Marvel Rivals Characters: Full Roster of All 54 Heroes, Roles and Abilities

Marvel Rivals has 54 playable characters as of October 2026, up from 33 at launch. This page lists every one of them with their official role, then breaks each hero down by playstyle, strengths, weaknesses and the abilities that define them. It covers how each hero plays rather than comic book lore. And when you want an edge on top of that, our Marvel Rivals cheats add aimbot, ESP and custom per-hero scripts.

Free Marvel Rivals tools: Plan smarter line-ups with our free Team Builder to score role balance and Team-Up synergy, or see who’s on top right now in the Marvel Rivals Tier List.

Not sure which of these to main? The free which Marvel Rivals hero should I play quiz scores the whole roster against six questions about how you like to fight, and the Marvel Rivals counters guide covers who each hero beats and loses to once you have picked. For the other end of the roster, see our breakdown of the worst Marvel Rivals characters right now.

All Marvel Rivals Characters List (54 Heroes)

Every hero in the current roster, in alphabetical order, with their role and a one-line summary of how they play.

How Many Heroes Are in Marvel Rivals?

There are 54 heroes in Marvel Rivals as of October 15, 2026:

• 14 Vanguards: Angela, Captain America, Devil Dinosaur, Doctor Strange, Emma Frost, Groot, Hulk, Magneto, Peni Parker, Rogue, The Hood, The Thing, Thor and Venom.
• 27 Duelists: Black Cat, Black Panther, Black Widow, Blade, Cyclops, Daredevil, Elsa Bloodstone, Gorr the God Butcher, Hawkeye, Hela, Human Torch, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Magik, Mister Fantastic, Moon Knight, Namor, Phoenix, Psylocke, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Squirrel Girl, Star-Lord, Storm, The Punisher, Winter Soldier and Wolverine.
• 12 Strategists: Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, Gambit, Invisible Woman, Jeff the Land Shark, Jubilee, Loki, Luna Snow, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Ultron and White Fox.
• Deadpool, who is one hero but can be queued as a Vanguard, Duelist or Strategist.

If you see 55 or 56 elsewhere, that site is counting Deadpool once for each role. A few heroes are often filed under the wrong role, so to be clear: Invisible Woman, Gambit and Ultron are Strategists, Mister Fantastic and Human Torch are Duelists, and Emma Frost, Angela and Rogue are Vanguards.

Newest Marvel Rivals Heroes in Release Order

The game launched with 33 heroes on December 6, 2024. Every hero added since then, in order:

Season 10.5 launched on October 9, 2026 without a hero, the first mid-season update to skip one, and NetEase has said the usual two heroes per season return with Season 11. Leaks point to Doctor Doom and Nightcrawler, but neither has been confirmed.

One more change worth knowing before you read the abilities below: Season 9 rebuilt Team-Ups. Every hero now carries two Team-Up loadouts that work on their own, and having the matching partner on your team upgrades the effect instead of switching it on. Our Team-Ups guide covers how the pairs work.

Vanguard Characters (14)

Vanguards are the tanks. They have the biggest health pools, carry shields or damage reduction, and decide where the fight happens.

Angela

Angela arrived in Season 4 as a dive Vanguard who spends most of the fight in the air. She plays more like a tanky flanker than a shield holder: fly over the frontline, drop onto a Strategist and give your Duelists a target to follow up on. She is hard to pin down while airborne, but her damage depends on being in spear range, so long poke fights and heavy crowd control wear her down.

Key Abilities: Spear of Ichors is her lunging spear thrust, which launches enemies upward at full charge. Divine Judgement dives her down into a zone where she and nearby allies gain bonus health as they attack, and Assassin’s Charge is her gap closer. Her Heaven’s Retribution ultimate hurls a ribbon-wrapped spear that binds nearby enemies on impact.

Captain America

Captain America is a fast, aggressive Vanguard who does his best work diving in with his team rather than standing still holding a line. Projectile deflection lets him walk through poke, and his sprint gets him onto backliners or back to his team quickly. He has less health than the big shield tanks, so he works best next to a second Vanguard who holds space while he disrupts.

Key Abilities: Living Legend raises his shield to block incoming fire and deflect projectiles back. His primary throws his shield every few punches for steady pressure, and Vibranium Energy Saw hurls it as a ricocheting projectile.

Devil Dinosaur

Devil Dinosaur joined in Season 8 as the 50th hero, and he plays like what he is: a giant red tyrannosaur with one of the biggest health pools in the game. His bites apply bleed, he has a beam breath and a leap for reaching targets, and he can put up a bubble shield. His size makes him the easiest target on the map, so he leans hard on his Strategists. Moon Girl appears in his story as a non-playable companion, not as a hero.

