Marvel Rivals Season 6.5 shook up the meta hard. The Elsa Bloodstone update rebalanced half the roster, Star-Lord went from a meme pick to an S-tier carry, and the poke meta now dominates ranked play. With 47 heroes across three roles — Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist — plus Deadpool as the game’s first Multi-Role hero, picking the right character matters more than ever.
This tier list ranks every hero in Marvel Rivals based on their performance in competitive ranked play as of February 2026. We’re evaluating based on win rate data, pick rates in Diamond+ lobbies, tournament representation, and how well each hero fits the current meta. If you’re trying to climb ranked, these are the characters you should be playing — and the ones you should avoid.
Last updated: February 23, 2026 — Season 6.5 (Elsa Bloodstone Patch)
How This Tier List Works
We use five tiers:
- S Tier — Meta-defining. These heroes are the strongest picks in the game right now. You’ll see them in almost every high-rank match.
- A Tier — Strong and reliable. Excellent in most situations with minor weaknesses. Viable at every rank.
- B Tier — Solid but situational. They work well on certain maps or in specific team compositions but aren’t consistent first picks.
- C Tier — Below average. These heroes have noticeable weaknesses that stronger picks exploit. You can make them work, but you’re fighting uphill.
- D Tier — Weak in the current meta. These heroes need buffs or a meta shift to be competitive. Picking them in ranked puts your team at a disadvantage.
Roles in Marvel Rivals work similarly to other hero shooters: Vanguards are tanks that create space and absorb damage, Duelists are damage dealers that secure kills, and Strategists are supports that heal and enable their team. Deadpool is the exception — he’s the first Multi-Role hero who can switch between Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist forms at spawn.
S Tier — The Best Heroes in Season 6.5
Vanguards
Magneto
Magneto has been the best Vanguard since Season 5, and the Season 6.5 patch didn’t change that. His magnetic barrier provides the strongest damage mitigation in the game, his crowd control is oppressive, and his ultimate can single-handedly win team fights. In the current poke meta, Magneto’s ability to block long-range damage while still threatening enemies with metal projectiles makes him the undisputed king of Vanguards.
Pick Magneto when: Always. He’s the safest Vanguard pick in the game right now. The only reason not to pick him is if someone else already did.
Hulk
Hulk is the dive Vanguard. While Magneto excels at holding space, Hulk excels at taking it. His leap engage is one of the most disruptive abilities in the game — landing on a backline Strategist and smashing them before their team can react wins fights before they start. Season 6.5 buffed his rage mechanic, making him harder to kill during extended brawls. His main weakness is ranged poke (he struggles to close distance against coordinated teams), but on close-quarters maps like certain control points, he’s arguably better than Magneto.
Pick Hulk when: Your team wants to play dive. Maps with close sightlines. When the enemy has squishy backline Strategists you can jump on.
Groot
Groot is the defensive anchor. His wall ability creates physical barriers that reshape fight spaces, his healing aura sustains nearby allies, and his root CC locks down aggressive divers. In the 3-healer meta that’s emerged in Season 6.5, Groot pairs beautifully with Strategists because he creates safe zones where they can heal freely. His damage output is low, but that’s not his job — he’s the best enabler-tank in the game.
Pick Groot when: Your team runs triple Strategist. Defensive maps. When the enemy team plays dive and you need peel for your supports.
Duelists
Hela
Hela is the queen of the poke meta. Her long-range projectiles deal devastating damage from safety, her area denial is oppressive during team fights, and her ultimate charges faster than almost any other Duelist. In a meta that rewards dealing damage from distance without committing to close-range brawls, Hela is the perfect fit. She’s been S-tier for three consecutive seasons and shows no signs of dropping.
Pick Hela when: Almost always. She’s the most versatile Duelist in the game. Only skip her if the enemy runs hard dive with multiple gap-closers.
Star-Lord
The biggest winner of the Season 6.5 patch. Star-Lord received significant buffs to his elemental gun damage and his jet boot mobility. Before this patch, he was a B-tier pick that felt like a worse version of other Duelists. Now he’s a legitimate carry. His sustained DPS rivals Hela’s burst damage, and his aerial mobility makes him incredibly hard to pin down. The buffed fire mode melts Vanguards, and the ice mode provides clutch slows that set up team kills.
