Marvel Rivals: the season 9.5 tier list — who really dominates after the August 7 balance patch

The August 7, 2026 patch touched 18 heroes and added The Hood, the 53rd member of the roster. A few days of data later, the rankings have stabilized — and they hold a surprise: Peni Parker was nerfed and still remains the character with the best win rate in the game.

A word on methodology, because it changes everything in an exercise where every site publishes a different ranking. We don't just copy a tier list: we cross-reference official balance patch notes with public win rates recorded as of August 11, and we explain the reasoning. A hero can have an excellent win rate and still be a bad pick for you — that's precisely what most rankings never explain.

The podium, numbers in hand

The top five win rates across all divisions, based on public data from marvelrivals.gg as of August 11, 2026:

A quick vocabulary reminder: the French client translates roles — Avant-garde (Vanguard), Duelliste (Duelist), Stratège (Strategist) — but not hero names, which stay in English. There is no French version of the official site: if you see "Panthère Noire" or "Malicia" somewhere, that's a fan translation.

Vanguards: Peni takes her nerf

S Tier

Peni Parker. NetEase removed the direct immobilization from Cyber-Web Snare: the shot now applies a Web-Tracer with a 30% slow for 1 second, and it now takes a second shot on an already marked target to get 0.7 seconds of immobilization. Her bonus health drops from 200 to 150. On paper, that's a real nerf. In practice, she keeps two charges, an unmatched zone of control, and the best win rate in the game. The lesson is a classic one: they nerfed her burst, not her map presence.

Doctor Strange. The Daggers of Denak go from 16 to 18 damage and from 10 to 12 charges. A subtle buff on paper, decisive in practice: it's what lets him hold a point without depending on a strategist glued to him.

A Tier

Rogue (defensive stance 55% → 60%, shield 250 → 275) and Devil Dinosaur (Frenzied Feast 5% → 8%, and 12% on the fifth hit) both come out of the patch stronger. Devil Dinosaur in particular rewards long engagements: if your style is to dive in and back off, the fifth-hit bonus will never trigger.

B Tier, and the Venom case

Venom is the biggest loser of the patch among Vanguards. His Venom Swing goes from 8 to 10 seconds of cooldown and his bonus health from 120% to 110%. Translated into gameplay terms: he still dives just as well, but he no longer gets back out. The "I jump into the backline and leave" pattern now requires someone to come rescue you.

The Hood remains unclassifiable. Arrived on August 7, he doesn't yet have a usable sample. Be wary of any tier list that already ranks him: nobody has the data.

Duelists: Daredevil and Storm out front, but not for the same reason

S Tier

Daredevil (57.6%) wasn't touched by the balancing. He's rising because others have moved: fewer diving Venoms, fewer Black Panthers, and his close-quarters duel game becomes notably more comfortable.

Storm (56.7%) is the most interesting case of the patch. Her overall win rate is excellent, but she's getting banned at the top of the ranks, just like Magik. A banned hero can't lose a match: if you play in high divisions, have a second pick ready, because you won't see her in the selection often.

A Tier

Four buffs worth noting, all consistent with each other:

• Wolverine — rage generation 5 → 8 per hit. This is the heaviest buff of the patch: his power window arrives noticeably earlier in a fight.
• Moon Knight — the damage penalty on bounce drops from 30% to 20%, and his dash goes from 12 to 15 meters. He gains both in indirect damage and mobility.
• Phoenix — Sparks from 35 to 40.
• Cyclops, also buffed, becomes a solid choice again on open maps.

B Tier and below

Black Panther and Elsa Bloodstone take direct nerfs. Hela fares better than announced: her nerf is limited to her Team-Up with Namor (Undead Monstro 15 → 10). Her personal kit is untouched — the lists that drop her three tiers are misreading the situation.

Strategists: the role that wins the patch

S Tier

Rocket Raccoon (56.6%) and Ultron (56.5%) sit at the top of the pack. And above all, a specific composition is a must at high-level play: triple strategist built around Rocket Raccoon, Mantis, and Invisible Woman. The idea isn't to heal harder, but to outlast the enemy: these three win drawn-out fights by draining the opposing team's ultimate economy. Against them, you need to open fast or not at all.

A Tier

Loki, Jubilation Lee — that's the hero's official listed name, not "Jubilee" — and White Fox were all buffed on August 7. Three very different profiles: illusion and kit theft for the first, offensive support for the second, and ranged healing and harassment for the third.

On the Decline

Gambit is the only strategist nerfed in this patch. Nothing game-breaking, but he loses his default pick status against a support roster that's become very crowded.

What the Tier List Doesn't Tell You

Three blind spots to keep in mind before you rebuild your whole pool:

1. A high win rate isn't a personal guarantee. Peni Parker's 59% reflects players who've mastered her; her learning curve hasn't dropped with the patch, it's actually gone up, since her immobilization now requires two well-chained shots.
2. Bans skew the reading. Storm and Magik post excellent numbers precisely because they get removed from matches where they'd be countered.
3. Team-Ups shift the rankings. Hela's nerf only came through her duo with Namor: playing a pair means accepting that balance changes to one of them concern you too.

The Schedule You Need to Know

Season 9.5 runs from August 7 to September 11, 2026 — season 10 begins on that latter date. Two useful deadlines before then: the Creed of Akabba event and its 18 rewards run until August 27, and Krakoan Reels Vol. 2 arrives on August 14. The Blood Hunt mode has been extended well beyond the season: double XP until October 5, open mode until October 9, 2026, with a Nightmare tier extended to level 300.

In summary

If there's only one thing to remember: this patch rewarded staying power and punished diving in. Venom and Black Panther lose their ability to jump in and back out; Wolverine, Devil Dinosaur, and the trio of strategists benefit from drawn-out fights. Adjust your pick to this shift before asking yourself who's S-tier.