As usual with Marvel Rivals, it seems NetEase’s hints about the game’s next hero panned out. Nightcrawler is on the way. He’s releasing Season 11: Doomsday, which will be out on Nov. 13. The animated trailer revealing this beloved X-Man does a great job of conveying the character’s selflessness as he warps to and fro to save as many innocent bystanders as he can before getting hit by an airplane. Is it a little on the nose when he warps onto a cross as the sun filters in like a Renaissance painting? Yes, but it goes very hard. Nightcrawler’s official announcement comes after NetEase teased his appearance in the Gallery Card hints, and after a leak from well-known Rivals dataminer X0X_LEAK.
Beyond the initial announcement trailer, NetEase also released a character reveal that showcases gameplay. Nightcrawler is a strategist built around mobility. As for his abilities, his primary fire lets him throw energy balls that heal his teammates. As for his famous teleport ability, he can blink directly onto an ally to provide healing like White Fox. But things get particularly tricky when he can also warp an ally within line of sight to his location, letting him save a buddy who is about to bite it.
In an even more creative use of his powers, we see Nightcrawler dive into the fray, then summon an allied Scarlet Witch to his location while she’s in the middle of her ult, letting her wipe out the enemy team. For his ultimate, it seems like he can pull opponents towards him with his teleport abilities. In the trailer, Nightcrawler sets up a teleport beacon, dashes offstage, uses his ultimate to pull enemies to his location, then warps back as his foes fall to their doom.
Is there another character coming to the game with Season 11?
While Marvel Rivals’ tenth season took a break from the game’s fast-paced character release schedule, the team is getting back on track with Season 11. In addition to announcing Nightcrawler, NetEase teased that the next hero coming to the game is Dracula. At the end of the trailer, the camera cuts to a hibernation vat where the Lord of Darkness opens his red eyes. While some players are a bit miffed that Dr. Doom isn’t finally coming to the game alongside this promotional tie-in season for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, Nightcrawler is likely to be a fan favorite. We’ll see how the mutant’s debut pans out this Thursday.
