Marvel Strike Force: 9 Best Teams For Beginners

Marvel Strike Force has built an enormous roster of playable characters over its three years on the market. While this means that most players’ favorite characters are likely already playable, it can also mean that starting to play can be a confusing, overwhelming experience. Despite the gameplay focusing on team-based combat, Marvel Strike Force is a resource management game just as much as it is a fighting one.

It may be tempting to spend the limited available resources on the newest, strongest teams in the game like the Marauders. Yet there are older teams like the Avengers that can also offer new players the necessary power and skillsets to take on any opponent. Regardless of which team they pick, players are guaranteed a fun time playing some of the most iconic Marvel heroes and villains.

9 Wave One Avengers

The Avengers team includes several of the most memorable characters from the team’s history in comics, and most of them have at least some level of synergy with each other. The Wave One Avengers is a sub-group of Eath’s Mightiest Heroes that includes characters from the team’s first team-up movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The team can consist of any five characters in the following lineup: Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man. Captain America and Thor are given to new players for free early in the game, and they form a great team foundation that can help players in the Hero Campaign, arena, and early raids. This team is a great starter group for inexperienced players as each Avenger is equipped with his or her own distinct strengths and weaknesses that work well in most battles.

8 Sinister Six

Working through each of the distinct campaigns is a vital part of progressing in Marvel Strike Force, and the second campaign requires villains. While there are many powerful villains to be unlocked, the best villain team for new players to start with is the Sinister Six. Like their comic book counterparts, the Sinister Six has more than six powerful members. The three best characters from the team to invest in first are Rhino, Mysterio, and Electro. Green Goblin, Shocker, or Vulture all work for the last two spots.

Once you’ve gotten five Sinister Six members to five yellow stars, they unlock two legendaries: Shuri and Invisible Woman. The team is valuable even into the end-game when players will unlock Doctor Octopus, a character that turns the Sinister Six into one of the best War teams in the game. Once Doctor Octopus is unlocked, swap him and Swarm in with Rhino, Mysterio, and Electro since those two villains bring long-range attacks that can prove useful in combat.

7 City Heroes

Many city heroes, including Punisher, Daredevil, and Iron Fist, are available early in the game. A number of them share the Defenders tag, and while the Defenders aren’t particularly useful together even in the mid-game, some are still worth building up at least a bit. One reason is that players will need city heroes to complete the bi-monthly Block Party event, which rewards valuable ability upgrade materials that every character needs to improve their basic, special, ultimate, and passive abilities.

Additionally, many of these characters will split off into their own powerful teams later in the game. Daredevil is a crucial member of the Shadowland team, Punisher goes to skill/military, and both Luke Cage and Iron Fist are members of the Heroes for Hire squad. City heroes may not be the flashiest characters in the game, but their fighting skills will prove to be invaluable later in the game.

6 Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. minions were the best team in the game when they released, but they’ve since fallen victim to serious power creep. While his minions may no longer be worth investing much in, Nick Fury has received a powerful boost with the release of the original character Kestral.

Kestral was given away for free in an event earlier this year, so new players will have to either get lucky with premium orbs or purchase on offer to get there. While players don’t have to spend money to enjoy Marvel Strike Force, Kestral is currently the best character in the game and one of the few that will stay relevant from the beginning of the game to the most challenging content. Pairing her with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. or other Secret Avengers characters makes a fantastic team for any raid they’re eligible to fight in.

5 The Brotherhood of Mutants 2.0

The original Brotherhood team was released early in the game’s existence and featured Magneto, Pyro, Mystique, Sabertooth, and Juggernaut. The Brotherhood was a formidable Arena and War team, but they were eventually hard-countered when Phoenix and the X-Men came out with kits that rendered much of the Brotherhood’s combat strategy useless.

Fortunately for the Brotherhood, Blob and Toad joined the team as Mystique and Sabertooth transferred over to the Marauders. These two added some needed direct damage to the team and granted them the ability to survive longer and strip enemy buffs. They still aren’t a tier-1 War or Arena team, but they’re solid performers that will provide value for newer players.

4 Ultron And Various Tech Villains

Ultron is one of the strongest villains in Marvel comics, and his strength is reflected appropriately in Marvel Strike Force. Players unlock Ultron by completing Dark Dimension 2. This mode requires at least five characters at gear tier 13, though new players that are in a strong raiding and war alliance are often able to beat Dark Dimension 2 before Dark Dimension 1 (which requires characters at six yellow stars). Ultron is a powerful character that synergizes with any villain tech character the player has unlocked by extending their buffs each time Ultron gets a kill. New players will find Ultron useful in Raids, Arena, Blitz, War, and Real-Time Arena until they start running into enemies with Black Bolt.

3 Symbiotes

The Symbiote team contains many of the most powerful symbiotes in the Marvel canon, but it comes with the caveat that it does require at least one purchase. The team is made up of Symbiote Spider-Man, Venom, Carnage, Scream, and Anti-Venom, and they are the best bio raid team currently in the game.

Furthermore, they are currently the best city characters for both Dark Dimension 3 and 4, which players will be working through in the mid to late game. The catch is that Symbiote Spider-Man is currently only available for free in premium orbs, and the team doesn’t work well without him. These orbs drop character chards randomly, so it’ll likely be a long time before newer players unlock him.

2 Marauders and Emma Frost

Marvel Strike Force translates Mr. Sinister’s reputation as a dangerous genetic scientist into the game well. While several characters are capable of summoning minions, Mr. Sinister is the only one that can clone any unit on the opposing team. This leads to some incredibly powerful combinations and means that players can even clone characters they don’t have in their own roster.

Kestral’s ability to block summons has taken Mr. Sinister’s usability down a bit, but he’s still a powerhouse for newer players that’s useful in every game mode. The rest of the Marauders are made up of Mystique, Sabertooth, and Stryfe. Emma Frost doesn’t have the Marauder’s tag, but she synergizes well with them. The Marauders are relatively easy to obtain once players start getting towards the end of new-player status, though Emma is currently only available in orbs.

1 Cosmic Hybrid

There isn’t one specific cosmic team that’s readily available in full for new players. Still, several great cosmic characters from different teams can fight together formidably. A space team is required in the cosmic campaign and certain Greek Raid nodes.

Gamora is available in the arena credit store, and her recent rework has made her one of the strongest attackers in Marvel Strike Force. While she’s regularly used with the other Infinity Watch members, early players can still get a lot out of her by pairing her with Nebula. Other great cosmic characters include the healer Minn-erva, the controller Baron Mordo, and Invisible Woman, all of whom are formidable characters who take down opponents quickly.

About The Author