TL;DR: Nightcrawler joins Marvel Rivals on Friday, November 13, 2026, as the launch hero of Season 11: Doomsday. He is a Strategist who heals with brimstone bombs, fights up close with blades and his tail, and teleports allies in and out of fights. His ultimate is Phasing Finale, and Matthew Mercer voices him.
Nightcrawler, the X-Man Kurt Wagner, is the first new hero of Marvel Rivals Season 11, and he comes out as a healer rather than the Duelist an old January 2025 datamine pointed to. NetEase revealed him on November 10 with the "Hope and Brimstone" character trailer on the official Marvel Rivals channel and a 24-minute Dev Vision video for the season. He is playable when Season 11 goes live on November 13. Dracula follows in Season 11.5.
Data as of November 11, 2026, two days before launch. NetEase has shown the kit in video but has not published ability names, cooldowns, damage or healing numbers, or his Team-Ups. Everything below comes from the reveal and the outlets that covered it. The full ability table with numbers goes on this page once the Season 11 patch notes are out.
When is Nightcrawler coming out in Marvel Rivals?
Nightcrawler comes out with Season 11 on Friday, November 13, 2026. NetEase has not posted a start time yet. Season 10 and Season 10.5 both opened with maintenance at 09:00 UTC, "estimated maintenance lasting 2 hours", so the most likely window is servers down at 09:00 UTC and Nightcrawler playable around 11:00 UTC:
| Time zone | Servers go down (est.) | Nightcrawler playable (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| PT (Los Angeles) | 1:00 AM | ~3:00 AM |
| ET (New York) | 4:00 AM | ~6:00 AM |
| UTC / GMT (London) | 9:00 AM | ~11:00 AM |
| CET (Paris, Berlin) | 10:00 AM | ~12:00 PM |
| EET (Kyiv, Athens) | 11:00 AM | ~1:00 PM |
| JST / KST (Tokyo, Seoul) | 6:00 PM | ~8:00 PM |
| AEDT (Sydney) | 8:00 PM | ~10:00 PM |
Our Marvel Rivals Season 11 guide covers the rest of the season: battle pass, events and the Season 11.5 date.
What role is Nightcrawler in Marvel Rivals?
Nightcrawler is a Strategist, Marvel Rivals' support class. Insider Gaming, Final Weapon and GosuGamers all report the role from the reveal, and the trailer shows him healing allies. NetEase has not listed his health or movement speed yet.
He lands in a patch that is hard on his class. The official Version 20261113 balance post says NetEase is making "targeted adjustments to the kits of almost all Strategists" and "scaling back their overall survivability a bit." Nightcrawler is not in that post: he launches on his own tuning while the rest of the healer roster loses some survivability.
Nightcrawler abilities
The kit is built around teleporting: he moves himself and his teammates rather than healing them from the back line. These are the abilities the reveal shows. Names, keys and numbers are not published yet:
| Ability (as shown) | What it does | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Brimstone bombs | Thrown bombs that heal allies and damage enemies in the same blast | GosuGamers, ComicBook.com |
| Blades (sword and sabers) | Melee attacks, including a spinning-blade move | Insider Gaming, Final Weapon |
| Tail stab | Forward stab with his tail, a second melee option | Insider Gaming |
| Ally teleport (out) | Teleports a teammate out of danger | Insider Gaming, GosuGamers |
| Teleport to ally | Nightcrawler "bamfs" to a teammate to support them | Insider Gaming, ComicBook.com |
The bombs both heal and deal damage, and he fights in melee. That makes Nightcrawler a front-line support who plays close to his team, in contrast to back-line healers like Invisible Woman or Luna Snow. His passive and Team-Ups have not been announced.
Nightcrawler ultimate: Phasing Finale
Nightcrawler's ultimate is Phasing Finale, and it works in two stages, per Insider Gaming's reveal coverage and GosuGamers:
- First cast: pick a target location. Nightcrawler and nearby allies get a damage boost, healing over time and bonus health, then he teleports them to that spot one by one. A Smoke Domain forms at the destination.
- Second cast: Nightcrawler teleports through every enemy inside the Smoke Domain, slashes them and pulls them to himself.
In practice it is a team-wide engage: your whole team lands buffed on top of the enemy, and the enemies in the smoke get dragged into the fight. Ultimate cost, buff values and Smoke Domain size are not published yet.
Who voices Nightcrawler in Marvel Rivals?
Matthew Mercer voices Nightcrawler, as reported by Insider Gaming, Final Weapon and GosuGamers after the reveal. Mercer is best known as the Dungeon Master of Critical Role. Gamers know him as McCree/Cassidy in Overwatch and Levi in the English dub of Attack on Titan. The official in-game credits will confirm it at launch.
Playing a new hero on controller? Check your stick settings before day one. Our Marvel Rivals deadzone guide has the values for each Marvel Rivals setting.