The best games where you can construct your deck of cards before the game starts 2025

In the immortal words of Stan Lee, "With great power, there must also come great responsibility." Enter the thrilling world of Marvel Champions: The Card Game, where Iron Man and Black Panther unite to thwart Rhino's rampage through New York, and Captain Marvel teams up with Spider-Man to face the looming threat of Ultron and global annihilation. Do you possess the mettle to stand alongside these legendary heroes and emerge as a true champion?

Players engage in a fast-paced and dynamic experience that is easy to learn yet strategically deep. The game features iconic heroes, villains, ships, and locations from across the legendary Star Wars franchise, including films, TV series, comics, and video games.

Summoner Wars (Second Edition) revitalizes the classic tactical dueling card game with new art, streamlined rules, and an expandable game system. Players take on the roles of summoners, commanding unique factions in a strategic battle to dominate the war-torn planet of Itharia. This edition not only updates fan-favorite factions but also introduces new ones to the fray, ensuring fresh and engaging gameplay for newcomers and veterans alike.

Challengers! offers a fresh and dynamic deck-management experience, where 1-8 players engage in a tournament-style battle that lasts around 45 minutes, regardless of the number of players. This game stands out by allowing players to encounter a new opponent in each round, pushing the excitement and strategic planning to new heights with every match.

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a standalone adventure game that serves as a prequel to the highly acclaimed Gloomhaven. It's designed to be more accessible to a broader audience, with streamlined rules and an integrated tutorial.

Gloomhaven is a Euro-inspired tactical combat game set in a persistent and evolving world. Players assume the roles of adventurers, each with unique skills and motives, as they explore dungeons, ruins, and engage in cooperative battles against automated monsters.

Summoner Wars: Master Set is a tactical card game that combines elements of strategy and fantasy. Players take on the roles of powerful Summoners, each harnessing the power of mysterious stones to lead their factions to victory in the war-torn world of Itharia.

Find your cabin assignment, squeeze out your swimsuit, and enjoy days filled with canoeing, friendship bracelets, and S'mores in this competitive card game. Players vie for merit badges and experience points, each using their own deck of cards that can be enhanced throughout the game.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Lovecraftian horror card game that blends role-playing and card game elements. Set in the eerie town of Arkham, players face mysterious, monstrous, and maddening challenges.

Stellar Conflict is a fast-paced space combat game featuring real-time elements set in the Among the Stars universe. Players assume the role of an alien race engaging in a space battle, each commanding their own fleet and selecting ships based on the size of the conflict. The game includes a setup phase and a combat phase, where players utilize their ships' unique abilities to destroy enemy vessels and achieve objectives, ensuring high replayability.

Android: Netrunner is an asymmetrical Living Card Game for two players, set in a cyberpunk future. It involves strategic card play, where one player controls a megacorporation and the other plays as a lone runner.

Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire stands as a distinctive tactical arena combat game set within the rich universe of Warhammer Age of Sigmar. Designed for both quick play and depth of strategy, this game caters to a wide audience, from newcomers to seasoned players looking for a competitive experience. The game emphasizes balanced, small-scale tactical battles that can be completed in less than 45 minutes, making it ideal for both casual sessions and competitive tournament play.

In 12th century Japan, players assume the role of skilled warriors drawn into the conflicts of ruling families after a period of peace. In Kodachi, players steal treasures by confronting guards with either strength or stealth, using cards with higher or lower numbers, respectively. Successfully acquired treasures can be used to spread rumors, bribe messengers, and enhance abilities, leading to a final showdown for clan dominance.

Set in colonial America in 1587, players assume the roles of a witch and a witch hunter in this expandable card game. The witch aims to complete a powerful ritual, while the hunter tries to uncover her identity and stop her. With unique sets of 50 cards each, players employ different tactics and strategies to outperform their opponent, all set against the dark illustrations that bring the fictional tale of the lost Roanoke colony to life.

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is a cooperative adventure game that immerses players in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The game challenges players to complete scenarios using heroes, allies, and a deck of event and attachment cards.

