Marvel Rivals S9: Top 5 Strategists of the Death of Apocalypse Meta

Season 9 The Mystery of Thebes landed on Marvel Rivals on July 10, 2026 with the Death of Apocalypse event, the arrival of Jubilee, and above all the complete overhaul of the Team-Up system. The result: the Strategist hierarchy has been shaken up from top to bottom, several historic healers have tumbled down the rankings, and new faces are settling in at the top. Here's our top 5 supports to play to climb in Competitive this month, with pick rates, strengths, weaknesses, synergies, and concrete tips for each one.

What's changed for Strategists in Season 9

The July 10, 2026 update doesn't just add a new heroine: it rewrites half of the role. Three structural changes weigh heavily on the tier list.

• Team-Up overhaul: every hero now has two Team-Up abilities. You can equip one even without the designated partner in the team, but having the partner present unlocks the Enhanced version, which is often much stronger. 24 new abilities have been added on the Strategist side.
• Ultimate generation nerf: Ultimate energy gain drops to 60% for healing and 55% for damage. It's no longer possible to farm your ult by spamming passive heals; tactical awareness is now required.
• A more lethal meta: Black Panther, Wolverine, and burst Duelists dominate, forcing Strategists to survive one-shot combos and deal with constant pressure on the backline.

The result: Strategists who bring survivability, control, or a boost to the team's aggression are skyrocketing. Those who just relied on sticking a healing beam on someone are collapsing.

Our methodology for the July 2026 rankings

This ranking is based on three measurable criteria and one field-based criterion. On the numbers side: winrate in Diamond and above (where coordination matters), pick rate (an indicator of top-ladder consensus), and the impact of the Team-Ups introduced in S9. On the feel side: ease of solo-queue carrying, essential for a player who wants to climb without depending on a five-stack. Heroes who check at least three of these boxes make our top 5.

The S9 Strategist meta recap table

Figures rounded from aggregated public data (rivalsmeta, MetaBot, Counterwatch) for the week of July 15, 2026. Pick rate refers to the Strategist role.

1. Rocket Raccoon — the season's carry-support

The raccoon is the must-pick of Season 9. With ~56.6% winrate in Diamond+ and the highest pick-rate of the role, it checks every box: constant healing across the whole team, Beacon of Hope which regenerates allies around it, revive via the ultimate C.Y.A., and above all a new Team-Up with Groot that turns his ammo into healing explosive rounds.

Strengths: insane uptime (small character, hard to kill), Team-Up with The Punisher which gives the latter infinite primary ammo, team revive that gets the round moving again.
Weaknesses: no crowd control or anti-heal, a Wolverine or Winter Soldier latching onto you will destroy you if no one peels. The Beacon of Hope zone is your anchor point: if you place it badly, your team plays without you.

How to play: place Beacon of Hope behind the front line, never on top of it. Alternate primary fire (area heal via bounce) and shots on exposed Duelists to help secure kills. Save Jetpack Dash to dodge a diving Iron Fist or Black Panther. Use your ultimate as soon as two allies drop within two seconds: C.Y.A. is meant to turn a fight around, not to top off a round that's already won.

Priority targets: back-line Duelists (Hela, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier) and immobile enemy Strategists (Adam Warlock, Ultron).

2. Cloak & Dagger — the anti-one-shot armor

The duo was already solid, S9 propels them into absolute S-tier. The new Team-Up Frozen Haven (base + Enhanced with Luna Snow) lets Dagger encase herself in a block of ice: immobile but nearly unkillable, and it also emits a healing aura. Against a dive composition (Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Wolverine) or a one-shotting Black Panther, it's a get-out-of-jail card.

Strengths: Dagger's constant heal-beam with no ammo, Cloak deals decent damage and applies a vision debuff to enemies, ultimate Eternal Bond which heals AND damages in an area, Shadow's Embrace mobility that teleports you behind your ally line.
Weaknesses: requires careful juggling between the two forms, the Cloak form without the Dagger form leaves you with no healing at all. A team that dives while you're in Cloak form punishes you brutally.

How to play: stay in Dagger form 80% of the time, switch to Cloak to apply the blind to a Winter Soldier charging his ult, or to finish off a low-HP enemy. The Frozen Haven Team-Up should be saved for a precise moment: Doctor Strange opening a portal for a trap, or an enemy damage line (Punisher + Namor for example) focusing you.

Signature combo: Terror Cape (Cloak) to blind, switch to Dagger, ground Dagger Storm to heal the team while pushing, Eternal Bond when the team holds the objective.

3. Invisible Woman — the offensive shield

Invisible Woman ("Invisible Woman" in English in the client, often abbreviated "Sue") was already top-tier. Her new Team-Up with the Human Torch pushes her into another category: her shields become bigger, sturdier, and deal amplified damage to enemies shooting through them. She shifts from a defensive support to a support that punishes aggression.

Strengths: ultra-versatile Force Physics shields, Invisible Boundary ultimate that heals and anti-dives an entire chokepoint, passive invisibility after a few seconds out of combat, push mechanic that shoves back a diver.
Weaknesses: high skill ceiling (a poorly placed shield can block your own team), no burst-heal if an ally drops to 10 HP.

How to play: position the shield in an L shape to cover your Duelist and your second Strategist simultaneously. Use invisibility to reset the focus: as soon as a Winter Soldier or a Hela targets you, break off for three seconds behind a wall. Ult before the enemy ult (Iron Man, Storm) goes off: your Invisible Boundary visually cancels the line of fire and saves the zone.

Priority targets: divers (Iron Fist, Spider-Man). Push them out of the zone with Force Push and let your team finish them off.

