Walk into the Marvel Champions section of a Canadian game store right now and you will see four visually similar box types sitting side by side: a Core Set, a Campaign Expansion, a Scenario Pack, and several Hero Packs.
They all carry Marvel Champions branding and a similar box style, which makes it easy to grab the wrong one for what you actually want.
Shadowland and the newer Hero Packs releasing this cycle are a useful real-world example, since they land on shelves around the same time but are genuinely different purchases.
Here is what each box type actually contains, using this cycle's own releases as concrete examples instead of generic descriptions.
The Core Set includes five playable heroes, enough cards to build four decks at once, three scenarios, and the rulebook and tokens every later release assumes you already own.
There is only ever one Core Set to buy; every other box type listed below exists to expand on it, not replace it.
A Hero Pack adds exactly one new playable hero with a 60-card pack built around a pre-built 40-card deck, including 15 cards unique to that hero. A few sheets of 9-pocket binder pages are enough to give each new hero's signature cards their own labeled spot.
A Hero Pack does not add any new scenarios or villains to fight, so buying one expects you to keep using the scenarios you already own from a Core Set or other expansion.
A Scenario Pack like Shadowland flips that structure: it adds one to three new standalone scenarios with a new villain and encounter deck, but no new playable hero at all.
Shadowland's three scenarios can be played separately or run back to back as a short campaign against Krahllak and the Hand, using whichever heroes you already own from previous boxes.
A Campaign Expansion is the largest of the four, pairing two new playable heroes with a series of linked scenarios that form a full story arc. Fear No Evil fits this pattern, adding Daredevil and Echo alongside a six-scenario campaign against Bullseye, Electro, Purple Man, and Kingpin.
Because a Campaign Expansion bundles both new heroes and new scenarios in one box, it costs noticeably more than a Hero Pack or Scenario Pack bought on its own, roughly 48 to 49 CAD at current Canadian retail versus 17 to 27 CAD for the smaller box types.
Check the back of the box or the online listing for two things: does it list a new hero's name, and does it list new scenario or villain names. A Hero Pack answers yes to the first and no to the second; a Scenario Pack is the reverse.
If a listing answers yes to both, you are almost certainly looking at a Campaign Expansion rather than either smaller box type.
Because Marvel Champions is cooperative rather than competitive, buying the wrong box type does not just waste money; it can leave your group without either a hero you wanted to play or a scenario you wanted to run that session.
Knowing the difference before you order means your next purchase actually adds what your table is missing, whether that is a new character, a new fight, or both at once.
At current Canadian retail, a Hero Pack generally runs 17 to 20 CAD, a Scenario Pack like Shadowland runs closer to 27 CAD, and a Campaign Expansion like Fear No Evil runs roughly 48 to 49 CAD, with the Core Set itself the single biggest purchase at around 95 CAD.
Keeping that rough scale in mind while browsing a store shelf is a fast way to sanity-check whether a listing's price actually matches the box type it claims to be.
No, a Hero Pack only adds a new hero and that hero's deck.
No, it is a Scenario Pack: new villain and scenarios only.
The Campaign Expansion, since it bundles new heroes with a full linked-scenario story.
No, every box type beyond the Core Set still requires it to play.
Double-check a listing's contents against the categories above before you pre-order, especially during a busy cycle like this one where several box types release close together. Once your order arrives, an EVORETRO Magnetic Deck Box keeps each new Hero Pack's signature cards separate from the rest of your collection.
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