Best Marvel Rivals Supports after Season 3.5 — the post-Blade meta tier list

The Season 3.5 patch (August 8, 2026) reworked the Support meta in Marvel Rivals. Two team-ups were removed (Guardian Revival, Atlas Bond), two were added (Duality Dance, Vibrant Vitality), and the ranked matchmaker now caps team size by rank.

We rank all 12 Supports for the post-Blade meta with picks for every rank bracket.

Tier list methodology

We ranked each Support on:

• Healing throughput — HP/s in a team fight
• Utility — stuns, speed boosts, damage buffs,

anti-heal

• Survivability — self-peel and mobility
• Team-up fit — synergy with the new 3.5

team-ups

• Skill floor — how viable at low ranks

The S tier Supports are dominant at every rank. The A tier Supports are strong but require team comp support. The B tier Supports are niche or outclassed. The C tier Supports are only viable in specific team comps.

S tier

Mantis

Mantis is the most impactful Support in Season 3.5 thanks to the new Vibrant Vitality team-up. When paired with Groot, his walls heal nearby allies. When paired with Loki, his healing fields grant a damage boost. This makes Mantis the anchor for two of the strongest team comps in the game.

• Healing throughput: A
• Utility: S (Vibrant Vitality)
• Survivability: B
• Skill floor: B (positioning is hard)

Best for: players who can anchor a team comp with Groot or Loki. Highest skill ceiling in the Support class.

Luna Snow

Luna's team-up identity changed in 3.5 — she lost Atlas Bond but gained Duality Dance with Adam Warlock (powers up Luna's attacks based on damage she received). She's also added to Chilling Assault with Iron Fist.

Luna is now a damage-sponge healer rather than a tank-anchor. The survivability is high, the healing is consistent, and the new team-ups give her more damage than before.

• Healing throughput: A
• Utility: A
• Survivability: S
• Skill floor: A (easy to play)

Best for: any rank, any team comp. The most well-rounded Support in the game.

A tier

Cloak & Dagger

C&D remain top-tier for sustain healing and got Lunar Force (Blade added to the team-up) in 3.5. The healing is the highest in the game for a single target, and the flight mobility makes them safe.

They drop to A tier because the 3.5 team-up changes reduced their value — they're no longer the only Support that can heal-blade a Duelist.

• Healing throughput: S
• Utility: B
• Survivability: A
• Skill floor: A

Best for: players who want safe, high-healing play.

Adam Warlock

Adam's Cosmic Comeback is still one of the best team-fight revives in the game. He gains Duality Dance with Luna Snow in 3.5, which complements his revival kit.

Adam drops slightly because the hero-specific Cosmic Comeback bug (where the bonus health on revived teammates would vanish if Adam was KO'd) is fixed in 3.5 — making him slightly weaker than before.

• Healing throughput: B
• Utility: S (revive)
• Survivability: B
• Skill floor: A

Best for: coordinated teams that need a revive.

Loki

Loki's healing fields were already strong, and the new Vibrant Vitality with Mantis adds a damage boost. Loki is the best 3rd Support in triple-Support comps because of his clone ultimate and field healing.

• Healing throughput: A
• Utility: A
• Survivability: B
• Skill floor: B (clone management is hard)

Best for: triple-Support comps with Mantis and Luna or C&D.

B tier

Rocket Raccoon

Rocket's Repair Mode is still strong but outclassed by the new team-up synergies. He's reliable but boring. The August 21 Blade buff (which lets Blade benefit from Rocket's Repair Mode healing) is a small win for Rocket.

• Healing throughput: A
• Utility: B
• Survivability: B
• Skill floor: A

Best for: players who want a "set and forget" heal-bot playstyle.

Jeff the Land Shark

Jeff is still the best anti-dive Support but the meta shift away from dive-heavy comps hurts him. The August 21 buffs to Blade (who can prevent incoming heals) are bad news for Jeff's main matchup.

• Healing throughput: B
• Utility: A
• Survivability: A (underwater mobility)
• Skill floor: B

Best for: anti-dive comps in lower ranks.

C tier

The remaining 5 Supports are outclassed in the current meta:

• Invisible Woman — needs more team-up

reworks; her invisibility is too niche

• Storm — better as a Duelist; the Support

build is suboptimal

• Scarlet Witch — too fragile for a Support

role

• Magneto — better as a Tank
• Hela — better as a Duelist

Rank-based recommendations

Bronze to Gold

Pick: Luna Snow (S tier) or Rocket Raccoon (B tier). Both are easy to play, hard to feed on, and consistent. Avoid: Mantis, Loki (high skill floor).

Platinum to Diamond

Pick: Mantis (S tier) or Cloak & Dagger (A tier). Both reward positioning and team coordination. Avoid: B and C tier Supports; the team comp is too competitive.

Grandmaster to Celestial

Pick: Mantis (S tier). The Vibrant Vitality team-up is the most coordinated team-play support in the game, and high-rank players can use it optimally. Consider: Loki (A tier) in triple-Support comps.

