If you are hard-stuck in ranked, your Strategist pick matters more than your aim. Season 9 "The Mystery of Thebes" reshuffled the entire support role — a roughly 80% roster balance pass, a brand-new Strategist (Jubilee), and a completely rebuilt Team-Up system. Three of the game's five strongest heroes right now are supports. Pick the right one and the climb gets dramatically easier.
This guide ranks every Marvel Rivals Strategist for Season 9 by how easily they carry games in ranked (July 2026 meta), tells you exactly who to one-trick to climb, and explains the S9 Team-Up changes that decide the support meta.
Marvel Rivals - Rank Boost
Get rank boost in 10 minutes
Quick answer: best Strategists to climb in Season 9
TL;DR — If you just want to climb, one-trick one of these:
- Best overall / easiest to climb with: Rocket Raccoon — highest all-ranks Strategist win-rate in S9 (~54.7%), self-revive utility, low mechanical floor.
- Best for high burst-healing + tempo: Mantis (~53.5% WR) and Ultron (~53.5% WR) — both S-tier, both forgiving.
- Best high-elo carries (Diamond+): Cloak & Dagger and Invisible Woman — their new S9 Team-Ups turn them into survivable, aggressive supports.
- Skip for now: Luna Snow (down this season) unless you already main her.
- New hero: Jubilee is strong and fun but high-skill/high-reward (~50.8% WR early) — learn her in Quick Play before you ranked-grind her.
Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 hero shooter, and games are won on the healing/utility line more than the DPS line. In S9's support-heavy meta, a solid Strategist pocket is the single fastest lever on your rank.
Season 9 Strategist tier list (July 2026 meta)
Rankings below blend live all-ranks win-rate (counterwatch.gg tracker data, updated mid-July 2026) with competitive value at higher elo. Win-rate numbers are tracker-sourced, not official — treat them as directional. The full Strategist roster in S9 is 12 heroes: Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, Gambit, Invisible Woman, Jeff the Land Shark, Jubilee (new), Loki, Luna Snow, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Ultron, and White Fox.
| Tier | Strategist | Why (S9) |
|---|---|---|
| S | Rocket Raccoon | Top all-ranks Strategist win-rate (~54.7%); B.R.B. self-revive + high healing uptime. The safest solo-queue climb pick. |
| S | Mantis | ~53.5% WR; burst heals + damage boost + sleep control. Rewards good positioning, punishes little. |
| S | Ultron | ~53.5% WR; flying support with strong AoE healing and disruptive ult. Hard to dive. |
| A | Cloak & Dagger | S9 Luna Snow Team-Up gives her survivability against burst/one-shot ults; a top Diamond+ pick. |
| A | Invisible Woman | Her new Human Torch Team-Up turns passive shields into large, damaging barriers — a genuine high-elo carry. |
| A | Loki | Clone/rune utility and ult-copy potential; skill-expressive but game-swinging in the right hands. |
| B | Adam Warlock | Team-revive soul bond is clutch; slower moment-to-moment healing. Value scales in coordinated play. |
| B | White Fox | ~51.4% WR; flexible kit, fine into dive, but out-healed by the S-tier options. |
| B | Gambit | Reworked support utility; niche, better in stacks than solo-queue. |
| C | Luna Snow | Down this season on the tracker metrics — still playable, just no longer a default S-tier auto-pick. |
| C | Jeff the Land Shark | Fun escape ult, but the lowest raw healing throughput of the role. |
| C | Jubilee (new) | ~50.8% WR early; high skill ceiling, real carry potential once mastered — not a first-week ranked pick. |
How to read this for climbing: the S-tier three (Rocket, Mantis, Ultron) are where the raw win-rate is because they are forgiving — they climb even when your positioning is imperfect. Cloak & Dagger and Invisible Woman are ranked A here for the ladder average but are arguably the strongest supports at Diamond+ where teams actually build around the new S9 Team-Ups. Pick to your elo.
Who is the new Strategist, Jubilee?
Jubilee is the 52nd hero in Marvel Rivals and the new Strategist added at the Season 9.0 launch. Per the official Season 9 (Version 20260710) patch notes: "Jubilee is a Strategist, a lively manipulator of fireworks who can control vibrant energy plasmoids in combat to heal her teammates, while simultaneously damaging and blinding enemies."
Her profile makes her a high-skill, high-reward pick: 275 HP and a 4-star difficulty rating (one of the harder supports to pilot). She heals through her plasma orbs while blinding and chipping enemies, has a dash for mobility, and a fireworks-style Ultimate. There is also a notable lifesteal synergy when Blade is on the team.
Should you climb on her right now? Not on day one of your grind. Her early ~50.8% win-rate reflects a hero players are still learning, not a weak kit. Learn her orb timing and blind angles in Quick Play, then bring her to ranked once she is muscle memory. If you want a guaranteed climb this week, one-trick Rocket or Mantis and add Jubilee later.
