Marvel Rivals Vanguard Tier List – All 11 Tank Heroes Ranked

Marvel Rivals, a hero‑shooter by NetEase and Marvel Entertainment, features a roster of characters divided into roles such as duelists, strategists and vanguards. Vanguards are the tank heroes – they have large health pools and abilities that focus on shielding allies, absorbing damage or disrupting enemy positioning. According to the official roster from Polygon, there were ten vanguards at the beginning of Season 2, with names like Hulk, Doctor Strange, Groot and Peni Parker. The recent addition of Emma Frost brought new psychic abilities. However, some lists include Angela as an additional tank, bringing the total number of vanguard‑style heroes to eleven. This article ranks all current tank heroes, taking into account community sentiment, official descriptions and recent balance changes. For deeper analysis of each character’s abilities, see GameSpot’s in‑depth ranking and Polygon’s official roster page.

What Makes a Good Vanguard

The tank role in Marvel Rivals is about more than simply absorbing damage. The best vanguards can protect teammates, control space and even deal surprising burst damage. Shields and walls are especially valuable because they mitigate enemy ultimates; for example, Doctor Strange’s large 800‑health shield can block projectiles and nullify abilities, while Groot’s Thornlash and Ironwood walls both protect allies and grant bonus health. Mobility is equally important because it allows tanks to dive into the enemy backline or escape after initiating a fight. Heroes like Venom and Thor excel at this, using web swings and hammer charges to engage or disengage. Conversely, tanks without self‑sustain can struggle if their team does not back them up, as seen with The Thing.

11. Magn

Magneto earns the bottom spot because his protective bubble is weaker than other shields and he lacks the versatility of higher‑ranked tanks. His barrier can absorb a decent amount of damage, but not as much as other tanks, and although he can grant shields to teammates, the resulting projectile knock‑back is weak. His ultimate deals large area‑of‑effect damage but requires precision, meaning other vanguards outclass him in most situations.

10. Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Hulk feels more like a diver than a true tank. He can leap into the enemy team and has high damage potential, but he lacks sustained survivability. If he doesn’t receive constant healing, his Monster Hulk form ends and he reverts back to Bruce Banner, leaving him vulnerable. Players who master his jump timing can still find success, but he is heavily dependent on team support.

9. Captain America

Captain America is one of the most complex vanguards to play. His combos require landing sequential punches to enable a shield throw, and his ultimate transforms him into a melee bruiser without much visual flair. While he can reflect projectiles and run through enemies, he’s often easy to focus down because his shields are less robust than those of other tanks. Despite recent buffs, he remains one of the weakest vanguards and can be taken out quickly if enemies coordinate.

8. Angela

Angela is a dive‑focused tank who excels at close‑quarters combat. Her default movement allows her to fly like Iron Man or Ultron, and she can grab enemies and pull them off of ledges. However, her small health pool and difficult‑to‑control flying make her harder to play than other dive tanks. Her spear attack gains power while in flight, but it consumes her meter, leaving her vulnerable if she whiffs. Because of her high skill floor, she lands in the lower half of this ranking.

7. Thor

Thor is a high‑damage tank who thrives when diving the enemy team. He has three hammer charges that provide bonus health when used, but they recharge slowly, requiring careful meter management. Thor’s Awakening Rune grants lightning projectiles, giving him limited ranged pressure, and his ultimate is a massive area‑of‑effect strike that can clear objectives. While his ultimate is valuable, it is easy to dodge and leaves him vulnerable during activation, so Thor shines mainly when coordinated with teammates.

6. Venom

Venom is one of the best dive tanks available. His web swing lets him dive onto enemies and quickly retreat, and his Symbiotic Resistance ability grants bonus health equal to missing health. He can deal critical hits with his primary attacks and his ultimate scales damage with enemy health while providing even more sustain. Venom’s mobility allows him to launch surprise attacks or escape to safety, making him a strong pick when played with precision.