Key Abilities: Impact Beam is his ranged breath attack and Buddy Barrier is his shield. His bite attacks deal bleed damage over time. His ultimate turns him into an unstoppable charge that tramples every enemy in his path.

Doctor Strange

The portals created by Doctor Strange can crack games wide open, limited only by the imagination of the player. Ambushes, retreats and flanks for the whole team are all possible with one cast. His flight gives him unusual angles for a tank, and his shield is one of the best in the game for walking a team onto an objective. His attacks are slow and predictable, though, which leaves him exposed in one-on-one fights against mobile divers.

Key Abilities: Pentagram of Farallah opens his portals, and it can shape entire game plans. Shield of the Seraphim is his frontal barrier. His attacks build Dark Magic, which Maelstrom of Madness spends as an area burst, so build the stacks before you cast it.

Emma Frost

Emma Frost came in Season 2 as a brawling Vanguard. She switches into Diamond Form for damage reduction and Unstoppable status, punches and kicks her way through the frontline, and still has a telepathic beam for range. Her ultimate is one of the strongest fight openers among the tanks because it stuns enemies in front of her and stops them using their own ultimates. She has to be close to deal real damage, so kiting teams and flyers give her trouble.

Key Abilities: Telepathic Pulse is her primary beam. Diamond Form grants damage reduction and Unstoppable, and Psychic Spear takes hold of an enemy’s mind so damage dealt to it passes to their body. Her Psionic Seduction ultimate projects a psychic aura that stuns enemies and prevents them from using their ultimates.

Groot

In the worst case, Groot can be a detriment to his own team. He is slow, a big target, and badly placed walls can block his allies and stop them advancing. He also struggles on Convoy maps for the same reasons. In the right hands, he is one of the hardest Vanguards to play around. His walls cut off enemy retreats, he has an enormous health pool, his ultimate pulls enemies in and holds them, and he deals decent damage at range. With good communication, Groot can make whole sections of the map useless to the enemy.

Key Abilities: Practice with his Ironwood and Thornlash Walls is vital, since cutting off retreats and blocking sightlines is his whole job. Walls can even soak ultimates if placed well. Alternate his primary with his Furious Flora attacks for damage, and his ultimate can be placed on one of his walls to pin an enemy against it.

Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Bruce Banner on his own is weak, which makes sense considering his alter ego. His ranged attacks are not great and he cannot take much damage. Hulk, however, is a solid Vanguard who plays exactly how you would expect. He is at his best leaping into the enemy team and transforming into a bigger form, and his survivability in Monster Hulk form is huge. Do not spend time as Banner unless you have a specific plan.

Key Abilities: Transform as early as possible. Incredible Leap gets Hulk into the fight and his primary hits hard up close. Cycle to Monster Hulk with his ultimate to get the most from his damage reduction and the crowd-control protection of Radioactive Lockdown.

Magneto

Magneto offers strong damage mitigation, shielding himself and his allies with his Bulwark abilities and blocking enemy projectiles with his Metallic Curtain. His ultimate is both offensive and defensive when used properly. He is not as dangerous as other tanks in a straight fight, but he is a great anchor to build your team’s position around.

Key Abilities: His Bulwark abilities share a cooldown, so decide quickly whether you or an ally is the one taking fire. Blocking damage charges his Iron Rings, which power up his Mag Cannon. His ultimate absorbs enemy projectiles into a ball and throws it back, and remember the damage comes from the area around the impact, not the ball itself.

Peni Parker

Success with Peni Parker depends on baiting opponents into her mines. Her Spider-Nest makes ambushes by heroes such as Jeff risky at best, and she can lay mines quickly with her Arachno-Mine ability and her ultimate. She controls the battlefield well if given time to build these defences, but she does not have the punching power of other Vanguards when she has to push.

Key Abilities: Set your Spider-Nests behind cover where they are hard to clear. Lay Arachno-Mines and Cyber-Webs as often as you can, since the passive damage and the web healing both support her moving-fortress playstyle. Use her ultimate in areas of heavy foot traffic or on key defensive points, as the mines it drops can reroute the enemy entirely.

Rogue

Rogue arrived in Season 5.5 as a melee Vanguard built around stealing. When she defeats an enemy she absorbs part of their power and gains a passive bonus based on their role, and some of the copied moves are signature abilities from the hero she beat. Her ultimate drains Ultimate energy from the enemies around her, which makes her one of the few heroes who can directly slow down the other team’s ultimates. She has no long-range damage, so she needs to get into punching distance to matter.

Key Abilities: Her primary is a three-hit punch combo. She has a dash that releases a burst and pulls nearby enemies toward her, and a launching kick that takes her into flight. Her ultimate keeps draining Ultimate energy from nearby enemies while stealing stats tied to their roles.

