Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Pairing
Marvel Rivals heroes out of Baltimore Ravens players and creating two six-player teams.
Two years ago, I decided to have some fun meshing together two of my favorite things: writing about the
Baltimore Ravens and Dungeons & Dragons. Today, I decided to once more conjoin the Ravens with another area of my off-work enjoyment:
Marvel Rivals.
The new hero-shooter video game has taken the world by force. One of the greatest IPs has become a video game where you can go toe-to-toe in 6v6 gameplay as you and others build teams to battle it out as some of Earth’s greatest superheroes.
So today, I’ve constructed the Ravens’ as two rosters and their
Marvel Rivals counterparts.
All information used is from marvelrivals.fandom.com
OFFENSE
Lamar Jackson — Hela: Duelist
Hela is one of the most powerful characters in
Marvel Rivals. She boasts long-range damage that can KO in two hits with pinpoint accuracy, something Jackson boasts. But don’t be fooled, if foes come near Hela, the damage is still there if the accuracy is, and it’s fair to say Jackson is accurate at any range.
Her primary attack is a high-damage hitscan attack, making her lethal compared to projectile firing. If you click, that’s immediately where damage is dealt.
Her cooldown feat is a lobbed energy sphere that stuns multiple enemies in a short radius, and can even interrupt certain ultimates.
A feature of Hela is
Astral Flock, which transforms Hela into a high-speed crow and allows her to fly in any direction, which is useful as an escape or repositioning. During which, Hela is immune to all damage and crowd-control abilities.
Hela’s ultimate,
Goddess of Death, sends Hela into the are at a high vantage point. They can see all characters on the field, even behind walls, and hurl explosive crows that deal heavy damage. Sounds like Jackson and his six games of throwing his trademark Jackson 5.
The sole argument of Jackson not being Hela is her mobility. While she has a feature to move, she doesn’t have insane mobility like other heroes like Black Panther, Psylocke or Magik, which certainly can be argued over Hela. But the team-up feature, which will be explained later, is why Jackson is Hela.
Derrick Henry — Thor: Vanguard
In
Marvel Rivals, Thor is arguably the best brawl tank. Somebody who gets in close and deals damage with his hammer, Mjolnir.
His primary attack is Mjolnir Bash, which deals moderate chip damage and recharges Thor’s passive, Thorforce, which grants him extra health when used.
His secondary fire is Hammer Throw. We’ve all seen Henry “put the hammer down” on his opponents.
The main mobility tool of Thor is Hammer Throw, where he winds up the Mjolnir and hurls himself with the hammer to dash in any direction. The bruising Henry has demonstrated over his nine-year career he’s capable of incredible burst and acceleration, both to evade the opposition or directly at them.
The strongest ability of Thor is when he reaches his Awakened State. Thor is granted his maximum overhealth and tosses long-range lightning attacks which melt opponents in his wake.
Thor’s Ultimate, God of Thunder, features Thor leaping into the air and plummeting to the ground dealing high damage. It traditionally takes a long period of time for heroes to charge their ultimates, but Henry did so on the first play against the
Buffalo Bills in Week 4 on an 87-yard rushing touchdown.
Ronnie Stanley — Magneto: Vanguard
Arguably the best tank in the game is Magneto, a defensive protector for his team that also possesses strong offensive power.
On command, Magneto can summon a shield that blocks all projectiles and even absorb ultimate attacks. He also boasts the ability to create an electromagnetic shield around any hero that protects them from all attacks.
Magneto’s job in
Marvel Rivals, along with most vanguards, is to push forward and create space for his team to push forward. With a high health pool, defensive options and persistent damage in the form of projectiles.
His secondary fire is
Mag-Cannon, which launches projectiles that not only damage opponents, but deals knockback to enemies.
All of this describes left tackle Ronnie Stanley (and most linemen). But Stanley is an anchoring vanguard who brings pushes opponents backward, absorbs the majority of opponents attacks and shields his allies from damage.
Patrick Ricard — Cloak & Dagger: Strategist
I’m hoping Ricard doesn’t crush me for this one, so hear me out.
First off, two players on each team are Strategists. Many rope this role into “healers,” but that’s not the case. Strategists are critically important to a team’s success. If you go into a game without one, you’re losing. Simple as that.
Ricard is a Strategist, though by all accounts should be a Vanguard. He generates space and leads the charge. But I’m going to say he’s a Strategist for the sake that he is a hero that supports others around him, and does so as Cloak & Dagger, one of the best Strategists in
Marvel Rivals.
Cloak & Dagger is a unique duo. The only hero that’s in fact two-in-one.
Cloak is an offensive weapon that deals high-beam damage with infinite ammo. A feature of his is Terror Cape, which is a rectangular wall of dark purple that advances directly ahead and obstructs enemy vision. Sounds like a fullback that blinds foes.
Dagger is a traditional healing character who throws healing light daggers, fires a healing wall and keeps the others on the team up. Ricard keeps Jackson and Henry up and from taking sustained damage.
