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Marvel Rivals Tier List — Best Heroes in Season 1

The best heroes in Marvel Rivals Season 1 ranked by role. Which tanks, duelists, and strategists are worth maining heading into the ranked season.

RG
Renegame Staff
Rivals · UPDATED MAY 10
1 min read

Marvel Rivals Season 1 Meta Overview

Season 1 brought balance changes and two new heroes, which reshuffled the tier list significantly. This ranking covers competitive ranked play — not casual quickplay, where different heroes dominate.

Best Duelists (Damage)

Hela is the best damage dealer in the game right now. Her kit rewards positioning and has one of the highest single-target DPS outputs in her role. Her ultimate is a teamfight winner if you can protect her long enough to charge it.

Spider-Man has the highest mobility in the entire roster. His web-swing allows flanks that most tanks can't track, and his burst window on isolated targets is devastating. High skill floor — worth it.

Black Panther — fast, high-damage, good escape tools. He's less useful into shields (Magneto is a bad time) but punishes backlines better than anyone else.

Best Tanks (Vanguards)

Doctor Strange — his portals are the most impactful non-DPS ability in the game. A good Strange dictates where fights happen. His shields are strong and his ultimate is nearly impossible to outplay without dedicated counters.

Thor — straightforward and effective. His hammer throw punishes grouped-up enemies, and his ult has the longest interrupt potential of any Vanguard. Good pick for players learning the role.

Best Supports (Strategists)

Luna Snow — her ice platforms create unique positioning options for her team and her freeze mechanic punishes aggressive dives hard. Her ultimate turns teamfights entirely.

Cloak & Dagger — dual healing modes make them flexible enough to handle both dive-heavy and poke-heavy enemy teams. High skill expression, very high reward.

Heroes to Avoid in Ranked (Currently)

  • Squirrel Girl — high variance, easy to play around at high rank
  • Hawkeye — strong on paper but the hitscan competition is too steep right now

Quick Role Priority

  1. Secure a Doctor Strange on your team if possible
  2. Hela + Cloak & Dagger is the most reliable win-condition comp
  3. Spider-Man if your team is losing the backline fight
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FAQ

Common questions

When was this Rivals article last updated? +
Last updated May 10, 2026. We refresh Rivals guides within 48 hours of any patch.
Where can I see Rivals matchup data? +
Check the dedicated <a href="/games/rivals/matchups" class="text-accent-400">Matchup Chart page</a> for the full matrix across the cast.
What about Rivals frame data? +
Visit the <a href="/games/rivals/frame-data" class="text-accent-400">Frame Data tool</a> for per-character startup, recovery, and on-block numbers.
Where can I see the editorial Rivals tier list? +
The current Rivals <a href="/games/rivals/tier-list" class="text-accent-400">tier list</a> shows our patch-by-patch rankings with methodology and historical context.