Marvel Rivals: Every Character Counter Explained

Like many Hero shooters, Marvel Rivals requires strategic planning and coordination. Like a complex game of rock, paper, and scissors, each Hero has strengths and weaknesses that can change the course of a match depending on who you choose to play as.

As befitting a competitive game, one Hero may have an advantage over another, and vice versa. Players may often encounter an opponent stronger than them, and might choose a different character with an inherent advantage over them.

Since Marvel Rivals allows you to swap heroes at any point in the game, it's helpful to know which certain character counters another so that you can take down any pesky enemies that may be giving you and your team a hard time.

The most general rule of thumb I've found is that characters who are on the opposite sides of the range spectrum often counter each other. Heroes whose Ultimates render another's useless can also be considered a counter.

This list is based on research done online and a few hours of playing through matches and testing. As the game evolves and the roster of characters grows, so may this list.

Vanguard

As a Vanguard, your job is to block damage from your enemies for your teammates so they can do their jobs properly. You serve as a distraction and damage sponge, and it's within your and your team's best interest to stay alive.

Most Vanguard Heroes have minimal ranged capabilities, so generally, Heroes who out-range and outrun them tend to be counters.

	Vanguard Counters	Duelist Counters	Strategist Counters	Explanation
Hulk	Doctor Strange, Peni Parker	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher, Hela	Jeff, Loki, Luna Snow	While the Hulk can be a formidable foe and has surprising mobility with his leap, he has to rely on his fists and his face to contribute to his team. During a fight, your best chance is to deal damage to him from as far away as you can. Ranged Heroes like the Punisher can quickly melt him down (if also paired with Rocket's Ammo Invention Team-Up ability)
Captain America	Doctor Strange, Peni Parker	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher, Hela	Jeff, Loki, Luna Snow	America's favorite Boy Scout is a brawler who can be easily taken out of range if you focus your efforts on him. He's nothing without his shield, so any ability or attack that disables him will make short work of him. Doctor Strange's Ultimate completely bypasses Cap's shield, too.
Doctor Strange	Hulk, Venom, Groot	Black Panther, Magik, Star Lord	Luna Snow, Loki	Coming from a Doctor Strange player, he is one of the strongest characters in the game because of his burst damage and tanky shield. However, once you catch him on his own, he's pretty defenseless. Tanky Vanguards like Venom can make his Dark Magic purge meaningless, or melee Heroes like Iron Fist can easily pummel him to pieces.
Groot	Peni Parker, Dr. Strange, Magneto, Venom	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Hela, Star Lord, Storm	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Groot is surprisingly hard to take down but struggles with dealing meaningful damage. Tanks who can outpace his damage-dealing while matching his survivability can beat him.
Magneto	Venom, Hulk, Groot, Captain America	Black Panther, Magik, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Not a very attractive pick because he's one of the easiest characters to counter. You can out-tank him or pick Duelists with high mobility like Spider-Man.
Peni Parker	Hulk, Venom, Groot, Doctor Strange	Punisher, Hela, Moon Knight, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch	Rocket Raccoon, Loki, Luna Snow	Peni thrives when she's set up strong fortifications with her Spider Nest and mines. Ranged Heroes (e.g. Punisher) and Heroes with flight (Iron Man) can easily destroy Peni's most powerful tool.
Thor	Peni Parker, Magnet, Doctor Strange	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Hela, Star Lord, Spiderman	Jeff, Loki, Mantis	The God of Thunder can easily be pinned down, as his only form of defense is his bonus health. Any hero who has an immobilizing or ranged attack can easily take Thor down.
Venom	Peni Parker, Magnet, Doctor Strange	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Hela, Star-Lord	Jeff, Loki, Mant	One of the best characters in the game and the best tank, so countering Venom is a little tough now. Any ranged pick would be solid, and since he has his tentacles, it can be easily avoided if you also have high mobility.

Duelist

As damage dealers, duelists vary in what they can do, and so do their counters. Close-quarters Heroes with high mobility will most likely win against a ranged Hero, but a ranged Hero will win against a melee Hero with low mobility.

