Table of Contents
Blade is a new Duelist in Marvel Rivals, introduced in Season 3.5. After a long slumber in Wakanda, he has awakened, ready to join the fight. This guide covers everything you need to know about Blade, including his abilities, playstyle tips, and the best character pairings to unlock his full potential.
Blade Overview
 | |
| Health | 350 |
| Role | Duelist |
| Difficulty | 3-Stars |
Blade Abilities
Blade wields two different weapons. His primary weapon is the Ancestral Sword, which is obviously a melee weapon, capable of dealing high close-range burst damage. His secondary weapon is a Hunter's Shotgun, providing some flexibility to handle threats at medium range.
| Name | Input | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestral Sword | LMB | Slash forward with Blade's Ancestral Sword. |
| Hunter's Shotgun | LMB | Fire at enemies using your Shotgun. |
| Thousand-Fold Slash | Q | Charge power and swiftly draw the Sword of Dracula, executing a powerful laido strike as you dash forward, leaving behind a slashing zone where the sword automatically strikes enemies. Enemies hit suffer Reduced Healing. |
| Daywalker Dash | Shift | Dash forward. If wielding your gun, shoot at enemies upon impact, applying a Healing Reduction effect. If wielding your sword, deliver a cleaving strike that inflicts Slow. |
| Bloodline Awakening | E | Awaken the Dhampir bloodline, enhancing slash speed during continuous attacks and triggering Whirlwind Slash. While under this state, you suffer Reduced Healing, but attacks gain Lifesteal. |
| Scarlet Shroud | RMB | Parry with Ancestral Sword to become Unstoppable for a brief period, reducing damage taken from the front and decreasing the cooldown of Daywalker Dash. |
| New Moon | Team-Up Ability | Cloak & Dagger can inject light and dark energy into Moon Knight and Blade to create a Light & Dark Realm where Moon Knight and Blade can become invisible and gain Healing Over Time. Blade can unleash Swift Strike toward a targeted enemy. |
How to Play Blade
Blade is a pure damage dealer who can be especially deadly in one-on-one situations, thanks to his anti-heal and lifesteal ability. Blade's gameplay has been released, and it's giving us a first look at his movements and skills.
His gameplay revolves around poking enemies and consistently chipping away at their health with his Hunting Gun, which can headshot. When his target is low on health, Blade can use his dash skill to dash forward, applying anti-healing to the enemy to finish them off.
Anti-Heal Skill
Blade’s core strength lies in his anti-healing skill, making him a strong counter to high-sustain team compositions. In the current meta, where triple-Strategist lineups are common and highly effective, Blade stands out as the ideal pick to shut down their healing capabilities and swing the momentum in your team's favor.
Vampire Form
As we have predicted, Blade features a lifesteal mechanic, a first in Marvel Rivals. By activating his Bloodline Awakening skill, he unleashes his vampiric form, heightening his senses and gaining increased attack and movement speed. While he has reduced healing during this state, he can lifesteal by dealing damage. This makes it the perfect skill for aggressive plays and chasing down enemies.
The best time to activate Blade’s Vampiric Form is when punishing overextended Vanguards or flanking enemy Strategists. With increased attack speed and lifesteal, Blade has a high chance of securing a kill on at least one Strategist, forcing the enemy team to retreat and regroup.
Ultimate
Blade’s Ultimate skill is arguably the most superhero-esque in Marvel Rivals so far, with stunning visuals and finishing with that iconic “no-look-back” explosion. A very lore-accurate Blade behaviour.
His Ultimate is a devastating AoE damage skill that can be used in various ways. He can activate it to initiate a team fight, or conversely, use it to escape a clash while still dealing damage.
What makes this Ultimate even better is how well it combos with Blade’s Daywalker Dash. Use the dash to launch into the air, and Blade can unleash devastating Ultimate damage on enemy flyers. Dash straight into the backline, and he becomes a nightmare for enemy Strategists, tearing through them with ease.
With his lifesteal mechanic and dash abilities, Blade plays as an aggressive Duelist, capable of chasing down enemies while debuffing them with anti-heal effects.
Blade Team-Up Ability
Blade joins the existing Team-Up ability with Cloak & Dagger and Moon Knight.
Using this Team-Up ability creates a dome that makes Blade invisible for a short time while still allowing him to attack. The dome also passively heals him, adding extra survivability. Pressing the ability key again while inside the dome will trigger a dash forward, slashing enemies in front.
It's perfect for flanking or ambushing enemies. Activating his Ultimate from inside the dome can catch opponents off guard and deal massive damage before they even realize what's happening.
Best Team Composition for Blade
- Cloak & Dagger are the most synergistic partners for Blade, thanks to their Team-Up ability that complements his aggressive playstyle perfectly.
- Star-Lord provides excellent support for flanking, helping Blade target and pressure enemy backlines more effectively.
- Groot and Doctor Strange can unleash devastating Ultimate combos alongside Blade, creating high-impact team wipes.
- Mantis pairs well with Blade during his Vampiric Form, enhancing his overall damage output, which directly boosts his lifesteal potential and self-sustain.
How to Counter Blade
The best heroes to counter Blade are those with strong burst damage and mid-to-long range capabilities. Heroes like Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Punisher, and Adam Warlock can eliminate Blade before he gets close, neutralizing his threat potential.
As for frontline defense, Groot and Peni Parker are excellent Vanguard picks against Blade. Their abilities to isolate him from enemy Strategists or restrict his movement make it difficult for Blade to capitalize on his close-range strengths.
