Marvel Rivals Vanguard Tier List (Season 11)

What a Vanguard Actually Does

The wiki describes Vanguards as frontline heroes with large health pools and crowd control, and notes that every one of them has at least one way to block or mitigate damage: some raise barriers, others generate large amounts of bonus health. Their job is to walk into space nobody else can survive in, absorb fire, and turn that into room for Duelists to deal damage and Strategists to heal. A good Vanguard is measured by how much easier they make everyone else's game, not by their own eliminations.

Teams usually run one or two Vanguards. A single tank trades durability for a second damage dealer and suits faster, more open maps; two tanks are slower but much harder to break, which helps on choke-heavy points and stubborn convoy pushes.

That framing is why this list rewards different instincts from a Duelist ranking: durability that lasts a whole fight, tools that reclaim ground, and the ability to protect a healer who is being dived.

Season 11's Tank Changes

The Version 20261113 balance post, released with Season 11 on November 13, 2026, changed eight Vanguards plus Deadpool's Vanguard version, and most of it pulls the strongest tanks back. No Vanguard moved a full tier on our list as a result, but the letters below now rest partly on these numbers.

Devil Dinosaur took the biggest cut. The post says that since his Season 10 buffs he "has been a dominant force among Vanguards", and it reduced Savage Predation's control from 0.8s to 0.6s and the launch after it from 1.5s to 1.2s, removed Buddy Barrier's 15% Slow and shortened it from 6s to 4s with 400 shield instead of 450, and cut Apex Advantage's bonus health from 150% of Bleed damage to 125%. Emma Frost lost some of her edge against other tanks: Mind's Aegis 400 to 350 with recovery 80/s to 65/s, and Psychic Spear's extracted-sentience damage changed from 25% of maximum health to 60 plus 10%. Doctor Strange's Shield of the Seraphim fell from 850 to 800, recovering at 50/s instead of 60/s. Peni Parker's Cyber-Web Cluster explosion went from 15 to 12 damage and her Arachno-Mines now wait 0.7s instead of 0.6s before detonating. Venom's Dark Predation got a slightly larger hit detection radius, but Symbiotic Resilience's base bonus health fell from 100 to 75.

Three tanks got buffs, two of them with a trade-off. Angela's Axes of Ichors first three strikes rose from 30 to 35, and after Divine Judgement she keeps its Movement Speed and Bonus Health buffs for 6s without staying in the domain. Groot's Thornlash Wall hits harder through Flora Colossus (60 to 65), though Ironwood Wall's health fell from 600 to 550. Rogue's first two Power Surge Punch hits went from 35 to 40, while her Defensive Stance absorption radius shrank from 2m to 1.2m.

S-Tier Vanguards: Emma Frost, Peni Parker, Venom

Each S-tier tank dominates a different part of the job.

Emma Frost protects her team and threatens the enemy at the same time. Mind's Aegis is a placeable shield, 350 health since Season 11, that she can push out ahead to cover a doorway, and Diamond Form trades her psychic abilities for strong melee tools, heavy damage resistance and Unstoppable, which makes her immune to stuns and knockbacks while it lasts. Season 10 made her stronger again: base health 650 to 675, Telepathic Pulse range 18m to 20m, and Carbon Crush dash distance 7m to 8.5m.

Peni Parker earns her place through space denial. Her Cyber-Webs give allies who stand on them movement speed, healing over time and bonus health; Arachno-Mines hide on her webs; and the Bionic Spider-Nest spawns exploding Spider-Drones at enemies who step on its web. On defense and on any point that funnels attackers through a choke, a well-placed nest quietly wins fights before they start. Season 10 cut her Cyber-Web Cluster firing interval from 0.3s to 0.25s and removed its self-slow.

Venom is the aggressive answer. Symbiotic Resilience gives him bonus health plus an extra amount based on health already lost, so he gets harder to kill the lower he gets; Venom Swing gets him in and out; Frenzied Arrival dives onto the backline and launches enemies up. The caveat is that the wiki lists his reliance on teammates following his engages as his main weakness. He needs a backline worth diving and a team that comes with him. Season 10 and 10.5 left him alone; Season 11's mixed changes to him are listed above.

A-Tier Vanguards: Devil Dinosaur, Groot, Hulk, Magneto, The Hood, Thor

The A-tier tanks are excellent front-liners that each want one condition to reach their ceiling.

Magneto is the anchor of the group. He shields himself and an ally with Iron and Metal Bulwark, blocks projectiles with Metallic Curtain, and turns absorbed damage into ammunition for Mag-Cannon. Season 10 hit him hard, though: base health 650 to 600 and both Bulwark shields 250 to 200. The wiki already calls him surprisingly frail with his shields on cooldown, so the nerf sharpens his main weakness. Season 10.5 partly compensated through his Team-Up with Emma Frost (magnetic projection damage 45% to 50%, duration 5s to 6s), which keeps him in A on our list.

