Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes has finally brought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together for Commander, and the Avengers Assemble precon is exactly what I wanted from an Avengers deck. It is packed with recognizable characters, plenty of Hero synergies, and a +1/+1 counter strategy that encourages you to build a massive team before charging into combat.
Avengers Assemble is a Red, White, and Blue Commander deck led by Captain America, Team Leader. Whenever another Hero enters under your control, Captain America gives that Hero vigilance and haste until the end of the turn before placing a +1/+1 counter on both that Hero and himself.
For this upgrade guide, I am working with a budget of around $25. The goal is not to completely rebuild the deck or fill it with expensive staples, but to cut some of the cards that feel unfocused and replace them with affordable Heroes, better protection, and stronger +1/+1 counter synergies.
The deck already has a pretty solid foundation, but some of its cards pull it toward Equipment, tapping, and other themes that do not fully support what Captain America wants to accomplish. For this upgrade guide, I am cutting ten of those cards and replacing them with stronger Heroes, better protection, and more ways to take advantage of all those +1/+1 counters.
Avengers Assemble Deck Overview
At its core, Avengers Assemble is a Hero typal deck built around +1/+1 counters and aggressive combat. Captain America wants you to play a steady stream of Heroes, immediately make them stronger, and send them into battle before your opponents have time to prepare.
This is not necessarily a traditional go-wide token deck. You are building a board of individually powerful Heroes that gradually become even more dangerous as your counters pile up. Captain America also grows alongside each new member of the team, allowing him to become a serious threat without requiring the deck to lean completely into a Voltron strategy.
The deck does include a light Equipment package, but that is not the direction I want to push it. There are plenty of great Equipment-focused commanders already, including several versions of Captain America and Iron Man. I would rather make this deck feel like the Avengers are actually assembling by filling it with better Heroes and cards that support the entire team.
With that in mind, here are the ten cards I would cut from the Avengers Assemble precon.
How to Upgrade Avengers Assemble
The Avengers Assemble precon is already pretty strong right out of the box, and Captain America can become a serious threat very quickly. Because of that, this upgrade is not about completely changing the deck’s strategy. Instead, we are going to lean a little harder into its Hero synergies, add more +1/+1 counter support, and replace some of the excess generic board wipes with cards that better protect our own battlefield.
10 Cards to Cut From Avengers Assemble
Austere Command - Austere Command is a Commander classic because of how flexible it can be, but this deck already has access to several board wipes. I also do not want to spend the game building an entire team of enhanced Heroes just to destroy them myself.
We are replacing Austere Command with removal that is much more likely to leave our own board intact.
Captain America, Living Legend - Captain America, Living Legend is not necessarily a bad card, but his tapping strategy feels random in this deck. There are not enough cards here that care about tapping creatures to make him feel like an important part of the game plan.
He would be much more interesting in a deck built specifically around tapping and untapping permanents. In Avengers Assemble, I would rather have a Hero that directly supports our counters or aggressive combat strategy.
Dismantling Wave - Dismantling Wave is another form of mass removal that this deck does not desperately need. Its normal effect is fine, but getting the full board wipe requires cycling it for a very expensive cost.
There are better removal options available that either protect our creatures or take advantage of the +1/+1 counters we are already placing on them.
Heroic Return - Heroic Return has the potential to create an exciting comeback, but its timing can be difficult to manage. You need the right Hero in your graveyard and the right opportunity to bring it back before attacking.
The card can be good when everything lines up perfectly, but this deck would benefit more from something consistently useful throughout the game.
Hulkbuster Armor - Hulkbuster Armor is a powerful piece of Equipment, especially when it is attached to the right creature. The problem is that Avengers Assemble is not really an Equipment deck.
There are not enough Equipment synergies here to justify dedicating a slot to another expensive piece of armor. Hulkbuster Armor deserves a home where suiting up a single creature is the primary game plan.
Jocasta, Automaton Avenger - Jocasta, Automaton Avenger is simply one of the more underwhelming Heroes in the deck. She is not completely useless, but she does not provide enough value compared to the other characters we could be playing.
When you only have 99 cards to work with, being a “mid” Hero is enough to get somebody removed from the roster.
Metallic Mimic - Metallic Mimic works with the deck by entering as a Hero and placing additional counters on future Heroes. Mechanically, it does what the deck wants.
However, this is an Avengers deck. I would rather use this slot on an actual Hero with a stronger ability than a Shapeshifter pretending to be one.
Patriot, Shield Wielder - Patriot, Shield Wielder provides some protection, but the effect is too limited to justify his spot in the deck. There are much stronger Heroes that can protect your board without requiring as much setup.
We are replacing him with another shield-wielding super soldier who does the job significantly better.
Speed, Young Avenger - Speed, Young Avenger feels strangely disconnected from the rest of the deck. His abilities do not contribute enough to the counter strategy, and he does not provide the kind of immediate value I want from a Hero.
He may technically be a Young Avenger, but this particular roster is getting cut.
Tome of Legends - Tome of Legends can provide repeatable card draw, especially in a deck that plans to attack with its commander. However, Commander has no shortage of better card-draw options.
Avengers Assemble wants to keep playing Heroes and applying pressure. I would rather use this slot on a card that generates value while also contributing to the deck’s primary strategy.
10 Cards to Add to Avengers Assemble
Now that we have cleared out some of the weaker cards and unnecessary subthemes, it is time to bring in some reinforcements. These additions focus on improving the deck’s Hero count, producing more +1/+1 counters, protecting the board, and giving the Avengers better ways to break through opposing defenses.