Star-Lord’s skill ceiling is high — you need to constantly switch elements and manage his flight fuel — but players who master him are dominating Diamond and Grandmaster lobbies.
Pick Star-Lord when: You want a mobile DPS that can contest high ground. Against slow, ground-based compositions. When you’re confident in your mechanical skills.
Magik
Magik is the dive Duelist. Her teleport-based kit lets her appear behind enemy lines, deal massive burst damage, and escape before the enemy team can react. She’s the perfect complement to Hulk in dive compositions — Hulk disrupts the frontline while Magik assassinates the backline. Season 6.5 didn’t change her much, but the meta shift toward poke comps actually made her better because poke-oriented teams are vulnerable to sudden dives.
Pick Magik when: Running dive comp. When the enemy has immobile Strategists (Rocket Raccoon, Gambit). When you need a flanker to break stalemates.
Strategists
Gambit
Gambit is the best main healer in Season 6.5. His card-based healing is consistent and has excellent range, his damage output is surprisingly high for a Strategist, and his ultimate provides a massive area heal that can swing fights. The 3-healer meta exists partly because of Gambit — he heals enough to justify running him alongside two other Strategists without sacrificing damage. His kinetic energy passive charges faster in the poke meta because there’s always chip damage to heal.
Pick Gambit when: Every game. He’s the most consistent healer. Pair him with any composition.
Jeff the Land Shark
Jeff is the game’s most unique Strategist and arguably the most impactful support in the right hands. His ability to eat allies (temporarily removing them from the fight to heal them) counters burst damage compositions completely. His mobility is deceptively good — he’s small, hard to hit, and can burrow to reposition. In the current meta, Jeff’s eat ability directly counters Magik’s assassination attempts and Hulk’s dive engages, making him the premier anti-dive support.
Pick Jeff when: The enemy runs dive. When your team needs burst healing. When you want to tilt the enemy team (eating a low-HP ally right as Hulk lands on them is incredibly satisfying and effective).
Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman provides something no other Strategist can: stealth for her entire team. Her bubble grants temporary invisibility to allies inside it, enabling flanks, rotations, and repositions that would otherwise be impossible. Her shields are strong, her utility is unmatched, and she enables creative strategies that other supports simply can’t. In organized play and tournaments, she’s picked in nearly every match. In ranked, she’s slightly harder to use because her kit requires team coordination.
Pick Invisible Woman when: Playing with a coordinated team. When you want to enable flanks or rotations. On maps with long sightlines where crossing open ground is dangerous.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket is the turret-based Strategist who provides consistent area healing and zone control. His healing turret automatically heals nearby allies while he deals damage, effectively letting him do two things at once. In the 3-healer meta, Rocket is the “set and forget” healer — he plants his turret, focuses on damage, and his team stays healthy. His trap abilities also provide early warning and zone denial that’s valuable on defense.
Pick Rocket when: Your team needs passive healing that doesn’t require constant attention. Defensive maps. When you want a Strategist who can also contribute meaningful damage.
A Tier — Strong and Reliable Picks
Vanguards
Emma Frost
Emma Frost swaps between her telepathic form (ranged CC and utility) and her diamond form (tanky brawler). She’s versatile and powerful, but her form-swapping creates moments of vulnerability that S-tier Vanguards don’t have. She was S-tier before Season 6.5, but the poke meta slightly favors Magneto’s consistent barrier over Emma’s form-switching. Still an excellent pick, especially when you need a tank that can also provide crowd control from range.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange functions as a hybrid Vanguard-Strategist. His portals provide unparalleled team mobility, and his shields are strong. The reason he’s A-tier instead of S-tier is that he requires extreme coordination to use effectively. His portals are game-changing in organized play but often go unused in ranked solo queue. If you play with a team, Doctor Strange jumps to S-tier.
Thor
Thor is the bruiser Vanguard. He deals more damage than any other tank, and Mjolnir hits hard from range. His weakness is that he doesn’t protect his team as well as Magneto, Hulk, or Groot — he’s more of a “kill them before they kill us” tank. In the poke meta, his hammer throw is valuable, but his lack of a defensive barrier means his team takes more damage overall.
