Captain America, Team Leader costs {R}{W}{U}. Whenever another Hero enters under your control it gains vigilance and haste until end of turn, and you put a +1/+1 counter on that Hero and one on Captain America. Every Hero you cast makes the team bigger.
The precon already has the best Hero payoffs, including Director Nick Fury, Iron Man and War Machine. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Captain America decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in these decks than in decks that could play it.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the Avengers Assemble precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
The cheapest Hero lords are missing
Agent Phil Coulson, Captain America, Wings of Freedom and Avengers Assemble! are the top-scoring cards the precon leaves out, and each one rewards a board full of Heroes. Coulson and Wings of Freedom cost two and three mana.
A few cards that do not use Heroes
Hero's Blade and Tome of Legends are generic, and Love on the Battlefield only works if you attack with exactly two creatures, while the deck wants to attack with many. Bastion Protector is a Human Soldier, so it does not trigger Captain America when it enters.
Not enough ways to cash in counters
Captain America puts counters on every Hero, and modified creatures draw cards with SP//dr and Biorganic Carapace. Neither is in the precon.
The 10 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Speed is a {1}{R} 2/2 haste Hero whose ability only matters when you cast noncreature spells and pay {1}. It is played in about one Captain America deck in six.
Agent Phil Coulson is a 2/2 vigilance Hero for {1}{W}. {T}: put a +1/+1 counter on each other Hero you control. Every turn the team grows, and every counter makes a creature modified for SP//dr and Biorganic Carapace. It is the highest-scoring card the precon is missing.
Love on the Battlefield only triggers when you attack with exactly two creatures, and the deck wants to swing with its whole team.
Captain America, Wings of Freedom is a 3/1 Hero for {2}{W} with flying, first strike and ward {1}. Whenever he attacks, each other Hero you control gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is his toughness. A three-mana Hero that pumps the team every attack.
Patriot is a 2/2 Hero whose ability costs {2} and a tap to give another creature +2/+0 and hexproof. It is a slow ability on a small body.
Captain America, Super-Soldier is a 3/2 first striker for {1}{W}{W} that enters with a shield counter. While he has the counter, you and your other Heroes have hexproof. A Hero that protects the whole team.
Tome of Legends gets counters when your commander enters or attacks, and costs {1} and a tap each time to draw. It is slow, and it is not a Hero.
Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior is a 2/2 flying Hero for {1}{W/U}. Artifacts and creatures your opponents control enter tapped, which slows their blockers and haste threats. A cheap Hero that triggers Captain America and makes your attacks safer.
Hero's Blade gives +3/+2 to one creature and equip costs {4}. It is a lot of mana for one body in a deck that wants to buff the whole team.
Avengers Assemble! costs {4}{W} with flash: Heroes you control get +2/+2, and at each end step, if you attacked with a Hero or a Hero entered this turn, you draw a card. A team-wide anthem that draws cards every turn.
Captain Mar-Vell is a 4/4 flying, vigilant Hero for {4}{W}, and it can cast spells at instant speed after an opponent casts one. It is a solid body, but it is played in about one Captain America deck in four.
SP//dr, Piloted by Peni is a 4/4 vigilant artifact Hero for {3}{W}{U}. When it enters it puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature, and whenever a modified creature you control deals combat damage to a player you draw a card. It is a Hero that turns Captain America's counters into cards.
Hawkeye, Avenging Archer is a 3/4 Hero with reach that pings for 1. It is a fine blocker, and played in about one Captain America deck in four.
Daredevil, Man Without Fear is a 3/4 vigilant, hasty Hero for {2}{R}{W}. Whenever you attack you may exile the top card of your library, and if it is a Hero Daredevil gets +2/+1, and you may play that card this turn. It is card advantage on a Hero, and played in nearly half of Captain America decks.
Vision is a 3/3 flying artifact Hero for {4} that grows or phases out when an opponent casts a spell on their own turn. It is a slow, passive card.
Hawkeye, Trick Shot is a 3/4 Hero with reach and first strike for {3}{R}. Whenever Hawkeye or another Hero enters, it deals damage equal to the number of Heroes you control to any target. Every Hero you cast is a burn spell.
