Marvel Rivals subtly teases the arrival of two X-Men in the background image of the latest patch notes

The queue to get into Marvel Rivals must be out the door by now, as it feels like NetEase teases a new pair of heroes every other day. But like clockwork, there are two more heroes ready to tussle for the next spot on the roster, as two new X-Men have been spotted in the patch notes.

Ok, they’re not exactly in the patch notes, but it’s close enough: Gambit and Rogue have both been sighted in the background of the hero image for the latest update. I’m so used to seeing Black Panther’s recognisable silhouette that I almost didn’t notice this sneaky change for version 2025/11/06, but after closer inspection of Marvel Rivals’ home news page, I can safely say that it’s the iconic duo.

Marvel Rivals Season 4 is about to wrap up next week on November 14, so it’s a good time to start soft-launching the next hero. But the big question I’m pondering isn’t who is going to be added, but what role they will fill.

Starting out with a disproportionately high number of Duelists compared to Vanguards and Strategists, NetEase has spent the last four seasons somewhat trying to bridge the gap. Not just by adding more heroes to Vanguard and Strategist, but by also offering characters with diverse playstyles in hopes of luring players away from Duelist and even the spread.

In Season 4, we got a new Duelist, Daredevil, and a new Vanguard, Angela. So with fairness in mind, one of the next heroes in Season 5 should really be a Strategist and maybe even another Vanguard. But that likely won’t be the case; most heroes have abilities that fit better with Duelists.

The 5 stages of accepting Rogue may end up being a strategist. from r/marvelrivals

Gambit, for example, could be a Vanguard if his powers and design were tweaked slightly, but overall fits better as a mid-range Duelist, firing out charged cards, channelling energy into advanced agility, and superhuman self-healing. He’s not as strong as Wolverine, but he could have a similar passive ability.

While Rogue has the potential to be a lethal close-range Duelist or even a brick wall Vanguard syphoning the enemy team’s strength, consensus among fans has her as a Strategist. There’s even an “accepting Rogue may be a Strategist grief cycle” post on the subreddit, preparing players for the inevitable outcome.

It starts with “She couldn’t be a Strategist. Nothing about her says Strategist” and ends with “As long as her cosmetics are good, we good.” I’m not quite at that point yet, though. You’ll find me at the “They’re ruining her character! She’s supposed to be a vanguard!” stage.