Duelists
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch’s chaos magic deals massive area damage, and her kit is relatively easy to use compared to other S-tier Duelists. She’s the most popular character in the game by pick rate across all ranks. The reason she’s A-tier and not S-tier is that her effectiveness drops at the highest ranks where players can dodge her projectiles more consistently. In Platinum and below, she’s arguably S-tier. In Diamond+, she’s a strong but predictable pick.
Iron Man
Iron Man is the aerial Duelist. His flight gives him unique angles that ground-based heroes can’t contest, and his repulsor beams deal consistent damage. Season 6.5 didn’t change him much, which means he’s still the reliable A-tier pick he’s been for multiple seasons. His weakness is that he’s vulnerable while flying (big hitbox in the air), and skilled hitscan players can shoot him down.
Black Panther
Black Panther is the stealthy dive Duelist. His approach from stealth into burst damage combo can eliminate squishy targets instantly. He’s slightly below Magik because his escape options are more limited — Magik can teleport out after a kill, but Black Panther often has to commit. When he gets a kill, he’s the most efficient assassin in the game. When he doesn’t, he’s stuck in enemy territory.
Elsa Bloodstone (NEW)
The newest hero in Season 6.5. Elsa is a monster-hunting Duelist with a kit built around monster traps, a supernatural rifle, and tracking abilities. She’s strong against stealth-based heroes (directly countering Black Panther and Invisible Woman) and has excellent zone control with her traps. She’s A-tier on launch, which is impressive — most new heroes start at B or C tier while players learn them. Her skill ceiling appears very high, and she may rise to S-tier as players master her kit.
Wolverine
Wolverine is the brawler Duelist. He’s hard to kill thanks to his regeneration, and his close-range damage is devastating. The poke meta hurts him because he has to close distance through sustained damage to reach his targets. On maps with tight corridors and close engagements, he’s S-tier. On open maps with long sightlines, he drops to B-tier. Average across all maps: A-tier.
Strategists
Luna Snow
Luna Snow provides consistent healing and decent damage. She’s the “safe” healer pick — nothing flashy, nothing bad, just reliable. Her ice-based abilities provide minor CC (slows) that help her team kite aggressive divers. She’s the second-best main healer after Gambit, and the two pair well together in triple-Strategist compositions.
Mantis
Mantis has the strongest single-target healing in the game. Her heal-over-time is massive, and her sleep ability is one of the best crowd control abilities available. She’s A-tier because her healing is single-target focused, which means she struggles when multiple teammates take damage simultaneously. In the 3-healer meta, her single-target focus works because other healers cover the area healing.
Loki
Loki is the trickster Strategist. His clone ability creates chaos in team fights, his teleport makes him hard to kill, and his healing is respectable. He’s the hardest Strategist to master — his clone management separates good Lokis from great ones. In the right hands, he’s S-tier. For most players, he’s a solid A-tier.
B Tier — Solid but Situational
Vanguards
Captain America
Captain America is the straightforward shield Vanguard. His kit is easy to understand and execute, making him an excellent pick for players new to the Vanguard role. His shield provides good protection, and his combo potential is decent. He’s B-tier because his kit lacks the game-changing abilities that S and A-tier Vanguards bring. He doesn’t create space as well as Magneto, doesn’t dive as well as Hulk, and doesn’t enable teammates as well as Groot. He’s fine — just not exceptional.
Venom
Venom is the aggressive Vanguard. His symbiote abilities let him grab and displace enemies, and his sustain through lifesteal keeps him alive in brawls. He’s strong in uncoordinated fights but struggles against teams that focus fire him. In ranked below Diamond, he’s a menace. In high-level play, he’s too predictable.
Peni Parker
Peni Parker in her mech suit is the most unique Vanguard. Her turret placement and zone control are excellent on specific maps, but she’s immobile and vulnerable to dive. She’s a niche pick that excels in specific situations but is too inflexible for general use.
Duelists
Spider-Man
Spider-Man has incredible mobility and a high skill ceiling, but his damage is unreliable compared to other Duelists. He excels at contesting objectives and stalling but struggles to secure kills against competent opponents. Fun to play, hard to master, and inconsistent in results.
Psylocke
Psylocke is the psychic assassin. Her kit overlaps with Magik’s (teleport in, burst, teleport out), but Magik does it better in the current meta. Psylocke’s psychic abilities provide more utility (vision denial, mind control), but her damage is lower. She’s a good pick when Magik is taken.
