Quick Links
Marvel Rivalscontinues to hold a diverse roster of playable characters, enabling for endless matchups and team compositions. With a very solid collection of heroes and villains to choose from across the three roles of Strategist, Duelist, and Vanguard, selecting characters that synergize well with one another through ability kit, Team-Ups, or playstyle, is key.
However, as a live-service game that continues to introduce multiple new heroes each season and make balance changes, reworks, and more, knowing which heroes to pick in team format can be a struggle. If you find yourself curious about some of thestrongest overall team lineupsinMarvel RivalsSeason 2.5, key options under different role formats have been explored in the guide below.
Best Team Comps in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5
InMarvel Rivals,there is no role lock, meaning players have absolute flexibility when it comes to creating the format of their team through hero picks. Most common team layouts include 2 / 2 / 2 - which involves 2 heroes from each role, 1 / 2 / 3 - one Vanguard, two Duelists, and three Strategists, or on rare occasions, even 1 / 3 / 2 - one Vanguard, three Duelist, and two Strategists.
In reality, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ team composition, as it all boils down to individual preference, playstyles, and what you happen to be good at playing. However, as of Season 2.5, the balance changes andnew Team-Up additionshave put certain heroes in very favorable positions. These team compositions very much take that into consideration.
Best 2 / 2 / 2 Team Comps in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5
Emma, Peni, Bucky, Hawkeye, Rocket, Luna
This team comp utilizes two of the strongest new Team-Ups as of Season 2.5 - Rocket/Peni and Hawkeye/Luna. This is a brilliant defensive team, in particular, with the likes of Hawkeye’s range and freeze CC and Peni’s/Rocket’s mine nests being placed around defensive cover. Bucky fits in great for his damage potential, enabling him to cycle abilities and play a bit more forward and aggressively while Hawkeye snipes from the backline.Emma Frostalso fits in as a strong second pick for her peel potential and shield utility to help fend off threats.
Doctor Strange, Peni, Wanda, Punisher, Rocket, Invisible Woman
Once again, this team composition plays into two very strong Team-Up abilities. Peni and Rocket continue to be great picks for map control and area denial thanks to the nest mines. On the other hand, Wanda can be a little hit or miss sometimes, depending on the elo and team comp, but withDoctor Strangeby her side, she can pump out a lot of damage with that Team-Up. On Strange’s side, he’s already a really great all-rounder Vanguard, but he offers Wanda a high damage ability that lasts long enough to get a lot of value, also with a generous cooldown period - taking advantage of this in the right comp makes sense.
Pair Wanda’s Team-Up damage potential with Punisher’s recent damage buffs, and these two can create a lot of offensive or defensive pressure and gun down targets with combined focus fire for easy picks. Plus, having the Strange enables more consistent/safe plays for Wanda’s bomb, such as Portal Bomb, or pairing it with Eye of Agamotto. Lastly, Invisible Woman fills the second Stragesist space due to her kit bringing a lot of utility and healing potential, which makes her a strong fit in most team comps as of 2.5.
The Thing, Emma, Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Invisible Woman, Ultron
This team comp runs three of the Fantastic Four - while Human Torch is also an option on Duelist for the right player, he is just in a worse overall spot than other flyers in Season 2.5, meaning the Iron Man and Ultron Team-Up is likely to bring more value to the team composition over Torch. Thing is an aggressive brawl tank that can not only lead fights and create aggressive pushes on the frontline, but also rotate to his backline and use his terrain to help counter pesky divers. Emma Frost fits nicely into the second Vanguard spot due to the flexibility and utility of her kit - she fits great in brawl alongside Thing, but unlike Thing, has a shield that can be used to block critical moments and attacks, as well as her choke stun to assist in taking out divers or anyone harassing the squishies on her team.
