There have been a few tier lists knocking around. Turn Zer0 gaming did a two part episode on tier lists (episodes 6-7), a recently Across the Bifrost did a tier list episode.

For me, tier lists make most sense within an affiliation, so I’m going to produce a series of tier lists, one for each affiliation. First up: Avengers.

Definition of tiers

It’s worth making clear what the tiers I’ll be using mean.

• S Tier – This character will make nearly all rosters for the affiliation.
• A Tier – A character you will always consider, and bring most of the time.
• B Tier – there are some good reasons to bring this character, but they may get left out.
• C Tier – this character fits a niche, but you need to have a plan to include them. C tier does not mean they are bad, but they need to be included for a specific, narrow, plan.
• D Tier – you are very unlikely to take this character.

S Tier

• Captain America – a no brainier. You need him for the excellent leadership ability.
• Thor – such a strong piece, and super powers made cheaper really turns him up a notch, going at full whack from turn one.
• Black Panther – mobile, durable, good offensive options and control elements: wow. The power discount feels great on Pounce and Mantle of the Black Panther. He does so many things he’s close to an auto include on the roster.

A Tier

• Vision – a consideration for S Tier. Such a cheap throw, and the discount on Rapid Phase makes him work really well.
• Iron Man – Durable, but the main consideration is being a three threat Avenger. He makes team construction maths so much easier. Fills a role as a defensive Secure sitter.
• Black Widow – A great two threat Avenger who can go wide and grab extracts.
• Hulk – Hulk is hard to place, but with his Gamma Launch he brings a huge range of tactical options. Ultimately, if you are playing Avengers, having access to the BDT team is something you probably want.

B Tier

• Groot – healing 3 damage for one power is great. Plays in to an durable long game build for Avvengers.
• Venom – the threat of So Many Snacks for one power makes him a real menace. Again, he can play in to a long game durable game plan that Avengers are great at.
• Shuri – lacking any specific synergy with Avengers, but her abilities and rerolls are welcome anywhere. This is probably her weakest affiliation, but she’s still a great support piece.
• Loki – loves the discount on his reactive super powers, and he plays really well in an Avengers mirror match.
• Valkyrie – cheap, high damage potential and a throw. Warrior of Legend for one power is just ridiculous.
• Baron Zemo – Avengers tend not to have much in the way of rerolls and Zemo loves being able to charge in round one.
• Killmonger – having Cap to protect him on the way up, and make a charge cheaper does make him better. Usurp the Throne can tip a slow scoring game heavily in your favour, which makes him applicable in a wide range of crises.
• Winter Soldier – I think ‘Till the End of the Line is a something that can answer some lists that pose a questions around throws/pushes.

C Tier

• Captain Marvel – she is a great character, but comparisons with Vision make her sad. She absolutely can work well, but she needs slow scenarios as she take a a while to come online in Avengers. Have a plan for her and she’ll do really well, but she isn’t as plug and play as other options.
• Okoye – bodyguard for one is great, but why do you need two bodyguards? Maybe you’ve got a plan for her. Hence C tier.
• Rocket – maybe what you need is a cheap ranged character. He’s your raccoon. But probably not.
• Red Skull – Master of the Cosmic Cube might feed in to a bigger plan, and getting it for 2 is pretty great.
• M.O.D.O.K. – discounts on advancing the opponents and throws. You could argue for B tier, but the kind of damage dealing M.O.D.O.K. brings doesn’t line up with my plans when I’m in Avengers, and he’s competing with in-affiliation Thor.
• Spider-Man – Web Line for one and Web-a-pult for two are great, but he is competing for those unaffiliated slots, and often comes up short in that comparison. But with a plan, his L move and turn one Web Line can be great.
• Doctor Octopus – if you are making a throw heavy list, he’s a second three threat thrower after Valkyrie. Reducing the throw cost to two is good on him

D Tier

• Star Lord – Competing with Iron Man or Vision/Captain Marvel, and they have better synergies and affiliation.
• Crossbones – if Cap’s leadership reduced his Inured to Pain he’d be way higher.
• Ultron – you have access to better fliers, better blasters and better reactive powers.
• Hela – durability counts in her favour, but there are other durable characters that synergise better.