Agent Phil Coulson - Because, duh. You cannot build an Avengers deck and leave Phil Coulson sitting on the sidelines. Thankfully, he is not just a flavorful inclusion. Being able to put a +1/+1 counter on each other Hero you control is incredibly strong, especially once you have assembled a large board.
Araña, Heart of the Spider - Araña gives the deck two things it desperately wants: card advantage and more counters. She helps keep cards flowing while contributing to the +1/+1 counter strategy, making her much more useful than a generic draw spell.
Captain America, Super Soldier - Captain America is the perfect replacement for Patriot, Shield Wielder. Patriot offers some situational protection, but Cap is much better at keeping your important permanents safe by giving them hexproof.
Monica Rambeau // Photon, Living Light - I want this card in practically every Boros, Mardu, four-color, and WUBRG deck I build. Monica Rambeau is phenomenal. The flexibility of choosing which side to cast gives her value at multiple points in the game, and Photon provides the deck with another powerful evasive threat.
Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior - Spider-Woman slows your opponents down so you can hit them faster and harder. Causing your opponents’ creatures and artifacts to enter tapped makes it much harder for them to set up blockers or recover after falling behind.
Damning Verdict - Damning Verdict is exactly the type of board wipe this deck wants. Instead of destroying everything, it only destroys creatures without counters on them. Since Captain America naturally places +1/+1 counters on your Heroes, this can easily become a one-sided board wipe.
Wave Goodbye - Wave Goodbye fills a similar role to Damning Verdict, giving the deck another way to clear away opposing creatures while leaving most of your counter-covered Heroes behind.
Ripples of Potential - Eventually, somebody is going to try to wipe the board. Ripples of Potential protects your creatures by phasing them out while also giving you a proliferate trigger. Your Avengers survive the removal and return even stronger.
Avengers Assemble! - This card should have been in the deck for flavor alone, but it is also a great finisher. Giving your entire board of Heroes a massive boost can turn a normal combat step into the end of the game. You also get to yell “Avengers Assemble!” before attacking, which may be the most important part.
Impostor Syndrome - Do you already have enough Heroes? Think again. Whenever one of your nontoken creatures deals combat damage to a player, Impostor Syndrome creates a nonlegendary token copy of it. Connect with several Heroes and you can suddenly create copies of a huge portion of your board.
Find the full upgraded decklist here: Avengers Assemble Upgraded Precon
Honorable Mention: The Ozolith
The Ozolith is an expensive card, but it is absolutely worth considering for this deck.
Avengers Assemble invests a lot of resources into placing +1/+1 counters on its creatures. Losing a heavily enhanced Hero can mean losing several turns’ worth of progress. The Ozolith preserves those counters whenever one of your creatures leaves the battlefield and allows you to move them onto another creature during combat.
It is especially dangerous when combined with Captain America. Your commander can naturally grow throughout the game, and The Ozolith gives you a way to preserve that power even when your opponents finally remove him.
The only reason I am keeping The Ozolith as an honorable mention is its price. It is one of the strongest possible upgrades, but it may cost more than some players want to spend on a single card.
Gameplay tips for Avengers Assemble after the upgrades
After the upgrades, Avengers Assemble is still a fairly simple deck to pilot. You should be playing Heroes every chance you get, using Captain America and your other counter effects to make them stronger and stronger. This deck is not trying to win through complicated combos or tricky interactions. You are building a powerful board, turning your Heroes sideways, and overwhelming your opponents through combat.
Because the deck is not especially recursion-heavy, you want to keep your Heroes alive whenever possible. That is why the upgraded board wipes are not traditional “destroy all creatures” effects. Cards like Damning Verdict and Wave Goodbye are designed to clear away opposing creatures while protecting the Heroes that already have +1/+1 counters on them.
You should also avoid overextending when you do not have protection available. Ripples of Potential can save your entire board from a wipe, but without it, losing several Heroes at once can be difficult to recover from. Build your team, keep your protection ready, and look for the right moment to send everyone into battle.
Most importantly, make your Hero deck feel like the Avengers are actually here. Assemble a full roster, strengthen the entire team, protect each other, and finish the game with one massive attack.
Final Thoughts
Avengers Assemble is already one of the most flavorful Commander decks from Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes. It brings together an impressive roster of characters and gives them a strategy that genuinely feels like the Avengers growing stronger with every new Hero who joins the fight.
The precon just needs a little more focus.
Removing the unnecessary Equipment pieces, awkward tapping cards, and generic board wipes allows the deck to concentrate on its best qualities. The upgraded version plays stronger Heroes, produces more +1/+1 counters, protects its battlefield, and uses selective removal to clear the way for massive attacks.
Most importantly, it feels even more like an Avengers deck. Phil Coulson strengthens the entire team, Spider-Woman disrupts your opponents, Monica Rambeau provides a powerful aerial threat, and Avengers Assemble! gives the deck the appropriately dramatic finisher it deserves.
Now all that is left to do is shuffle up, build your team, and assemble.
Looking for more upcoming Magic: The Gathering sets, Commander decks, board games, and tabletop releases? Check out our 2026 TCG and Tabletop Release Calendar to see what is coming next and plan which releases belong on your wishlist, and don’t miss our Marvel Super Heroes Limited Guide and Best Commander Guides.