The Hood

The Hood is the newest Vanguard, added in Season 9.5 on August 7, 2026 as the 53rd hero. He starts as a gunslinger with dual pistols, then shifts into a Half-Demon State where his arms become demonic rifles and every bullet that lands heals him through lifesteal. His cloak spreads into a sphere that blocks enemy fire, and it grows when his Demonic Energy is above half. Because his sustain comes from landing shots, he is weaker when he is kited out of range or has nothing to shoot.

Key Abilities: Accursed Pistols is his primary. Mantle of Oblivion spreads his cloak into a damage-blocking barrier. Half-Demon State swaps him to rifles with lifesteal on every hit, and his ultimate puts him in Full Demon State as a Gun Demon whose rounds pierce shields while giving nearby teammates bonus health.

The Thing

The Thing joined in Season 1.5 and is the Fantastic Four’s Vanguard. He is a pure brawler with a huge health pool, and his passive makes him immune to knockbacks, launches and other displacement, which shuts down heroes who rely on moving tanks out of position. His charge also leaves a zone that blocks mobility abilities, so divers trying to escape past him get stuck. He has almost no range, so poke teams and flyers can play around him.

Key Abilities: Unyielding Will is the passive that stops displacement. Yancy Street Charge rushes forward, launches enemies and leaves a zone that blocks mobility skills. Embattled Leap jumps to an ally and gives both of them damage reduction. Clobberin’ Time, his ultimate, launches every enemy in front of him into the air.

Thor

Thor is a dive tank with above-average mobility for a Vanguard. His attacks carry him into the fight and his runes help keep him alive while he is there. His ultimate is on the weaker side, with a wind-up and range that give opponents time to react or clear the area. Building Thorforce and using his mobility well are the keys to playing him.

Key Abilities: Awakening Rune deals damage around him while giving him a ranged option and faster movement, and Storm Surge is his dash attack for getting in and out. Thor thrives on the frontline because dealing damage builds Thorforce, which powers up the rest of his kit.

Venom

A hyper-mobile tank who thrives on picking off low-health Duelists and Strategists, Venom is best used as an ambusher and flanker. He works well with another diver or a strong frontline that scatters the enemy first. If he ends up isolated in enemy territory he is a big target, and he does not have the staying power of the shield tanks. Heal up when you can, pick your spot, and use his ultimate when teammates are close enough to finish what it starts.

Key Abilities: Symbiotic Resilience and Venom Swing are central to his playstyle. Swing into Frenzied Arrival to start ambushes, keeping in mind that Frenzied Arrival can only be cast in the air. Cellular Corrosion needs close range to slow enemies, and Feast of the Abyss, his ultimate, can be risky on his own. Use his kit to pick off isolated enemies rather than for crowd control.

Duelist Characters (27)

Duelists are the damage dealers. They are the largest role in Marvel Rivals and cover everything from snipers to melee assassins.

Black Cat

Black Cat joined in Season 7.5 in April 2026 as the 49th hero. She is a stealthy melee diver who steals a resource called Fortune from the enemies she hits and spends it on stronger claw strikes and on treasures from the Thieves Guild vault. Her ultimate hands enemies a calling card, then she strikes from stealth and dashes onto a target for heavy damage. Season 10 trimmed the invincibility frames on her kit, so mistimed dives are easier to punish than they were at launch.

Key Abilities: Fortune is the stolen resource that fuels her claws. Her gap closer gets her onto a target, through their defences and back out again, and her ultimate is a stealth assassination run that ends in a lethal dash.

Black Panther

Black Panther’s main focus should always be his mobility. His lunges, wall jumps and spinning kicks make him a very hard diver to stop, so protecting your own backline from intruders or getting into the enemy’s is the core of strong Black Panther play. Like many Duelists he is great in one-on-one fights, and he teaches newer players how much movement decides fights in this game.

Key Abilities: Spirit Rend, Spinning Kick and Subtle Step give him his movement. His passive, Panther’s Cunning, rewards an aggressive playstyle, and Bast’s Descent, his ultimate, can break a line if you do not want to dive head first into a chokepoint yourself.

Black Widow

Black Widow was reworked in Season 9 and plays very differently from her launch version. She is now a mobile rifle skirmisher rather than a sniper: her primary fires faster for less damage, cannot one-shot, and has no scope. The sniper rifle comes back only during her ultimate. All stamina limits on her sprint and super jump are gone, so she moves around the map far more freely than before.

Key Abilities: Her ultimate gives her the sniper rifle back with six armor-piercing rounds that pass through multiple enemies, though crits still cannot kill in one shot. Electro-Plasma Blast, her old ultimate, is now a standard ability that damages and slows. She also has a new aerial slam with her Widow’s Bite gauntlet that deals area damage where she lands.