Smash Up is a unique and engaging "shufflebuilding" game where players combine two distinct factions, each with a 20-card deck, into a single 40-card deck. The game is known for its quirky and diverse factions, each with its own unique mechanics and gameplay style.

The once proud city of Blue Moon has fallen into chaos. With the Golden Dragon defeated, the Holy Crystal of Psi shattered, and the old king dead, the city lies without a ruler. Three elemental dragons now guard the crystal fragments, while royal heirs Prince Roland and Princess Elinor compete for the crown.

Wiz-War (Eighth Edition), a reimagining of Tom Jolly's 1983 classic, is a chaotic and humorous board game for 2-4 players, where wizards duel in an underground labyrinth. This edition, enhanced by Kevin Wilson and Tom Jolly, focuses on faster gameplay and clearer card effects, staying true to the original's spirit.

The boundaries between worlds have become alarmingly thin. Dark forces are at work in the shadows, unleashing unspeakable horrors throughout Arkham, Massachusetts. This revised edition features an improved organization system and includes everything needed to start Arkham campaigns, accommodating up to four players with additional cards and components for deck building.

Smash Up: Forgotten Heroes can be played as a two-player game or combined with other Smash Up titles, allowing up to four players to compete for control of the bases. It includes four factions – Astroknights, Changerbots, Star Roamers, and Ignobles – each with 22 cards. Players mix two factions together, regardless of whether they are from this set or another Smash Up title, and then start the game.

To truly appreciate a story, one must sometimes return to its beginning. The revised core set offers an ideal opportunity for new players to dive into this classic living card game. It includes campaign mode cards, new blessing and burden mechanics, and full support for up to four players right in the core box.

Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is a highly influential collectible card game (CCG) that has shaped the genre since its inception. Players take on the roles of planeswalkers, powerful wizards engaging in strategic duels.

Frosthaven tells the story of a small outpost in the harsh north, struggling against severe weather and attacks from various powers. A group of exhausted mercenaries must protect the settlement, facing not only the brutal elements but also formidable threats like the Algox and mysterious machines. This standalone adventure features new characters, races, and enemies, alongside expanded gameplay that includes puzzles and village building, encouraging players to craft items instead of simply purchasing them.

Never be fooled by a sweet face; behind that cuddly smile lurks a beating! If you survive the onslaught of teddy bears, you'll encounter rockstars, grandmas, and explorers – seriously, what were we thinking? This expansion brings back the wild randomness of the early days of the game, allowing you to pit zombie rockstars against explorer dinosaurs or time-traveling grandmas against teddy bear vampires. Your wildest dreams can finally come true!

Set 175 years in the future, humanity has reached the stars and citizens connect to Maya, an interplanetary network, indulging in the thrill of entertainment. Among the many forms of excitement, Aristeia! stands out as the most popular extreme sport, where players take on the role of managers for their competition teams in a visually spectacular showdown.

Romans Go Home! is a fast-paced and humorous card game where players represent Caledonian clans competing to conquer the greatest and most valuable Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall. The game is played over three rounds, with each player programming their warrior cards in advance to win fort cards that have unique effects. Strategic foresight is key, as players must anticipate their opponents' decisions to succeed.

Blue Moon is a unique card game for two players, designed by Reiner Knizia, which stands out in the realm of strategy card games for its distinctive mechanics and setting. It differs significantly from games like Magic: The Gathering, primarily in that it is not a collectible card game (CCG) but rather a precursor to what is now known as a Living Card Game (LCG), with no random cards in its expansions.

Players aim to keep their score as low as possible in Allegra, which is based on the public card game "Golf." Each player starts with twelve face-down cards arranged in a grid, and gameplay involves drawing cards and strategically swapping them to form groups of three identical cards, which are then discarded. At the end of three rounds, the player with the lowest total score wins.

Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn is an expandable card game set in a world where players assume the roles of Phoenixborns – demi-gods and saviors of human civilizations. These powerful beings once liberated humanity from monstrous creatures like chimeras, but now face a new challenge. A prophecy has sparked the War of Ashes, pitting Phoenixborns against each other in a struggle for ultimate power and godhood. Players engage in this conflict, determining the fate of these mighty heroes.