Hello and welcome to The Essentials List. This list, started by ccm00007 back in 2017, serves to discuss cards which are worth looking at from a competitive or semi-competitive point of view. The idea behind this list is to give newer players a guide to get into the competitive game.

We make the list available in three different versions (which we update simultaneously):

When using this list, here are a couple of useful links:

Tag Descriptions: Each card has associated, searchable Tags to specify the role (or function) of the card. You can find instructions on using these tags and a complete description of these tags here.
The Essentials List Change Log: Any changes to the list are logged here.

Some disclaimers and housekeeping before we begin:

The following is just our opinion, and that should be taken with a grain of salt or two. If you disagree with something on this list (or not on this list), please contact us. Maybe you can sway our decision?
This list will always be in flux. A card which is useless today can be part of a game-breaking combo tomorrow. We will do our best to keep this updated regularly.
Not every single playable card is in here. This is a starting point for you to build from. There are lots of fun and janky combos which will not be included here (e.g. Captain Britain Iron Man is incredibly fun, but he requires such a specific build, and he’s so easy to counter, that he’s hardly worth looking at from a competitive standpoint)

With that said, we hope this is useful to you. Enjoy!