Marvel Rivals Blade complete guide — combos, team-ups, and matchups for Season 3.5

Who is Blade?

Blade is the Daywalker — half-vampire, half-human, the vampire hunter. In Marvel Rivals he plays as a Duelist with a high-skill, high-reward playstyle: high damage output, low mobility, high sustain if you can land his combos. The Season 3.5 launch (Aug 8) and the Aug 21 sustain buffs have moved him from "niche pick" to "top-tier duelist" in ranked.

This guide covers the post-Aug 21 Blade — the buffs matter, and the "play him like before launch" advice from launch-day guides is wrong now.

The numbers (post-Aug 21 patch)

Stat	Pre-patch	Post-Aug 21
Health	250	250 (unchanged)
Slash (LMB) damage	22 per hit	22 per hit (unchanged)
Stake Throw (RMB) damage	45 direct, 20 explosion	45 direct, 20 explosion (unchanged)
Daywalker Dash (Shift) cooldown	8s	7s
Blood Frenzy (E) lifesteal	30%	40%
Final Death (F) damage	180	220
Ult charge time	~22s of combat	~18s of combat

The two big changes: Blood Frenzy lifesteal went from 30% to 40% (so Blade's sustain in extended fights is much higher), and Final Death damage went from 180 to 220 (so the ult can one-shot more heroes).

The kit (what each ability does)

Slash (LMB): 3-hit melee combo. The first 2 hits do 22 damage each, the third hit does 60 damage and applies a 2s "Bleed" debuff (8 damage per second for 2s, stacks up to 3 times). The combo takes 1.2s to complete. The third hit is the "confirm" — if you can land the third hit on a low-health target, you can kill most 250hp heroes.

Stake Throw (RMB): ranged projectile. Does 45 direct damage + 20 explosion damage in a 2m radius. Cooldown: 6s. The projectile travels in a straight line, no arc. Best used at the start of a fight to soften a target, or to finish off a low-health enemy running away.

Daywalker Dash (Shift): short-range teleport (8m). Invulnerable during the dash. Cooldown: 7s (was 8s). This is your engagement tool — Dash in, get the 3-hit Slash combo, Dash out before the enemy team can collapse on you. The cooldown is short enough that you can engage, disengage, and re-engage.

Blood Frenzy (E): passive + active. The passive is that any Slash hit heals Blade for 40% of the damage dealt (was 30%). The active is a 4-second buff that increases the lifesteal to 70% and gives 20% movement speed. Cooldown: 12s. The active is your "I just killed someone, let me press my advantage" tool — pop it after a kill to chase down the next target.

Final Death (F, ultimate): a leaping strike that does 220 damage in a 4m radius (was 180 damage, 3m radius). You leap up to 15m, then crash down. The leap takes 1.2s — the enemy has time to dodge. Best used: (1) on a stunned/rooted enemy, (2) on a clustered team fight, (3) on a 1v1 where you can predict the enemy's movement. The post-buff damage is high enough that even tanks take 70%+ of their health from the ult.

The combos (in priority order)

Combo 1: Stake → Dash → Slash (the most reliable)

1. Stake Throw to soften the target (-45hp)
2. Daywalker Dash to engage
3. Slash combo (3 hits, ~104 damage + 16 bleed)
4. If target is below 50hp, finish with another Stake (if off cooldown) or chase

This combo does ~165 damage if all hits land, which kills most 250hp heroes in one rotation. The Dash + Slash combo takes 1.8s, which is fast enough to do before most enemies can react.

Combo 2: Blood Frenzy → Slash → Slash → Slash (the sustain combo)

1. Pop Blood Frenzy (4s buff, 70% lifesteal, 20% movespeed)
2. Slash combo (3 hits, ~104 damage + 16 bleed)
3. Each hit heals you for 40-70% of the damage
4. After 1 combo, you've healed ~50-80hp

This is the "extended fight" combo. Use it when you're not sure you can one-shot the target and you need the sustain to survive the counter-attack.

Combo 3: Stake → Blood Frenzy → Dash → Slash → ult (the kill combo)

1. Stake Throw to soften (-45hp)
2. Blood Frenzy (now at 70% lifesteal)
3. Daywalker Dash to engage
4. Slash combo (~104 damage)
5. If the target is below 30%, ult to finish

The post-buff ult does 220 damage, so it kills any hero in the game in one hit. The trick is landing the ult — the 1.2s leap is slow, so the target can dodge if they see it coming.

The team-up partners

Season 3.5 added 2 new Blade team-ups and kept the 2 launch team-ups. Here's the meta after the Aug 21 buffs:

Best partner: Storm (the "Lightning Rod" team-up)

When Blade uses Stake Throw, Storm gets a 10% damage boost for 4s. When Storm uses one of her AoE abilities, Blade gets a 5% movespeed boost for 3s. The synergy is: Storm throws her AoE to soften multiple targets, Blade dashes in to clean up. The Aug 21 buffs made this combo much better because Blade's higher lifesteal means he can survive the dive.

