5* tier list for PvP and PvE

fight4thedream

Since @atomzed 's 5* tier Guide and Ranking has become a bit outdated, I decided to whip up a new tier list as a temporary placeholder until someone else can put together a more comprehensive 5* tier guide. This will be just a bare bones tier list with perhaps some quick notes to aid players in their understanding of the 5* meta. Rankings will be open to the community for debate. Also do keep in mind this list is strictly focused on competitive viability. 

5* tier ranking for PvP

Tier key

S tier: A character that is required to play PvP competitively or what some would call an "OP" character. Not having this character on your team will significantly hinder your ability to compete. (think 5* Gambit in his prime)

A tier: A character that is a pillar of the meta and/or is often found on the main teams of competitive players.

B tier: A character that is strong but not meta defining. When partnered with an A tier character, can perform reasonably well but falls a bit short in terms of speed or as a defensive deterrent in comparison to top meta teams.

C tier: A character that is of average strength and utility.  Can beat the top meta team with the right partner but not speedily. Depending on who this character is teamed with and shield usage, it should allow a player to reach the 1200 progression reward. A top tier 4* character when boosted might be the better option for a player.

D tier: A character that is below average in strength and utility and has no obvious use for competitive play. Can beat the top meta team with the right partner but the player will find it difficult and time consuming. Might have some niche use, but in general, if used will open up the player to being attacked. A top tier 4* character when boosted is more likely to be the better option for a player. 

F tier: A character that is very weak and more of a hindrance than help. A top tier 4* character when boosted is definitely the better option for a player.

The PvP tier list

S tier: N/A

A tier: Apocalypse, Beta Ray Bill, , Colossus, Mighty Thor, Okoye, Omega Red, Professor X, Scarlet Witch, Shang-Chi

B tier: Carnage, Chasm, Crystal, Deadpool, Electro, Gargantos, God Emperor Doom, Goose, Hit-Monkey, High Evolutionary, Iceman, Immortal Hulk, Jean Grey, Kang, Kitty Pryde, Knull, Onslaught, Riri Williams, Ronan, She-Hulk, Thanos, Thor, Venomsaurus Rex

C tier: Adam Warlock, Arcade, Big Wheel, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Black Suit Spider-Man*, Black Widow, Cable, Cyclops, Daredevil Matt Murdock, Doctor Strange, Elektra, Emma Frost, FA Captain America, Gambit, Gamora, Green Goblin, Havok, Hawkeye, Heimdall, Hela, Jessica Jones, Iron Man, IW Captain America, Kamala Khan, Killmonger, Kingpin, Loki, Magik, Mr. Sinister, Odin, PP Spider-Man, Sersi, Silver Surfer, Spider-Gwen, Star-Lord, Storm, The Hulk, Ultron, Vulture, Wolverine (Samurai Daken), Yelena Belova, Yellowjacket

D tier: Abigail Brand, Archangel, Captain Marvel, Doctor Octopus, Ghost Rider, Magneto, Miles Morales, Peggy Carter, Rescue, Symbiote Jeff,  Wolverine (OML)

F tier: Wasp, 

Current top PvP meta teams: 5* Colossus/Scarlet Witch, Apocalypse/Beta, Okoye/Scarlet Witch
Viable alternatives: Beta/Polaris, Iceman/Professor X, Beta/Kitty Pride, Shang-Chi/5* Colossus, 
Special mention: Black Panther/Thanos, Immortal Hulk/Okoye for shield hopping

Notes:
-The ideal Okoye/Thor team setup is having Okoye 12 levels higher than Thor

- Black Suit Spider-man is a hard counter to Kitty/Rocket teams but unless you have a high 5* character, expect to take a lot of hits and struggle to reach 1200. He adds very little offensively and is used primarily to ensure your team doesn't die fighting Kitty/Rocket. Recommended partners: Thor, DD

- Silver Surfer is a decent counter against Bishop and Worthy Cap teams but could certainly use a buff as his match damage is low and damage output still a bit wanting.

