Marvel Rivals has a large variety of different playable characters to choose from at the beginning of each match. Furthermore, new characters are added to the game every season, meaning this roster is always growing across the three roles of Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist. Due to the variety of the Vanguard role, knowing which ones to learn first can be difficult. To help set new players in the right direction, we’ve rounded up the best Vanguards for beginners in Marvel Rivals.
Without further ado, here are five brilliant Vanguards for players to learn first, listed in no particular order.
Thor
Thor is a brawl Tank, meaning he thrives in getting up close and personal with the enemy in team fights. With Thor, new players will force themselves to learn some Vanguard basics, such as frontline positioning and leading the fight.
Thanks to his melee attacks, most players can also get value from Thor by simply brawling the enemy frontline to apply pressure and secure picks. However, as players improve their Thor skills, they can also take a dive Tank approach with him, as his movement enables him to get in and out of fights quite successfully, and he has huge potential for displacing enemies, isolating targets, and picking off solo foes.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange has a pretty high skill ceiling due to the strong utility and technical advantages his kit holds when utilised properly. However, Doctor Strange also has a pretty standard skill floor, making it easy enough for players to learn enough to get moderate to high value out of him even before they learn all of the little tips, tricks, and techs regarding Strange and his kit.
Most importantly, he has a toggle-able shield, which is a great tool for learning how to cover your team and protect them from vital cooldowns and Ultimates as a Vanguard. Additionally, his portal is one of the best abilities in the game. If you manage to pull off even just one good portal in a match, it can completely change the outcome.
Learning this vital tool is a massive advantage for new players, as once they get into Competitive Play, at minimum, being able to switch to Doctor Strange at a key point of the match becomes a vital asset. And then on the other hand, if you continue developing your Strange gameplay, you can even start to get really creative and clever with the Portal – think blocking off doors, creating traps, or using it to initiate the perfect surprise Ultimate.
The Thing
The Thing is another really strong brawl Tank, and as of Season 3.5, he’s now found himself to be in a really strong spot on the overall Tank Roster. Thing excels at aggressive frontline play and has the crucial ability to ground people and take away their movement abilities with his terrain.
This now means he is not only great for when the team is being pressured with dive picks or flankers (such as Spidey, Black Panther, or Star-Lord), but he is also capable of helping out with flying heroes such as Storm, Iron Man, and Human Torch. Thing’s versatility makes him a great pick for new players, especially because the core elements of his kit are pretty straightforward and easy to learn.
Magneto
Magneto, similarly to Doctor Strange, is also a shield tank with a moderate skill floor, yet a high skill ceiling that players can grow into. Undoubtedly, this makes him one of the best Vanguards for beginners in Marvel Rivals. For Magneto, the value of learning him as a newbie largely revolves around the fact that his kit is very strong, he fits into most team compositions, and even has the potential to shine as a solo tank.
This way, if you fall into a situation where you are the only Vanguard player on the team, you have a reliable pick that you can choose that can play efficiently even without another Tank to support you on the frontline.
Magneto’s shield is on a cooldown, so learning the timing of this cooldown will be necessary for new players, particularly in comparison to Doctor Strange, who can toggle his on a whim so long as it hasn’t been broken. However, Magneto’s presence on the frontline is one of the strongest in the game, and he has really good solo target damage as well as a very beneficial Ultimate that can be used to absorb damage and take out targets on a hit – potentially even shutting down crucial enemy Support Ults such as Invisible Woman or Cloak and Dagger.
Peni Parker
Peni is a bit more technical in gameplay than some other picks on this list, as much of it involves a trapper/cover poke play style with her nests. However, on the other hand, for a new player who will be learning characters in lobbies with/against those of similar skills, Peni can be an absolutely brilliant first-choice Vanguard.
The most crucial part of her kit is not necessarily her mines/nest, but her stun. Peni has a stun web that remains one of the shortest cooldown crowd control abilities in the game. If a new player were to get really good at reacting to plays with Peni’s stun, then they have the opportunity to shut down so many vital Ultimate abilities and cooldowns, it’s not even funny! After this, further improving little techs, learning the best nest spots, and learning when and where to use your Ultimate will take your Peni gameplay to the next level.
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