Storm
Storm’s weather abilities provide area damage and zone control. She’s excellent at pressuring areas and forcing enemies to move, but her damage-per-target is lower than other Duelists. She works well in compositions that already have a primary carry and need supplementary area pressure.
Namor
Namor is the water-based Duelist who excels on maps with water features but feels underwhelming on dry maps. His aquatic abilities gain bonuses near water, making him a strong niche pick on specific maps. Everywhere else, he’s below average.
Moon Knight
Moon Knight switches between ranged and melee forms, providing versatility but mastering neither. He’s the jack-of-all-trades Duelist — acceptable at range, acceptable in melee, but not the best at either. Players who invest time in mastering his form-switching can push him toward A-tier.
Hawkeye
Hawkeye is the long-range sniper Duelist. In the poke meta, you’d think he’d thrive, but his lack of mobility makes him vulnerable to divers. When left alone, he outputs devastating damage from safety. When pressured, he has almost no tools to escape. He’s map-dependent and team-dependent.
Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier is the hitscan DPS. Consistent damage, decent range, serviceable abilities. He’s the “vanilla” Duelist — nothing wrong with him, nothing exceptional. He’s a safe pick that never feels like the wrong choice but rarely feels like the right one either.
Strategists
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock provides resurrection — his ultimate can bring back dead teammates, which is a unique and powerful ability. The problem is that the rest of his kit is mediocre. His base healing is below average, and his damage is low. You’re essentially playing a weaker healer for 90% of the match in exchange for one incredible ultimate. In organized play where ultimate economy matters more, he’s higher. In ranked, he’s B-tier.
Cloak & Dagger
This duo switches between light (healing) and dark (damage) modes. Versatile in theory, but the mode-switching creates gaps in both healing and damage that make them feel inconsistent. When played well, they’re A-tier. For most players, the execution challenge drops them to B-tier.
C Tier — Below Average
Vanguards
The Thing
The Thing is a simple brawler tank with minimal utility. He can take a hit and deal decent melee damage, but he brings nothing unique to the team. Every other Vanguard does something The Thing does, but better. He’s not terrible — he’s just outclassed.
Duelists
Iron Fist
Iron Fist is a melee-only Duelist in a poke meta. That alone drops him to C-tier. His burst damage when he reaches a target is excellent, but getting there against coordinated teams with ranged DPS and CC is a nightmare. He needs a meta shift toward close-range brawling to be competitive.
Squirrel Girl
Squirrel Girl’s kit relies on her squirrel summons for damage and utility, but the summons are fragile and easily dispatched. Her damage when summons are active is good, but there’s too much downtime between summon cycles. She’s fun in casual modes but struggles in ranked.
Human Torch
Human Torch deals fire damage over time, which sounds good but means his kills come slowly. In a game where burst damage secures kills, DoT damage often just feeds enemy Strategist ultimate charge by letting them heal through the damage. His flight gives him angles, but Iron Man does the aerial Duelist role better.
Strategists
Deadpool (Strategist Form)
Deadpool’s Multi-Role gimmick means none of his forms are as strong as dedicated heroes in those roles. His Strategist form provides mediocre healing with decent damage, but any actual Strategist heals more. He’s fun and unique but inefficient. His Duelist form is C-tier for similar reasons — acceptable damage but no burst. His Vanguard form is the best of the three but still worse than any A-tier tank. Deadpool belongs in C-tier across all roles as a novelty pick rather than a competitive one.
D Tier — Needs Buffs
Duelists
Blade
Blade hasn’t received meaningful buffs in three seasons. His melee kit was already struggling when Iron Fist and Wolverine existed as better melee options. His lifesteal passive doesn’t compensate for his low damage output in the current meta. He needs a rework, not just number tweaks.
Strategists
Star-Lord (Pre-Buff Reference)
Note: Star-Lord used to be listed here before Season 6.5. His buffs moved him to S-tier. This is a reminder that tier lists change with patches — heroes in D-tier today could be S-tier tomorrow.
