Marvel Rivals confirms Nightcrawler and Dracula as playable characters

Marvel Rivals has confirmed two new characters joining the roster for season 11: Nightcrawler and Dracula.

Nightcrawler will join first, coming to Marvel Rivals when the new season goes live on November 13. Dracula will then be added in the half-season update, expected sometime in December.

This is despite many fans anticipating Doctor Doom as one of the new playable characters, since this season will coincide with the release of Avengers: Doomsday in cinemas – and the season itself is even called Doomsday. The trailer very much looked like it would be setting Doom up nicely, too, with an apocalypse-like event kicking off in the game this season.

Instead, the final moments of the trailer show the vampire Dracula awakening from slumber. He had previously been teased in the game, so this isn’t a huge surprise, but few were expecting him to join the roster now.

It has already been confirmed that Nightcrawler will be a strategist, bulking out the support class some more. It appears that his projectiles will both damage enemies and heal allies, and unlike other strategists, he can hold his own in close quarters. Strategist mains will be hoping that this makes him a good foil to dive characters like Spider-Man and Iron Fist, who often make life difficult for healers.

There’s no word on what class Dracula will be, but judging from his build, he is likely a vanguard. With that said, we’ve already seen how vampiric abilities work well with Blade, and tank-like duellists do exist, like Wolverine and Mister Fantastic.

As for Doctor Doom, players are still expecting him to end up in the game at some point. It’s likely he’ll be added sometime in the new year, after Avengers: Doomsday is out, so the game can reference the film.