Marvel Champions Tips & Tricks - 10 Ways to Improve Your Gameplay

This video is aimed at new-to-intermediate players to help level up your gameplay! Marvel Champions asks you to make a lot of decisions, so here are 10 tips to help you win
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00:00 Tip 1: Invest Early
00:26 Tip 2: Dig For Treasure
02:18 Tip 3: The Doors Close at 8pm
03:22 I talk about stuff (I'll know if you skip this... 👀)
04:19 Tip 4: Your Cash is on Fire
05:47 Tip 5: A Jedi Must Not Form Attachments
06:38 Tip 6: Find Your Value
07:21 Tip 7: Look Before You Leap
08:25 Tip 8: Control is King
09:31 Tip 9: Kill Your Darlings
10:54 Tip 10: Finish Your Food
12:16 Outro
(All card images in the video are courtesy of Cerebro developer UnicornSnuggler. Huge thanks!)

[@Runboy_was_here]

Holding onto cards for way too long is probably my biggest problem in this game lol. "I swear I'll play Avenger's Mansion next turn!" 3 turns later...... (Would love more videos like this btw, they're really helpful!)

[@TheVlad1616]

I (and most new players I’d bet) were guilty of this.

[@VillainTheory]

Haha! Sometimes it's fine, especially just for one turn, even if I'm keen to discourage it. But 3 turns? Tsk, tsk, tsk 😉

[@sambafreak13]

My friends and I call this "Card Tax," and we get on each other for "Card Taxing" for more than one turn.

[@kingzerref]

Please make more of these videos! I am still fairly new and this helps a lot.

[@VillainTheory]

Acknowledged! I'll see what I can do for you, and let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like tips/strategy talk about!

[@kingzerref]

@@VillainTheory I have not played a lot of villains. Is there a good strategy/build for first play throughs or is just trial and error?

[@VillainTheory]

@@kingzerref Nelson actually just posted a guide on how to beat Klaw! I haven't done anything like that. For me, when I approach a new scenario, I typically bring an all-rounder kind of deck. (Technically I usually experience new scenarios in 2-player with my partner, but I build the decks with the intent that the overall combination is nicely rounded out!) Something like that could be interesting to do!

[@webwarriorfanatic]

Super informative and concise video! Really good points. I'm also super excited for Shadow of the Cast. Thanks again for having me on :)

[@VillainTheory]

Hey WWF! Thanks and yeah it's going to be an awesome episode!

[@greekos99]

Cheers Jake. I’ve certainly learned plenty of these through repeated plays. Plus building a custom deck too which I feel can really turn the tide. I did custom Wolverine with Protection which worked really nicely.

[@VillainTheory]

Ah yeah, the pre-constructed decks that come with heroes are often very lacking. Custom decks are a whole different world. Glad Wolverine worked out well!

[@TheMBobbo404]

Do a part 2! Great stuff

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@starwindm8810]

Been playing since GMW, and something you touch on that I struggle with is: how to know how many turns I have left OR how to know when to close out the game. I don’t get to play very often, so I end up playing variety instead of the same deck multiple times in a row. Getting a feel for the deck pacing is hard when I play this way.

[@VillainTheory]

That's fair! It varies a lot with the hero too. I'm always hunting to end the game once we're a good way through the villain's first stage. Often that means pushing slowly until the villain's first stage has 1-3 hp left, then spending the next 1-3 turns going all-out on damage to win. But not every hero/deck is built for that so it definitely takes some amount of experience, knowledge and "game sense". I'll probably talk more about it in a future video!

[@DMTip]

Villain out here killing it. Great work! Probably the single most helpful video on MC that I've seen. Period.

[@VillainTheory]

Opened up KZbin to see this comment immediately! Wow thank you so much!

[@R8C2]

Great tips. Makes me realise how little content there is of this nature for Marvel Champions. Super stuff.

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks! Hopefully it helps a lot of people!