Best Team Compositions for Season 6.5
The Poke Comp (Most Consistent)
- Magneto (Vanguard) — Barrier blocks return fire while your team pokes
- Hela (Duelist) — Primary damage dealer from range
- Star-Lord (Duelist) — Secondary damage with aerial pressure
- Gambit (Strategist) — Main healer
- Rocket Raccoon (Strategist) — Passive healing turret
- Luna Snow (Strategist) — Additional healing and slows
This is the default ranked composition in Diamond+. It’s safe, consistent, and hard to punish. The triple-Strategist setup ensures your team never runs out of healing, while Hela and Star-Lord provide enough damage to win poke wars.
The Dive Comp (High Risk, High Reward)
- Hulk (Vanguard) — Leap onto backline
- Magik (Duelist) — Teleport assassinate Strategists
- Wolverine (Duelist) — Brawl through frontline
- Gambit (Strategist) — Heal the dive
- Jeff (Strategist) — Eat divers to save them
- Invisible Woman (Strategist) — Stealth the entire dive team
This comp is devastating when coordinated. Invisible Woman stealths the team, Hulk and Magik simultaneously dive the backline, and Jeff keeps them alive through burst damage. It requires voice communication and timing — don’t run this in solo queue unless you’re confident.
The Brawl Comp (Close Quarters)
- Groot (Vanguard) — Wall off enemy escape routes
- Wolverine (Duelist) — Regeneration brawler
- Scarlet Witch (Duelist) — Area damage in tight spaces
- Gambit (Strategist) — Main healer
- Mantis (Strategist) — Single-target burst heal on Wolverine
- Jeff (Strategist) — Emergency eat to save focused allies
Best on control point maps with tight spaces. Groot walls force close engagements where Wolverine and Scarlet Witch thrive.
How to Use This Tier List to Climb Ranked
In Bronze to Gold: Pick S-tier heroes and focus on mechanics. At lower ranks, individual skill matters more than team composition. Scarlet Witch, Hela, and Gambit are the easiest S/A-tier heroes to learn.
In Platinum to Diamond: Start paying attention to team composition. If your team has no Vanguard, play one. If you have no Strategist, switch. Counter-picking starts to matter — if the enemy runs dive, Jeff and Groot counter it.
In Diamond to Grandmaster: Composition and counter-picking are critical. Learn at least two heroes in each role so you can flex. Pay attention to the enemy team’s composition during the hero select phase and adjust. Communication wins games at this level.
General climbing advice:
- Master 2-3 heroes rather than playing 10 at a mediocre level
- Always have at least one Strategist you’re comfortable on — Strategist queue times are shorter, and teams always need one
- Learn which maps favor which compositions (poke on open maps, brawl on tight maps, dive on maps with highground)
- If you’re hard-stuck, switch to an S-tier hero for 20 games. If your rank improves, hero selection was the bottleneck.
FAQ
Who is the best character in Marvel Rivals right now?
Magneto for Vanguards, Hela for Duelists, and Gambit for Strategists. If you’re asking for the single most impactful hero regardless of role, it’s Hela — she deals the most damage from the safest position in the current poke meta.
Is Elsa Bloodstone good?
Yes. She launched at A-tier, which is strong for a new hero. Her anti-stealth kit directly counters Black Panther and Invisible Woman, and her trap-based zone control is unique. She’ll likely move to S-tier once players master her kit, but she needs a few weeks of optimization.
Is Deadpool worth playing?
For fun, absolutely — his Multi-Role gimmick is unique and entertaining. For climbing ranked, no. All three of his forms are weaker than dedicated heroes in those roles. He’s a C-tier novelty pick. Play him in casual modes.
What role should I main to climb?
Strategist has the shortest queue times and the highest impact on team survival. Gambit and Jeff are the two best Strategists for climbing because they directly keep teammates alive, which means fewer lost fights due to teammates dying. If you prefer damage, Hela is the safest Duelist for climbing.
How often does the tier list change?
Every major patch (roughly every 6-8 weeks) shakes up the meta. Mid-season patches can also shift things, like Star-Lord’s rise from D-tier to S-tier in Season 6.5. Always check for updated tier lists after patches. We update this page within 1-2 weeks of every major balance change.
Why is triple Strategist meta in Season 6.5?
The poke meta means teams take constant chip damage from long-range fights. One healer can’t keep up with the incoming damage across six players. Two healers stabilize, but three healers make your team nearly unkillable in poke wars. The trade-off is less DPS, but S-tier Duelists like Hela and Star-Lord deal enough damage to compensate. This meta may shift when the next balance patch addresses healer stacking.