Mister Fantasticworks as a nice poke/brawl hero who can play from behind Emma’s shield and then burst onto the frontline alongside the tanks to help make aggressive plays. Thanks to his shield/damage ability, Mister Fantastic is also great for providing peel to his allies, and quickly shielding the Strategists when they are targeted until others on the team have time to react. Iron Man is in a pretty good spot this season, paired with decent range and rather strong poke potential with his beam. However, he also brings value to Ultron through his Team-Up, which will enable Ultron to have better output and do more on the field generally. Lastly, Invisible Woman once again takes the last Strategist role not only for the strength/utility her kit brings but also because she is the anchor for the Team-Up with both Thing and Mister Fantastic, enabling them to tap into bonus temp hp.
Magneto, Emma, Psylocke, Storm, Jeff, Cloak & Dagger
In this very solid team lineup, every single character is linked through a Team-Up apart from Cloak & Dagger, who is instead there to provide consistent heals and big ults that the team can either use to push on and turn team fights, or save themselves from big threats. Emma Frost provides clones to Psylocke and Magneto, which can be used to mirror their actions and focus targets, applying a lot of pressure on single targets and confirming kills.
Storm is in a very solid all-around spot in Season 2.5, butthe Jeffnado Team-Up with Jeff the Land Sharkis perhaps one of the strongest new additions from the midseason update - with this duo on your team you can easily pick at minimum 2-3 people with a well-timed Sharknado, or at times, even a complete team wipe. In this scenario, Jeff can just farm Ult charge from his primary heal/damage beam, and save his Ult to pair with Storm each time.
Hulk, Venom, Storm, Namor, Jeff, Luna
Once again, Storm and Jeff take up key spots in this last team lineup. However, the Vanguard section takes more of a Dive/Brawl approach with the Hulk and Venom combination - these two are perfect at jumping beyond the frontline to harass and disrupt the enemy team, primarily the backline, before returning to safety to heal up. Venom also has a new Team-Up with Jeff the Land Shark, giving Jeff some extra close-quarters healing through symbiote tendrils that attach to his allies. This makes the Venom - Jeff - Storm trio a strong half-team setup.
To follow, Hulk providesthe Gamma Squid Team-Up to Namor, which is a strong addition to his poke toolkit and also one of the best tools at warding off pesky dive heroes such as Black Panther or Spidey and making their job difficult. Lastly, Luna rounds out the team as the final addition, chosen based on her time to kill/time to heal potential as of Season 2.5 - a Luna that hits her shots has some of the quickest healing in the game, as well as a generally very strong kit with her enhanced movement speed/jump, freeze, and range.
Best 1 / 2 / 3 Team Comps in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5
Magneto, Iron Man, Bucky, Adam, Loki, Ultron
Magneto is in a really strong spot during Season 2.5 and generally has one of the best Vanguard kits for solo-Tanking, equipped with decent damage, a Shield, and an Ult that can be used to negate and destroy multiple enemy threats, bringing a lot of utility to the frontline. When it comes to Duelists, Iron Man takes the first stop due to fitting well into Poke comp, even as a flyer, meaning he can play both around natural cover as he flies around as well as behind Magneto’s shield when necessary. On top of this, he also brings value to the Ultron pick through their Team-Up, which will enable Ultron to do more on the field.
Winter Soldier takes the second spot, as once again, he plays pretty well from behind a Magneto/poke type of comp but is also capable of making very aggressive plays and focusing solo targets with his kit. He can continuously cycle abilities to pump out high numbers of damage, which helps make up for the second Vanguard presence in a 1/2/3 comp. Lastly, Adam Warlock and Ultron have been selected alongside Ultron for the Strategist spots. These three Strategists have strong healing together, but also some very strong DPS capabilities.
Adam has a good burst heal andbig potential for securing/finishing picks, Ultron has his healing drone for the DPS and his piercing beam can heal allies and damage enemies in one go. Loki has the potential to save from big bursts of damage or Ult with his Runes, has the flexibility to copy any Ult in the match based on the situation at hand, and can position his clones in clever spots to either help apply pressure to the enemy as well as heal his team. Essentially, with good comms and focus fire, this team comp can be nasty to deal with.