	Vanguard Counters	Duelist Counters	Strategist Counters	Explanation
Black Panther	Groot, Venom, Hulk	Punisher, Winter Soldier	Jeff, Loki, Mantis	At the current state of the game, Black Panther isn't really strong. Depending on who you play, you can engage him in melee and tank his damage with Groot or Venom, or shoot him down with a ranged Hero.
Black Widow	Hulk, Venom, Peni Parker	Spider-Man, Magik, Black Panther, Star-Lord, Iron Fist	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Black Widow's power is highly dependent on player skill, and as a sniper, she does best at a distance. Heroes, like Spider-Man, can quickly close that gap and deal with her up close and personal.
Hawkeye	Magneto, Doctor Strange, Venom, Hulk	Spider-Man, Black Panther, Star-Lord, Magik	Loki, Luna Snow	Hawkeye can hold his own both at range and in melee, so you'll need to make it tricky for him to pin you down. Loki can use his Illusions to distract him, or Vanguards with a high health pool like Venom can easily stop him.
Hela	Magneto, Doctor Strange, Venom, Hulk	Spider-Man, Black Panther, Star-Lord, Magik	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	When two ranged Duelists face each other, it all comes down to skill. Countering Hela just requires you to have better aim than her with snipers or a great healer like Jeff the Land Shark. Any close-range Hero who can dive and run her down can also make short work of the Goddess of Death.
Iron Fist	Magneto, Venom, Peni Parker	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Iron Fist has blown the community away with his insane damage output, but it's still possible to counter him. Your best bet is to use champions with crowd-control abilities like Mantis, Hulk, or Peni so that you can pin him down.
Iron Man	Dr. Strange, Peni Parker, Captain America	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Iron Man's flight renders him almost untouchable for melee Heroes. Unless you have some insane plays, then your best shot is to pick a ranged Hero. Doctor Strange can easily block Iron Man's Ultimate, and Punisher or Hawkeye can shoot him down.
Magik	Dr. Strange, Peni Parker	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Black Widow	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	She's a melee-focused Hero, so you'll need to take her out from range. The Punisher or Squirrel Girl can easily get her in their sights and take her out from a safe distance.
Moon Knight	Captain America, Magneto, Dr. Strange	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Spider-Man	Rocket Raccoon, Loki, Luna Snow, Jeff	So far, I haven't seen many people play Moon Knight, but from what I've seen, he struggles with 1v1s against other ranged duelists, so Black Widow or Hela might be a good pick.
Namor	Dr. Strange	Punisher, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Hela, Black Widow	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow, Rocket Raccoon	Namor is pretty strong when he relies on his octopus turrets. If you can take them out, then you'll rob him of a good time.
Psylocke	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker, Venom	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Iron Fist	Rocket Raccoon, Loki, Luna Snow	Psylocke works best when she gets the drop on you, so a good counter relies on a good ranged Duelist. Luna Snow's Ultimate can out-heal Psylocke's Ultimate, too.
The Punisher	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker, Venom	Punisher, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Psylocke	Jeff, Loki, Luna Snow	You might notice that the Punisher appears a lot on this list, and that's because he's easily the best-ranged option in the game. You'll need to be very tanky (Venom) or nimble (Iron Fist) to outlast him. You might just need another Punisher to take him out.
Scarlet Witch	Groot, Venom, Hulk	Punisher, Hela, Moon Knight, Winter Soldier	Jeff, Loki, Mantis	Wanda is a little underwhelming because she lacks range and does chip damage as her primary attack. You'll need a tank like Venom to withstand her attacks while also being able to outmaneuver her.
Spider-Man	Peni Parker, Groot, Dr. Strange	Scarlet Witch, Namor, Punisher, Star-Lord, Hawkeye	Jeff, Loki, Mantis	Spider-Man has a really high skill curve and ceiling. Your best bet is to pin him down with crowd control, so Venom, Peni, or Mantis could stun him. Tanks are also tough for any Spider-Man to chew on.
Squirrel Girl	Peni Parker, Groot, Dr. Strange, Captain America	Punisher, Hela, Black Widow, Hawkeye	Loki, Luna Snow, Jeff the Land Shark	Squirrel Girl has the meta in a vice grip at the beginning of the game's release because of her ridiculously high damage output. However, while she excels in spamming the battlefield with explosive acorns, she struggles in melee range and when she's outgunned. Once again, Punisher might be your best pick.
Star-Lord	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker	Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Hela, Star-Lord, Spider-Man	Jeff, Loki, Luna Snow	Star-Lord is a great DPS character for beginners to start with, but he's weak against tanks and healers who can outpace or negate his damage. Doctor Strange, Peni, Luna, and Jeff can easily reduce his combat effectiveness. In fact, Loki might be an excellent counter because he can steal Star-Lord's Ultimate and take out several squishies.
Storm	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker	Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Hela, Star-Lord, Spider-Man	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	People are saying Storm is slept on, but I think she's underwhelming the way she is. You can counter her by staying out of her AOE and fighting her outside of her effective range. Hawkeye is a good pick.
Winter Soldier	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Peni Parker	Black Widow, Hawkeye, Punisher,	Adam Warlock, Jeff, Luna Snow	If you have a Winter Soldier on the enemy team, things are going to hurt a lot. You'll need to fight him with better range (Punisher) or mitigate his damage with Adam Warlock.
Wolverine	Dr. Strange, Peni Parker	Hawkeye, Punisher, Winter Soldier, Black Widow	Adam Warlock, Loki, Luna Snow	Wolverine is, unfortunately, very weak in the current meta, as he relies on being up close and personal to do anything meaningful at all. Range is your best bet, so drop him before he even gets close.

