Marvel Rivals: How to Counter Every Vanguard Hero

Vanguards are one of the three main hero roles available in Marvel Rivals, with these characters featuring bulky designs that assist them in holding the frontline of battle, pushing up to claim space, and soaking up rounds of incoming damage to help protect their team. However, one of the most difficult parts of the free-to-play team shooter for new players or those limited to just a few heroes is counter-play. Knowing which heroes completely counter your main picks, as well as which heroes you can switch to to gain an advantage over the enemy, is an important element to each match. If you're wondering what the best options are for battling each Vanguard hero in Marvel Rivals, this guide has you covered with as many options as possible across all three roles.

How to Counter Deadpool in Marvel Rivals

Deadpool is the only character on the Rivals roster who operates under all three roles. This makes him one of the most well-rounded characters and one of the trickiest to ‘hard counter’, so to speak. Regardless, there are still a few matchups that you can run to apply pressure and make his job tricky.

• Characters who have high DPS from range can out-play him with good positioning, making it hard for him to break into the fight. Hela, Hawkeye, and Punisher are decent examples.
• Winter Soldier gains shields with each ability used, meaning he has strong survivability for brawls against Deadpool. A good Bucky can use this to their advantage to take him out.
• Thing, Peni, and Groot can play very 'in his face', and Thing even takes away his crucial movement abilities. Peni's nest can create extra hazards for Deadpool to deal with, especially DPSPool or StrategistPool. Groot can block him off with walls and capitalise on moments of bad positioning.
• Loki’s lamps can make it hard for Deadpool to take out targets, and his invisibility + clone teleport come in handy for survival in such matchups. Alternatively, Luna Snow is a good all-rounder whose freeze can soft-counter nearly anyone on the roster if hit consistently.

How to Counter Angela in Marvel Rivals

• The best chance of countering Angela is through CC or disruption of her pin, which is used to displace enemies and even dump them off the map.
• Gambit can cleanse anyone who is being pinned away by her, freeing them from the CC of her pin. Invisible Woman can displace her with her push/pull, or even shield her pins, too, which helps to disrupt. Luna Snow can use her freeze to catch Angela in a dive, enabling the team to turn and peel for an easy pick. Mantis can also do the same with her sleep.
• Winter Soldier can use his hook to disrupt and stun Angela, then use his combos to take her out. The shields from his abilities will be handy in these fights, too. Phoenix can also use her stun to CC Angela and stack multiple explosive primary fires on her before she starts to fly away, resulting in an easy pick. Star-Lord can blink through her pins, use his E barrage to apply pressure when she flies in close, and also chase her with his hitscan primary fire bursts to clean up the kill.
• Venom can swing away from her pins and also swing back in a pinch to help peel when she targets the backline. Emma Frost can grab Angela with her choke slam when she flies in, Diamond Form makes her unable to be grabbed, and her close-range brawl in that form is very strong against Angela.

How to Counter Captain America in Marvel Rivals

• Peni Parker can disrupt Cap’s ability to run in close with her nest and mines, and is generally a hassle for Cap to play into efficiently. For a more offensive/brawly option, a good Hulk can use his bubbles to protect his team from Cap, and also use his stun to CC Cap before he can make an escape, opening a kill window.
• Daredevil’s ability to lock on to a particular target makes him perfect for pivoting in to kill him once his cooldowns are up, or his shield is gone. Daredevil can also be very handy in peeling for the backline when Cap dives in during these hectic team fights. Characters who can maintain distance and snipe Captain America from afar are also strong, so long as you don’t snipe into his shield – Hawkeye and Hela are solid picks. Lastly, mobile characters with decent burst DPS, such as Star-Lord and Magik, can also use their dodges to survive Cap’s damage output and win the fight against him.
• Rocket Raccoon has good survivability thanks to his wall run and small hitbox, meaning you can simply run away and reposition when Cap dives in, and he has strong heals over time. Invisible Woman’s team shield and self-shielding ability mean she has strong survivability chances when he dives her, and can even displace him with her push/pull, buying time for peel. Cloak and Dagger can blind him, making him vulnerable in the backline, and use their fade to reposition safely, and the placeable heal bubble can be clutch for surviving a dive if absolutely necessary.

How to Counter Doctor Strange in Marvel Rivals

• Venom, Thing, and Hulk can jump/dive in, apply pressure to Doctor Strange when necessary, and make his job to push up and take space as difficult as possible.
• Wolverine can absolutely shred through Strange’s shield and completely displace him from the frontline with his leap. Squirrel Girl, Moon Knight, and Punisher apply lots of pressure to Strange down choke points, and can blast through his primary resource – his shield, with ease.
• Loki’s clones/lamps can be extremely strong in surviving the likes of Strange’s Ultimate. Gambit can cleanse people from the Eye of Agamotto with both his Hearts cleanse and his Ultimate, too.

