Choosing the right Vanguard in Marvel Rivals can make the difference between victory and watching your team get steamrolled.
These frontline heroes absorb damage while creating opportunities for their more fragile teammates, but not all tanks are created equal in this superhero showdown.
With each Vanguard offering unique playstyles and strategic advantages, let’s break down which heroes truly deserve their spot in the spotlight.
Best tank heroes in Marvel Rivals
Before diving into our rankings, remember that any Vanguard can shine with sufficient mastery. You’ll find players dominating with every tank on this list in Marvel Rivals‘ One Above All leaderboards. That said, some simply bring more to the table in terms of versatility, survivability, and team utility:
9. Captain America
Cap embodies the “I can do this all day” philosophy, thriving in coordinated dive compositions. Unfortunately, with uncoordinated teams, America’s a** gets handed to him on a vibranium platter. His tickle damage makes him frustratingly dependent on competent DPS players, and against certain counter-picks, he becomes about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
8. Hulk
Hulk’s Incredible Leap grants him massive mobility, but it can often leave you stranded in no-man’s land wondering why you didn’t pick literally any other tank. While his multiple forms (Bruce Banner, Hero Hulk, and Monster Hulk) theoretically extend his survivability, in practice, you’ll spend more time as a pancaked Banner than a rampaging green machine.
7. Peni Parker
A skilled Peni player is absolutely terrifying, countering melee Duelists (even the tank-buster Wolverine) and five of the nine Vanguards when played correctly. However, her sky-high skill ceiling makes her effectiveness wildly inconsistent.
Higher-ranked opponents consistently neutralize her nests and traps, denying the battlefield control that makes her special. She also struggles on certain maps and modes—try controlling space on a moving Convoy objective and you’ll understand why she’s not higher.
6. Venom
Venom’s mobility and Symbiotic Resilience make him nearly unkillable in the right hands. The downside? He often finds himself out of sync with teammates—you’re diving enemy supports while your DPS chase their own targets. In confined maps, his disruption potential plummets, and his survivability sometimes becomes a curse, turning him into an ultimate battery for the enemy team.
5. Thor
The God of Thunder counters some of the most annoying heroes in the current meta. Is a Venom-Spidey duo terrorizing your backline? Thor peels them off supports better than anyone else in the game.
His Mjolnir-based kit excels at making life miserable for elusive targets, tossing them around in the air like ragdolls until they question their life choices. While his damage output impresses, his relatively modest health pool means he needs backup to truly shine on the frontlines.
4. Doctor Strange
The Sorcerer Supreme has fallen from his launch-day glory as players have discovered counters to his mystic tricks. Portal shenanigans (and associated bug exploits) aside, Strange rewards players who master his rhythm of defensive positioning and offensive pushes. But spammy heroes melt his barriers with disturbing efficiency, and his vulnerability during ultimates makes him risky against stun-heavy compositions.
3. Groot
An absolute nightmare for charging tanks, Groot’s area control denies healing by blocking the line of sight to supports. His Thornlash Walls deal surprising damage when positioned thoughtfully, but his tree-sized hitbox makes him vulnerable to tank-busters who see him as a walking buffet. With minimal mobility, positioning mistakes get punished severely.
2. The Thing
Aunt Petunia didn’t raise no pushover. The Thing boasts hands-down the best passive in the game, countering every hero reliant on crowd control. His ability to grant teammates 30% damage reduction while disrupting agile heroes with ground slams makes him exceptionally versatile.
His straightforward kit is easy to learn but rewards growing game sense and timing improvements. He can protect supports or clear paths for diving allies with equal effectiveness. His only real weakness? That massive orange hitbox becomes a bullet magnet without proper team support.
1. Magneto
The Master of Magnetism commands the battlefield with a surprisingly chill playstyle that perfectly captures his comic book persona. Unlike hyperactive heroes bouncing around like caffeinated squirrels, Magneto exudes calculated control while excelling at creating space and protecting supports.
A skilled Magneto who manages his cooldowns and shield timing well lacks any true “hard counters.” His ultimate transforms protection into offensive power, countering numerous enemy ultimates in the process. Most impressively, he’s one of the few Vanguards capable of effectively solo-tanking, making him the embodiment of what a tank should be in a hero shooter.
Which Vanguard do you think deserves the top spot? Does Magneto truly reign supreme, or has another tank carried you to victory more consistently? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