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5* tier ranking for PvE  (Up to CL 9)

I actually spent a bit of time thinking about how to do this list as PvE is a fundamentally different beast in comparison to PvP. To put it simply, if you want to be competitive and rank well in PvE you will need Thanos. And if you have a high level 4* Rocket and Groot and a Guardian of the Galaxy teammate or a 5* Kitty Pryde, you will be pretty much set for most of the nodes in PvE. There will occasionally be times when the 5* Essential boosted character might have high enough match damage that it will rival the Grocket/Guardian for speed but such characters are few and far between. 

The only situations where other 5* might be relevant are on wave nodes and the 5* Essential node. So I guess I will focus the ranking on those areas but keep in mind I am basing this mostly on my own experience and roster. The rate of success will differ depending on the level of your 5* characters and there may be instances when you have a higher leveled character that will perform better than what is ranked here. And remember, this ranking is open to debate. I am not really satisfied with it and open to suggestions on how to make it better.

Also note, this tier list does not apply to CL10 which has a distinctly different meta.

Tier key

S tier: A character that is required to play PvE competitively or what some might call an "OP" character. Not having this character will significantly hinder your ability to compete. 

A tier: A character that will significantly improve your clear times, either by allowing you to quickly complete normal nodes, wave nodes or 5* essential nodes. 

B tier: A character that may significantly improve your clear times when paired with a good partner. Not bad especially when partnered with an A tier character, but if this character is the best member on your main A team for PvE, you will struggle to make it t20 in competitive brackets. Using a boosted 4* may be the better option.

C tier: A character that will help you complete the more difficult nodes and wave nodes successfully but isn't likely to help you break top 20 in a competitive bracket. Good for those looking to complete PvE event without having to use too many health packs. 

? tier: Besides during the 5* essential boost, these characters will not allow you to compete for t10. Perhaps there is some synergy with 3* or 4* characters that may make them viable. If so, please let me know. But in most circumstances, using a boosted 4* will be the better option.

The PvE tier list

S tier: Thanos

A tier: Adam Warlock, Apocalypse, Black Panther, Colossus, Dr. Strange, Immortal Hulk, Kitty Pryde, Okoye, Shang-Chi, Thor

B tier: Beta Ray Bill, Deadpool, Daredevil, Hela, Jessica Jones, Onslaught, Professor X, PP Spider-Man, Sersi, Star-Lord, Yelena Belova

C tier: Black Bolt, God Emperor Doom, Havok, Hawkeye, Heimdall, IW Captain America*, Knull, Ronan, Scarlet Witch, Silver Surfer, Storm, Wolverine (OML), Wolverine (Samurai Daken), Yelena, Yellowjacket

? tier: Archangel, Black Suit Spider-man*, Black Widow, Cable, Captain Marvel, Carnage, Doctor Octopus, Electro, FA Captain America, Gambit, Ghost Rider, Green Goblin, Iceman, Iron Man, Jean Grey, Killmonger, Kingpin, Loki, Mr. Sinister, Odin, Rescue, The Hulk, Wasp

Notes:
- IW Captain America has been noted to be good against Boss fights because of his Red Coup de Grace being a major nuke.
- Black Suit Spider-Man is useful in the fight against Kaecilius in Strange Sights

Meta team composition guide for PvE:

-The first 3 easy nodes: 5* or 3* Thanos, 5* characters with high match damage or 4* Rocket and Groot  (1 match to end the battle)  or  4* Juggernaut, 4* Rocket and Grocket  + any Guardians of the Galaxy character (note: not as fast as Thanos team but good for those looking to cut down on health pack use)

- The next three difficult nodes: 5*Thanos/5* Kitty/4* Rocket and Groot, 5* Thanos, high level or maxed out 4*Rocket and Groot, plus another Guardian character (match times will vary depending on opponent strength and cascades but initial 4 clears should take about 2 minutes)/Potentially comparable: 5* Okoye/4*Medusa/3*Thanos (use 2 TU boost before match), 5* Okoye/4*Spider-man 2099/3* Thanos (use 2 TU boost before match), 5* Okoye/5* Thor/ Spider-man 2099

