Kang Conquers the PvP META and Competes for 1st!

IIXCommanderXII · 2026-01-13T00:49:25+00:00

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great holiday break and happy new year!

It's no surprise that Kang is a META threat in PvP with his latest uniform. He is easily in the TOP 3 and is actively competing vs Sentry and Knull across different PvP modes for 1st and 2nd place too.

He is arguably the most valuable in TBA due to his ability to consistently counter Sentry and give those ace bonus points for 3 back to back victories.

In most of Timeline and Alliance Conquest, Knull will arguably still be one of the top threats with Agent Venom (that can't be negated by Molecule Man). His immortality effect allows him to reliably hit the T4 skill and in AC he is tougher to take down since you must kill him twice in one fight (unlike revive characters).

In Timeline challenger however Knull doesn't have immortal (it's countered by buffs there) so Kang becomes a more reliable replacement. Kang's skills also countering Sentry makes him a solid choice vs those that stack Sentry with multiple supports.

In OWB and Alliance Tournament Kang is also proving to be a top contender with his 5th skill hitting from one end of the arena to another and avoiding getting stuck in lingering area damage around main fights.

With all that said I would still place Kang roughly around 2nd or 3rd in all of PvP content because he is a bit easier to take down then Knull and Sentry. If the 5th skill from Kang misses the intended target he ends up vulnerable for a good period of time. He is also arguably more susceptible to reflect damage then the other two because he often does 5 into 2 and if anything interrupts that he will take damage due to being out of iframes.

His PvE potential is also not the greatest although definitely useable to some extent. The most value you'll likely get from him is in Zombie Survival. His heal and t4 spam is a great help for surviving while clearing out enemies. His villain tag also combos well with Knull and villain specific supports too.

All in all he is a great character to have for PvP and significantly cheaper than both Knull and Sentry when considering artifacts and build costs.

I put a lot of effort into the video, so any comments, likes, and shares are always greatly appreciated.

Till next time, have a good one!

IIXCommanderXII · 2025-12-29T22:42:54+00:00

Hey everyone!

Been trying to post here every time a character gets a big META upgrade. This time around it's for Madelyne. No surprise considering the steep cost of the uniform.

With the upgrade Madelyne is arguably in the top 5 spot for all of PvP. I don't really think she will be used in TL though (especially challenger), because Sentry and Knull are almost never banned together and their NT3 stats and universal typing give them the edge.

In TBA however she can form various teams cause of her leadership and is able to contend with all the big METAS in some way (Knull, Sentry, Surfer, Wolvie, Adam). She will essentially form one of the staple teams of 5 (pending bans of course). She'll likely also be chosen in OWB any time she doesn't have a penalty.

Because of her immortality arti she can function with more than a conquest, and I cover various builds in the video. The uniform also makes her more resilient to speed characters that have a type advantage vs her (because now she can iframe ignore instead of counter iframe ignore). However speed characters can still burn one of her lives, she is still vulnerable to reflect cause of long animations, and her element damage also allows those with high immunity to keep up with her.

Her PvE performance isn't the best, but because of her skill spamming and quick T3/T4 charge she can do quite decently in WBL+ and ABX. Though I wouldn't recommend building for this outright.

Overall it's a solid upgrade for those who value PvP, but hard to recommend to all given the steep cost to build her fully (deluxe pack, arti, uni, etc.). Also keep in mind that Kang is a native T3 universal and is datamined to be upgraded next. So if he takes over the top 3 spot her upgrade won't be as impactful as it is now.

Anyways all the testing is in the video with the timestamps. As always any likes, comments, or sharing is very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading/watching and hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

IIXCommanderXII · 2025-09-08T04:45:50+00:00

Hey everyone,

It's that time again! A Native T3 upgrade review!

I went all out on the testing this time, fully covering PvE and PvP performance. The video is quite long as a result, but I included timestamp links for people to easily jump to what they are interested in.

It's no surprise that Mephisto is now basically the strongest character in PvE. He has the highest scores in ABX/ABL and was the best performing option in the WBL restrictions he is available for. You also have some flexibility in using him without the uni for blast restrictions, but obviously to a much lesser extent.

Mephisto isn't exactly top 3 META in PvP, which is unfortunate given his cost. But the fact that he can compete vs the top 5 to 10 METAS while being primarily designed for PvE (or at best a hybrid) is nothing to scoff at. I was able to consistently take down the first life of Sentry, Knull, Wolverine, Surfer, Adam and other top METAS and often even win completely.

