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As the first female VanguardinMarvel Rivals, Emma Frost certainly doesn’t shy away from showing off her skills as a feminine powerhouse. She’s had one of the highest pick rates among new characters so far, and her kit stands out as being unique, versatile, and, most importantly, dominant. From quickly summoning shields to entering a merciless melee form, there isn’t much she can’t do.
However, like any Vanguard, Emma has a few apparent weaknesses, specifically in mobility and escaping potential. Thus, when you factor in her popularity, it becomes much easier to decipher her abilities and uncover the strategies that effectively counter her. If you plan to use those strategies yourself, you, too, can tackle The White Queen even on her best day.
How To Counter Emma Frost
The White Queen is a close-range monsterthat can juggle between her primary fire (i.e., Telepathic Pulse) and melee strikes. Her former ability has a range of approximately 15 meters, but she can use her Psychic Spear to extend it up to roughly 25 meters — her maximum attacking range.
By successfully landing the spear,she creates a stationary “sentience” of the target, and any damage done to that sentience harms both it and the target.
The Psychic Spear is a slow projectile, so it’s easier to anticipate and dodge at longer distances.
If you find yourself alarmingly near Emma,there’s a good chance she’ll enter her Diamond form, giving her a whopping 30 percent damage reduction and access to a wide array of melee attacks, including punches, kicks, and a grab that can knock some heroes out of her Ultimate Ability.
This is arguably her most lethal tactic, since the form’simmune to crowd control (or CC)and has enough raw power to kill full-health squishes in a single combo.
Another reliable tool Emma possesses isher Mind’s Aegis— a 500-HP shield and The White Queen’sprimary way of dealing with ranged enemies. Although it isn’t the beefiest shield among Vanguards,it has a surprisingly low cooldownwith enough width to disrupt any hero’s line of attack. This thing can block ults, cut off enemy healers from their team, and divide the objective area into two.
With her abilities laid out,the best way to counter Emma Frostis by taking advantage of her lackluster range andattacking from a safe range with a high-DPS hero. Emma’s reach caps out at 25 meters (excluding her Ultimate Ability), soshe has no means of attacking you if you’re beyond that distance.
All she can do is block your shots with her shield, but that means she’d be defenseless against another ranged enemy attacking her simultaneously.
You can essentially nullify Emma’s Ultimate Ability, Psionic Seduction, by using a shield. The shield blocks all the damage and control effects, and loses surprisingly low HP while doing so.
How To Counter Emma Frost As A Vanguard
There are typically two ways to manage Emma as a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals — you may either go the defensive route anduse your shields to suppress her firepower, or go all-in with your melee force andfight her in hand-to-hand combat.
In the case of the former,Doctor StrangeandMagneto are your top picks;their shields do a great job of limiting Emma’s offensive abilities,while their primary attacks are solid chipping tools. Doctor Strange, specifically, canstart floating and fully escape The White Queen’s line of firefor a significant chunk of time.
For the aggressive players, Hulk and The Thing can consistently compete with Emma’s attacks, and The Thing’s immunity to CC means he can’t get thrown around by Emma’s kicks or even get grabbed while charging.Venom is another viable option, particularly because of his specialty in swinging away when things get dicey.
However, if you’re looking for the prime counter-pick,look no further than the son of Odin, Thor. What makes the bearded Asgardian so strong in this encounter, aside from his sheer power, is the talent torapidly switch between melee and ranged attacks.
Thor can use them as a direct contradiction to Emma — when she’s in her normal form, you can swing your hammer at her, and when she’s in her Diamond form, you canchange to Awakening Rune and attack from a safe distance.
As Thor, you should frequently use theStorm Surgeto isolate Emma Frost because there’s a low chance she can escape on time.
How To Counter Emma Frost As A Duelist
With the way Emma plays, especially in her Diamond form,using any dive character like Spider-ManorMagik is simply out of the question. Thus, the only real counters to her in this categoryare the anti-tanks and ranged heroes, who can zone her out and chip away at her HP untilshe eventually dies or forcefully uses Diamond form to retreat.
Wolverine remains the classic optionamong Duelists for taking down Vanguards. His Feral Leap, combined withthe barrage of follow-up Savage Claws, inflicts surreal damage, and when you consider that Emma has no actual means of escaping,it’s the perfect counter-play.
You cannot use Wolverine’s Feral Leap when Emma is in her Diamond form!
Among the ranged heroes, the most clear-cut selections are definitelyHawkeye,Hela,Namor,Moon Knight,Winter Soldier,and The Punisher. Their abilities are incredibly strong withhigh DPS and projectile speed— the ideal combo for handling slow and bulky targets.
Aerial Duelists fall into the same category,but using them to counter Emma is slightly trickier.Although Storm has all the optimal toolsfor chip damage,using Iron Man’s UnibeamorHuman Torch’s Fire Cluster can be riskysince it pressures you to get close. Instead, you canexclusively use ground control abilities, like Pyro-Prison and Repulsor Blast, to gain the upper hand.
How To Counter Emma Frost As A Strategist
As a Strategist,there’s not much you can do offensively againstEmma Frostexcept be overly cautious. Once you see The White Queen is in a match,you have to ensure she doesn’t get close, as her attacks in Diamond form are quick and lethal.
However, if she does unsuspectingly move in,you can use CC abilities like Invisible Woman’s Force Physicsto push her away. If she’s in Diamond form,you should instead focus your stuns, likeLuna Snow’s Absolute ZeroorMantis' Spore Slumber, on her and run away as fast as you can.
Luna Snow’s ult is immune to Emma Frost’s Ultimate Ability.
In either case, your job is simple:avoid a one-on-one confrontationand assist your DPS and Vanguard teammates to corner Emma.