[@FidoPhilanthropist]

Awesome video, thank you! I do want to say, for people who are VERY new -- people who are playing precons, specifically -- strategies *may* shift a bit. Holding onto cards for one or two turns makes more sense, for instance, when the overall quality of your cards is quite low. I've had several games when I've held on to my identity cards for one or two turns in a row because my aspect cards were either irrelevant to the current situation or filled with duplicates for multiplayer, and it's worked pretty well. At that point you're just looking for resources to chuck each turn for one good, predictable play, as there's very little treasure to dig for. Obviously this is a VERY specific issue which most players won't have, and I'm not saying it's optimal, but it's worked at least okay for me, 20 precons (and three expansions) in. I swear I will tear these apart and make real decks once I have the time!

[@VillainTheory]

Some precons are pretty good, others though... I can't imagine what inhumane techniques are necessary to survive them... 😉 Just kidding but great point, thanks for raising it. Without going out of my way to experience a few precons again I can't comment too much~ Would be curious to hear how your experiences change if/when you do get into making custom decks!

[@hairywhitehound8836]

Great Video, looking forward to parts 2 and 3 👍

[@VillainTheory]

Glad you enjoyed it! Stay tuned!

[@candle8389]

Great video as always! Would definitely love more.

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks! You got it!

[@Griffin424]

Another fantastic video by VT

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks Griffin, glad you enjoyed it!

[@hockeyfan7645]

Great video. I have played a little while with limited card pool and this video should help me in winning . Except Venom Goblin as he hits me pretty hard.

[@VillainTheory]

Venom Goblin is tough! These tips should help but there is no easy solution to him!

[@thenayxas]

It's a mark of a great game for sure when even most of your mentioned rules can be incorrect every once in a while, so the best move is never obvious! Gotta stay sharp! Great vid as always, every MC player should see this video, especially new ones

[@VillainTheory]

Very true! Part of me didn't like having to stress there were exceptions to basically every tip, I fear it weakens the overall message, but it makes for such an engaging game.

[@thenayxas]

@@VillainTheory yeah I agree that that was the correct move! It's better to learn the rules before learning when to break them, that probably comes with experience anyway. Or maybe a future video with more advanced tips and tricks! 👀

[@Maxoratus]

Very useful tips ! Thanks ! Don’t hesitate if you have more.

[@VillainTheory]

Thank you! Will do!

[@royaviles5004]

More of these!

[@VillainTheory]

Message received!

[@sambafreak13]

Great video. I think I had a gut feeling that playing something like Avengers Mansion later in the game wasn't worth it, but you lay it out quite clearly: it's costing you 5 cards and you may only get 2-3. Make me feel much more comfortable tossing it mid/late game. Would your opinion change in a multiplayer game? i.e., a late mansion doesn't net you positive cards but maybe there's that one player that needs your help digging for their big event?

[@wesweston7142]

This was very useful, thank you.

[@VillainTheory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TAC3O]

Definitely waiting for second part with deeper insight! Thank you for video.

[@VillainTheory]

You got it! Not sure the next part will have deeper insight exactly, perhaps just different insight. Might do 2-3 basic tips videos before we get more advanced! But we'll see!

[@blackdaz3]

Keep em coming!

[@VillainTheory]

Will do!

[@teagletron]

Going to hear your voice as the good conscience everytime I am tempted to take silly risks. Great tips.

[@VillainTheory]

I will make your games more boring but you might win more of them haha!

[@Jenna1394]

Great video, after over 50 plays I've slowly learned these over time. Only now learning to efficiently mulligan to upgrade/get out supports quickly.

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks! And the mulligan is really a very complicated part of the game - I could do a whole video on it!

[@WinningHandPodcast]

Great tips! Glad to see you back at making videos

[@VillainTheory]

They tried to stop me, they failed!

[@terrencemoch8056]

Solid video!

[@VillainTheory]

Cheers!

[@shanepheeney9029]

Great vid! You can add several (hundred?) vids (on the "to-do" list...haha) on how game interactions/deck builds/strategies change between single, double & 4P games. Especially as you can "spend your turn" playing something like AM, and grant the partner the same-turn-draw since that 1 card added to your otherwise empty hand has very low odds of being useful. MPer adds another element to calculations of when to play these types of big supports (inc 'Helicarrier'). Because a player who randomly draws 3 double resources in a single hand (it happens...) is often looking for a card draw from anywhere (partner please!), or maybe looking to play 'Pool Inspection at 7ER! Or 2 key upgrades and 0 dbls.

