Marvel Rivals' Blade Just Made a Hero I Hate Fighting…

As a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals, there are few heroes who truly scare me. As Magneto, I can block gunfire from the likes of Punisher, while Emma Frost lets me grab pesky characters like Spider-Man to slow them down. However, one character has been wildly frustrating to deal with because of the damage he can do to my team: Iron Fist. While I’m aware of how easily high-level players deal with the defender of K’un-Lun, I usually find myself in Diamond each Season thanks to the mandatory de-ranks at the beginning of each Season and splitting my time between Rivals and Overwatch. At Diamond and below, many players don’t know how to deal with characters like Iron Fist, meaning he often wipes my backline before I can peel to help, and I’m left alive struggling without support.

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By Emily Stander

Why Marvel Rivals’ Blade Has Me Shaking in My Boots

Blade’s kit was recently unveiled via a brief Marvel Rivals trailer, and the Daywalker’s arsenal seems like it’ll rarely leave him at a disadvantage. Blade can:

Dash toward enemies
Block incoming projectiles with a sword deflect, halving damage and helping him close the distance
Unleash fast sword combos by quickly attacking, with a flashy spin attack ending each combo
Fire a gun to attack from a distance
Lifesteal when attacking with Blade's sword
A healing debuff that makes it so weakened enemies receive less healing
Unleash an ultimate ability that looks like a mix of Virgil’s Judgement Cut from Devil May Cry and Zantetsuken from Final Fantasy.

There are a few parts of this kit that seemingly make Blade a more effective version of Iron Fist. For starters, his ability to both block and dash. Sure, he may not be chasing Iron Man players out of the sky like Iron Fist can with his multi-dash kicks, but for everyone else who is stuck on the ground, he’s going to block what they throw his way and then move right at them. This seems especially terrifying for supports, as Blade looks like a menace in one-on-one duels. His numerous quick melee slices make up for the low damage output from each hit, while his ability to fire from his gun could help him finish anyone who gets away.

As frustrating as Iron Fist has proven to be in the past, there have been times when he is beating down on my Strategists, but they’re able to run away just long enough for me to get back to them and help deal with the problem. Now, though? If Blade makes it into the backline, and gets a squishy target to low health, he can pop a few shots into them as they are trying to flee, finishing the job long before help can arrive. So, while his movement may be more limited than other meleee characters, his deflecting and ranged attacks give him an advantage the likes of Iron Fist and Magik don’t have.

As shown in Blade’s gameplay footage, his gun won’t be outputting high damage like Winter Soldier, but it seems like enough to get the job done and finish off weakened targets.

Perhaps most terrifying of all is Blade’s ultimate ability. Essentially a quicker-killing version of Pyslocke’s Dance of the Butterfly ult, but with a tighter cone of damage, this ultimate seems outright better than Iron Fist’s. Though it only deals damage in a tight line, it can injure enemies in the air unlike Psylocke’s ult, and it can instantly kill enemies caught in its path. With good placement, this ultimate can get team kills, something that looks far easier to pull off than multi-kills with Iron Fist’s Living Chi, as that ult is basically just a buff of his existing kit. On top of all this, Blade has lifesteal on all his melee attacks and can provide a healing debuff where weakened foes recover less health when healed, making him a menace against Vanguards as well as Strategists. With this, a better ult at Blade's disposal, a shield-like deflect, and a ranged attack to finish off his foes, I’m expecting good Blade players to be unstoppable at Diamond and metal-rank play. A good Iron Fist is likely to be a good Blade with time, meaning I’m not escaping my struggles - they’re just being given a fresh coat of paint.