Blade

Blade arrived in Season 3.5 as a Duelist who mixes sword combos with a shotgun for mid range. His dash slows targets with the sword out and cuts their healing with the shotgun, and his ultimate leaves a zone that reduces enemy healing, which makes him a direct answer to heal-heavy backlines. He has lifesteal, but it comes with a cut to the healing he receives, so he has to win his fights rather than wait for heals.

Key Abilities: Ancestral Sword is his melee weapon and Hunter’s Shotgun covers mid range. Daywalker Dash slows or applies healing reduction depending on the weapon, Scarlet Shroud is a parry that makes him Unstoppable and reduces incoming damage, and Bloodline Awakening speeds up his slashes and grants lifesteal. Thousand-Fold Slash, his ultimate, dashes forward and leaves a slash zone that reduces enemy healing.

Cyclops

Cyclops landed in Season 8.5 in June 2026. Everything he does comes out of his visor: a quick hitscan blast, a continuous beam that bounces between enemies and walls, and a ricochet shot that tracks nearby targets after hitting terrain. Good angles matter as much as raw aim, because bank shots let him reach enemies behind cover. His ultimate sweeps a beam that breaks every barrier it crosses, which makes him a strong pick into shield-heavy Vanguard lines.

Key Abilities: Optic Blast is his burst primary and Concussive Beam his continuous beam. Ricochet Force bounces a tracking beam off terrain, Propulsion Burst pushes him and his target apart, and Optic Ascent launches him upward. His Ruby Rage ultimate sweeps a barrier-breaking beam that leaves volatile energy behind to explode.

Daredevil

Daredevil joined in Season 4.5 as a melee Duelist who builds a resource called Fury with every hit. His Radar Sense passive picks up enemy movement around him, so flankers have a harder time surprising him, and he can cling to and spring off walls. His grappling line pulls him and a target together, which is how he starts most fights. His ultimate damages and blinds every enemy in his line of sight while he keeps building Fury.

Key Abilities: Justice Jab is his billy club primary. Devil’s Catch is the grapple that pulls him and his target together, Infernal Fury spends Fury on either a chain that turns damage into bonus health or a throw that slows, and Sonic Pursuit locks onto a target and dashes in to blind them. Let the Devil Out, his ultimate, damages and progressively blinds enemies in his line of sight.

Elsa Bloodstone

Elsa Bloodstone arrived in Season 6.5 in February 2026. She is a monster hunter who switches between a shotgun for close range and a heavy rifle for long shots, and her Instinct meter fills as she deals damage, lowering her cooldowns the longer she stays alive. Her ultimate summons a monster that knocks groups around before dragging enemies back to her for the finish. Fast divers who stay on top of her are her biggest problem.

Key Abilities: Her shotgun and heavy rifle cover both ranges, and her dash also switches her from one to the other. Instinct shortens her ability cooldowns as it builds. Her ultimate summons a monster that knocks back groups and pulls them toward her.

Gorr the God Butcher

Gorr the God Butcher is the newest hero in Marvel Rivals. He joined with Season 10 on September 11, 2026 as the 54th hero. He is a melee Duelist carrying All-Black, the shape-shifting Necrosword, which strikes in a rapid four-hit combo. Enemies he executes are turned into Black Berserkers that fight for him, so a won fight snowballs into the next one. Like most melee Duelists he needs a frontline to follow in behind, and he has a short-range teleport to get onto targets.

Key Abilities: All-Black the Necrosword is his primary combo. Kills create Black Berserker minions. His ultimate morphs All-Black into the Annihilablade and summons a Berserker next to every enemy in range, sending them into a frenzied state.

Hawkeye

Hawkeye is the benchmark for long-range damage in Marvel Rivals. His melee options are limited, but he can hold his own with his sword if he has to, and his options at range are excellent. He moves well for a sniper, so he can be tough to pin down when his Vanguards protect him. His long-range burst means he can quietly pick off careless players who forget he is there.

Key Abilities: His charged shot should be his bread and butter, and his explosive arrows deal solid area damage. For flying heroes, Hypersonic Arrow is the answer, especially when they hover above the frontline. His afterimage ultimate is a strong kill confirmer.

Hela

Hela is one of the highest damage Duelists in the game. Her primary rewards headshots, and she likes to sit high on the map where she can see the whole fight. She has a stun for divers and can transform into crows to get away, but once a diver lands on her without those cooldowns she is very vulnerable.

Key Abilities: Her primary is the source of most of her damage, so hold an angle and aim for heads. Soul Drainer stuns enemies around its impact, which is her answer to divers, and her crow transformation is her escape. Save her ultimate for when the enemy is grouped and cannot reach her.