[@VillainTheory]

Multiplayer adds so much! And then different heroes, aspects, decks, villains and even mod sets change it all over again... We'll see what I have time for but I think I'll be talking about multiplayer specifically again soon!

[@CardboardCallin]

This is the kind of content I LOVE! Glad to see more of it!

[@VillainTheory]

Woo! Thanks!

[@Bumbum_Inspector]

As an aggression player, greed and overvaluing early game damage is my biggest weakness lol.

[@VillainTheory]

Consider yourself called out! 😜 Early damage kinda fun though...

[@TheMegaSage]

Commenting to make you and the KZbin algorithm happy. I really liked this video and would love to see more like it!

[@VillainTheory]

Can confirm, this has made me happy 🤣 Thanks!

[@JanosAttilaLiszka]

This is great! Exactly the kind of analytical content I love this channel for!

[@VillainTheory]

Woo! Glad to hear it! Given its reception I'm definitely going to make a follow-up!

[@neojaw2192]

That kill your darling is a heartbreak… I still remember sacrificing hellcat when I wanted to return her to my hand… sorry girl…😢

[@VillainTheory]

RIP Hellcat. At least she has 8 more lives.

[@jonathanpickles2946]

Cool list. I think 4 is the real issue with many defense cards, the hidden cost of holding on to a card to use in the villain phase. I'm keen to spend all of my cards even if it means I play slightly worse cards, or have to spend something sexy. I guess that last part is a different aspect of kill your darlings. Sometimes basic Peter Parker has to be a resource.

[@VillainTheory]

Agreed on all counts. Though spending Peter Parker always makes me sad. I actually have SP//dr out on the table paused mid-game - managed to play Peter on Turn 2 which makes me happy!

[@jeffthompson1530]

Consider me subscribed good sir!

[@VillainTheory]

Awesome, thank you! Welcome aboard!

[@seanlock544]

Great video! Very informative. I may not remember all the tips but I'll remember their headings 😂

[@VillainTheory]

Hahaha! The headings were meant to make the tips memorable...

[@spinningspray2607]

Really good video, mate. Thanks for the tips ❤

[@VillainTheory]

No problem 👍Glad you liked it!

[@Alien1Peter2-9-12]

Love this video. Practical and helpful.

[@VillainTheory]

Woo! That was the goal. Thanks!

[@baddaysbasil5376]

Thank VT, very helpful! Wondering: In my mind and very conservative play style, holding onto cards means that I'm drawing less and therefore making my way through my deck more slowly, which results in less deck recycling and therefore ultimately less Encounter cards. This may result in saving yourself from perhaps one or two encounter cards during an entire game. How do you feel this weighs against losing economy by holding onto cards? I'm no mathematician, but my guess is that it's far more worth it to keep cycling that deck and keep economy as high as possible. Just wondering if anyone else plays with keeping deck recycling to a minimum while also trying to use and maximize what you're given rather than cycling quickly? Hope I explained myself well!! :P

[@VillainTheory]

Great question. There are a lot of factors in play and it's a very interesting topic. As it stands, I think holding onto one or two cards for a few turns isn't likely to change much. Quite often you'll end a game halfway through a deck pass - 5 to 10 cards either way and you won't have received a different amount of encounter cards by the end of the game. And even if you do complete another deck pass, you can quite often ignore your final encounter card or two and just hit the villain to get the win! Something to consider is how many resources does an encounter card take to deal with? It varies a lot, but if you're always holding cards you're likely to have lost more value than prevented. Often I think you will have delayed the extra encounter card, still have to deal with it, and unfortunately had less resources to make progress/setup until that point. What size decks are you running? If you enjoy delaying the encounter card from an empty deck, rather than hold cards I'd suggest building 50-card decks! While I generally prefer 40, 50 card decks do have some advantages - particularly on certain heroes/deck builds. That way, you have 10 more cards than most decks before your deck empties while you can still spend your whole hand!