How to Counter Emma Frost in Marvel Rivals

• If Peni Parker has great positioning with her nest, she can be a hassle for Emma, as Emma has to first clear the nest before she can really push in and use her Diamond Form to brawl. Peni can also use her web to stun her and help tick Diamond Form down, winding down her resources. Magneto has a huge frontline presence and can be a bit tough for Emma to push through, with both his shield and his bubbles, as well as slower, but serious mid-range damage. He can simply bubble and shield his way through her beam and has all of the resources he needs to protect his team from her Ultimate.
• Emma Frost, as she has very little vertical mobility and combat potential, can struggle against skilled flyer heroes. This means the likes of flying heroes with strong DPS, such as Iron Man and Human Torch, can harass and overwhelm Emma with pressure from the sky. Emma also has a limited range, so backline DPS and snipers such as Punisher, Hela, and Hawkeye can also be extremely strong and difficult for Emma to play into, especially on the likes of a tough offensive push or tight chokepoint.
• Invisible Woman has good survivability and possibility of escape to reposition when Emma Ultimates or walks in, Gambit can apply Anti-heal to help burst her down, and White Fox has her handy teleport and shield, plus the ability to sustain in very brawly fights.

How to Counter Groot in Marvel Rivals

• In terms of Vanguard, high mobility picks such as Venom and Angela can be useful, so long as you don’t get yourself trapped. Doctor Strange and Magneto can also use their shields to walk up and take space against Groot, whilst providing cover for their team to shred his walls.
• High, rapid-fire or spam DPS can take down Groot’s walls – his primary defensive source, efficiently. Punisher, Moon Knight, and Squirrel Girl can all take down his walls with just a few clicks. Groot can also sometimes struggle against flyers, particularly ones with great positioning. Human Torch, Storm, and Iron Man can all work in such a situation.
• Gambit can bounce his heals off of other players and walls, helping to heal despite Groot’s ability to block and displace others with his walls. He can also cleanse teammates from Groot’s Ultimate. White Fox is useful for similar reasons, as she can also bounce heals through allies, teleport through his walls, and use her ultimate to bounce over them and turn a team fight. Loki can also move around efficiently and apply healing to his allies and damage to Groot, whilst mostly avoiding any damage from Groot. Ultron can also fly out of Groot’s range and heal/help secure picks from the sky.

How to Counter Hulk in Marvel Rivals

• There aren’t really any hard counters for a good Hulk on Vanguard, but another brawl/dive, such as Captain America, Thing, or another Hulk, can compete and potentially out-brawl him. Angela could also perhaps displace him with her pin and use her team to pick him off. Peni Parker can also burn through his HP with smart mine and nest placement, turning him into Bruce Banner for an easy pick.
• DPS who can maintain distance from his dive and pick him off from afar, such as Hela, Phoenix, and Hawkeye, are good if you can hit your shots. Alternatively, stuns such as Bucky and Wanda can be handy, a good Wolverine can shred him and stop his jump back to safety with his leap, or even someone like Namor or Moon Knight, who can provide heavy burst damage when he jumps in, can shut him down with coordinated focus fire.
• In terms of Strategist, picks who have strong survivability or a self-heal are important, in case your team is not ready to peel. Invisible Woman has her self-shield and push+pull, Cloak and Dagger, and blind and cloak out, Gambit has his healing spin-dash to reposition to teammates, and White Fox has her teleport away if in desperate need.
• Lastly, a flying team comp can also be tricky for Hulk, unless he’s able to consistently stun them out of the sky. Iron Man, Human Torch, Storm, Angela, Ultron, and Phoenix all have pretty solid air mobility and can be tricky kills for the Hulk to secure in repetition.

How to Counter Magneto in Marvel Rivals

• Magneto doesn’t have the mobility to keep up with the likes of Venom, Captain America, and Angela, so if they time their dives well, it can disrupt his play by drawing attention away from the frontline and his ability to make space.
• Wolverine is one of the biggest threats to Magneto. He can absolutely shred through his resources and completely displace him with his leap. Magneto also doesn’t have any mobility himself to get back to his team when this happens, so it can be a very rough matchup. Other heroes who can displace Magneto for easier picks with the likes of pulls, pushes, or knockback include Spider-Man, Magik, and Emma Frost’s kick, just to name a few.
• Magneto has a huge Ultimate that can shut down key Strategist abilities and Ultimates, so the most important thing when playing into him on this role is survivability – though, when it comes to his Ultimate is is more of a decision-making and reaction time-based outcome. Invisible Woman, if timed perfectly, can shield his Ultimate. Loki’s lamps can ensure survival. Gambit can spin-dash up and over his Ultimate, sometimes even destroying it in the process. White Fox can teleport away and shield. Adam Warlock can apply strong DPS pressure from a Support role, and use his flight to dodge/survive his Ultimate, and/or his revive to bring himself back.

