Best Vanguard in Marvel Rivals

Important takeaways

• Vanguards are vital front-line powerhouses in Marvel Rivals, critical to initiating battles and creating opportunities for teammates.
• Choosing the right Vanguard is important, each with unique abilities and playstyles to suit different team compositions.
• Characters like Captain America, Thor, and Groot offer different strengths and weaknesses, making them important to master.

Avant-garde in Marvel Rivals plays a critical role in all team compositions and acts as a frontline powerhouse that combines durability with disruptive capabilities. These characters excel at initiating battles, absorbing damage, and creating opportunities for their teammates to capitalize and dish out maximum damage. Their presence can often turn the tide of a match, as they dictate both offensive and defensive strategies.

However, choosing the right Vanguard is no easy task, as each character has their own unique set of abilities that set them apart. Some are better at soaking up damage as tanks, while others excel at playing the target with zone protection. Regardless of preference, Vanguards are an important class to master, so it's important to understand which are the most effective picks.

8 Captain America

Needed more time on the ice

• Health: 650
• Difficulty: 3/5
• First appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (1940)

The First Avenger is probably one of Marvel's most well-known characters, so it may surprise some fans to discover that he might be one of the weakest in Marvel Rivals. He's a melee-focused Vanguard whose kit revolves around his famous shield, which he can raise to protect himself and his allies from damage. However, the shield only has 400 hp, and it depletes rather quickly in the heat of battle. At least it reflects projectiles back at enemies, making up for its lower health.

With weaker defensive abilities compared to other Vanguards, it might be reasonable to expect his damage output to pick up the slack, but he falters there as well. His movement is excellent, as he rushes and jumps into action quickly, but his attacks are lackluster and more of a nuisance to enemies instead of a serious threat. Even with his Ultimate Active, which heals and increases movement for his team, he can quickly be overwhelmed by enemy Duelists on target.

7 Thor

Missing A God's Power

• Health: 600
• Difficulty: 3/5
• First appearance: Journey into the Mystery #83 (1962)

The God of Thunder packs a serious punch, as he has some of the highest damage potential among his fellow Vanguards. Thor uses his trusty Mjolnir, which he can use to strike enemies, charge forward, or throw from longer distances. Players looking to master Thor's kit must commit to harassing the enemy team as they want to deal large amounts of thunderous damage.

Despite his divine nature, Thor is still far from invincible. He has relatively low health compared to other Vanguards, and it's easy to get stranded thanks to his limited movement. Unless he has been awakened, which gives him an extra 200 HP, it is unlikely that he will be able to be the face of the attack for long periods of time.

6 Bruce Banner / The Hulk

Decent damage but easily countered by duelists

• Health: 200 / 800 / 1550
• Difficulty: 4/5
• First appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962)

The Hulk can sometimes appear as a simple character, appearing as an angry green giant, but the developers of Marvel Rivals gave him more nuance. He has three forms that players can switch between by building their Ultimate: Bruce Banner, Hero Hulk, and Monster Hulk. Playstyles vary between each rendition, with Bruce Banner wielding a Gamma Ray Gun to fire at enemies, while Hero Hulk is focused on getting up close.

He's a tricky character to master (hence the difficulty), and dealing with his forms can be frustrating at times, especially when warping back into Bruce Banner. His damage is decent, but it's his range and speed that let him down, as any duelist with some range to their attacks can drop Hero Hulk back at Bruce in a few hits. From there, he's a sitting duck ready to be eliminated.

5 Groot

A well-rounded vanguard that can control the map

• Health: 850
• Difficulty: 2/5
• First appearance: Tales To Astonish #13 (1960)

While he may seem simple at first, there is a unique level of complexity to playing Groot. His abilities allow him to place spiky walls across the map, meaning he can split up targets or canter enemies through certain areas. They can double as much-needed cover in open areas, and when Groot stands near them and attacks, they deal bonus damage to enemies or healing to allies.

As for his health, it's nothing to scoff at either. With 850 HP and ways to recycle it himself, Groot is pretty self-sufficient, making him a perfect anchor for a target. Team him up with a well-played healer, and he should be able to hold target pretty well. His main limiting factor is his normal attack, which does decent damage but lacks critical hit chance. Otherwise, he is an incredibly well-rounded Vanguard worthy of a spot on the team.

4 Penny Parker

Queen of the spider bots

• Health: 650
• Difficulty: 4/5
• First appearance: Edge Of Spider-Verse #5 (2014)

Peni Parker is perhaps the best character in Marvel Rivals for zone rejection. Her Bionic Spider Nest ability covers an area of ​​cyber web, which provides healing over time and a movement boost. As long as this is placed somewhere out of sight for enemies to destroy, Peni can easily anchor a target. That said, if the Spider Nest is destroyed, Peni can be singled out due to her large frame and relatively lower health for a Vanguard. It's important to keep it guarded at all times, something Peni should be able to do with her heavy blaster cannons.

Scattered within her Cyber-Webs are spider drones, and Peni can launch these quite often as well. When placed in tricky locations, they can easily catch an enemy unawares and do decent damage, especially if stacked in a high traffic area. Her ultimate allows her to clear and claim an objective by placing cyber webs and launching enemies into the air, making them an easy target for friendly duelists to pick off.

3 Magneto

Use metal for protection and destruction

• Health: 650
• Difficulty: 2/5
• First appearance: X-Men #1 (1963)

Magneto has a perfect balance between a defensive and offensive character. He can summon a metal curtain, which blocks all incoming projectiles, and it is wide enough to cover him and a few allies. It doesn't have a health bar like Captain America or Doctor Strange, instead relying on a short cooldown, so players have to make sure they won't be under fire when it runs out, as movement is pretty limited.

If players want individual protection, Magneto can summon shields around allies and himself, with damage taken turning into metal rings on Magneto's back. These rings can be converted into a Mag-Cannon, which deals decent damage at range, and his Ultimate is great at dealing heavy damage to a group of enemies in a cluster.

2 Doctor Strange

Shield Bearer And Portal Maker

• Health: 650
• Difficulty: 2/5
• First appearance: Strange Tales #110 (1963)

The Sorcerer Supreme is outstanding when it comes to frontline tank damage. His Shield Of The Seraphim ability projects a giant 800 HP circular shield that blocks all incoming projectiles. Strange can also levitate for short periods of time, meaning he can even protect airborne players should they need it. However, it's his utility that makes him stand out, as he can summon a portal across the map, allowing allies to quickly navigate the battlefield or trick enemies into a death trap.

He's no slouch when it comes to attacking though, as his normal attacks deal consistent damage that charges up a powerful explosion that can hit multiple enemies at once. His Ultimate is also respectable, as it separates the enemy's souls from their bodies, and the damage done to them is transferred to their physical selves.

1 Married

Stay the whole team symbiotically

• Health: 800
• Difficulty: 1/5
• First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988)

Venom is the perfect mesh between a tank and a DPS-focused character, and he's suited to frontline any team in Marvel Rivals. With 800 health and the ability to regenerate a few in an instant, Venom is incredibly self-sufficient in the heat of battle. If the going gets tough, he can always swing away with his quick movement, something many other Vanguards lack.

His move isn't just good for escaping though, as it's used particularly well to start fights with unsuspecting enemies. Team that up with his cellular corrosion ability that slows down enemies and his normal attack that deals a large amount of damage, and Venom can single-handedly disrupt a group of enemies on his own. With the right player at the helm, Venom can be nearly immortal and a serious threat to any enemy team.