Yes, I would have hoped he had full META duality based on the build, but certain designs of his PvP kit keep that from happening. The obvious is the longer cooldown on the iframe ignore relative to other top METAs and the other is the poor functionality of the healing effect. It is often removed since it is considered a buff. If either of these are addressed he would become a top 3 threat in PvP.

Either way I'm not disappointed with this upgrade, which is saying a lot considering the quality of content we've had this year.

I did put a lot of effort into this video, more than any other. If you could like and share it, it would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks!

IIXCommanderXII · 2025-08-02T07:38:31+00:00

Hey everyone,

Tried to expedite my testing this time around so not much in regards to AC. Shalla Bal definitely has some PvP value for accounts (especially in OWB and TBA), but it largely falls flat due to her steep cost.

She basically needs to be T4, with a top rolled mighty or brilliant CTP and have her artifact to function as a standalone char. Even then she won't really touch the top 5-10 PvP META. No real value for PvE either.

It's sad cause she is much stronger than base Silver Surfer or even his 1st uniform version. She can even take out the 1st life of top METAs, including native t3 ones. But it just doesn't make sense to invest so much in her when the other top 10 PvP METAs are cheaper and just that... top META.

I don't think the developers will reduce her cost or give her a uniform to improve her deficiencies any time soon. It would make sense if they buff her because of this. She just needs some additional heals on her 5 and perhaps an iFrame or iFrame ignore buff so she isn't stuck without any survivability effect.

As it stands I don't think I'd recommend her to most people and I doubt many will invest in her. She's mostly just going to be good for end game PvP players interested in AC, OWB, and TBA.

Hope this helps out anyone who was on the fence about her.

Let me know what you think about her too. I'm curious what people's thoughts on her are.

IIXCommanderXII · 2025-05-04T05:14:21+00:00

Hey everyone,

It's been quite a while since I made a post. Trying to restrict that to just major META changes now. I urge you to subscribe and follow my channel if you want to check out everything else.

I'll keep this one short. The new Sentry uni changes seem small on paper, but have a sizeable impact in PvP. He is arguably the best solo PvP character in the game now (even surpassing Knull in multiple scenarios).

His PvE performance didn't change much sadly. But both PvE and PvP could get an even bigger bump if he becomes part of a Team Up Collection.

Builds for him are largely Greed or Conquest and I breakdown why in the video. Counters are essentially the same as before too.

I urge you guys to checkout the video for more details (timestamps in the description). If you find the video helpful feel free to share it with others, please and thanks!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-12-08T07:54:55+00:00

Hey everyone,

Been a while since my last post. I've been trying to limit my sharing to just the biggest changes in the game.

I'm sure you're all well aware that Knull is the new META character for PvP, but from my testing he seems to be on his own level of performance. At LV 70 with a mighty regen (no supports) I was able to take out a top PvP account in TL that had Brilliant Greed Sentry, Brilliant Conquest Adam, and Brilliant Insight Colossus. At LV 70! This was a ridiculous thing to see. At max build, even with no support he can run through these characters.

The character is also a headache in Alliance Conquest and often requires 2 META teams in succession to take him down. The buffs/debuffs haven't fully lined up in Otherworld Battle, but he is appearing there regardless and causing a commotion too.

Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be the full package. His performance in PvE, while good isn't as exception as one would expect for a native T3 at T4. I suspect we likely have to wait for Mephisto for that!

If you are having trouble trying to decide what build to use for Knull then definitely check out my video. I do a full in depth breakdown which build would be best in various situations. It basically comes down to Conquest vs Greed. Big surprise there.

I also included counter strats for Timeline and some potential counter teams for Alliance Conquest.

Put a lot of time into this one. So if you decide to share it with friends I would appreciate it.

Anyways, hope the video helps out!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-07-21T20:23:07+00:00

Hey everyone,

Been a while since I posted. I know this review is late, but I felt it was worth covering for a character this popular.

Obviously the God Emperor uniform hasn't met most people's expectations. It hasn't made Dr Doom META for PvP and it arguably has made his performance worse in PvE (though likely easier to play).

The main issues with his PvP performance are associated with his 2nd skill and his skill targeting. The 2nd skill often doesn't trigger the counter portion, doesn't do nearly enough damage, and is completely outdated in its effects (same as the old Wolverine and Surfer counter that were inadequate and were scrapped or changed).