Strong partner: Iron Fist (the "Chi Master" team-up)

When Blade uses Slash, Iron Fist gets a 5% damage reduction for 2s. When Iron Fist uses his Dragon Kick, Blade gets a 10% attack speed boost for 3s. The synergy is: Iron Fist engages first, Blade follows up with the Slash combo. The two duelists together can delete any single target in 3 seconds.

Niche partner: Luna Snow (the "Frost Bite" team-up)

When Blade lands a Bleed debuff, Luna Snow gets a 5% ult charge boost. When Luna Snow uses her Ice Shard, the target takes 5% more damage from Blade's Slashes for 3s. The synergy is: Luna marks a target, Blade focuses them down. Niche because Luna is usually played with a Strategist, not a Duelist.

Avoid: Black Panther (the "Hunter's Mark" team-up)

When Blade kills a target, Black Panther gets a 15% ult charge. When Black Panther kills a target, Blade gets a 10% movespeed boost. The team-up looks good on paper, but the Aug 21 sustain buffs mean Blade no longer needs Black Panther's movespeed boost — Blade's sustain is already high enough to win the 1v1.

The matchup spread

Hard counters (Blade loses most 1v1s):

• Storm: her ranged poke + movespeed makes her hard to engage. Avoid 1v1.
• Spider-Man: his vertical mobility + the Web Cluster stun means he can kite Blade all day.
• Mantis: her sleep + damage boost makes her a deadly duelist counter.

Skill matchups (50/50, depends on player skill):

• Iron Fist: see above, depends on who engages first.
• Magik: her Stepping Disks dash + Darkchild form are hard to predict.
• Hulk: his bulk means Blade needs to commit multiple combos to kill him, but Blade's sustain can outlast.

Good matchups (Blade wins most 1v1s):

• Punisher: low mobility, no escape, dies to one Slash combo.
• Hawkeye: low HP, no sustain, dies to Stake + Slash.
• Wolverine: similar to Blade (Duelist with sustain), but Blade's ranged Stake + better sustain wins.
• Storm: yes, she's also listed as a hard counter. Depends on whether the Storm player is poking from range or in your face.

The post-Aug 21 verdict: Blade is now a top-3 Duelist in the meta. The sustain buffs made him much harder to kill in extended fights, and the higher ult damage made him a one-shot threat from range.

How to play him in ranked (the basics)

Engage with Stake, not Dash. The Dash is your escape as much as your engage. Stake Throw is the safe opener — it doesn't commit you to the fight. If you can land Stake + Slash combo, great. If not, you haven't burned your Dash.

Save Blood Frenzy for the second engagement. The temptation is to pop Blood Frenzy at the start of every fight. Don't. The 12s cooldown means you only get 1-2 Blood Frenzy activations per team fight. Save it for the second wave when the enemy healer is on cooldown.

Use the ult to zone, not to confirm. The 220 damage is great, but the 1.2s leap is slow. If you can leap into a cluster of 2-3 enemies, the AoE damage + the threat of the leap can zone them off the objective. Even if you don't kill anyone, you forced them to reposition.

Don't fight a Strategist alone. Luna, Mantis, and Cloak & Dagger are the hardest matchups for Blade because they have stuns + heals. The 1v1 is a coin flip. The 2v1 is always a win. If you see a lone Strategist, wait for your team's other Duelist to join before engaging.

Position with the Vanguard. Blade's sustain means he can stay close to the frontline without dying. He's not a flanker (like Spider-Man) or a backline diver (like Storm). He's a "follow the Vanguard in, Slash the first target" Duelist.

FAQ

Is Blade good in Season 3.5? Yes, he's a top-3 Duelist after the Aug 21 sustain buffs. The Blood Frenzy lifesteal increase (30% → 40%) and the Final Death damage increase (180 → 220) make him much more dangerous in extended fights.

What's the best Blade team-up? Storm (Lightning Rod) is the strongest. Iron Fist (Chi Master) is the second-best. Luna Snow is niche but viable.

How do I play against Blade? Play Storm (range kite), Spider-Man (vertical mobility), or Mantis (sleep). Avoid the 1v1 if possible — force Blade to commit to a fight he can't win by collapsing on him with 2 heroes.

When is the next Blade buff/nerf? The next Marvel Rivals patch is expected in mid-September. No Blade-specific changes have been announced, but the meta will likely shift around him as teams learn to play against the post-buff version.

Where can I see Blade's win rate? The Marvel Rivals API has per-hero stats. As of Aug 21, Blade's win rate is 52.3% in Diamond+ ranked, up from 47.1% pre-buff.