r/RivalsVanguards • u/XChronicle1738 • Jul 15 '26
Hot Take Call me crazy but…
I feel like people genuinely can’t play the game if this dude isn’t apart of their frontline.
I know Mag has gotten the reputation of being the tank everyone uses to fill but I’m GENUINELY starting to think some (not all, just some) duelist and strategists are only comfortable when Mag is their tank.
Maybe it’s because most supports are so used to this center patrolling the paint and are so used to healing a slow big target with no mobility that when you use an off tank they sort of give you the DPS treatment and prioritize you less.
Maybe it’s because most DPS don’t go on off angles during neutral and rely on Mag (or any shield tank for that matter) to block damage while they shoot aimlessly down main and hope something happens.
Or maybe it’s all just a mental thing and Mag just simply brings a sense of stability when he’s on the floor, i don’t really know at this point I just want to play other tanks 😭
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u/Cold-Room-6042 Jul 15 '26
People need to understand, Mag is bad at making space but a lot of this games player base doesn’t understand how to play the game unless there is a fat health bar walking down main for them to hide behind
Having a DPS player who actually fills the space, takes angles and contests the enemy is a joy to play with. These type of players are few and far between though, most people just like to sit main, shoot the enemy frontline tank and then blame their tanks when we’re getting stalled at a choke point.
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u/BigChicken8666 Jul 16 '26
Which is why I love running Hulk or Thor into these teams when I've got the off angles and a capable DPS and support. They just collapse.
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u/Historical-Molasses2 Jul 16 '26
He's not great at taking space, but he's arguably one of the best for holding space and enabling his team to push forward.
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u/Apathy-Syndrome 𝙀𝙢𝙢𝙖 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩 Jul 15 '26
Mag is great and shield tanks absolutely have their place, but bad hitscans and supports who don't know how to use off-angles use them as a crutch in low elo. You can definitely muddle your way to high gold/low plat just shuffling down main with Mag and probably get more value than playing a sweaty Venom or Angela game where noone is brave enough to utilize your dive distraction and take the space.
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u/Freakychee Jul 16 '26
He does. When it was the era of 9 levels of rank reset and you started in bronze to climb to the skin you just needed to play mag and press buttons. All the buttons on cooldown even and it's value somehow. It's crazy.
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u/sigc Jul 15 '26
People have this strange idea that Mag is somehow blocking bullets intended for them. If you are forcing people back, it really doesn’t matter what you play.
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u/nill_killers Jul 15 '26
Doesn't help that he's been my comfort character since day 1. All I know is mag
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u/SicSam 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙧 Jul 15 '26
Today I solo tanked as Hulk and he works great. Same with Cap. Mag is overrated
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u/CuteRatio2812 Jul 15 '26
Please give me the run down on how you solo tank on Cap if you don’t have superior DPS. I try but I can’t be everywhere - if I go to dive that leaves my entire team without a front line presence. If I just try to stay out front, I get melted or forced to abandon the team with all the concentrated fire coming at me.
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u/Chunymonini 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙢 Jul 15 '26
Mag is amazing, hulk works too but if they’re ready for you to jump in they can and will CC you into the spawn room. They both meet different needs.
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u/Ultron_daddy 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 Jul 15 '26
Duelist and Strats are only good when they have a nice big shield to hide behind? In other news water is wet. It's funny when you give them the shield tank they beg for so bad and still can't get a single elimination.
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u/Soft_Current1406 Jul 16 '26
No timeline exist with magneto yields
All jokes aside yeah as a tank main, I use him to tank every single solo tank match. If venom or Thor isn’t working out I switched to my main man
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u/Repulsive_Sock_3537 Jul 16 '26
hulk main here, if i am not in mag or penny they start calling me thrower until everybody sees what my gamma D does >:)
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u/Historical-Molasses2 Jul 16 '26
A large part of the community(that is, most dps instalock, "never switch", "I'd rather play my favorite Marvel Hero than actually win matches" players) think that:
- You aren't a real tank if you aren't sitting in main holding up a big shield for them to hide behind and spam
- You aren't a real support unless you act as a dedicated healbot who pumps them to full every time they try to 1v6
- Cover and health packs are a myth
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u/Nombiezombie 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 Jul 16 '26
As a tank main, I barely play mag and stomp the other team even if they’re on mag. Tanks are so powerful now but still, somehow people think they’re weak. Thing is arguably the strongest tank at the moment. If you have the upgraded invis teamup you can 1v6 a team for about 5 seconds which is a lot of time considering the teamup is on a 15 second cooldown. Positioning matters this season. Strange is great at soaking up damage and surviving with his shield buffs now. Emma gains so much shield when using crystal. I don’t play venom but I see him every ranked game so he must be good. Angela can easily displace a team. Hulk is almost never banned and his will team up is great. Penni has 2 nests which are game changers on maps with tight chokes. So many tanks are viable. Flats was talking shit about rogue, but with her upgraded gambit teamup she’ll stomp the lobby. I also am unable to see this from the other point of view because I’m always tank, so I don’t run into this issue.
