Card draw simulator
| Derived from |
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| None. Self-made deck here. |
| Inspiration for |
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| None yet |
TheAdipose · 58
Welcome to my first ever Marvel Champions Deck!
There was a time when Hercules completed his labours alone.
This was largely because Ancient Greece had not yet invented the Avengers, cost-reduction engines, or the concept of borrowing someone else’s stat line for personal glory.
This deck proposes a small but important revision to mythology:
Not from zero to hero.
But from Zero to Heroes.
Hercules must still complete each labour personally. The rules insist upon it. But nowhere—nowhere—does it say he must generate all that power himself. Enter Captain America, Ant-man and friends.
Welcome to the adventures of The Sandals, The Shield and the Shrinking Scientists
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The Premise: Borrowed Greatness
The strategy is elegantly shameless:
- Establish a board of efficient Avengers.
- Enhance them.
- Use Teamwork and "You Got This!" to convert their attack and thwart into Hercules’ own.
- Ready Hercules repeatedly.
- Complete labours in bursts of mythological excess.
Allies are not there merely to chip away at the problem.
They are reservoirs of potential and Hercules simply floods the Dam.
The Efficient Enablers
These allies are inexpensive and flexible — perfect for a hero who only draws four cards in hero form.
They come down cheaply and then contribute their stats via Teamwork.
Wonder Man deserves special mention. Normally, attacking with him requires discarding a physical resource. However, if his stats are being borrowed through Teamwork or "You Got This!", that additional cost politely evaporates. Hercules enjoys the full ionic benefit without paying extra.
Ronin: From Brooding to Brutal
Ronin begins with 2 ATK.
Attach Inspired, and he rises to 4 ATK due to his innate ability.
Now apply Teamwork. Hercules’ base 3 ATK can reach 7 ATK in a single action.
Seven.
Before ready effects. Before Golden Mace. Before global boosts.
Be careful though - as stat boosts don't work with "You Got This!" as the ally is discarded before the ATK stats are counted. Protect those Teamwork cards!
The Recycling Monarch
Black Panther retrieves a Leadership event from your discard pile when played, placing it beneath him.
This means you can recur:
In practical terms, your most explosive turns are no longer single-use. They are 'on-demand' traditions. Combo this with an 'on-demand ally underneath Avengers Compound, an extra card from Mr Cho and that 4-card handsize doesn't look too shabby.
The Expensive Patriot (Surprisingly Affordable)
Captain America costs six. This is a rarely played card due to its expense - but this is a deck where it can really work as a mid to late game play!
With Team-Building Exercise, Avengers ally synergy, and careful sequencing, that cost can drop to TWO. Paying two for Captain America feels faintly illegal and deeply satisfying. A late game Quinjet can also help to bring him in.
He also arrives with built-in toughness, invaluable if Hercules’ health starts looking negotiable. Cap can absorb a hit and grant Hercules time to assemble something spectacular. Even demigods appreciate sensible supervision.
Engines of Olympus
Your early goals are infrastructure OR Completing a labour - check the mulligans section.
Team-Building Exercise lets you play both avengers and olympus traited cards!
Clarity of Purpose converts Hercules’ high health into resources — a mythic trade that feels appropriately reckless.
Quinjet stores value for a dramatic entrance later.
Avengers Compound lets you bank expensive allies until your four-card hand cooperates.
Mighty Avengers gives all Avengers +1 THW and +1 ATK. When combined with Teamwork, those boosts migrate to Hercules as well. This is less power creep and more power migration.
The Labours
Each labour changes your priorities:
- Minion? Build attack immediately.
- Assault side scheme? Attack again.
- Defend Humanity? Slow down, control threat, protect Amadeus Cho.
Cho’s card draw acts like an Avengers Mansion. If he falls, a wide board of allies allows you to defend and accelerate completion anyway. The team adapts. Olympus adjusts.
Legendary Turns (As Witnessed by Mortals)
This deck produces turns that feel glorious because It relies on combos between its various components - but there are enough compatible parts that combinations are not that hard to pull off. Just be careful on villains that apply a lot of pressure early - Hercules' Labours add extra minions/schemes early on and this can snowball if you can't deal with it. But that is why our allies are here to help us!