5. The Thing

The Thing is a brawler who loves to dive into fights. His passive makes him immune to knockbacks and displacement, making him difficult to stop. His punches deal heavy damage and his charge ability displaces enemies, but he lacks self‑sustain; outside of some shields, he depends on teammates for healing. His ultimate knocks up nearby enemies but has a long animation and can be interrupted. On the plus side, he provides survivability with Embattled Leap and has disruptive tools, so he sits comfortably in the mid‑tier.

4. Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is a defensive powerhouse. He uses a large shield that has a health pool of 800 and recovers quickly. This shield can negate powerful ultimates when timed correctly and his ascension ability allows him to float, reposition or block aerial projectiles. Although his primary attack deals little damage, he builds Dark Magic that can be expelled for a burst of damage. His Eye of Agamotto ultimate knocks souls out of enemies, stunning them so teammates can secure kills. The ability to create portals, pair his shield with flank routes and protect his team makes him one of the strongest vanguards.

3. Emma Frost

Emma Frost is an anti‑diver specialist. Her beam attack gains damage the longer it hits an enemy and her shield still provides team protection. Her diamond form makes her invulnerable to displacement and allows her to grab fast enemies like Spider‑Man or Black Panther, holding them long enough for teammates to finish them. She can also knock enemies away with a kick that deals extra damage if they hit a wall. Her Psionic Seduction ultimate forces enemies to walk toward her, disrupting them even during their own ultimates. Emma Frost, while survivable, lacks overall team value and is easily harassed by mobile heroes, but her crowd‑control tools keep her near the top of our list.

2. Groot

Groot is a powerhouse with a versatile toolkit. He can create walls — two Thornlash and one Ironwood — to block damage and enemy movement. The Thornlash walls deal damage when teammates attack enemies near them, while the Ironwood wall grants bonus health up to 250 when allies deal damage. His Spore Bomb and Thornlash attacks add area damage, and his ultimate gathers enemies together, setting them up for team‑wiping combos. Although Groot is slow and requires mastery, his ability to create space and sustain himself earns him the second spot in our ranking.

1. Peni Parker

Peni Parker stands atop our tier list thanks to her unmatched defensive and offensive capabilities. Her Bionic Spider‑Nest generates a Cyber‑Web that heals her and spawns Spider‑Drones to attack enemies. She can hide mines in the web that deal 100 damage and gets four charges, making it easy to trap unaware opponents. Her Cyber‑Web Snare can trap enemies or create webs in the environment. Peni’s primary fire deals decent damage and her ultimate lets her spread more webs and mines across the battlefield. Because she can control space, heal herself and output significant damage, she takes the top spot. Peni Parker does require strategic planning, but her high skill ceiling rewards players who invest the time to learn her.

Honorable Mentions and Changing Meta

The official roster currently lists ten vanguards, and Emma Frost’s addition shows that NetEase plans to expand the class. Angela remains an outlier — some sources list her as a tank while others consider her a duelist. Future patches will likely introduce more vanguards or adjust balance. Some tier lists emphasise that Doctor Strange and Magneto are the most effective because of their shields, while characters like Hulk, Thor, Venom and Emma Frost could use buffs. Keep an eye on official patch notes, and always adapt your picks to your team’s composition.

Conclusion

Marvel Rivals’ Vanguard role is all about protecting allies and shaping the battlefield. Each tank hero brings unique strengths — from Peni Parker’s minefields and healing webs to Groot’s towering walls and Doctor Strange’s portals. Our ranking synthesizes community sentiment and official descriptions, but the best tank for you ultimately depends on your playstyle. Dive‑focused heroes like Venom and Thor reward aggression, while shield‑centric characters like Doctor Strange and Groot shine when you need to hold an objective. For more detailed breakdowns, check out GameSpot’s gallery and the official roster at Polygon. As new heroes arrive

and the meta evolves, this tier list will continue to adapt — stay tuned for updates as NetEase expands Marvel Rivals’ roster.

With these qualities in mind, here’s how the current vanguard cast stacks up.

Further Reading

For more details on each tank hero, check out GameSpot’s comprehensive Vanguard ranking and Polygon’s official roster page. These resources provide deep dives and official descriptions that complement our tier list.