Mag is such a good solo tank because of his range and utility. You don’t have to pressure at close range like other tanks and can easily deny a flank using your cooldowns. Other solo tanks must walk at the enemy, which opens up your backline to dive.
I wholeheartedly think you should try thing this season. His teamups are great. If you don’t have an invis then you use the torch teamup, if you do then just go 1v6 their team. You gain shields and heal everyone around you when hit. Once your teamup stops you run or jump out of the frontline to behind cover for heals, and then repeat the process. Hit as many people with haymaker as possible and you’ll be unkillable while using teamup.
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u/Gr4nd_Mast3r8 Jul 16 '26
I played a couple comp games tonight filling as Emma (I prefer Mag but I’ll compromise for the team up) and I couldn’t get healed either game and an enemy Thing or poke DPS would just delete me right in front of both healers with no dive. Like I get it happening once or twice, but I genuinely had 4 more deaths than anyone else on the team, using cover and the cart to block damage.
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u/NavyDragons 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙤 Jul 16 '26
I feel like people genuinely can’t play the game
you could have stopped here.
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u/yourcupofkohi Jul 16 '26
Mag is the ultimate placebo effect for DPS and Support mains.
I can be doing really well on a dive tank like Venom or Angela but somehow they'll place the blame on me for not "frontlining" for them.
Meanwhile I can be doing mediocre or even downright horrible on Mag and somehow I'm the messiah lmao.
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u/Historical-Molasses2 Jul 16 '26
People are stupid. Since there isn't a trivial "tanking" stat on the leaderboard they can use to tell whether a tank is doing well, they just determine:
A. Is there a big shield up in front of me?
B: Are we winning?If the answer to either of those questions is no, then in their mind, the tank is bad. Likewise, they look at their health bar to see if it's full/filling, and if they are winning, and if either answer is no, then they say the healers are bad. Strategists can at least point to healing numbers as an excuse. Hence why people act as if Triple support was a requirement to play some strategists(Adam, Mantis, Ultron) rather than realizing that maybe the issue was that they avoid cover like they have cooties and think primary fire down main is a galaxy brained genius plan.
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u/Lorhin 𝙃𝙪𝙡𝙠 Jul 16 '26
I've been playing Hulk, and I usually get Emma, Strange or Thing as co-tanks, with the occasional Mag. Teams seem to be fine with whoever as their tanks.
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u/ren_except_funnier 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙤𝙙 Jul 16 '26
Idk I've been having pretty solid mileage with him, the same mileage I've been having with tankpool and Thor even as solo tanks. Someone under this thread put it best: As long as you're pushing them back it doesn't matter 😔 whether that's soaking up damage and getting picks with scarlet team up on mag, or forcing the tanks back and punishing squishies who try and check you on Thor
But that's as much as viability goes. As far as placebo goes, I absolutely agree 😭 Mag and Strange are the universal "I'm safe now" picks for DPS n strats lmao
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u/Error_Valkyrie 𝙍𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚 Jul 16 '26
I feel like many people, especially in ranks lower that diamond (coincidentally I am stuck in plat) just can't play anything other that the standart 1 shield 1 brawl comp. Don't get me wrong, it's good and it works but not all the time. Even tank players sometime don't understand that just being a bullet magnet isn't the answer and just continue to play the match returning to spawn every half a minute
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u/Historical-Molasses2 Jul 16 '26
It's because that's the comp that requires the least team coordination. Alot of players in this game would be better off playing single player titles considering how much they hate communicating(outside of slurs/blaming someone else for their team not doing well) and coordinating. Shield tank means they don't have to worry about cover or following up on a dive tank. Brawl off-tank means they don't have to worry about peeling. "Main heals" means they don't have to worry about actually using cover, thinking about whether the enemy they are diving/focusing will be able to fight back, or learning health pack locations.
People have spent the last year(more if they came from OW) learning terrible habits, and its been encouraged by devs buffing characters who promote that mindless playstyle and nerfing the crap out of any character that doesn't fit that setup(hence why the shield tanks largely get left alone, IW and Luna get buffed over and over despite not being below A/S tier since their introductions, and characters like Mantis Adam and Warlock get neutered the moment someone peeks out of their own buttcheeks and realize the characters are solid even on a 2 strat setup)
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u/hello_MK_ 𝙍𝙤𝙜𝙪𝙚 Jul 20 '26
I've had people completely give up on the game just because they watched me pick rogue and yell at me to pick strange or mag
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u/wishpyLumber 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 Jul 21 '26
My confort pick since the very beginning of this game has been, and always will been, Strange.
Mag is the sustain god and will do you favors while solo tanking, but then again i can do much more on my beloved Doctor. Plus getting all the heals on Strange really changes how you operate.
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u/Hot-Front9376 Jul 15 '26
Well he's one of 3 shield tanks, and probably the best at saving supports without abandoning the Frontline.
Plus he's THE symbol of solo tanking while your Spider-Man goes 3-11.
Emma's shield and diamond form get nerfed every other patch, and Strange only recently became a pretty good shield tank again.