4. Mantis — the constant A-tier

Mantis remains, season after season, a pillar of the role. With around 56.1% winrate in Diamond+, she's even statistically better than Cloak & Dagger, but her lower pick-rate (1.2%) reflects a real mechanical demand: she is hitscan and missing a shot = losing a heal.

Strengths: can headshot for real damage (one of the rare Strategists who can actually kill in 1v1), Sleep that shuts down a diver or an enemy ult, damage boost on an ally via Inspiration, Soul Resurgence ultimate that regenerates the whole team for 8 seconds.
Weaknesses: no mobility, once dived she's dead. No emergency single-target heal if her seeds aren't already applied.

How to play: always keep 3-5 Life Orb seeds on your Vanguards. Use Sleep not randomly but on an ult that's starting up (Wolverine jumping in, Moon Knight anchoring his ankh). The Inspiration boost sticks to the carrying Duelist (Hela, Iron Man, Winter Soldier). In the Plant Shield Team-Up with Adam Warlock, you become nearly immortal on point.

5. Jubilee — the new X-Men recruit

The big rookie of the season. Jubilee is a 275 HP Strategist who manipulates energy plasmoids and fireworks to heal her allies while punishing enemies. The concept: apply Sparkle Marks with Dazzling Detonation or Firework Finale, then detonate those marks with her primary fire for a heal burst, a temporary HP bonus, or area damage.

Strengths: very active, area blind (Dazzling Detonation) that cuts off an enemy push, Sparking Sprint that increases jump height (rare among Strategists), Vampiric Kin Team-Up with Blade that gives allies in the zone life-steal + continuous healing.
Weaknesses: still being fine-tuned on the ladder (winrate around 52%), the "mark then detonate" concept slows down reaction time, no burst-heal if you don't have an active mark.

How to play: play her like a combo player. Consistently tag allies in melee range with Blooming Ball, save Dazzling Detonation to open a teamfight or stop an enemy ult (Cerebro-blind on Cloak, Wolverine, Iron Fist). The ultimate Firework Finale is a massive AoE heal: release it when your team is retaking the objective, not when everyone is already at full health.

Signature synergy: Jubilee + Blade + a melee Duelist (Wolverine, Iron Fist): the life-steal turns your front-line into a health fountain.

The top 5 snubs (and why)

Five Strategists are knocking on the door without making it in. Quick overview to avoid bad picks.

• Luna Snow: ~47.5% winrate in Diamond+, a brutal drop-off. Her beam remains decent but she suffers from the lethal meta (a Black Panther one-shots her before she can ult). Stick with her only if you're a confirmed main.
• Adam Warlock: ranked A-tier in Diamond+ but B below. His Soul Bond passive remains powerful, the winrate stat around 49-50% mostly reflects the difficulty of playing a revive-based support when kills come fast. Best played in duo with Mantis (Plant Shield Team-Up).
• Loki: ↓ in the S9 rankings. His clone gameplay remains unique but the ult-gain nerf and the rise of dive comps hurt him. Team-Up with Hela (Villain's Illusion) remains flashy, best played situationally.
• Jeff the Land Shark: ~47.5% winrate. Always simple, always cute, but the meta demands more than a Beach Ball. His ultimate remains a game-changer on Domination maps.
• Ultron: A-tier ↓. Excellent at zone clog, but weak in emergency triage. The new lethal meta punishes his lack of burst-heal. The ideal pick if your team is already running a poke comp (Hela + Punisher + Namor).

Draft and winning compositions

No Strategist is an OTP in S9: the real question is "which duo heals your team?". Three combos dominate the ladder this week.

1. Rocket + Cloak & Dagger: the safe bet. Rocket boosts your main Duelist, C&D absorbs one-shots and pushes the tempo. Works with any Vanguard.
2. Invisible Woman + Mantis: the "anti-dive" comp. Sue mechanically pushes back divers, Mantis puts them to sleep. Prioritize this against Iron Fist / Spider-Man / Wolverine comps.
3. Jubilee + Rocket: the aggression comp. You dictate the tempo thanks to the double burst-heal from Rocket + Jubilee's detonations. Fearsome on offense on escort maps.

Avoid the double immobile Strategist (Adam + Ultron for example): you'll lose every teamfight due to lack of mobility.

Quick tips to climb with a Strategist in S9

Three habits separate Platinum from Diamond, regardless of hero.

• Positioning > APM: a living Strategist is worth three heals. Always stay within an Vanguard's line of sight, covered by a wall, without being in the brawl.
• Utility before healing: the ult-charge nerf rewards abilities that change a fight (blind, sleep, push, invisibility). Prioritize using them well over chasing %-heal.
• Voice or ping: call out enemy ults you've seen (Iron Man, Storm, Wolverine, Winter Soldier). A Cloak & Dagger who activates Frozen Haven at the right moment saves the round; one who activates it blindly loses it.

In summary: which Strategist should you pick in July 2026?

If you're solo-queuing, lock in Rocket Raccoon: he carries against any enemy composition. If you're playing in a duo, Cloak & Dagger + Luna Snow unlocks the Frozen Haven Team-Up, which shuts down half of the enemy ults. If you're looking for an aggressive or fresh pick, Jubilee combines a high skill ceiling with concrete impact in zone fights. Mantis remains the statistically strongest pick for those with solid aim. Finally, keep Invisible Woman in your back pocket whenever the enemy drafts a dive comp: she is the mechanical counter of Season 9. Happy climbing, and don't forget to complete the three Death of Apocalypse investigations before the season ends on August 20, 2026, to pocket your 100 bonus Units.