Human Torch

Human Torch arrived in Season 1.5 alongside The Thing. He is a flying Duelist who drops flame fields and links them into walls of fire, which deal heavy damage to anyone who walks through and keep burning anyone trapped inside. That makes him good at splitting a team and punishing ground tanks. In the air he is exposed to hitscan heroes, so he has to keep moving.

Key Abilities: Plasma Body is his flight and boosted ascent. Pyro-Prison connects his flame fields into a fire wall, and Flaming Meteor dives down and stuns enemies on landing. His Supernova ultimate explodes with shockwaves, turns his flame field into a fire tornado and makes Plasma Body free to use while it lasts.

Iron Fist

Iron Fist is built for close-quarters combat, so tight corridors and sudden encounters favour him. He has several ways of closing gaps, from wall runs to multi-jumps, and his ultimate boosts his damage while he is in the thick of it. Playing aggressively next to a pushing teammate suits him, and he can meditate to heal between fights. He has no real ranged option, so you pick Iron Fist when you want a brawl.

Key Abilities: Activate the Living Chi ultimate when you are heading into combat, since the extra damage matters most up close. Dragon’s Defense blocks incoming damage, and you can retaliate with his Yat Jee Chung Kuen dash attack. Use Harmony Recovery in the pauses between fights. It can save your life.

Iron Man

A flying damage dealer with strong ranged attacks, Iron Man plays more like artillery than an assassin. His beams and missile barrages smother areas, which makes it harder for the enemy to advance or hold a point, and he can stay out of reach of most melee heroes. Hitscan heroes and other flyers are his main threat.

Key Abilities: Armor Overdrive powers up his attacks and is the core of his damage. Unibeam and Micro-Missile Barrage both cover large areas, and his Pulse Cannon ultimate drops a huge blast on a target zone. He can pick off single targets, but he is best at making whole areas dangerous to stand in.

Magik

Magik is very flexible in how she deals damage, despite being a melee fighter. She supports her Vanguards as a fast, teleporting, demon-summoning attacker, and her ultimate empowers her whole kit. With an aggressive frontline screening her, she can be the catalyst that breaks the enemy line and reaches their Strategists.

Key Abilities: Stepping Discs are her main way of getting around, and she gets an extra attack or summon when exiting one. Her Soulsword, Umbral Incursion and Magik Slash create space and deal damage. Limbo’s Might heals her as she deals damage, so start brawls on the frontline and dive the backline when you see an opening.

Mister Fantastic

Mister Fantastic is a Duelist, not a Vanguard, even though he is the closest thing to a tank in the Duelist role. Mister Fantastic has a lot of health for a damage dealer, strong damage reduction, and an ultimate that thrives against a team crowded together. He fits a frontline or mid-range brawler role and can act as an emergency tank when your Vanguards are down.

Key Abilities: Flexible Elongation and Reflexive Rubber charge his passive, which turns into extra shielding and damage. Reflexive Rubber absorbs incoming damage and throws it back at enemies. With his high health and damage reduction he makes an excellent frontline Duelist, especially if he lands his ultimate in a crowd.

Moon Knight

Few Duelists punish grouped-up enemies like Moon Knight. Between his area ultimate, darts that bounce between enemies, a truncheon that knocks enemies back, Moon Blades and a grappling hook for quick movement, he is very useful when your team is flanked or pinched. High mobility and high damage potential make him a strong control option.

Key Abilities: Crescent Darts, Ancient Ankh, Moon Blade and his Hand of Khonshu ultimate all work best against grouped enemies, since the Ankh makes his attacks bounce between them. He is excellent at breaking up the opposing team’s positioning. Moonlight Hook and Night Glider add mobility, but his attacks should be the centre of the game plan.

Namor

Namor is a summoner. His abilities and ultimate create monster turrets that attack enemies while he stays at a distance, and his own trident attacks deal ranged damage on top. Keep as many creatures on the field as possible and they form a strong layer of damage and control for your team.

Key Abilities: Aquatic Dominion floods the battlefield with creatures, and Wrath of the Seven Seas empowers them. Keep his trident attacks for confirming kills or skirmishing, and use Blessing of the Deep to escape when divers reach you. Horn of Proteus, his ultimate, is the big summon you build toward.

Phoenix

Phoenix (Jean Grey) joined in Season 3 as a ranged Duelist. Her hitscan Cosmic Flames apply Sparks, and an enemy who reaches three Sparks explodes, spreading a Spark to anyone nearby and healing Phoenix over time. That chain reaction makes her strongest against grouped teams. She can float for long stretches and has a dash to reposition away from divers, but she has low health and cannot afford to get caught.

Key Abilities: Cosmic Flames is her primary. Dark Ascent lets her float, and Telepathic Illusion is her escape dash. Her Endsong Inferno ultimate launches her into the sky and crashes down on an area, and the shockwave destroys enemy summons, shields and bonus health.