[@baddaysbasil5376]

@@VillainTheory Hey thanks for the extensive answer! You bring up a great point about delaying encounter cards but still having to deal with them. The benefit of delaying is probably not as valuable as efficiency in every turn, leading me to think I'd probably get better if I worried less about cycling and more about playing in the moment instead, as you suggest! My collection is new and small (Core, Genesis, and a few packs) and focused on Cyclops Leadership teaming with one other X-man hero in most of my games; I sometimes play him one-handed as well. I see going with a higher card count as being advantageous with him and not too disadvantageous (assuming lots of heroes in my typical "To Me, My X-Men" deck) though I've never gone the full 50 --I've tried as high as 45, I think.

[@davidhill1963]

Great tips, thanks!

[@marvinp90]

One thing I would disagree with is the common idea that supports like Avengers mansion not being worth while later in the game. Yes they are less valuable since you may not cover your investment BUT having that extra card or resource makes you next turns be more impactful since you have more options and can mean the difference between defeating the villain or not having enough resources to finish them off and having the next villain phase put you back on the defensive

[@Zaszz1]

It really just depends on how late in the game you are, and what your other options are the turn you played avengers mansion. On turn 15, its probably never worth playing it assuming you have anything else productive to do. On turn 10 its a maybe, depends how close the game is to over. On turn 5, I would probably play it, but I would check with my friend (I play 2 player), to see if its safe for me to take a turn off to play it. Maybe I'd even play it and give him the card draw from it. Turns 1-3 I always play it, almost never am I so behind that its not a good play.

[@VillainTheory]

That's fair - prioritizing when to play or not play something is a complex topic, I definitely didn't cover every variable - that would most likely take an entire video or three. But I do make sure not to use absolute language, saying it "might" still be good to play them later on, and that not playing them later will work out "most of the time". There are exceptions to everything. With Avengers Mansion as the example, I do think it's extraordinarily rare that playing it in the last 2 turns of the game is ever worth it. It will draw you 1-2 cards. For its cost of 4 resources + losing itself from your hand (5 effective resources), you probably could have done a LOT more damage to the villain that way or played almost two allies for incredible flexibility and defense, etc! If there are 3, 4 or 5 turns left, it becomes increasingly better to play it. (Obviously there's no absolute way to know how long the game might go on for, but in most scenarios it's pretty easy to know if you're looking at 2-3 more turns or 5+.)

[@marvinp90]

​@@VillainTheory It really all comes down to what your hand looks like when you play Avengers Mansion. Is it an otherwise amazing hand, Ok, or terrible. Plus it will increase the performance of other hands so you might not get much done that turn but it will improve other turns and if you are playing a resource heavy Hero like Iceman that can make all the difference where it can be the difference between 1 meh turn and 2 amazing turns or 3 meh turns. It's like when I played Iceman last I had so many turns where I could play one great card then have a few left over or play all my cards but not have them be very effective by not focusing on what I needed to at that time. The extra resources even for a short time can ensure you are able to effectively utilize your subsequent hands. Though I would say this is much more likely for expensive decks that the low cost decks

[@PerW79]

Great video 👍

[@VillainTheory]

Thanks!

[@saintmatthew956]

YES! This is the kind of content I'm here for. PS - in regards to tip 4, thanks for pandering to your American audience by choosing USD over GBP 😂

[@VillainTheory]

It's TERRIBLE. I even put "favorite" in my video titles and headings instead of the superior "favoUrite." You guys owe me... (It comes from years of gaming/working with people overseas. In the end I always find it easier to adapt to everyone else. And since 50%+ of my audience on KZbin are in the US, well... Here we go again...!)

[@saintmatthew956]

@@VillainTheory Just please don't expose us to mushy peas.

[@danthecrow1701]

😂 was this specifically aimed at me 😂…. Some great tips though and I’m definitely guilty of keeping that special ally in play too long when i should have just pushed them under the proverbial bus. I need to be more ruthless

[@VillainTheory]

Haha! Sorry you feel called out but hey, if it helps you sacrifice poor innocent allies? I consider my villainous work done here

[@tedduby2346]

It’s called chump blocking for a reason!

[@danthecrow1701]

Haha, you guys are cold…. I look at lockheeds little face and ask myself, can I really let Ronan squash his lil head with that massive hammer. Thankfully Kitty can phase through that attack…. Phew!

[@wkylegreen]

Great tips, thanks!!