How the Season 9 Team-Up overhaul changed support
The single biggest S9 change for Strategists is the Team-Up system rebuild. The old anchor-buff model is gone. As Game Informer quoted the dev team: "every single hero will possess two completely independent Team-Up Ability loadouts" — chosen in the spawn room, no longer requiring your paired partner to be locked into a specific slot.
For supports, this matters in two ways:
- Cloak & Dagger gained a Luna Snow Team-Up that lets her survive attacks that would normally delete a support — including some one-shot ults. That survivability is why she is a top-tier pick again.
- Invisible Woman's Human Torch Team-Up makes her shields larger, stronger, and damaging when enemies fire through them, converting her from a passive healbot into an active, aggressive support.
Because ~80% of the roster was adjusted in S9, any Season 8.5 support tier list is stale. If a guide still lists heroes by 8.5 balance, ignore it — the numbers moved.
Marvel Rivals - Wins Boost
Get wins boost in 10 minutes
Best Strategist duos and comps to climb
You almost never solo-heal in Marvel Rivals ranked; the standard is a 2-2-2 (two Vanguard, two Duelist, two Strategist). Strong S9 support pairings:
- Rocket + Mantis — the safest, highest-throughput healing core. Mantis boosts your DPS's damage; Rocket keeps everyone topped and can re-deploy revive beacons. Ideal for solo-queue.
- Cloak & Dagger + Luna Snow — activates the survivability Team-Up; strong into dive comps that try to collapse your backline.
- Invisible Woman + Human Torch — for coordinated play; the shield-and-punish package that controls chokes.
- Ultron + any burst healer — Ultron's mobility covers flanks a grounded support can't.
Pair your support core with a solid Vanguard front line — see our Season 9 tier list and best tanks to climb guides to complete the 2-2-2.
How to actually climb as a Strategist in Season 9
Meta picks get you halfway; support fundamentals get you the rest:
- Position off the "third angle." Heal from a spot your Vanguard covers but flankers can't easily reach. Most support deaths are positioning, not aim.
- Track enemy ults. Two supports should never blow defensive cooldowns at once. Stagger them — this is where Cloak & Dagger's S9 survivability shines.
- Pre-heal, don't reactive-heal. Top up your divers before they engage; chasing damage after it lands is how you lose the healing race.
- Play the rank reset correctly. S9's seasonal reset drops you six divisions (two full tiers) — a Diamond III player restarts at Gold III. Those early games are the softest opponents you'll see all season, so grind your placement climb immediately. Full details in our Season 9 rank reset guide.
- Reach Gold for the free reward. Hitting Gold or higher this season earns the exclusive Jubilee "Crimson Crown" ranked costume.
If you're time-limited or stuck below your skill level, a Marvel Rivals rank boost or wins boost from pro players is the fastest way through the divisions — no exploits, just higher-skill play on your account.
Climb Marvel Rivals Season 9 faster:
- Marvel Rivals Rank Boost — climb divisions fast with pro players
- Marvel Rivals Wins Boost — guaranteed net ranked wins
- All Marvel Rivals services — placements, coaching and more
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best Strategist to climb with in Marvel Rivals Season 9? Rocket Raccoon is the safest, highest-win-rate solo-queue pick (~54.7% all-ranks), with Mantis and Ultron just behind. At Diamond+ where teams build around the new Team-Ups, Cloak & Dagger and Invisible Woman are the strongest carries.
Is Jubilee good in Season 9? Yes, but she is high-skill/high-reward. Her early win-rate (~50.8%) is low mainly because players are still learning her orb-and-blind kit. She has real carry potential once mastered — practice her in Quick Play before ranking her up.
Is Luna Snow still meta in Season 9? She dropped this season on the tracker metrics and is no longer a default S-tier auto-pick. She's still playable if you main her, but Rocket, Mantis and Ultron are stronger climb options right now.
How many Strategists are in Marvel Rivals? Twelve as of Season 9: Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, Gambit, Invisible Woman, Jeff the Land Shark, Jubilee, Loki, Luna Snow, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Ultron and White Fox.
Why are supports so strong in Season 9? The ~80% balance pass and the rebuilt Team-Up system (every hero now picks two independent Team-Up loadouts) buffed key supports — three of the game's five S-tier heroes are Strategists this season.
How far does the Season 9 rank reset drop me? A full-season reset is −6 divisions (two full tiers) — e.g. Diamond III restarts at Gold III. See our Season 9 rank reset guide for the exact math and the fastest way to climb back.
Meta and win-rates reflect the Season 9 "The Mystery of Thebes" patch (Version 20260710) as of July 2026. Tracker win-rates are third-party (counterwatch.gg) and shift each patch; hero facts verified against the official Marvel Rivals Season 9 patch notes.