The team-up economy

The 3.5 patch rebalanced the team-up system with the goal of giving each team-up identity a clear niche. Here's the post-3.5 team-up economy:

• Vibrant Vitality (Mantis anchor) — heal and

damage-boost comp

• Duality Dance (Adam Warlock + Luna Snow) —

damage-sponge / heal-buffer comp

• Lunar Force (C&D + Blade) — sustain healing

and Duelist carry

• Chilling Assault (Luna Snow + Iron Fist) —

brawl / dive comp

• Rocket Network (Star-Lord + Rocket Raccoon) —

high-mobility dive comp

• Ragnarok Rebirth (Hela) — removed Loki, now

Hela solo

• Atlas Bond — removed
• Guardian Revival — removed

The 3 remaining team-ups not mentioned are unchanged from Season 3.0.

FAQ

What's the best Support for a new player?

Luna Snow for the easiest time. She has high self-survivability, consistent healing, and her ultimate (Ice Phoenix) is one of the best in the game for both offense and defense.

What's the best Support in high-rank play?

Mantis with the Vibrant Vitality team-up. The healing-field positioning and team-up coordination are too high for most players but devastatingly effective in coordinated hands.

Why is Jeff the Land Shark ranked so low?

The 3.5 team-up rework reduced the value of anti-dive Supports and increased the value of team-up-anchor Supports. Jeff is still the best anti-dive Support, but anti-dive comps are less common in the current meta.

Is Mantis overpowered?

In coordinated play, yes. The Vibrant Vitality team-up gives Mantis's team a ~20% healing throughput advantage over the next best comp. Expect a nerf in the 3.6 or 4.0 patch.

What's the best triple-Support comp?

Mantis + Luna Snow + Loki with the Vibrant Vitality and Duality Dance team-ups active. The combined healing throughput is the highest in the game. This comp is dominant in Celestial and above.

Is the Support meta healthy right now?

Yes, with a caveat. The S tier is small (Mantis + Luna) and the team-up economy is well-defined. The caveat: Vibrant Vitality is too strong and likely to be nerfed in 3.6.

How to play Strategist in Marvel Rivals in 2026

If you only have time to learn one Strategist, here's how to choose:

• Luna Snow — the most-popular

Strategist, the most-team-play, the highest healing output. Start here if you want to be the centerpiece of the team.

• Rocket Raccoon — the most-

versatile Strategist, the best for new players. Start here if you want the easiest learning curve.

• Adam Warlock — the highest

skill-ceiling Strategist, the most playmaking. Start here if you want the deepest kit.

• Cloak & Dagger — the most-

mobile Strategist, the most aggressive. Start here if you like to make plays.

My controversial takes on Strategist picks in 2026

Three opinions that'll get me yelled at:

1. **Luna Snow is the most-balanced

Strategist in the game.** She has the highest healing output in the game, but she's not overpowered because she has no movement abilities and relies on positioning.

1. **Cloak & Dagger is the most

underrated Strategist.** The teleport + AoE damage makes them the most-playmaking Strategist, but the player base is small.

1. **Mantis is the worst

Strategist in 2026.** The Season 3.5 nerfs gutted her healing output. The Season 4 buffs (expected Sep 12) should bring her back.

The future of Marvel Rivals Strategist in 2027

1. Season 5 (Q1 2027) — Doom

and Fantastic Four are coming Q1 2027. Doom is rumored to be a Strategist.

1. More Strategist reworks —

Mantis and Adam Warlock are expected to get reworks in Season 5 or 6.

The verdict for 2026

Marvel Rivals' Strategist class is the most varied in any hero shooter. Luna Snow for healing, Rocket for versatility, Adam for skill ceiling, Cloak & Dagger for mobility. If you like the support role, this is the best hero shooter to play in 2026.

The current meta in 2026

A quick snapshot of where the meta is right now, in case you're reading this months after publication:

• The dominant comp — varies by

patch but the meta is the result of the last balance patch.

• The strongest picks — every

tier list has a "watch this first" section, see the S-tier notes.

• What just got nerfed — Riot/

Valve/whoever released a balance patch 1-2 weeks before this article published, so check the official patch notes for the most recent changes.

• What just got buffed — same,

see the official patch notes.

How to use this tier list

If you're new to the genre, here's how to use this list:

1. Start with S-tier — these are

the safe picks. Even if the meta shifts, S-tier stays relevant.

1. Read the S-tier notes — each

note explains WHY the pick is S-tier, not just that it is.

1. Pick one and commit — don't

try to learn multiple picks at once. The skill ceiling is reached by mastering ONE pick.

1. Watch pro play — the meta

is set by pro play. Watch 1-2 pro players who main your pick and copy their build.

The verdict for 2026

The genre is in a great state in 2026. The S-tier picks are the best they've ever been, the F2P model is the most generous, and the competitive scene is the most active. If you're a new player, start with an S-tier pick and commit to learning it deeply. If you're a returning player, the meta has shifted but the S-tier stays the same.