Season 9.5 landed on August 7, 2026, and it did more than drop a new Vanguard into the roster. The balance pass reshuffled several picks, softened easy crowd control, and rewarded heroes that win extended fights over one-shot burst. Parker Robbins, better known as The Hood, is the headline addition, but the wider meta shift matters just as much when you are choosing who to lock in ranked.
Quick answer: Peni Parker, Magik, Rocket Raccoon, Psylocke, and Mantis remain the strongest all-round picks. The Hood slots in as a high-value secondary Vanguard rather than a solo anchor, so pair him with a second tank before you commit.
Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 tier list (all roles)
Tiers measure how much reliable value a hero gives you in Diamond and above, not how high their ceiling climbs in expert hands. A pick in a lower tier can still carry games with practice.
| Tier | Heroes |
|---|---|
| S+ | Peni Parker, Magik, Rocket Raccoon, Psylocke, Mantis |
| S | Hulk, Ultron, Luna Snow, Invisible Woman, Cloak & Dagger, Groot, Storm, Loki, Gambit, Spider-Man |
| A | Magneto, Wolverine, Emma Frost, The Thing, Captain America, Winter Soldier, Namor, White Fox, Jeff the Land Shark, Blade, Daredevil, Jubilee, Adam Warlock, Thor, The Hood, Deadpool (Vanguard) |
| B | Doctor Strange, Venom, Rogue, Angela, Devil Dinosaur, Phoenix, Star-Lord, Elsa Bloodstone, Cyclops, Mister Fantastic, Iron Fist, Human Torch, Squirrel Girl, Scarlet Witch, Black Cat, Deadpool (Strategist) |
| C | Moon Knight, Punisher, Iron Man, Hela, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Deadpool (Duelist) |
How this was ranked: placements combine live win-rate performance at Diamond and above with role effectiveness, then adjust for the Season 9.5 balance changes. This reflects the August 2026 patch, and early-patch ranked is volatile, so treat it as a strong starting read rather than a fixed verdict.
Why the S+ picks stay on top
Peni Parker is still the most punishing hero to remove from a fight. Her nest, mines, and repeated stun force the enemy to path around her, and her durability keeps her alive long enough to hold that space. She is also the best teaching pick in the game because playing her well trains map control.
Magik and Psylocke lead the Duelists on self-sustain and repeatable engages. Magik’s bonus health lets her dive into the higher-damage environment that deletes squishier flankers, while Psylocke keeps her instant-invisibility escape and an auto-tracking ultimate that wins fights outright. On the Strategist side, Rocket Raccoon asks almost nothing of his team and turns every fight into a numbers advantage with his rez, and Mantis compounds damage buffs across a triple-support setup.
Where The Hood lands in Season 9.5
The Hood is a Vanguard with a two-star difficulty rating and 600 HP, built around a Demonic Energy meter instead of a shield bar. He is a hitscan off-tank, closer to a poke duelist than a frontline anchor, which is why he sits in A rather than the top Vanguard slots. He does not solo tank well. Bring a second tank such as Hulk or Thor, or the first angle you take will leave your supports exposed.
Everything in his kit feeds Demonic Energy. Accursed Pistols build it on hit, Void Walk grants a chunk on cast, and Mantle of Oblivion generates more from the damage it blocks. Crossing 50% speeds up his fire rate. Reaching 100% triggers his Half-Demon State for roughly eight seconds, turning his pistols into rapid-fire rifles with infinite ammo and lifesteal on every shot. Enemy barriers and deployables like Groot walls or Loki clones also charge the meter, so you can ramp up before a fight even starts.
The Half-Demon State is his carry window. The lifesteal can refill his entire health bar quickly and add a small pool of bonus health on top, which is what lets him dive a backline and survive without a healer babysitting him. Drop Abyssal Veil in front of yourself first, since shots that pass through it grant increased lifesteal.
Do not dump the meter the moment it fills. Hold the transformation until your diver commits or until you expect an enemy dive on your supports, so the burst lands when it matters. Firing it off just because it is ready only tells the enemy tank when it is safe to disengage.
Team-Ups and the ultimate
The Hood has two Team-Up options, and the choice is one-sided. The Scarlet Witch link, Chaos Collision, turns his zone into a teleport point that stacks damage and healing reduction on nearby enemies, enabling a full backline dive rotation. The Moon Knight link, New Moon’s Shadow, only adds a 200 to 300 HP barrier that breaks quickly, so take Scarlet Witch in almost every game.
His ultimate, Demon of the End, locks him in place as a turret firing up to six piercing shots that travel through shields and enemies, with the final bullet hitting hardest. Landed shots grant bonus health to himself and nearby allies, so it doubles as a peel tool. You cannot move while transformed, and if the ultimate is destroyed, you die with it. Use it from an off angle to punish a dive your team is already forcing, not as a frontline engage where poke will shred it in seconds.
Who counters The Hood
Because he commits to angles and freezes in place during his ultimate, anything that punishes immobile targets gives him trouble.
| Counter | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Wolverine | Closes distance fast and shreds any Vanguard in close-quarters. |
| Magneto | Absorbs projectiles with his ultimate, which can nullify The Hood’s piercing shots. |
| Iron Fist | Marks him and forces the close-range brawl he does not want. |
| Emma Frost | Chips his health down and finishes him off in diamond form. |
Season 9.5 changes that moved placements
The patch curbed easy burst and crowd control while rewarding heroes that stay in a fight and keep hitting. That nudged a handful of picks up or down from where they sat late in Season 9.
| Hero | Change and effect |
|---|---|
| Wolverine | Rage gain per hit up (5 to 8) and slower rage decay, making his engage cycle more consistent. |
| Doctor Strange | Denak damage and charges up, plus a shorter Gamma Maelstrom cooldown, easing his struggles in a mobile meta. |
| Devil Dinosaur | Frenzied Feast percentage damage raised on early and fifth hits. |
| Phoenix | Spark damage and splash increased, with a stronger Rogue Team-Up. |
| Moon Knight | Reduced bounce decay and a shorter Luminous Moon cooldown with more dash range. |
| White Fox | Lower ultimate cost and a team buff on cast. |
| Venom | Overshield converts only 110% of lost health and swing cooldown up (8s to 10s), the clearest nerf of the patch. |
| Peni Parker | Loses her one-hit crowd control on Cyber Web Snare and drops her bonus health cap, raising her execution bar. |
Venom’s nerf is the reason he slides toward the lower end of the meta, and Peni now demands cleaner play for the same payoff, though she is still the strongest single pick overall. Buffed picks like Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Devil Dinosaur, Moon Knight, White Fox, and Phoenix are the ones worth revisiting if you dropped them in Season 9.
Best picks by rank bracket
Rankings built on high-elo data can mislead you in lower brackets. Two things change below Diamond. There are no bans, so counter-picks are always available, and teammates coordinate less, which rewards heroes with auto-tracking and simple loops.
| Bracket | Reliable picks |
|---|---|
| Bronze to Gold | Peni Parker, Rocket Raccoon, Scarlet Witch, Moon Knight, Mister Fantastic, Squirrel Girl |
| Platinum to Diamond | Peni Parker, Magik, Rocket Raccoon, Luna Snow |
The Season 9.5 meta is still settling, and top Strategists and Duelists were largely untouched, so ban priority should track close to late Season 9. If you are learning The Hood, keep him as a duo-tank flex rather than a one-trick while the balance data matures, and re-check these placements before you sink hundreds of hours into any single pick.