Strategist

As healers and supports who do the very important (and often thankless) work of keeping the team alive, Strategists are often the main target during most team fights.

When playing a Strategist, your best chances of survival are staying with your team, as it's incredibly hard to win in a 1v1 fight against a Vanguard or Duelist.

	Vanguard Counters	Duelist Counters	Strategist Counters	Explanation
Adam Warlock	Dr. Strange, Magneto, Captain America	Black Panther, Magik, Punisher, Star-Lord,	Jeff, Loki	Fighting an enemy, Adam Warlock, means preventing him from getting any momentum at all by taking him out early. Squirrel Girl is a safe choice.
Cloak and Dagger	Venom, Hulk, Peni Parker, Captain America	Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Magik, Punisher	N/A	Similar to Adam Warlock, Cloak and Dagger need space to work. Get up close and personal with Iron Fist, Spider-Man, or Venom.
Jeff the Land Shark	Venom, Hulk, Peni Parker	Black Panther, Magik, Punisher, Spider-Man, Iron Man	Cloak and Dagger, Loki	Currently public enemy #1 for many players, Jeff is a massive threat not just for his efficient healing but also his annoying Ultimate. His damage output isn't great, so a tank can outlast him while a melee character like Wolverine can make short work of him.
Loki	Venom, Peni Parker, Hulk, Doctor Strange	Black Panther, Magik, Namor, Spider-Man, Iron Fist	N/A	Because of the many tricks up his sleeve, a good Loki player is hard to kill. Heroes who get up close and personal with suppressive powers like Venom or Hulk could give his puny god a run for his money.
Luna Snow	Venom, Hulk, Peni Parker	Punisher, Star-Lord, Hela, Magik	Jeff	Because of her potential to sustain the entire enemy team, you'll need to take her out as quickly as you can with range or a Hero who can dive the backline safely and quickly. Punisher and Iron Fist come to mind.
Mantis	Venom, Hulk, Peni Parker	Black Panther, Magik, Punisher, Spider-Man, Iron Fist	N/A	Mantis can be a pretty strong healer and damage dealer, but since her Life Orbs deal healing over time, all you need is a diving DPS or Tank to mitigate that.
Rocket Raccoon	Venom, Hulk, Peni Parker	Black Panther, Magik, Punisher, Spider-Man, Iron Fist	Luna, Mantis	Because of his small size, Rocket is a slippery character to pin down. You'll need melee characters with dashes to keep up with him, so a Psylocke or a Black Panther might give him a hard time.