The rosters have been submitted for season 3 of the online league. With 131 rosters in three regions, there’s a lot of data here. Here’s a breakdown of what people are taking right now:

Characters

Character	Rosters	%
Venom	74	56%
Thor	64	49%
Valkyrie	58	44%
Shuri	57	44%
Spider-Man (Miles)	57	44%
Ghost Spider	54	41%
M.O.D.O.K	53	40%
Black Panther	51	39%
Baron Zemo	46	35%
Okoye	45	34%
Hawkeye	43	33%
Loki	42	32%
Black Widow	39	30%
Vision	37	28%
Hela	34	26%
Green Goblin	35	27%
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)	33	25%
Doctor Octopus	31	24%
Captain America	29	22%
Infinity Gem: Mind	28	21%
Nebula	28	21%
Killmonger	27	21%
Rocket Raccoon	27	21%
Corvus Glaive	26	20%
Infinity Gem: Reality	26	20%
Red Skull	25	19%
Proxima Midnight	24	18%
Thanos	23	18%
Hulk	19	15%
Infinity Gem: Power	19	15%
Ronan the Accuser	19	15%
Drax the Destroyer	14	11%
Star-Lord	15	11%
Ebony Maw	14	11%
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.	13	10%
Gamora	13	10%
Groot	12	9%
Ininity Gem: Time	9	7%
Black Dwarf	8	6%
Captain Marvel	8	6%
Winter Soldier	8	6%
Iron Man	7	5%
Ultron	7	5%
Crossbones	3	2%
Infinity Gem: Soul	3	2%
Infinity Gem: Space	1	1%

So Venom got popular! Having two brand new shiny affiliations seems to really improve how much a character gets taken. Speaking of which, Miles and Gwen are instant hits too. Looks like a lot of spiders are being taken in season 3. Both Peter Parker and Doc Ock who were languishing down near the bottom also got a shot in the arm. Hawkeye is the other more-recent character that pulls in a good amount of space in rosters. It looks like lots of people are turning on to just how Okoye is. She fully deserves to be as popular as she is. The mind gem just edges out the reality gem for most popular gem.

Affiliations

Web Warriors	46	35%
Asgard	42	32%
Avengers	29	22%
Cabal	26	20%
Spider foes	23	18%
Wakanda	20	15%
Guardian	12	9%
Black Order	10	8%

People didn’t submit the affiliation they intended to play. Instead I’ve looked at their team tactics card choice – an affiliated card indicates they intend to play that affiliation – and the characters – the presence of a Leader and at least two other affiliated characters made me categorise them as potentially running that affiliation.

Of the 131 rosters, 77 (59%) appear to be a dual affiliation roster, with the remaining 54 (41%) as single affiliation. Web warriors features popular character that are new, so it isn’t a surprise to see them topping the charts. Asgard is very high, but this may include the ability to play Asgard without the desire to – there were only 36 Odin’s Blessings after all. Some people may be taking Thor and two other Asgardians without the intention of playing that faction.

Team Tactics Cards

Medpack	107	82%
Field Dressing	100	76%
Brace for Impact	95	73%
Drop Off	86	66%
Lethal Protector	49	37%
All You’ve Got	42	32%
All Webbed Up	42	32%
Patch Up	40	31%
Odin’s Blessing	36	27%
Advanced R&D	33	25%
A.I.M Lackeys	24	18%
Disarm	24	18%
Avengers Assemble	23	18%
Sibling Rivalry	23	18%
Usurp the Throne	21	16%
Well-Laid Plans	22	17%
Wakanda Forever	19	15%
Cosmic Invigoration	18	14%
Web Barrier	18	14%
Blind Obsession	17	13%
Mission Objective	16	12%
Doomed Prophecy	14	11%
Rocket Boots?!	15	11%
Marked for Death	12	9%
Gamma Launch	12	9%
No Matter the Cost	9	7%
Mothership	9	7%
Shhh…	9	7%
Crew of the Milano	8	6%
Deadly Duo	8	6%
Execute	7	5%
Daughters of Thanos	6	5%
Tactical Analysis	6	5%
We are Groot	6	5%
Blood to Spare	5	4%
Dark Reign	5	4%
Follow Me	5	4%
Uneasy Allies	5	4%
Vibranium Shielding	5	4%
Seeing Red	5	4%
One-Two Punch	4	3%
Trip Up	4	3%
Psychic Shielding Device (P.S.D.)	4	3%
Recalibration Matrix	4	3%
Power of the Cosmos	3	2%
Professionals	3	2%
Psychic Fortress	3	2%
Second Wind	3	2%
Heave Ho	2	2%
Battle Lust	2	2%
Sacrifice	2	2%
The Age of Ultron	2	2%
Anger Management	1	1%
Thunderwave	1	1%
Price of Failure	1	1%
Till the End of the Line	1	1%
Unearthly Rage	1	1%
Smash	1	1%