C&D’s ultimate is
Eternal Bond, which the duo dash four times and leave a persistent energy carpet that simultaneously heals allies and damages enemies.
When C&D dash forward they generate significant space that allows for their team to push forward in a sustained field that grants them protection and support while also damaging foes in the area.
Zay Flowers — Black Panther: Duelist
“An agile melee-focused duelist who specializes in darting around the battlefield throuh highspeed dash attacks and executing vulnerable targets. Capable of getting in and out of combat while dishing out high amounts of damage to his opponents.”
Is this a description of Black Panther or Flowers? Both.
Facing a Black Panther in Rivals, a good one, is a nightmare. Your supports are shredded in the back line and teams fall apart. They scramble to find answers and if it’s too late, you’re done for. Strictly, Black Panther is a melee attacker, so they don’t have long range attacks. They can create pressure, but it’s not until they’re up close that the real damage is dealt.
It’s the same as a wide receiver. They can create pressure, but it’s when the ball is in their hands they deliver real damage. Flowers creates pressure with is route-running and teams have to remember he’s a threat. But it’s already too late when he’s arrived and carving up the back line.
Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar — Loki: Strategist
“Loki’s core gameplay revolves around his Doppelganger ability, which allows the player to project illusions of Loki in the targeted area. This ability has two charges, and up to two illusions can be placed at once.”
The Ravens have a trio of tight ends all capable of supporting the rest of the roster. Like Loki clones, the three are summoned to both attack opponents but also heal and keep the team on the battlefield.
They’re identical to the Ravens facing a 3rd & 7, and at least one is an illusion. The illusions are supporting the rest of the team by misdirecting their opponents while the “real” Loki is standing on the capture point while the opponents aren’t focused on the objective.
Team-ups
When certain heroes are on the same team, they can create “team-ups,” which incentivize you to pair certain players together. This is the reason I have Jackson as Hela over another.
Ragnarok Revival: When Hela lands a final hit in defeating an enemy, she can instantly resurrect Loki and Thor in the respawn phase, or grant them Bonus Health if they are still alive.
Anytime Jackson removes a defender, it grants Henry and/or the tight ends strength. A linebacker pausing on the handoff between Jackson or Henry? That gives Henry strength. A linebacker or defensive back hesitating to push up to contain Jackson when he breaks contain grants any tight end free reign.
DEFENSE
If you’re still reading this, thank you. This is preposterous, I know.
Playing defense on a map is just as important as attacking. A convoy map where the objective is the attacking team pushing the objective to the end is the same as an offense pushing the ball down the field for the touchdown. So, some characters are superior for defense, though it’s not a significant difference. Nonetheless, here we go.
Roquan Smith — Adam Warlock: Strategist
Though Warlock is a strategist, he is by far and away the highest damage-delivering healer in the right hands.
Warlock’s primary and secondary attack does not grant healing. Instead, it’s high-damage. Primary attack is a hitscan beam with critical hits allowed. His secondary is a charge-up attack that can hold five energy bolts. Pairing these together can outright send a low-health character back to the spawn room — or sideline.
Warlock being a strategist means he also is a healer. His primary healing is a one that heals the nearest ally but also chains to others on the field. Smith’s support affects all around him as a central cog in the Ravens’ defense.
His strongest ability is Soul Bond, which creates a link between him and all nearby allies. They share and distribute all damage taken across the board. That’s what team synergy is on the gridiron.
Warlock’s Ultimate is
Karmic Revival, which creates a zone that automatically revives any fallen allies. Pairing this with Smith joining the Ravens, the defense was, as Warlock’s voiceline, “Born Again!”
He became a cornerstone for the Ravens to build around as both a dynamic offensive and defensive player for his team.
Nnamdi Madubuike — Peni Parker: Vanguard
One of the best defensive vanguards in the game, Peni can oppress opponents from objectives and advancing the convey.
Peni revolves around sustained pressure and immobilizing targets. Their
Cyber-Web Snare immobilizes any character and interrupts all abilities, including ultimates. A free running back with a wide-open gap can suddenly be denied by Madubuike. A comical and enjoyable feature when an opponents screaming their ultimate attack’s voiceline, only to be shut up.
“Maximum Pu—”
“Puuuuure Chaooo—”
“Judge, Jury, Execu—”
All denied and highly satisfying.
Moreover, Peni can plant hidden mines underneath cyber webs that upon stepping on can highly damage or even KO opponents. Madubuike can plant himself in a gap and rack up tackles for loss or sacks.
Kyle Van Noy — Venom: Vanguard
A dive-tank, Venom creates pressure on the back line but can be up front to take damage and delivers crowd control.
Venom’s a through-and-through outside linebacker, capable of crowd controlling the run-game with edge-setting but also being a dive tank that rushes into the backline for sacks.
Venom is also an anchor for a team-up to be described at the end.
Marlon Humphrey — Spider-Man: Duelist
“An incredibly agile and complex hit-and-run fighter capable of assaulting and eliminating enemies from the air with his combos, and then swiftly leaves the scene.”