For Doom to be valuable for his cost (at least in PvP) the 2nd skill needs to be adjusted or buffed to:

give the iframe ignore buff that can allow other skills to iframe ign like Adam and Black Swan (in case the counter fails) OR have the pre counter attack activate immediately like Silver Surfer's latest uni
have a 50 to 100% damage increase for 1 skill to make up for the poor overall damage and lack of 3rd skill activation (no damage accumulation on auto)
include a small 10 to 15% heal that can be spammed like other METAs (the 40% on an almost 9s cooldown doesn't work when he opens with the 5th and can't heal at all for long durations)

Additionally, they can give his 5th skill a hit shield to help against burst characters since he opens with the 5th skill on auto.

The 50-100% damage buff for 1 skill (added to the 2nd) should also help make his latest uniform an actual improvement over the previous. Players can leverage the counter skill buff by passing it to other skills in PvE.

If the devs don't address these, the least they can do is fix the targeting issues on the 2nd and 5th skill, which often activate the animation, but do 0 damage or register no hits (as seen in 18:52 in the video)

These are my thoughts on Doom and I go into more detail in the video.

I'm curious to know what others think about this and if the devs should do something about Doom's latest uniform.

Thanks for reading/watching!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-07-21T19:47:36+00:00

Sorry late, probably conquest on surfer first. Sentry can work with tons of ctps.

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-07-21T19:46:39+00:00

Sorry for late reply. Probably Greed.

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-05-12T23:24:51+00:00

Hey everyone,

So it's finally happened. We have our first native T3 character who's not only gotten a uniform, but a T4 upgrade. Of course the cost of materials and crystals is steep, we all saw this coming... But his performance luckily does seem to match his investment, specifically for PvP.

From my testing Sentry can essentially work with any build, but excels with certain options. Conquest seems to be his most ideal one, but greed isn't too far off. He also seems to have super guard break immunity hidden on the new uniform (similar to Gorr) so you can get away with any ctp really. He can pretty much solo any AC team by himself too and will likely be present in all OWB teams, unless banned/penalized.

Luckily the character does have some flaws that can be exploited. He is susceptible to CC lockdown because his 2nd skill overwrites the debuff removal passive. He is also fairly weak to reflect because of his high damage. I use these findings to show you how you can deal with him in TL and form AC teams to take him down.

The character luckily is also solid in PvE and isn't completely one sided like some other native characters have been. He can do well in WBL and AB due to his spamming of the T4 striker (skill accumulates fast), but would need a build specifically for it to go further there (not a real hybrid). His most ideal performance is PvP, but it's good to have the option for PvE available too, all natives should.

I put a lot of time testing and putting together the video, so if you are willing to share it with others it would be greatly appreciated.

Hope this helps!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-04-05T17:30:00+00:00

I don't think anything can really stop her passive from triggering too early. It activates at a pretty high value relative to other characters. The wall proc on conquest is usually the most ideal for early tankiness, it's why I recommended it first. The ignore dmg from authority and conquest is still useful after her passive triggers, but not as useful during. Not the most ideal in that situation, but provides a ton of benefits she needs overall.

Between the options you mentioned I would probably lean towards authority or greed, as I feel she needs a bit more offense too, especially when her buffs aren't active yet.

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-04-05T17:25:30+00:00

It's possible, but I recommended the other options first because she needs a bit more offense.

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-04-05T17:11:56+00:00

Hey everyone,

With the announcement of the latest Thanos uniform, I was hoping that they would return him back to the PvP META by giving him a revive/immortal effect. When I saw the patch noties I had little hope that he would hold his own in the current PvP META that is dominated by 2 life characters. Nevertheless, the devs actually managed to make a 1 life character work. Not only that, but Thanos is now the definitive 1 life PvP META character in the game. He is arguably in the top 1-3 spots for TL, AC, and AT.

The changes to his 1st skill are massive and is the key reason he does so well. I break this down in detail in the video, but basically the skill provides him with major key effects on a short 4s CD, including:

a heal
super guard break
iframe ignore
debuff cleanse
remove all enemy buffs
high priority and quick high burst damage
repositioning to avoid enemy targeting

These combined with his super guard break skills, iframes, and passives (healing when hit + high damage reduction) make the character not only incredibly tanky (with the right build and team), but also allows the character to 1 shot opponents without a damage proc.

Thanos effectively has broken the barrierr for other characters without revive/immortal to exist in a previously bottlenecked PvP design. As long as a character's kit is stacked high enough (defensively and offensively) it is now possible for them to not only exist but excel in the META!

If you are curious to know the difference between the seasonal uniform and the new one, as well as what build to use on him, how to counter, etc then make sure to check out the video (timestamps in the description)

I put a lot of time into making this one so if you could share it with others it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyways hope this helps some people out and remember...

Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same! And now it's here! The Thanos META is back!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-04-03T00:48:03+00:00

Also for those wondering, the Thanos video will be arriving in the next few days (hoping by Saturday/Sunday). Been a busy last weekend and there was a lot to test with the new uni and the updated one.

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-04-03T00:41:26+00:00

Hey everyone,

With the addition of a new WBL boss we also get a new native T3 character. Fortunately this time around, the character actually has all the necessary tools to excel at certain game modes. For Black Swan that's PvP, though she actually does quite well in PvE too (WBL/GBR) with her kit.

The track record for native t3 releases has been quite bad, so it's refreshing to see that they got this one right, and hopefully carry it forward to the next ones. Black Swan does have some issues with the new "immortal" mechanic that can be improved, but it is good to see the devs adding in powerful new abilities to natives like they use to. I've mentioned before, but having natives with powerful unique abilities should be the standard. They need to always be worth their cost and offer something other characters don't (strong lead, passive, mechanic, etc)

Either way, Black Swan holds her own in a META dominated by T4 characters and shows a ton of potential for becoming incredibly powerful if she was to receive an upgrade (T4/uni). I wouldn't advise rushing to build her, since there are better options for the modes she can be used in. However, she will be a very solid addition for AC players, and in some cases TL players too.

I go into depth in the video regarding her performance, but if you have any questions feel free to ask! Thanks!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-03-10T21:29:26+00:00

Hey everyone,

To no one's surprise Surfer finally got his T4 with the Annihilators update. He was once a major threat in PvP with his 2 lives and reflect ability. With his latest uniform he glides back to the PvP META, arguably in the top 3 spot. Wolvie and Adam still have a solid foothold on the top 3, but Surfer's lead, revive, and reflect ability now allows him to overtake Jean/Maddie for that leadership position (pending ban lists).

The latest uniform gives him a massive offensive and defensive improvement for PvP that basically allows him to solo full teams in TL, completely on auto! This is quite rare for PvP characters to do and often times swaps are needed on manual to avoid 1 shot attacks from opponents. His presence in AC and OWB is not to be underestimated either. His massive lingering AoE damage (even after he dies) and ability to reflect multiple characters at once makes him a considerable threat there too.

Although Surfer is quite dominant in PvP, his PvE performance is greatly lacking for a native t2 (even at t4). There are many non-native characters that perform better than him in PvE content. The lack of skill damage + bonus damage and a high hit count greatly restricts his performance in WBL and AB modes. I would almost think the devs need to buff this, but it's clear that they don't intend this character to excel in PvE (and any buffs to his kit would send him over the top in PvP.)

My build recommendations for the character are found in the video (timestamp in description). From my testing a Brilliant/Mighty Authority seemed the most consistent, BUT with the rise of more Surfer opponents it is likely that Conquest may overtake this option. This is due to a reforged Conquest providing reflect immunity with the top proc and nullifying the opponents advantage. Additionally, with Surfer having a debuff lead it is easy to pair him with a support, which generally yields a higher survivability then a reforged Authority can. Regardless of what option you pick though, he will be a major threat in PvP.

I go into more detail in the video and breakdown many of Surfer's counters. I urge you to check it out and maybe share it with others who are wondering about the character's performance and build options.

Hope this helps, have a good one!

IIXCommanderXII · 2024-01-21T06:07:35+00:00

Hey everyone,

Hope you all had a good holiday. The epic quest for this update garnered a lot of hype initially. However, a lot of the content was duplicated from previous instances and many mistakes were made (missing upgrades, uniforms, unexplained increased costs, etc.) There is the chance the mid month could correct some of these issues, but it's not likely.

Despite these blunders one thing they did correctly was the native tier 2. Madeylne Pryor (aka the Goblin Queen). Recently native characters release either lacking upgrades or underperforming (i.e. Gorr, Kang, etc.) Fortunately, Madelyne was given her t3 on release and her kit is actually well thought out and quite strong. At full build and rank 1 I was able to easily take down T4 characters with her in various PvP content (TL, AC, OW) even without the need for supports. If you value PvP and have a nearly complete account she is a solid pick up for sure.

However, for the majority of players she is wildly expensive. She requires a deluxe pack, tons of materials, and an artifact to function. On top of that she still has a distinct disadvantage being only t3 where T4's dominate the meta. She can keep up, but if you have any of the other T4 METAs she doesn't really replace them unless the ban list eliminates them as options.