- The three essential nodes: 5* Thanos and 4* Rocket and Groot, 5* Thanos and 5* 50% Daredevil** (build dependent, if there is too wide a disparity between Thanos and DD speed is potentially lost), 5* Thanos and 5* Boosted character

- 5* Essential node (fully champed 5*): Boosted 5* character, Thor/America Chavez, Thor/Okoye, Kitty/4* Grocket
- 5* Essential node (low covered 5*): Boosted 5* character, Thor/America Chavez, Thor/Okoye, Daredevil/Gamora, Kitty/4*Grocket

- Good for wave nodes: 5* Thanos/Black Panther/Boosted 5* character, 5* Thanos/Black Panther/Dr. Strange, 5* Thanos/Kitty/4*Grocket, 5* Thanos/4*Grocket/Guardian partner, Potentially comparable: 5* Okoye/4*Medusa/3*Thanos (use 2 TU boost before match), 5* Okoye/4*Spider-man 2099/3* Thanos (use 2 TU boost before match), Okoye/5* Thor/4* Human Torch

Alternative for long wave nodes: Kitty/4*Grocket/5* Thor

-Not fast but effective is 5* Hawkeye, 4* Agent Caulson and 4* Carol

- Note: the 5* Okoye/4* Medusa/3* Thanos team is also fast. As always, this is roster dependent. If your Okoye is considerably higher than 5* Thanos and/or Kitty, it may be your fastest option.

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PvE CL 10

Feel free to chime in if you have any experience playing CL10. Still not sure which teams are the best of the best.

S tier: Okoye, Apocalypse

A tier: Adam Warlock**, Colossus, Emma Frost, Immortal Hulk, Kamala Khan**, Kang, Kitty Pryde, Omega Red, Shang-Chi, Thor
B tier: Beta Ray Bill, Chasm, Crystal, Magik, Onslaught, Professor X, Sersi, Thanos (for easy nodes), Wong

C tier: Big Wheel,  Gamora, Hawkeye, Hit-Monkey, Iceman, Knull, Mighty Thor, Riri Williams, Ronan, Scarlet Witch, Yelena Belova (for enemy teams that rely on AP generation of goons), Yellowjacket

Please note: Adam is best paired with a booster like Okoye or Apocalypse. 
                   Kamala Khan is best paired with Apocalypse & BRB plus supports that generate yellow/black

Effective teams

Adam Warlock/Immortal Hulk/Okoye**  (Ideally with Okoye tanking for Adam; I believe you need her to be near max level or use a support that boosts her yellow or black match damage)
Apocalypse/5* Kamala Khan/Polaris  [**requires: supports that generate yellow. Ideally, black and/or green too]
Apocalypse/Immortal Hulk/Valkyrie

Apocalypse/Immortal Hulk/5* Thor

Apocalypse/Immortal Hulk/Beta Ray Bill
Apocalypse/Beta Ray Bill/Kamala Khan [**requires: supports that generate yellow/black and use of AP boosts]
Apocalypse/Kamala Khan/ 5* Thor (Gladiator)
Apocalypse/Gorr/ 5* Thor (Gladiator)
Gorr/Okoye/5* Thor (Gladiator)
Okoye/Immortal Hulk/3* Thanos
Okoye/*5 Thor/4* Scorpion
Okoye/*5 Thor/4* Sabertooth
Okoye/*5 Thor/4* Human Torch
Kitty/4* Rocket and Groot/4* Juggernaut
iHulk/4* Vulture/4* Karolina Dean  (recommended iHulk build: 3/5/5, also use boosts to get your 4* flying asap)
5* Deadpool/Okoye/5*Thor
4* Polaris/Kitty/4* Grocket
4* Polaris/Kitty/BRB
4* Polaris/BRB/Okoye
4* Polaris/BRB/Sersi
4* Polaris/halfThor/5* Okoye
4* Valkyrie/Melinda May/Shang-Chi
Okoye/Onslaught/Prof X
Shang-Chi/5* Thor/4* America Chavez
Shang-Chi/4* Nick Fury/4* America Chavez (best with support that gives yellow AP at start of match, yellow AP boost)
Shang-Chi/Onslaught/4*America Chavez
Shang-Chi/4* Valkyrie/4* America Chavez