Magneto, Storm, Iron man, Ultron, Jeff, Invisible Woman
Once again, Magento takes the frontline under the only Vanguard role, and the Iron Man + Ultron combo makes a return for the same reasons as the previous team comp. However, the Jeff + Storm Team-Up has also been included due to the sheer value that Ult can bring to each fight, so if Jeff and Storm remain unbanned, you should absolutely utilize them in this structure. Finally, Invisible Woman rounds out the Strategist Comp as your primary main healer/utility pick, while Ultron can help confirm kills and deal damage, and Jeff can play around the mid-range with splash heals/damage, keeping bubbles to help Magneto, himself, and Invisible Woman, remain safe in the team fight while the flyers dominate the sky.
Doctor Strange, Hela, Star-Lord, Adam, Ultron, Loki
Aside from Magneto, Doctor Strange is also one of the best picks for a solo Vanguard situation - he has really good pressure/damage through his whip and primary fire, can expel the accumulating energy for a big burst, vertical movement cooldown, and most importantly, a non-cooldown shield that can be flashed while walking to take space and block key incoming damage or Ults. Strange also has the huge utility of the Portal to apply a flank route for allies, a shortcut to the point, the pathway to great LOS for a DPS Ult, or even some trickery on the enemy team.
This time on Duelist, Hela takes the first spot. Since the release of Rivals, Hela has been one of the strongest hitscan characters in the game, and a Hela who hits her shots can be absolutely deadly, two-tapping people from long range. Pair a good Hela with the Loki Team-Up, and Loki will likely be insta-revived after death on multiple occasions after Hela confirms kills.Star-Lordhas been closed due to his Team-Up with Adam, enabling him to cocoon and revive himself. He can also fly in and out of range to harass targets while Hela inflicts damage from afar. Lastly, Ultron takes that third Strategist spot to help input damage alongside Adam and can solo focus his drone on Strange or Star-Lord while Loki deals with the majority of consistent heals and Adam provides key burst heals to multi-targets in his team.
Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Star-Lord, Adam, Ultron, Mantis
This one is a variation of the team comp above that follows the same idea, but replaces Hela with Iron man for aerial assault damage and the Team-Up with Ultron. Loki has also been swapped out for Mantis. While she isn’t in her strongest state as of Season 2.5, she can still work in the right team comp due to her CC potential with Sleep and her ability to damage boost her allies, leading to crucial assists.
Overall, the Adam/Ultron/Mantis lineup is a little low on the healing potential, which means that this team comp has to all play a bit aggressively/DPS-ish. However, between Adam’s burst damage, burst to heal, Soul Bond, and Ultron drone/Team-Up Beam, Mantis should be able to weave her heals and damage boosts in between to enable the Iron Man, Star-Lord, and Doctor Strange, and then save her Sleep for key Ults/cooldowns, or when she and Adam get focus fired in the backline.
Emma Frost, Psylocke, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Mantis, Adam
Lastly, Emma Frost can also be run as a solo Vanguard with the right map/composition. As a strong Brawl/Poke hybrid Tank, Emma comes equipped with a charging primary fire that ramps up in damage, a deployable shield that has good flexibility for blocking key damage, a diamond form for closing distance into a close-range brawl, and the chokeslam stun CC that can even rip foes right out of their Ults.
Psylockehas been chosen here for the valuable clone Team-Up with Emma as well as her flank/harass damage potential. Mister Fantastic takes the second Duelist spot, as he is essentially the DPS with the most Tanking capabilities thanks to his kit. He can play right up there alongside Emma and engage with his large form as Emma goes into a brawl. Additionally, Invisible Woman takes the first Strategist role for solid healing, good utility, and her Team-Up with Mister Fantastic, providing bonus HP to help him in tough fights. Lastly, Mantis and Adam fill the last two spots for damage boost, Sleep CC, revive potential, and burst (Adam) / tick (Mantis) heals between Invisible Woman’s primary healing focus.