Psylocke

A high-damage, high-mobility infiltrator who can enter stealth and dash through enemy lines, Psylocke lacks the verticality of heroes like Black Panther, but her crossbow makes her dangerous at range and her ultimate shreds a crowded chokepoint. If you master her movement and spot the weak points in an enemy line, Psylocke has every tool needed to exploit it.

Key Abilities: Her crossbow and shurikens deal huge damage when every hit lands on the same target, so play just behind the frontline to confirm hits. Use Psi-Blade Dash and her stealth to find openings, and build toward catching as many opponents as possible with her ultimate.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch was reworked in Season 10 around a new mechanic called Chaos Marks. Dark Seal and her new Scarlet Hex shockwave mark enemies, and damaging a marked enemy turns part of that damage into bonus health for her, which helps the sustain problems she always had. Her primary can now lock onto several marked enemies at once. The trade-off is less mobility, as Mystic Projection no longer speeds her up as much.

Key Abilities: Scarlet Hex sends a frontal shockwave that damages and marks everything in its path. Dark Seal now stuns only on its first detonation, then slows and damages enemies standing in the field. Her Reality Erasure ultimate still needs a long wind-up, but since the rework it deals damage during the charge as well.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man, despite being perhaps the most famous Marvel hero, is a technical pick. He has low durability but one of the best movement kits in the game. He deals big damage through Spider-Tracers, but that needs setup, and while he struggles on a frontline he becomes a real nuisance once he reaches the enemy backline. His single-target hit-and-run style takes time to learn.

Key Abilities: His web-cluster primary is your go-to ability. Tag targets with Spider-Tracers, then burst them with enhanced melee and web abilities such as Get Over Here and Amazing Combo. Web-swinging, wall crawling and Spider-Sense give you mobility and information, so you have a way out after you commit, but pick your timing carefully because he is much weaker without tracers.

Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl is one of the simplest heroes to pick up and play. Her bouncing acorns deal steady area damage from mid to long range, and she stays mobile and hard to pin down. Managing Tail Bounce is crucial to her survival. Her guided ultimate floods an area with squirrels, which is great at breaking up a group on the ground.

Key Abilities: Mammal Bond is the main resource to manage. A double Tail Bounce gives her an ambush-and-escape combination, and Squirrel Blockade traps enemies who wander into it. Her ultimate is guided, so you do not need precise aim, and it works best fired into crowds.

Star-Lord

With one of the highest fire rates in the game, a slippery movement style and the ability to fly, Star-Lord is a strong flanker who reacts to the fights around him. His Element Guns fall off quickly at distance, so he wants to be close to his target but never stand still.

Key Abilities: Strafe with Stellar Shift and Rocket Propulsion, because his Element Guns lose damage fast at range. Galactic Barrage, his ultimate, makes his guns lock on automatically while he flies freely, which makes it a strong fight finisher.

Storm

Few Duelists support their team like Storm. Her Weather Control buffs the allies around her, which makes her a Duelist with a little Strategist in her. She flies, has solid area damage, and her ultimate can flip a fight in an instant. She is not the strongest raw damage dealer, but teammates feel the difference when she is on the field.

Key Abilities: Weather Control is the ongoing buff and her main reason to be picked. During her Omega Hurricane ultimate the buff is paused, so use the ultimate to finish a fight rather than start one. Wind Blade and Bolt Rush are her damage tools for whittling enemies down.

The Punisher

The Punisher is built to be useful in any fight, with an assault rifle and a shotgun covering different ranges. His passive tracks enemies, which pays off when you have voice chat with your team. He can drop a turret that makes him harder to stop, zipline around the map to chase or retreat, and throw smoke to cover his movement. Give him cover and he wears enemy health down very quickly.

Key Abilities: Use Warrior’s Gaze to call out targets and help a mobile teammate finish off retreating enemies. Smoke Grenade blocks enemy vision, which makes it easier to close the distance for shotgun damage. His turret is best placed among your mid-line teammates, where it is protected and still has sightlines.

Winter Soldier

The main weakness of the Winter Soldier is his limited movement. He makes up for it by controlling fights: splash damage from his arm cannon, a hook that pulls enemies in, and a launching punch that also gives him bonus health. If he finds isolated enemies he devastates them, and he can break open a frontline on his own.

Key Abilities: Roterstern is his primary arm cannon. His hook drags enemies to him, and Trooper’s Fist launches him forward while granting bonus health. Kraken Impact, his ultimate, is a slam that punishes enemies grouped on a point.