Challenge node teams

5* Beta Ray Bill/4* Polaris/1* Juggernaut
5* Deadpool/Okoye/5*Thor
5* Kang (or 3* Kang if you have a decent levelled 5* Hawkeye)/Hawkeye/Iron Man + Support that gives yellow AP at beginning of match
5* Kang/5* Hawkeye/4* Deadpool
4* Polaris/Kitty/4* Grocket
4* Polaris/Kitty/BRB
4* Polaris/BRB/Okoye
4* Polaris/BRB/Sersi
4* Polaris/halfThor/5* Okoye
Okoye/5* Thor/*5 Iceman

Okoye/5* Thor/ Spider-man 2099
5*Hawkeye/Coulson/4* Gamora
5*Hawkeye/Worthy Cap/4* Gamora
Shang-Chi/Onslaught/Sersi

For easy nodes featuring Mindless Ones
Chasm/iHulk/Thanos

*Note: Ideally you want Immortal Hulk tanking as little as possible. Ideally, you want him getting boosted from Okoye or Apocalypse but be aware if he tanks more colors than them you are going to burn through health packs.  Supports that boost match damage is one possible work around.

Daredevil217

I could be wrong as I’m new to the tier but I’m pretty sure Kitty/Thanos/Grocket is the best PVE team (not just for wave nodes). 

Now admittedly my Grocket is only 310 and Kitty is only 340. So the former isn’t max-champed and the latter isn’t champed, but...

For me, a Guardian bumps all 7 strikes up from 175 to 365 (190 each or 1,330 total) on turn 1. 

My Kitty bumps 5 strikes up 578 on turn 2 (+2,590) and every turn after.

fight4thedream

That's a good point and this is why it's important to consider your own roster and character strength.
It's quite possible to do 1-2 turn matches on difficult nodes with Grocket/Guardian/Thanos but there are plenty of instances where Kitty/Grocket can do the same. And the longer the match goes on, the bettter Kitty/Grocket get.  

Will update! Thanks for the feedback.

Straycat

Where's Loki?

bigsmooth

Straycat said:

Where's Loki?

He's feigning death.

TPF Alexis

bigsmooth said:

Straycat said:

Where's Loki?

He's feigning death.

Someone go get help!

fight4thedream

Straycat said:

Where's Loki?

Nice catch! Added Loki to the list.

DudeBro

What makes Jessica A tier in pvp? Her damning evidence on defense? She just seems out of place there. 

vinnygecko

If you had a C tier for PVE, I'd recommend Hawkeye there. A really great team for waves is 5* Hawkeye, 4* Carol and Coulson, it's helped in my current transition from 4* to 5*. When he's boosted it's ridiculous.

fight4thedream

DudeBro said:

What makes Jessica A tier in pvp? Her damning evidence on defense? She just seems out of place there. 

She is actually a borderline character. She has three offensive abilities that synergize well with each other and before Kitty/Grocket became a thing was the best in terms of defense and skip deterrent . I rank her above Black Bolt and Daredevil. 

With that said, I have given it a lot of thought and think you have a point. She is a great character but simply doesn't have a perfect partner (yet). While she has a lot of offensive output and good defensive deterrent passive, in terms of speed, she doesn't come close to Okoye/Thor or Kitty/Grocket. So unless someone can offer a compelling argument as to why she should be in the A tier, I am going to list her as B rank, adding a note I consider her a B+ as I do think she stands a bit higher than the rest in that tier.