The Golden Mace Crescendo
Golden Mace in play. Lead from the Front boosting the board. One or two Lion of Olympus cards Teamwork applied with Wonder Man** ready.
Result: Hercules striking for DOUBLE DIGITS — comfortably into the teens depending on board state — before ready effects even enter the discussion. It feels less like an attack and more like a structural event.
Herc's 3 + Wonderman's 3 + Lead from front adds one to each (+2) +1 for each Lion card + The Mace adds however many gifts you have already. Late game this can be (3+3+1+1+1+1+3=15!!). Early game it can still hit 9 or so. Combine with Limitless Stamina to insta complete a quest!
The Limitless Legend
Use Limitless Stamina multiple times:
- Swing for 3. Ready.
- Swing for 3. Ready.
- Swing for 3.
Nine damage from base attack alone — before borrowed stats.
Remember that completing a labour gives another ready and more card draw - so it is often possible to chain from one labour into another.
IF you've played Lead from the Front, Remember that bonus lasts all phase so if you can chain labours and readies you can keep the extra ATK! Ask an aggression teammate to play Combat Training on you to make the task easier.
The Avengers Assemble Moment
One ally on board — say Hawkeye.
Hawkeye attacks or thwarts Hercules attacks for 3. Play Avengers Assemble!:
- Hawkeye readies and gains +1 ATK.
- Hercules readies and gains +1 ATK.
- Use Teamwork with Hawkeye.
- Hercules attacks for 7 giving 10 total damage across two swings.
Mulligan Advice (Or: Choosing Your Myth)
Do not attempt to keep “one of everything.” This is not a balanced breakfast. It is a developing legend.
Instead, examine your opening hand and ask: What story am I telling?
If You Have a Resource Engine
(Team-Building Exercise, Clarity of Purpose, Quinjet) Lean into it. Mulligan for additional setup or an ally. Your explosive turn will likely come one turn later — and it will be glorious. Consider staying in alter-ego an extra turn.
If You Have Teamwork or "You Got This!"
You now require an ally. Mulligan aggressively for a cheap donor (Hawkeye, Stinger, Wonderman, Ant-man). A stat-transfer card without a donor is decorative parchment. Remember if you play "You Got This!" then you can use the ally before playing the card - giving you extra thwart for the main scheme.
If You Have Limitless Stamina
You are building toward a ready chain. Mulligan for another ready effect or a stat boost worth readying. One ready is polite; two or three becomes mythological.
What You Do Not Want
- An ally and a single ready card, with no stat transfer or engine.
- A stat-transfer card with no ally.
- A ready effect with nothing to power.
This deck rewards direction, not variety. Choose a path — engine, board, or burst — and lean into it. Hercules will follow through. Repeatedly. Enthusiastically.
Final Thoughts
This deck is not about Hercules discovering humility (or humanity)
It is about Hercules discovering teamwork.
The Sandals, The Shield and the Shrinking Scientists combine to make a greater legend than any of them could alone.
If you were feeling adventurous with deck edits, there are a few tempting avenues to explore. Thor could join the fray, bringing with him the shiny new Team Up card - an extra burst of camaraderie for the already heroic chaos. Kaluuis another option, offering a convenient way to fetch another event, though one might hesitate; Kaluu has a tendency to appear in every Leadership deck ever, and even demigods get bored of omnipresent companions. If the villain you are facing uses stuns and confuses - then consider Godlike Stamina
There’s also the eternal question of balance: "You Got This!", Lead from the Front Avengers Assemble! each have their role, but could the deck benefit from one more Lead from the Front to tip the scales just so? Conversely, some cards might not pull their weight. Mighty Avengers is undeniably powerful, but its costliness makes it tricky to play consistently. And Avengers Assemble!, while spectacular when it lands, is so expensive that cutting it isn’t heresy — though doing so would deprive Hercules of one of the most gloriously dramatic moments the game has to offer. Avengers Tower is another option for helping get the allies into play - but team-building exercise and clarity of purpose were more versitile and quinjet was cheaper!
Thank you for reading and hopefully playing my first deck. Thank you to BrianV, Dr00, JS and others who helped me with the Hercules rules!
grats on your first deck man! great write-up