Wolverine

Wolverine may be the best Vanguard killer in the game, because his damage scales with the target’s maximum health. He is best played as a relentless fighter who deals damage constantly to build his rage, which both increases his damage and stores health he can draw on. He has short reach and limited ranged options, so he relies on getting into the fight quickly and staying there.

Key Abilities: Build rage as fast as you can. Feral Leap and Vicious Rampage both close gaps and break through lines. Undying Animal reduces incoming damage, and you can combine it with Feral Leap to jump in while protected.

Strategist Characters (12)

Strategists are the healers and support heroes. Most of them can also deal real damage, which is what separates a good Strategist from a passive one.

Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock has some of the best damage among Strategists, with projectiles that hit single targets or spread across groups. His Soul Bond links allies so they share damage and heal over time, and Avatar Life Stream gives him a second healing stream. Even after dying, he can enter a cocoon and respawn at a chosen spot, which makes him a great ambusher or late healer. He defends himself better than most Strategists but still relies on his team to set up his healing.

Key Abilities: Avatar Life Stream and Regenerative Cocoon have long cooldowns, so Soul Bond and his Karmic Revival ultimate are your main playmakers. Karmic Revival brings back recently fallen teammates. Quantum Magic is his main offence unless the enemy is grouped tightly enough for a Cosmic Cluster.

Cloak & Dagger

Two characters in one, Cloak & Dagger switch between protecting and punishing at will. Cloak hides teammates from enemy fire and debuffs enemies, while Dagger sends out bursts of healing to allies and has a strong self-sustaining kit. Being able to swap strategies mid-fight makes them one of the most flexible heroes in Marvel Rivals, and they fit almost any line-up if you know what you are doing.

Key Abilities: Dagger’s primary is versatile for healing and damage, and her Veil and Dagger Storm make her the main healer of the pair. Cloak is more situational but excellent when the moment comes. Dark Teleportation makes allies invisible and can save lives, and Terror Cape debuffs every enemy it passes through. They share an ultimate that damages enemies and heals allies along its path. Switch between them with Light’s Embrace and Shadow’s Embrace when the fight calls for it.

Gambit

Gambit joined in Season 5 as a Strategist, not a Duelist, even though he plays like one. Every card he throws explodes, damaging enemies and healing allies, and he spends stacks of a resource called Sleight of Hand to switch between a healing deck and a damage deck. That gives him four combinations to work with, from bouncing heals across the team to a damage boost for himself. His healing depends on hitting his throws, so he rewards good aim more than most healers.

Key Abilities: Kinetic Cards is his primary, Bayou Bash is a staff slam that damages enemies and heals allies, and Cajun Charge is his dash. Healing Hearts and Breaking Spades switch decks for healing or damage. His Ragin’ Royal Flush ultimate locks onto an ally and fires Aces that heal and purify, and both of them get extra speed, a jump boost and faster Ultimate charge.

Invisible Woman

Invisible Woman is a Strategist, not a Vanguard, though she has more shielding than any other healer. She turns invisible through her passive when she stays out of combat, which makes her very hard to dive. Her ultimate turns allies inside a large zone invisible, which is a strong way to win a fight on an objective. She is a strong healer, the most consistent stealth hero in the game, and a great disruptor if she times her ultimate well.

Key Abilities: Covert Advance makes her invisible while she repositions. Guardian Shield and her Invisible Boundary ultimate are her key protective tools. Psionic Vortex is a long-range force field attack that damages and disrupts enemies, which is excellent for control. Her primary both heals allies and damages enemies, so positioning matters for both.

Jeff the Land Shark

No ultimate strikes fear into Marvel Rivals players quite like Jeff the Land Shark’s. Players have used it to grief their own team, but swallowing enemies and spitting them out somewhere else is game-changing when used correctly. His healing is potent but struggles when teammates spread out where he cannot reach them. He works best in a line-up where he is not the only healer.

Key Abilities: His ultimate swallows every enemy in its path and lets you carry them out of position. His healing is targeted, so stay close to the teammates you are keeping alive. His damage, such as Aqua Burst, is generally low, so he works best as a back-to-front playmaker the moment his ultimate is charged.

Jubilee

Jubilee joined in Season 9 in July 2026, the same season that overhauled Team-Ups and reworked Black Widow. She is a firework-throwing Strategist whose shots heal allies and damage enemies at the same time, and parts of her kit blind enemies. She rewards players who keep shooting, since her damage and healing come from the same attacks. Her ultimate is a large firework show over the fight.

Key Abilities: Energy Plasmoids is her primary. Blooming Ball launches a tracking orb that damages enemies and heals allies inside its radius. Her ultimate sets off a large-scale firework display.

