This guide contains our rankings for the Tank Heroes in Marvel Rivals and, while you can't fairly compare characters between different classes, we are focusing on the Vanguard class in this tier list. If you want to see more characters, check out our Strategist Meta Tier List and Duelist Meta Tier List, where we rank the Supports and DPS in their own classes!
For any tier list to make sense in this style of game, you need to understand the kind of players this list is designed for. Pro players and casual players will play characters very differently, so their rankings can vastly differ. In these tier lists, we are ranking for the average player. This means not brand new to the game, but not a high ranking player either. Typically this means players between Bronze to Platinum ranks.
If you are interested in seeing a tier list designed for competitive play, check out our Competitive Vanguard Tier List!
S Tier
A Tier
B Tier
C Tier
Season 8.5 Overview
This is a full Season 8.5 update to the tier list based on:
- The metagame from Season 8.0
- Balance adjustments for Season 8.5
- Changes to Team-Ups for Season 8.5
- New Season 8.5 Hero: Cyclops
Any low tier ratings for characters doesn't mean the character is outright bad. You can play any character in this game, practice them a bunch, and perform well in a match despite a low ranking. For casual players especially, you can dominate with any character if you master them. This list is designed for players looking to play the game without studying and mastering a character.
C Tier
Emma Frost has made big impacts on high level play, but she is a complicated tank. Her strength is centered around her diamond form, but she's not easy to just pick up and do well with. For context, pros first thought she was lackluster on her first release, but she got nerfed over multiple patches. You can do well with Emma, but I wouldn't recommend her for casual play.
Speaking of tough to use, Captain America is a tough to use tank. He's fun to brawl with and stall objectives, but he relies on his team quite a bit to be effective. By himself, he's just a liability that struggles to get kills. It's not worth stalling an objective if you can't rely on your team to make use of the distraction you make in that time...
Rogue is a tough tank for casual play. She has a high learning curve to be useful, and even then she needs a reliable backline for healing and self protection. Rogue is a brawler, so you have to be aggressive and have a dependable team to back you up. That's a high request in casual play, so it's hard to justify anything higher than C-Tier.
B Tier
Magneto is a good character, but at lower ranks, he is just a worse Doctor Strange. His shielding only lasts a few seconds, so you have to be skilled at knowing when to use it. Your team won't be constantly shielded either, so they will frequently be under pressure. His ultimate can be good for absorbing damage, but it is very tricky to land hits correctly. With a lot of practice, he can be a good pick, but not for casual play.
I've always considered Groot to be a terrible tank in casual play, but he is notably better than the other C-Tier tanks. I consider him low tier because his walls often hurt an uncoordinated team more than they help them. They just often end up protecting near death enemies, letting them heal up and get back to the action. Despite that, he can be effective if you put a little thought into your wall placements, so he's landing in B-Tier this season.
Thor has gotten significantly better over the last few seasons, but he is not easy to use. He has a lot of burst potential with his awakened state, and his brawling can be hard for opponents to deal with. With that said, he really needs reliable healing to function properly since he has no way of moving quickly or negating damage. Casual settings don't typically lend to reliable teams (especially healers), which makes Thor really hard to do well with.
In a similar fashion, Venom is a high skill curve character. Without proper game knowledge, support, and a bit of practice, Venom is just a tank that tickles the opponents and feeds their ult charges. He does have the potential of offering a decent distraction against uncoordinated teams, so he has a clear edge over C-Tier tanks.
A Tier
Bruce Banner (Hulk) is a strong, reliable tank that is a fantastic brawler. Jump in and out as you need to, shield yourself (and allies) when needed, and never worry about reloading. He lacks any range, but you just close the gap and force any opponents into close quarter fights. He doesn't have any bannable team-ups anymore, so he's a nice consistent pick if you want to learn a good tank.
As Rival's latest tank, Angela has proven to be much better in casual than in competitive. Casual players have a much harder time dealing with aerial characters, and Angela is a constant threat that can swoop in and bully you to death. Her spear impale works very well to punish over-extending tanks or secluded healers. As soon as you take too much damage, you can often retreat to your healers without issue. If you plan on being more competitive over time though, Angela stops being as effective since opponents know how to deal with her.
S Tier
Rival's latest tank is the adorable Devil Dinosaur! He has proven to be not only a great tank, but a fun and approachable tank as well! No matter if you are a tank main, new to the role, or even new to the game, Dino is a great pick across the board!
Doctor Strange is Marvel Rivals' most popular tank. His ease of use makes him easily accessible to players since all they have to do is shoot and raise a shield. His teleport ability is also a great way to give a bad team a way to break through an enemy setup. Since you have total control of it, that means you have the power to influence the match. His only downsides that makes him A-Tier for casual players is his combo fighting. To effectively do damage, you have to constantly raise your shield, drop it and attack, melee, raise it, attack, melee, raise it, attack, then remove your curse so you don't get anti-heal. Without mastering his combo, you will have a hard time securing kills, making you a glorified wall holding back damage (which can still be helpful in casual).
The season 2.5 update brought Peni Parker a brand new team-up with Rocket Raccoon, and it still holds strong now in season 5.0! Peni can already be really effective in casual thanks to her mines, but the team-up gives her a second Spider-Nest that makes her even better! Rocket is a top tier healer anyways, so it won't be hard getting it to be active most games.
The Thing may be bottom tier in competitive, but he is a true menace in casual. Players can't seem to effectively take him down, and he always finds a way to your backline to take out your healers. His buffs in season 5.0 only exaggerate this aspect since he can be even harder to kill without being focused on by the team. Simply put, Thing is a bully to casual players.
Wrap Up
That's all for our Vanguard Tier List! As new characters are added and balance changes are made, we will release updated tier lists for these characters. If you haven't already, be sure to check out our Meta Tier Lists for Strategists and Duelists!