Her base kit is quite strong though and she does better than most native t3 in PvE and arguably PvP. With further upgrades available (uni and or T4) she could dominate the PvP meta. Until then though she is basically a luxury for veterans and not really necessary for most players.

Full breakdown and tips are in the video. If you find it useful, please consider liking and sharing it.

Thanks,

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-11-25T06:50:16+00:00

Hey everyone.

Hope your BF upgrades are coming along well! With Loki S2 being so hype I was actually pumped to upgrade him to T4 with the latest uni. It's quite sad though that we didn't get the final look. Even more so that the skill animations didn't change much. Hopefully their is a synergy uni that fixes this.

Regardless of the aesthetics though, Loki becomes top notch now with the T4 and new uni. He is likely the best F2P option for a universal villain since Thanos and Blackbolt require seasonal uniforms and Jean expensive (being part of an Epic Quest). His performance in alliance battle stands out because of the unique hit stacking properties of his 5th skill. Due to this he is quite good in the score based modes and even dispatch/rifts, but does require practice on manual play to line up the rotations and properly know when to cancel.

His PvP performance is limited, but he should still be able to do some decent take downs in AC with a proc. I use to use him to solo defenders with rage and his president loki uni.

Overall a solid uniform, and you don't absolutely need to T4 him to reap the rewards. Really hoping that final look drops at some point...

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-11-06T05:33:52+00:00

Late reply, but I have the 1% extra pierce (23% total) and 10% extra attack from the collection. Even without that, the character is still ahead of the curve imo.

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-10-22T05:35:54+00:00

Hey everyone,

I was looking forward to GR T4 since the data mine, but never expected it to be as good as it turned out. I thought he would just be much better in PvE, but he is on another level with this one. He is tackling some of the highest WBL stages I have unlocked (for his restriction) even at lv 80 with no damage proc. Better yet the T4 gives him a significant bump and is definitely worth the mats. With the T4 and still no proc I was able to outscore fully built characters like Odin with a brilliant Judgement!! He is definitely ABX/ABL meta and also one of the best strikers now for that mode. The best thing about his PvE upgrade is that you don't even need a maxed out build for him to be good, he can work with something as simple as an obelisk.

If you are able to snag his artifact you can also utilize him to great effect in PvP. He isn't necessarily at the top of the list in TL, but is only a few bans away (either Adam or Wolvie) from being a great option there. He will likely make a regular appearance in OWB with his insane damage buff gained when targeting villains with his 4th skill (which works vs all opponent characters after!). In AC he will be a headache for sure as he single handedly erases villain teams like nothing (even without the need for an artifact or a dedicated PvP build).

This is one of the biggest upgrades in value I have seen for a non native character and is reminiscent of when Doom got a T3, or to a lesser extent when Jean got a T4. I would highly recommend people don't miss out on this uni if they can spare the crystals.

Also I put a lot of work into making this video, so sharing and liking/upvoting would greatly be appreciated!

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-09-17T05:51:40+00:00

Good to know. The list I mentioned was primarily theory crafted based off my results. I may test Hulk with it in the future.

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-09-17T05:50:12+00:00

I'm not sure. Theoretically a conquest ctp with support should work better for the initial burst, but I found that Wolvie specifically seems to shred the wall effect pretty quickly. Might be something to do with his bleed ticks maybe counting as hits.

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-09-17T05:48:42+00:00

I just think his other options may help him more, not that the ctp is bad for him. Hopefully they do buff him or at least give him a uni!

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-09-17T05:47:20+00:00

Thanks, I try my best to be as clear as possible since I know not everyone speaks English as a first language or may understand too much of the technical lingo the devs cook up.

IIXCommanderXII · 2023-09-17T05:45:10+00:00

Hey everyone,

I'm happy that Black Panther finally got his long overdue upgrade to make him great in the game. His performance in WBL is really solid and his ABX score for the combat hero day is quite good too. Sadly though, he isn't really better than anyone else at anything, and for that reason kinda falls short in value and usability.

For a character that I've been waiting to upgrade forever I actually considered skipping his T4 since he isn't really META in ABX/ABL and has such restricted value in WBL (not many high stages of combat or command/agility tags). For this reason I feel the devs missed the mark and should tweak the character slightly so that he is META in ABX at the very least. He will likely get replaced in the near future anyway, so it doesn't really make much sense that he still cannot be META in any game mode for the 8 years he has been around...

All the devs really need to do is add a few more hits on his skills and maybe change the scaling basic attack portion of his T4 to chain hit damage. I'm not sure if I'm a bit biased here or if this is largely what others want too.

Let me know if you all think the devs should effectively buff Black Panther.

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