How to Counter Peni Parker in Marvel Rivals

• Venom can swing in, take out her nest, pop his e, keep chipping damage, swing out, and then rinse and repeat. Doctor Strange can flash his shield to block her webs and mines, and enable his team to take out her nest.
• Mister Fantastic is great with Peni Parker. He can take a bit of damage while he pokes to take out her nest from afar, pop into his big form, then use his square form to absorb damage in a pinch. His survivability enables him to keep chipping away at Peni’s nest, enabling his team to push forward. Her nest can act like a free ankh to Moon Knight, and she’s a big target, so if her team is playing around her, that means easy bounce damage. Winter Soldier and Punisher also have very strong DPS and can take out her nest, and/or Peni once they have space to do so.
• Rocket Raccoon can stay well away from her mines and nest and still provide value in his healing to his team if there is a lot of pressure. However, he is small, can climb over walls and sit at unexpected angles, and his gun is one of the best for taking out deployables such as her nest, so he’s great for this, too. Loki can position his clones down sights, or on top of buildings at off angles to help target Peni and her nest.

How to Counter Rogue in Marvel Rivals

Rogue’s most lethal ability is the ability to steal the powers of enemies on the field! This means that by playing characters who don’t have powers, but instead use weapons or devices can reduce her effectiveness as much as possible.

• Peni Parker’s mines are annoying for non-shield Vanguards such as Rogue to play into, and Peni has the bonus of not giving her any abilities beyond the passive that she gets regardless of hero, based on role.
• Iron Man, Punisher, and Hawkeye all use weapons/machinery, so you won’t need to worry about them too. Furthermore, Rogue has limited flight, and Iron Man has strong aerial mobility, so you can stay out of her range pretty easily and apply damage. Punisher has strong burst damage when she closes distance, and Hawkeye can snipe her from afar.
• Rocket Raccoon and Ultron also refrain from giving Rogue any powers. Rocket can scurry away if she lands in the backline, and Ultron can keep distance in the sky and apply damage from afar to her with his extensive range.

How to Counter The Thing in Marvel Rivals

• Thing relies on running in and getting in for close-proximity brawls. Peni Parker setting up her minefield makes it much harder for him to run into her team without being exploded. Magneto and Doctor Strange can use their shields to cover teammates Thing is focusing on, as well as potentially block his Ultimate. Their shields buy time for the DPS to shred him, as he is a massive, easy-to-hit target – even for a Vanguard.
• Characters such as Moon Knight, Punisher, and Squirrel Girl can do a lot of burst damage to him, as he is very easy for them to hit, and will struggle to push into consistent pressure from their primary fire.
• Adam Warlock can help chip down Thing’s HP whilst also healing his team, Invisible Woman can self-shield, and team shield to block his Ultimate, and her Ultimate is quite tricky for Thing to play into. Loki’s lamps provide a big heal that can negate a push by Thing and save your teammates, and lastly, Gambit is another great pick as his primary can both heal and damage, enabling you to pivot between keeping your allies up and helping to chip Thing down. Plus, his Anti-Heal on Thing is brutal, taking him down in seconds due to being such a big target. And of course, he can cleanse people out of Thing’s Ultimate CC, too.

How to Counter Thor in Marvel Rivals

• Thor is quite close-range with his attacks, so Peni can be a nuisance for him to play into. Other than that, Magneto and Doctor Strange can also help stop Thor from operating at maximum efficiency, due to being able to shield his lightning, bubble allies he dives or tries to displace. Even better, though, is the likes of CC potential. Peni can do this with her web, but Emma Frost is another choice, thanks to her choke slam. She can also pivot into her Diamond Form pretty easily as soon as Thor commits to the fight, and then focus him down with her team.
• Wanda has a pretty strong stun, Bucky is great for using his hook and ability combos, and even the likes of stun + headshot-heavy DPS, such as Hela or Phoenix, can be great at taking him out swiftly with a stun. Wolverine can both stun him with a leap, as well as shred his HP, too, forcing him to either back out or commit and die.
• Luna has strong horizontal mobility and can freeze Thor on dive. Invisible Woman can push/pull him away and place the vortex down when he dives her. Mantis sleep plus headshots is also pretty good at taking him out, or Adam secondary fire headshots, too.

How to Counter Venom in Marvel Rivals

• A very good Hulk player is actually rather effective against a Venom. He can provide the opportunity for his backline to escape via his stun, and his bubbles can also save their lives – this comes in clutch for Venom’s Ultimate. Magneto’s bubbles are effective for the same reason.
• The high DPS of a shotgun Punisher can force Venom’s crucial cooldowns and confirm kills on him, especially with headshot focus. Bucky can hook him back when he goes to swing sway, combo him, and gain extra shields to stay alive long enough to properly fight him.
• Invisible Woman is a huge threat to Venom. Once he uses his swing, she can push/pull him, and he has to break through her self-shield before he can kill her. White Fox can be annoying for the same reason, because of her ability to shield and teleport when he dives.