No character is a greater pest than Spider-Man. He affects the gameplay more than any other character in the current meta. Teams are forced to adapt to a good Spider-Man by playing heavily anti-dive. Humphrey is — with all due respect — a pest.
He is one of the best one-on-one fighters. In the right hands, Spider-Man crushes teams. He webs in and out of attacks with burst, speed, strength and flips the game on its head. Humphrey does so at cornerback, speeding in for hits, interceptions and persistent harassment on foes.
His ultimate attack is an area of effect that blasts webs in all directions and damages all in the area. It’s the same as a pick-six. He flies in, gets the pick and then returns it back for a back-breaking regroup for the opponent.
Kyle Hamilton — Winter Soldier: Duelist
“A combo-based assassin that can quickly shift from mid-range attacks to devastating close-range combos with conditional area-of-effect potential.”
Winter Soldier is by far the most lethal, oppressive, infuriating hero in
Marvel Rivals. He has no weaknesses. He gains health from all features. He reloads his attack from all features. He has every weapon in his toolkit and ruins teams.
His primary attack is a three-burst firearm. Hamilton is a three-down firearm.
Trooper’s Fist: A dash punch that launches enemies away and upward. The dash hits multiple targets close together.
Bionic Hook: A charged attack that extends the length of his bionic arm and pulls all targets in its path towards him.
Tainted Voltage: Energy projectile that pierces multiple enemies, slows them and knocks flying enemies to the ground.
But what describes Hamilton most is Winter Soldier’s ultimate,
Kraken Impact. Winter Soldier leaps high into the air and attacks in a downward strike, dealing high damage in a large radius. Any opponent hit by the attack will then be KO’d by Winter Soldier on any attack who has 20% health remaining. If Winter Soldier eliminates them, he use his ultimate once more. He can repeat this infinitely. The only limitation being the opponents not foolishly staggering out of spawn.
No one:
Winter Soldier: ARMED AND DANGEROUS!
AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN!
#MarvelRivals pic.twitter.com/APuGPl5P46
— ໊ (@zerowontmiss)
December 17, 2024
Just like Winter Soldier, Kyle Hamilton was built in a lab.
Marcus Williams — Magik: Duelist
In team shooters, team synergy and composition is critical. The most optimal roster is two of each role, known as 2-2-2. But there are many instances of not all players being on the same page, and instead thinking their skill — almost always as a Duelist (or DPS) — can negate the loss of a Vanguard or Strategist. In this case, it was Williams playing as Magik, rather than being a Strategist.
Magik is a top-tier Duelist in
Marvel Rivals. But a bad Duelist of any kind can hurt your team. You begin “feeding,” which is persistently being a player hurting your team by losing your battles. It’s significant when that person is a dive-Duelist, such as Magik.
(Coincidentally, Williams’ Twitch name is
babymagik32)
Williams was at one point a S-tier Duelist. But struggles and setbacks and changes to the team chemistry needed him to switch to a new role. That came in the form of a new player on the team playing the needed role.
Ar’Darius Washington — Rocket Raccoon: Strategist
In Season 0 of
Marvel Rivals, Rocket was slept on. He was heavily criticized and argued against. Streamers told their audiences that he was nothing but a solitary healing role and provided little value.
But then, his value was formed. He became a high-ranked Strategist and many showed he is more than a healer.
All this applies to Washington, who was originally looked over because of his height and suffered setbacks.
Then, Rocket hit the mainstays of the game — as did Washington.
He can keep all his teammates up, he provides a feature that revives any fallen team member and can also deliver significant damage up close to unsuspecting foes.
Washington balanced out the team composition the same way Rocket balances a team that struggled at 2-3-1 and changed to 2-2-2. When Washington joined the team, they became one of the best defenses in the NFL. And his team-up with Winter Soldier is being removed in Season 2 because of how overpowered it is.
Team-Ups
Symbiote Bond: Venom shares a part of his symbiote with Spider-Man and Peni Parker, activating their symbiote abilities. Spider-Man and Peni Parker can convert the symbiotes into explosive spikes that inflict harm on nearby enemies and relentlessly drive them back.
Like Venom improves his allies, so too does a Van Noy as a pass rusher. He boosts Humphrey as teams are forced to get the ball out faster. He boosts Madubuike by being another strong tank that draws attention.
Ammo Overload: Rocket Raccoon throws an Ammo Overload device in the target direction. Upon entering the device’s range, the Winter Soldier receives the buffs of Infinite Ammo and Faster Firing.
When Washington joined the fray, it gave Hamilton the opportunity to load up from wherever. Though he remained mostly in the back line to protect against their egregious weakness to pass defenses (dive), Hamilton unlocked his full potential once more.
Once again, if you made it to the end of this, I appreciate it. It’s outright ridiculous my longest article of the year is a 2,800-word diatribe on pairing
Baltimore Ravens players as characters from the video game
Marvel Rivals. But here we are. Cheers.
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