Marvel Rivals: Best Counters for All Vanguard Heroes

Vanguards in Marvel Rivals are durable front liners who can withstand damage, initiate fights, and protect teammates. While they may seem difficult to take down, each Vanguard has specific weaknesses and counters. In this guide, we will list the best counters for all Vanguard heroes in Marvel Rivals.

Best Counters for All Vanguard Heroes in Marvel Rivals

There are a total of 8 Vanguards in Marvel Rivals at the time of writing this article. Each role has unique characteristics and abilities that can be countered by specific skills and playstyles. Here is the complete list of the best counters for Vanguards in Marvel Rivals:

1. Captain America

Captain America is a chaser Vanguard, tasked with disrupting your backline and healers. Here are the methods you can try to counter him in a match:

• The best way to stop him is by using immobilizing skills like Peni Parker’s Web Snare or Luna Snow’s Absolute Zero to keep him from closing the gap.
• To prevent him from reaching your backline, Namor’s minions can help guard and stop him from breaking through. Plus they will attack him whenever he tries to engage. Be sure to deploy the minions in positions that are out of Captain America’s reach to maximize their effectiveness.
• Since Captain America is a melee hero, playing as Storm lets you stay airborne and out of his reach while dealing damage nonstop, making her a strong counter.
• You can use Magik’s teleportation to flank Captain America, burst him down quickly, and escape or reposition with Stepping Discs before he counters.

2. Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange’s bread and butter is his huge shield, which can block incoming projectiles. However, he struggles in close-range combat, making melee fighters his biggest threat.

• Thor is an excellent counter, as he can quickly close the gap and force Doctor Strange into a fight. This pressure forces Strange to drop his shield, creating an opportunity for your Duelists to engage.
• Scarlet Witch and Wolverine are tank busters in Marvel Rivals, making Doctor Strange—with his high HP pool—one of their prime targets.
• Luna Snow’s ultimate can counter Doctor Strange’s ultimate effectively. If you time it right, activating just after you hear “By the Eye of Agamotto”, you can save your teammates from dying. This is easy to execute since Luna Snow’s ult is instant, while Strange’s ult has a slight delay before activating.

3. Groot

Groot brings powerful defensive capabilities to any team composition in Marvel Rivals. However, you can try to counter his ability with these heroes:

• The best way to counter Groot is to kidnap him and bring him into your team’s territory, where he can be quickly eliminated. Wolverine’s Feral Leap is perfect for this, as it allows you to grab Groot and isolate him from his team, often leading to a guaranteed kill.
• Groot’s strength lies in his deployed walls, which can block vision and even interrupt healing for your team. The best way to counter this is by using characters who can bounce their projectiles off walls, like Squirrel Girl and Rocket Raccoon. They excel at this, allowing them to damage Groot and his allies despite the obstruction.
• Punisher is an excellent burst damage dealer capable of destroying Groot’s walls quickly. Don’t hesitate to use up your ammo to break the walls, as removing them as fast as possible is crucial to maintaining visibility and healing access for your team.

4. Hulk

Hulk is another diver Vanguard who specializes in jumping into the backline to disrupt supports and squishy heroes. The best way to counter him is by forcing him out of position:

• Thor is a perfect counter, as he can use Storm Surge (Shift) to push Hulk away from your teammates, disrupting his engagement and giving your team room for breathing.
• Scarlet Witch and Wolverine are excellent choices since their tank-buster passives allow them to quickly chip away at Hulk’s HP.
• Punisher is another strong option, as his high burst damage can melt Hulk’s health bar before he becomes a real threat.
• For Strategists, Luna Snow can counter Hulk by freezing him with Absolute Zero and attacking from a distance, while Mantis can use Spore Slumber to put him to sleep, making him vulnerable to team attacks.

5. Magneto

Magneto is great at blocking enemy projectiles, so the best way to counter him is by using melee heroes or those who rely on non-projectile attacks.w

• Captain America and Magik make a strong duo for hunting down Magneto. The biggest obstacle is his shield bubbles, which last 2.5 seconds—once they disappear, you can eliminate him quickly.
• Wolverine is the perfect Duelist to counter Magneto. Using Feral Leap, you can kidnap him and isolate him for an easy kill. The game even encourages this matchup, rewarding you with an achievement for killing Magneto with Wolverine.
• Loki is another strong counter, as he can negate Magneto’s ultimate using his Regeneration Domain (Shift), preventing Magneto from wreaking havoc on your team.

6. Peni Parker

Peni Parker specializes in her explosive mini robots, but without them, she becomes significantly weaker. The best counters involve destroying her Bionic Spider Nest or negating its damage.

• Groot can instantly destroy Peni Parker’s Bionic Spider Nest by building a wall underneath it, making this the ultimate counter.
• Magneto can negate all damage from Peni’s explosive robots and mines by using his shield bubble, allowing him to safely destroy the nest.
• Moon Knight is a great counter because Peni Parker usually stays inside her web nest, making her an easy target for Moon Knight’s Ankhs.
• Iron Man can rain down missiles from above to destroy Peni’s nest from a safe distance. Just be cautious and avoid getting ensnared by her traps.

7. Thor

Thor is a melee-ranged hybrid who constantly needs to dive offensively in Marvel Rivals, but he heavily relies on healing to stay in the fight. The best counters involve denying his healing, trapping him after a dive, or punishing his aggression.

• Groot can block Thor’s retreat with his walls, preventing him from escaping after a dive and cutting off his healing by blocking the healers’ line of sight.
• Peni Parker is a strong counter, especially when defending. Since Thor has to jump into enemy territory, he’ll land in Peni’s mine-filled web area, often dropping his HP to critical levels.
• Hela can outrange her Asgardian brother and constantly chip away at his health, forcing him to retreat before making impactful plays.
• Luna Snow’s freeze and Mantis’ sleep are excellent tools to stun Thor mid-dive, rendering him completely vulnerable and ineffective.

8. Venom

Venom is a high-survivability Vanguard with a large HP pool and armor abilities, making him difficult to take down. However, he has clear counters that can push him away, punish his dives, or avoid his deadly attacks.

• Thor can push Venom away using Storm Surge, preventing him from reaching and damaging the backline, especially stopping his Cellular Corrosion from hitting healers.
• Wolverine is a strong counter, as he can use Feral Leap to engage Venom after he dives in, often forcing Venom to either retreat immediately or die. Pairing Wolverine with Scarlet Witch ensures Venom has no chance of survival.
• Rocket Raccoon’s high mobility allows him to escape Venom’s Cellular Corrosion (RMB), making it easy to avoid being trapped and nullifying Venom’s biggest damage source.

To counter Vanguards, use tank-busters like Wolverine and Scarlet Witch, rely on crowd control to keep them in check, and attack from a distance with ranged characters. Choosing the right heroes and strategies can help shut down even the toughest Vanguards in Marvel Rivals.