Best 1 / 3 / 2 Team Comps in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5
Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Wanda, Hawkeye, Luna, Ultron
In this team lineup, every single character has a Team-Up ability involved, creating some strong hero synergy and teamwork potential. Doctor Strange takes the Vanguard spot due to his all-rounder kit, strong frontline presence, and potential to work with Wanda to take space and secure picks with the Team-Up damage. Iron Man provides ranged/aerial DPS and works into the poke potential of Strange/Hawkeye/Luna/Wanda, and Ultron gains more healing/damage potential as a result of his inclusion, which is much needed if Ultron is to be one of only two Strategists.
Lastly, Luna Snow takes up the second Strategist spot due to her short time to heal, strong kit for a primary healer role, andTeam-Up anchor for Hawkeye, which provides him with his freezing arrow. Between the two freezes, the Strange/Wanda fight combo, and the Iron Man and Ultron in the sky, this comp can work surprisingly well, as far as 1/3/2 goes.
Groot, Punisher, Iron Man, Bucky, Ultron, Cloak & Dagger
Grootcan also work okay as a solo Vanguard in the right comp, as his walls can come in very handy both for blocking damage or separating enemies to create plays. Ultron and Iron Man take on aerial assault yet again, while Winter Soldier and Punisher provide a very aggressive frontline with high DPS kits and strong potential to focus-fire targets to take them out. Lastly, Cloak & Dagger has been selected in the second Strategist Spot due to the combination of strong consistent heals (plus the ability to bounce them off the Groot Walls in a pinch), good utility through Cloak’s phase and blind, and generally a strong healing kit on Dagger than can be placed in multiple positions at once. For example, sending a window through your team to keep your DPS alive whilst also sending a healing bubble for your Groot slightly further ahead.
Magneto, Mister Fantastic, Storm, Punisher, Invisible Woman, Jeff
This Team comp takes Magneto in the Vanguard position and pairs him with a Punisher on Duelist for the shield + high, rapid DPS combo to apply consistent pressure. The rest of the team focuses on getting value from the Team-Ups. Mister Fantastic, as mentioned earlier, also makes a brilliant ‘pseudo-Tank’ in the Duelist role, so he can assist Magneto in taking space and brawling on the frontline. Invisible Woman provides good utility through her Team-Up for him, as well as her push/pull, which her 3 Duelists can easily follow up on, and her invisibility passive - which is great for getting out of sticky situations alive in a 1/3/2 comp. Lastly, Jeff and Storm take the last two spots for the notorious Jeffnado Team-Up yet again.
Magneto, Hela, Punisher, Hawkeye, Loki, Luna
Magneto leads the charge on Vanguard, but this time the Duelist comp consists of the best three ranged DPS heroes in the game. Punisher was good at dealing rapid fire from the mid-long range prior to 2.5, but the 2.5 damage buffs make him an even more valuable pick, perfect for applying pressure with his bullets and cleaning up kills alongside the snipers. Hela fits the role of a ranged hitscan sniper with two-tap potential from across the map, while Hawkeye is a projectile-based sniper that can one-shot squishy heroes, even out of their Ults.
He also has the valuable freeze arrow from the Luna Team-up, with Luna running the main healer role in this comp. Loki can stack his clones to provide burst heals for his snipers in the backline, or even on Magneto as he pushes or holds a defensive line. Loki also fits in well here thanks to the Utility of his runes and Ult, which can be used to clone anyone in the match and use their Ult - and his team is full of viable options for different situations with the likes ofMagneto, Punisher, Hela, and Luna.
Groot, Mister Fantastic, Bucky, Hela, Rocket, Invisible Woman
Groot takes the lead in this team comp with Mister Fantastic by his side as a DPS-tank type pick. Additionally, Groot has Rocket Raccoon in the Strategist Role, so in some situations, Rocket may even be able to get value by using the Team-Up to pocket Groot while Invisible Woman focuses on the three Duelists. Winter Soldier has some of the best mid-range damage and can cycle his abilities in combos to deal devastating blows as well as gain shields through his abilities. Hela can take damage from the backline while Winter Soldier plays a bit further forward, and is particularly strong from a high ground point while Groot/Fantastic runs the ground frontline.