Groot reshapes the battlefield with Ironwood and Thornlash Walls that block sight lines and enemy fire, and Season 10 raised the bonus health from awakening an Ironwood Wall from 40 to 50. Hulk is effectively two health bars, since he reverts to Bruce Banner when Hero Hulk is knocked down, and Season 10.5 sped Banner's Gamma Ray Gun from 80m/s to 120m/s and doubled the gamma energy his Gamma Grenade gives him (50 to 100). Thor builds Thorforce charges that grant bonus health and dives with Storm Surge; Season 10 raised his base health from 300 to 325. Devil Dinosaur is a huge bleed bruiser who converts damage on bleeding enemies into bonus health. Season 10 extended his bleed, Season 10.5 trimmed his base health from 850 to 825, and Season 11 cut his control, his Buddy Barrier and his bonus health. He keeps an A, but he is now the A-tier tank closest to B.

The Hood is the newest Vanguard and the hardest to place. The wiki calls him a hitscan off-tank: his Accursed Pistols charge Demonic Energy, and at 100% he enters a half-demon state with lifesteal fire. His pistols have very high damage falloff, so the wiki notes he is much weaker at long range. Season 10 trimmed him on several lines: base health 600 to 550, Mantle of Oblivion cooldown 10s to 12s, Abyssal Veil's damage reduction against projectiles 35% to 20%, and less bonus health from his ultimate. We keep him at A for now, but his is the Vanguard placement most likely to drop.

B-Tier Vanguards: Angela, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Rogue, The Thing

B tier does not mean unplayable. These Vanguards ask more of you or your team to reach the value the higher tiers get for free.

Doctor Strange is the clearest example. Shield of the Seraphim is a large frontal shield, and Pentagram of Farallah opens two linked portals that can move his whole team, but a team that ignores the portal or fights behind the shield without a plan wastes most of what makes him special. Season 10 made his Daggers of Denak faster (60m/s to 80m/s) and quicker to fire (0.9s to 0.8s between casts).

Captain America and Rogue are the mobile picks. Cap is a hit-and-run diver whose Living Legend shield deflects projectiles; Season 10 raised his base health from 300 to 350 and removed the bounce damage falloff on Vibranium Energy Saw. Rogue pulls enemies in with Fatal Attraction and pins one with Ability Absorption to steal one of their abilities. Season 10 raised her Regenerative Shield from 250 to 275 and the Maximum Health she gains from absorbing a Vanguard from 125 to 150.

The Thing is a brawler who cannot be knocked back or displaced. Season 10 cut his base health from 750 to 725 and his Stone Haymaker from 55 plus 10% of the target's maximum health to 55 plus 8%, though Season 10.5 shortened his Unbreakable Forces cooldown with Invisible Woman from 20s to 15s. Angela switches between a spear stance with free flight and an axe stance, which opens angles grounded tanks cannot reach at the cost of some classic frontline soak. Season 10 cut how much damage her illusions can take in her Team-Up with Loki, from 250 to 150.

Anchors, Divers, and The Hood in Between

Most Vanguards lean toward one of two jobs. Anchors such as Magneto, Groot, Peni Parker and Doctor Strange hold ground. They plant themselves on the objective, build a wall of durability and area denial, and dare the enemy to break through. Divers such as Venom, Captain America and Thor leave the front line to threaten the enemy's most vulnerable players, forcing the backline to peel instead of healing and dealing damage. The wiki's gameplay glossary adds Hulk, The Thing and Rogue to its list of brawlers, heroes who win at close range through sustain.

The Hood fits neither bucket cleanly. He does not raise a wall the way an anchor does, and his pistols mean he does not have to close the gap the way a diver does. He sits closer to a poke tank: he holds the front line with his body, chips at mid range, then pushes harder once his half-demon state is up.

The practical lesson is to match the archetype to the map and the enemy. Against a poke team that wants to sit back, a diver forces the fight. Against a dive-heavy team collapsing on your Strategists, an anchor who can peel is worth more. Two anchors and no threat can be ignored; two divers and no ground control get rolled off the point.

Peeling for Your Backline

If one habit decides whether a Vanguard earns their tier, it is peeling: the wiki's glossary defines it simply as assisting an ally who is being attacked. In practice it means turning around to protect your Strategists when a diver jumps them, instead of chasing your own kill. A dead healer usually means a lost fight no matter how much damage you soaked.

Some kits make peeling easier than others. Emma Frost's Carbon Crush stuns and can cancel an enemy ultimate during its start-up. Peni Parker's Cyber-Web Snare immobilises targets and can interrupt ultimates such as Scarlet Witch's Reality Erasure. Thor's Storm Surge can push a diver away from his own backline. Those built-in tools are part of why the S and A tiers feel safe to play behind.

When you are learning any Vanguard, build the reflex of checking your backline before you commit forward. A workable rule of thumb: if a Strategist is under half health with an enemy diver on them, your next few seconds belong to that diver, not to the point.

Practising Tanks With Our Hero Randomizer

Reading a tier list is passive, and it does not help in the game where you end up on tank and freeze at hero select. The fastest way to get comfortable across the whole Vanguard roster is to play tanks you would never pick yourself, which is what our fan-made marvel rivals hero randomizer is built for.

Set the role filter to Vanguard and let it choose. One game you are learning how far a Groot wall reaches, the next you are timing Magneto's Mag-Cannon, the one after that you are finding out that Venom is only as strong as the backline he can reach. The Hood in particular rewards early practice, since a hero this new has no settled playbook. For full-team practice, marvel rivals team randomizer rolls a balanced lineup.