Wolverine is arguably the strongest counter to Vanguards in Marvel Rivals, but players agree that a few tanks can stand their own against him.
On Feb. 25, a Marvel Rivals player asked Vanguard mains on Reddit how to counter Wolverine. Many joined the discussion, and a few argued for heroes like Peni Parker and the recently introduced The Thing.
One of the top comments includes a comic book shot of The Thing saying, “Milady, ’tis the clobbering hour.” That references the character’s ultimate in Marvel Rivals, which can displace enemies in front of him. But there’s more to why The Thing actually has a chance against Wolverine.
“A big reason Wolverine is so frustrating is that he kidnaps you to his team. With Thing, as long as your positioning is good, he has to go way deep to attack you and try to get the kill without the help of his team while yours is helping you deal with him,” one player wrote. “Additionally, the thing has an ability exclusively dedicated to jumping into his own team and granting himself damage resistance,” another added.
It’s a solid argument, especially if you look at Wolverine’s kit. His main threat against Vanguards comes from his ability to grab them and jump towards his team. Usually, the kidnapped tanks are too far away to receive heals from their Strategists, while Wolverine and his teammates destroy them almost instantly. But The Thing’s mobility and additional resistances can be the difference between surviving and dying against the hero.
Another hero mentioned numerous times, for other reasons, is Peni Parker. “As Peni, I’m a menace with my webs. Anyone getting too aggressive near me is getting webbed, every three seconds. Wolverine gets webbed and blown up,” one player wrote. “As Peni, he just explodes when he comes near me. He usually doesn’t bother trying. And when I’m solo tanking, he gets swapped fast,” another added.
Peni’s Cyber-Web Snare stun has a short cooldown of around three seconds. With Wolverine’s low base health, webbing him up and finishing him, especially with Peni’s mines, can be a lifesaver. If she lets her guard down and gets kidnapped, she can escape with her Cyber-Bond and wall-crawling.
Players also mentioned Magneto and Captain America due to their shields and mobility, respectively, but that only seems to work in specific situations.
In the end, the ultimate way to counter Wolverine seems to be a ban. In Diamond and above ranks, bans become available, giving each team a chance to restrict two heroes. Wolverine is already a perma-ban, alongside Storm, for a good reason. According to Marvel Rivals’ official data, the duo held the top three win rate in Grandmaster ranks in PC competitive in season one.
If you’re not Diamond, maybe learning The Thing and Peni Parker isn’t the worst idea.
Published: Feb 26, 2025 09:27 am