Make Your Move destroys an artifact, enchantment or creature with power 4 or greater, and the deck already has several removal spells and sweepers.
Champions from Beyond costs {X}{W}{W} and creates X 1/1 colorless Hero tokens. Each token triggers Captain America, and when you attack with four or more creatures you scry 2 and draw a card, and with eight or more they get +4/+4.
Bastion Protector gives your commander creatures +2/+2 and indestructible, which is real protection for Captain America. But it is a Human Soldier, so it is not a Hero and does not trigger him.
Biorganic Carapace costs {2}{W}{U}, attaches itself when it enters and gives +2/+2. Whenever the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player you draw a card for each modified creature you control. With counters on every Hero, that is a lot of cards.
The full swap list
Cut
- Speed, Young Avenger
- Love on the Battlefield
- Patriot, Shield Wielder
- Tome of Legends
- Hero's Blade
- Captain Mar-Vell, Space-Born
- Hawkeye, Avenging Archer
- Vision, Synthezoid Avenger
- Make Your Move
- Bastion Protector
Add
- Agent Phil Coulson
- Captain America, Wings of Freedom
- Captain America, Super-Soldier
- Spider-Woman, Stunning Savior
- Avengers Assemble!
- SP//dr, Piloted by Peni
- Daredevil, Man Without Fear
- Hawkeye, Trick Shot
- Champions from Beyond
- Biorganic Carapace
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Director Nick Fury$0.32
Played in 95% of Captain America decks. Hero spells cost {1} less, and whenever you attack you look at the top four cards for a Hero to put in your hand. - Iron Man, Armored Avenger$0.97
Puts a +1/+1 counter on a creature whenever you draw a card, and gives other attacking modified creatures flying. - War Machine, Avenging Arsenal$0.38
A flier that gives your attacking modified creatures double strike. - Black Widow, Agile Avenger$3.58
Grows and draws you a card whenever an opponent draws their second card each turn. - Raise the Palisade$4.26
Printed as Raise Repulsor Shields in this deck. Choose Hero and every creature that is not a Hero returns to its owner's hand.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- King T'Challa$6.80
A flash Hero that draws a card whenever a player draws their second card each turn, and transforms later. Strong, but it costs more than a budget upgrade should. - Hyperion, Supreme Hero$6.04
A seven-mana flash flier that prevents all but 1 damage dealt to you or your Heroes. - Thor, God of Thunder$6.75
A five-mana flier that lets you cast an instant, equipment or sorcery from your graveyard.
Avengers Assemble already plays the Hero core and the cost reducer. The upgrade is cheap Hero lords and anthems, more cards that turn each entering Hero into damage or cards, and fewer generic pieces. These ten swaps cost about $14 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Captain America, Team Leader from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the Avengers Assemble precon?
Using data from 6,019 Captain America decks, the highest-scoring additions are Agent Phil Coulson (for Speed, Young Avenger), Captain America, Wings of Freedom (for Love on the Battlefield) and Captain America, Super-Soldier (for Patriot, Shield Wielder). The full list has 10 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade Avengers Assemble?
All 10 swaps cost about $14.48 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers King T'Challa ($6.80), Hyperion, Supreme Hero ($6.04) and Thor, God of Thunder ($6.75).
What should I cut from Avengers Assemble?
The weakest cards for this commander are Speed, Young Avenger, Love on the Battlefield and Patriot, Shield Wielder. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in Avengers Assemble?
Keep Director Nick Fury, Iron Man, Armored Avenger, War Machine, Avenging Arsenal, Black Widow, Agile Avenger and Raise the Palisade. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Captain America do?
Captain America, Team Leader costs {R}{W}{U}. Whenever another Hero enters under your control it gains vigilance and haste until end of turn, and you put a +1/+1 counter on that Hero and one on Captain America. Every Hero you cast makes the team bigger.
More Marvel Super Heroes Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Captain America, Team Leader decks (6,019 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Captain America decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is high for nearly every Marvel card here because they are new and rarely played outside Hero decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. The data also has fewer decks to learn from for a new precon, so scores are softer than for older decks. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.