Loki

The priority when playing Loki is keeping his illusions alive, since they copy his healing and damage. While they are up, the enemy has to deal with them or get overwhelmed. Without them, his healing and damage drop a lot. His ultimate turns him into another hero, ally or enemy, which can cover a weakness in your team for a short window. That makes Loki a high skill ceiling, high reward pick.

Key Abilities: Doppelganger is his core mechanic, and Devious Exchange swaps him with an illusion to confuse enemies and draw fire. Deception makes him invisible when he is under pressure, and his ultimate lets him play another hero for a short time. Backstab is situational, mostly for chasing down enemies you have already flanked.

Luna Snow

Luna Snow’s ultimate is one of the most powerful healing abilities in Marvel Rivals, and it wins plenty of fights on its own. Every ability she has balances dealing damage with healing allies, which makes her a welcome pick in almost any team. She can be caught by high-damage divers if isolated, but positioned well she becomes the spine of a winning team.

Key Abilities: Share the Stage links her healing to one important target. Ice Arts empowers her primary when she needs to be more aggressive, and she speeds up on her skates as long as she keeps moving. Her ultimate is her best ability, with the biggest healing and protection she has for the moment that decides a fight. Do not waste it.

Mantis

Mantis is frail, which is normal for a Strategist. Despite that, she can disrupt the enemy backline by putting enemies to sleep. Her healing is over time rather than in bursts, which suits fast-moving heroes who take chip damage. She heals herself well with Life Orbs, and her damage is better than it looks.

Key Abilities: Spore Slumber puts a single target to sleep and is best used on separated opponents. Life Orbs feed Allied Inspiration and Healing Flower, which boost allied damage and heal over time. Her ultimate is strong area healing that even grants overhealing before a fight.

Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon heals well at long range, brings teammates back into the fight with his B.R.B., and has excellent mobility for a Strategist. His ultimate is the weakest part of his kit, so pick him for his healing range and how quickly he can reach far-away allies.

Key Abilities: His primary deals decent mid-range damage, but his Repair Mode secondary is what he is there for. B.R.B. is his revival tool, so place it somewhere safe before the fight starts. His ultimate is short range and static, so place it on control points in the thick of a fight but away from area damage, since it can be destroyed.

Ultron

Ultron arrived in Season 2.5 as a Strategist built around drones. He hovers rather than flying freely, using a dash into flight to reposition, and he assigns a healing drone to follow one ally while a second drone hands out bonus health. His hitscan Encephalo-Ray gives him real damage, so he plays as a damage-heavy healer who keeps his drones working while he shoots.

Key Abilities: Encephalo-Ray is his burst-fire primary. Dynamic Flight dashes him into flight, Imperative: Patch sends a drone to heal a chosen ally, and Imperative: Firewall gives bonus health to allies around him and his Patch target. Rage of Ultron, his ultimate, summons a squad of drones that fire Encephalo-Rays to damage enemies or heal allies.

White Fox

White Fox joined in Season 7 in March 2026 as the 48th hero. She is a mobile Strategist who heals with fox marbles, spends Spirit Tails on a spectral fox that heals and protects allies it passes through while charming enemies, and can teleport straight to a teammate, even through walls. Her ultimate turns her into a giant nine-tailed fox that keeps healing everyone around her, so save it for full team fights rather than spending it alone.

Key Abilities: Her fox marble primary damages enemies, heals allies and refills her Spirit Tails. Her spectral fox heals and protects allies while charming enemies, and her teleport jumps to an ally and heals the area around them. Her Kumiho Unleashed ultimate transforms her into the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Deadpool: The Hero Who Plays All Three Roles

Deadpool joined in Season 6 in January 2026 as the first multi-role hero in Marvel Rivals. You choose him as a Vanguard, Duelist or Strategist, only one Deadpool is allowed per team in Quick Match and Competitive, and the role you pick changes what his kit does. His base kit stays the same in every role: dual pistols and katanas, a double jump and passive healing. As he earns XP in a match he levels his abilities through an in-game comic book menu, and he earns style points to charge his ultimate.

• As a Vanguard: he gets shield tools that let him soak pressure on the objective, including a spherical shield that can trap enemies.
• As a Duelist: guns and swords handle ranged and close damage, and he can throw a katana like a spinning boomerang.
• As a Strategist: shooting allies heals them, and his melee hits release healing bursts around him.

Key Abilities: Because his abilities level up over the course of a match, Deadpool rewards staying alive and staying in the fight. Pick the role your team is missing, then lean into the version of his kit that role gives you.

Picking From the Roster

With 54 heroes, the fastest way to choose is to start from your team’s gaps. Most ranked teams run two Vanguards, two Duelists and two Strategists, so fill the missing role first, then pick the hero in that role whose playstyle matches yours. The Team Builder scores a line-up for role balance, the hero randomizer is there when you want to learn someone new, and the counters guide tells you when to swap.