Thanks for the feedback!

vinnygecko said:

If you had a C tier for PVE, I'd recommend Hawkeye there. A really great team for waves is 5* Hawkeye, 4* Carol and Coulson, it's helped in my current transition from 4* to 5*. When he's boosted it's ridiculous.

Awesome suggestion! This is the kind of information I need to help flesh out the rest of the PvE tier list. I am going to go ahead and make a C tier for characters that can successfully help players do well against harder nodes and wave nodes. 

Cactus_Jack_87

Obviously you have not Called the Swarm yet! I Called the Swarm every match during my grind last night, and EASILY finished top 500. Wasp deserves to be in pantheon tier.

bigsmooth

I think where you have JJ for PvP now is spot on. She has three good offensive powers, so she's versatile and generally quite effective on offense. For defense, she will always be dangerous since an AI-controlled JJ can simply "luck" into 10K+ damage on any given turn, no strategy needed.

Unfortunately, defense doesn't matter that much in 5* PvP play, and even with her passive she's simply not quite as fast as the current meta teams. She's still great and highly recommended, but she's not quite there with the A listers.

One question I have: why is Star-Lord ranked so highly for PvE? Is that just for his match damage when partnering him with 4* Grocket (compared to a 4* Guardian)? I don't have him champed, but I would assume he would not otherwise be at that level.

hopper1979

If I had to guess it would be because of his yellow and green.  Good tile destruction and acceleration for better green users.  His purple is not bad either if playing a tile generating team.  He has high match damage and even though he is slow for pvp he is useful for pve.

fight4thedream

bigsmooth said: One question I have: why is Star-Lord ranked so highly for PvE? Is that just for his match damage when partnering him with 4* Grocket (compared to a 4* Guardian)? I don't have him champed, but I would assume he would not otherwise be at that level.

Primarily for his synergy with 4* Grocket and his higher level of health and higher match damage in comparison to the other Guardians of the Galaxy. There are actually situations where I believe Gamora is more favorable if you need to stun a character like Juggernaut but in most circumstances Star-Lord is the best option for the non-essential harder nodes. 

Just to be clear, basically any Guardian + Grocket will do the trick. But that pairing with Thanos is just so fast that 5* Star-Lord gets added value from it. Plus, he helps save health packs.

Daredevil217

Hasn’t Kitty made Star-Lord obsolete though?  I mean he’s good if you don’t have her as an option, but I believe the crown has been snatched with regard to what he does best (pair with Grocket). 

TPF Alexis

Daredevil217 said:

Hasn’t Kitty made Star-Lord obsolete though?  I mean he’s good if you don’t have her as an option, but I believe the crown has been snatched with regard to what he does best (pair with Grocket). 

I only have like two covers for 5tarLord, so I can't say for sure, but, especially with Thanos along, his extra damage in the first couple of Turns (before Kitty really gets rolling) might be enough to still give him the edge.

Daredevil217

TPF Alexis said:

Daredevil217 said:

Hasn’t Kitty made Star-Lord obsolete though?  I mean he’s good if you don’t have her as an option, but I believe the crown has been snatched with regard to what he does best (pair with Grocket). 

I only have like two covers for 5tarLord, so I can't say for sure, but, especially with Thanos along, his extra damage in the first couple of Turns (before Kitty really gets rolling) might be enough to still give him the edge.

I posted earlier the difference between Kitty with Grocket and a Guardian with Grocket. For trivial nodes I use neither. To save on packs I usually just use a different 5* near the top of my roster that I never use otherwise (Kingpin usually) to eat damage.  An unboosted 5* (Thanos himself) can usually one-shot and court death trivial nodes in a single move.

For anything other than trivial (where it’s more than one match to trigger court death) Gritty is better. The 5* essential is also better if you have them champed to trigger court death faster. In my mind Star-Lord/Grocket/Thanos would come in third (and you can only use it on 6/10 nodes). 