Well, Medpack appear to have won the battle against Patch Up, and in style – firmly relegating it to the second tier of cards. With a rise in Venom, comes a steep rise in the use of Lethal Protector. A lot of people seem to be drawn in by the lure of All You’ve Got, especially due to its interaction with Field Dressing. This feels like the “Rocket Boots?!” to Field Dressing’s “Drop Off” – it looks really good, but will it last the test of time? Only 15 Rocket Boots?! to 24 Proximas makes it look like that isn’t flavour of the month any more. Disarm saw some clutch plays in big games last season, and it’s seen an uptick in popularity, possibly as a result. It’s a great card against some of the big threats in the game.

Character	Rosters	Card	Rosters	%
Killmonger	27	Usurp the Throne	21	77.78%
Doctor Octopus	31	Well-Laid Plans	22	70.97%
Groot	12	Deadly Duo	8	66.67%
Venom	74	Lethal Protector	49	66.22%
Ebony Maw	14	Shhh…	9	64.29%
Hulk	19	Gamma Launch	12	63.16%
Loki	42	Sibling Rivalry	23	54.76%
Groot	12	We Are groot	6	50.00%
Gamora	13	Daughters of Thanos	6	46.15%
M.O.D.O.K	53	A.I.M Lackeys	24	45.28%
Proxima Midnight	24	Execute	7	29.17%
Ultron	7	The Age of Ultron	2	28.57%
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.	13	Professionals	3	23.08%
Thanos	23	Power of the Cosmos	3	13.04%
Winter Soldier	8	Till the end of the line	1	12.50%

News just in – Usurp is really good. In actual news, a lot of the Doc Ock loves might be tied to his tactics card with Green Goblin. That looks big, exciting and game swinging – if a little tricky to pull off. Groot more often brings Deadly Duo than We Are Groot, and around two thirds of Venoms can protect you. Thanos and Bucky are sad. I couldn’t bring myself to include Thunderwave in this – it would just depress everyone.

Crisis Cards

Extract Crises

Crisis	Rosters	%
Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities	99	75.19%
Panic Grips City as Evacuation Efforts Continue!	63	47.85%
Struggle for the Cube Continues	56	42.53%
Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan	52	39.49%
Mystic Wakanda Herbs: Fact or Fiction	48	36.46%
Alien Ship Crashes in Downtown!	44	33.42%
Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership	33	25.06%

Hammers stands out as the most popular extract. Everyone loves a hammer. It makes the hitty teams hittier and has four extracts for the teams that want to score fast. I’m still not sure which of those sides is advantaged more. The slower crises are the least popular, though I can see Herbs as an important counter chosen by a lot of rosters.

Secure Crises

Crisis	Rosters	%
Infinity Formula Goes Missing!	102	77.27%
Gamma Wave Sweeps Across Midwest	72	54.55%
Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0	66	50.00%
Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians	54	40.91%
Cosmic Invasion! Black Order Sweeps Across Earth	52	39.39%
Portals Overrun City With Spider people	50	37.88%

A bit like with hammers, everyone feels better with more power, and that’s what Infinity Formula gives. It’s not surprising to see it up high. Gamma remains popular, but the three D shaped crises might be competing with each other a bit. The popularity of Asgard feels like it’s pulled up the representation of Deadly Meteors – they really are good on that crisis.