How To Play Gambit in Marvel Rivals: Abilities, Team Comps, and Strategies

Gambit arrives in Marvel Rivals Season 5 not as a Duelist, but as a complex and versatile Strategist. This role shifts his focus from pure damage to supporting his team with a unique toolkit built around his signature playing cards. Mastering Gambit requires understanding his deck-switching mechanics and knowing when to heal, debuff, or finish off an opponent. This guide will cover his abilities, Ultimate, ideal team compositions, and key strategies to help you become a master of the Ragin’ Cajun.

Understanding Gambit’s Core Mechanics In Marvel Rivals

Gambit’s playstyle revolves around his Sleight of Hand resource, represented by four playing cards on your screen. These are consumed to activate his most powerful abilities. He has two distinct card decks he can switch between: the Healing Hearts deck for support and purification, and the Breaking Spades deck for damage and applying debuffs. This dual-deck system makes him one of the most adaptable heroes in the game.

His primary attack, Kinetic Cards, launches three arcing cards that damage enemies and heal allies on impact. He also has high mobility with Cajun Charge, a short dash that can be followed up with Big Easy Impact to strike with his bo staff. His alternate attack, Bayou Bash, is a powerful ground slam that damages nearby enemies and heals allies.

Gambit’s Card Deck Abilities

The core of his kit lies in his ability to switch between decks to respond to the flow of battle.

Healing Hearts Deck

You activate this deck by consuming one Sleight of Hand stack. This deck is your primary tool for team support.

• Bridge Boost: This ability fires a full deck of cards forward that bounce between allies, providing them with healing and a temporary Healing Boost. It’s excellent for sustaining your team during a push.
• Purifying Pick-Up: Gambit launches a cluster of cards that heal and, more importantly, Purify allies. This removes all negative status effects, such as stuns or reduced healing, making it a crucial counter to enemy Ultimates.

Breaking Spades Deck

This deck is activated by consuming a Sleight of Hand stack and grants you a temporary damage boost. It’s designed for aggressive plays.

• Bidding Barrage: Scatters cards in all directions, damaging enemies and launching them into the air. This is a great tool for crowd control and disrupting enemy formations.
• Explosive Trick: Fires a set of cards forward that explode on impact, dealing damage and inflicting Reduced Healing. This is perfect for securing kills on high-priority targets.

Unleashing the Ragin’ Royal Flush Ultimate

Gambit’s Ultimate, Ragin’ Royal Flush, is a game-changing support ability. When activated, you can lock onto up to three nearby allies. This immediately Purifies them of all negative effects and begins healing them over time.

Allies affected by the Ultimate enter the Kinetic Transfer state, granting them a suite of powerful buffs:

• Increased Movement Speed and a Jump Boost.
• Enhanced attacks that deal extra explosive damage.
• Accelerated Ultimate ability charge.

This Ultimate is incredibly versatile. It can be used defensively to save allies from a devastating enemy combo or offensively to empower a coordinated push, giving your team a significant advantage in damage output and mobility.

Best Team Compositions for Gambit

Gambit’s flexibility allows him to fit into nearly any team, but he excels when paired with heroes who can either capitalize on his buffs or cover his weaknesses.

• Magneto: Magneto and Gambit have a special Team-Up ability called “Ace of Aces,” where Gambit charges Magneto’s greatsword with kinetic energy. This turns Magneto’s primary attack into an explosive projectile, massively boosting his damage output.
• Storm: Like Gambit, Storm can provide damage and speed buffs to allies. Combining their abilities can create a hyper-mobile, high-damage team that can quickly overwhelm opponents.
• Mantis or Rocket Raccoon: Pairing Gambit with another Strategist like Mantis or Rocket allows for a clear division of labor. One can focus entirely on healing while the other applies damage boosts and debuffs, creating a well-oiled support duo.

Characters with limited mobility, such as The Punisher or Groot, also benefit greatly from the speed and jump boost provided by Gambit’s Ultimate.

Winning Strategies with Gambit

To succeed with Gambit, your primary goal is to support your allies while using your mobility to stay safe and pick your moments to strike.

Be observant and ready to switch decks at a moment’s notice. Is your team about to be hit by an enemy Ultimate? Switch to Healing Hearts and have Purifying Pick-Up ready. Is the enemy team grouped up and low on health? Switch to Breaking Spades and apply Reduced Healing with Explosive Trick.

Gambit is nimble but not durable. Always have an escape plan. Use your Cajun Charge to reposition or create distance. Your cards have a surprising range, so you don’t need to be in the middle of the fight to be effective. Use your bo staff abilities, like Bayou Bash, to finish off low-health enemies that your allies have weakened. By mastering the fluid chain of his abilities, you can turn Gambit into a dynamic playmaker who can control the battlefield and lead your team to victory.