Yes Star-Lord provides the guardians boost to Grocket’s tiles. But you can get that from any 3 or 4* Guardian. Sure Star-Lord does way better match damage than a 3 or 4* but only really in yellow. Green and purple are already covered by Thanos himself who only does 13 and 14 damage less per AP respectively. So aside from a health pool, Star-Lord is really only bringing yellow match damage to the table. Not exactly setting the world on fire.

fight4thedream

Having taken some time to reconsider Star-Lord's PvE value, I have reached the conclusion that he is ranked too high and I have decided to drop him to B tier. The simple reason being he is not someone I would recommend a player actively pursue for competitive play.

As @Daredevil217 has noted, you can get the Guardian's boost using any Guardian character which actually undercuts his competitive value. And yes, Kitty is certainly the better investment.

Daredevil217 said:

TPF Alexis said:

Daredevil217 said:

Hasn’t Kitty made Star-Lord obsolete though?  I mean he’s good if you don’t have her as an option, but I believe the crown has been snatched with regard to what he does best (pair with Grocket). 

I only have like two covers for 5tarLord, so I can't say for sure, but, especially with Thanos along, his extra damage in the first couple of Turns (before Kitty really gets rolling) might be enough to still give him the edge.

I posted earlier the difference between Kitty with Grocket and a Guardian with Grocket. For trivial nodes I use neither. To save on packs I usually just use a different 5* near the top of my roster that I never use otherwise (Kingpin usually) to eat damage.  An unboosted 5* (Thanos himself) can usually one-shot and court death trivial nodes in a single move.

For anything other than trivial (where it’s more than one match to trigger court death) Gritty is better. The 5* essential is also better if you have them champed to trigger court death faster. In my mind Star-Lord/Grocket/Thanos would come in third (and you can only use it on 6/10 nodes). 

Yes Star-Lord provides the guardians boost to Grocket’s tiles. But you can get that from any 3 or 4* Guardian. Sure Star-Lord does way better match damage than a 3 or 4* but only really in yellow. Green and purple are already covered by Thanos himself who only does 13 and 14 damage less per AP respectively. So aside from a health pool, Star-Lord is really only bringing yellow match damage to the table. Not exactly setting the world on fire.

It depends on the 5* essential's match damage. Particularly with older 5*s and more recently God Emperor Doom, maxed champed 4* Grocket with Guardian is faster.  It's also arguably faster than Kitty/Grocket during the first 2-3 hits of the harder nodes, specifically if you can cause a cascade within the first turn. It really depends on opponent health levels and a player's ability to generate cascades.

One benefit that Grocket/Guardian has over 5* Essential is that strike tile damage is not reduced. If you are able to match 2 sets of tiles, that easily becomes 8k damage. Three and you are looking at 12~13k. So the initial hit of hard nodes (with the exception of some Dark Avengers matches) generally should only take 1 or 2 turns.

Obviously, with each hit opponents health levels go up and it is then when Kitty outpaces Grocket/Guardian in terms of damage. If you are dealing with enemies with health over 14k, it's better to bring Kitty to the fight.

Where the 5* Essential character usually shines is in the Essential node fights, but even then it might be better to take Grocket at least for the initial clear as he will be boost your Thanos match damage up to 1918 if you have Grocket maxed out.

The important thing to consider is your own roster, how much match damage your 5* Essential is doing boosted, and so on. If you don't have a maxed champ Grocket, than it is certainly possible that the 5* Essential is the better choice.

Anywhoo, thanks again for all the feedback! I really appreciate it. (^-^)/

jackstar0

For Goon-heavy nodes/waves, It's not insane to throw out Gritty+5trange (or even 3* Strange for the healing).

sambrookjm

TPF Alexis said:

bigsmooth said:

Straycat said:

Where's Loki?

He's feigning death.

Someone go get help!

I'm *not* doing "Get Help."

wymtime

For PVP I think you have Angel too low.  People trash him because of his passive, but he can be a solid tank for Thor, a good partner for JJ, and a really solid 3rd character for Sim.  Right now you have above him the likes of green goblin, Silver Surfer, Starlord.  Arch Angel is defiantly above these characters in PVP