncover with their decks. At last, I can say I played through the base game villains! Looking forward to the next heroic chapter!
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