AceShowbiz - As a surprise to many, Gambit releases in Marvel Rivals Season 5 as a Strategist, not a Duelist character with abilities tied to supporting his team. The quick-dealing X-Men character comes equipped with their signature playing cards, imbued with kinetic force to light up the battlefield. With long-standing limitations removed, Gambit's potential is higher than ever, with more aces up his sleeve than you might expect.

Most predictions for Gambit in Season 5 assumed the hero would be a Duelist, much like Daredevil in Marvel Rivals Season 4.5. However, the unexpected Strategist role provides far more possibilities, creating a character that prioritizes aiding allies rather than scoring kills. Strategists tend to have lower health with supportive abilities, but Gambit changes the usual formula in unique ways.

Gambit might have the most abilities out of any Strategist in Marvel Rivals, using his kinetic cards to do a variety of actions. While you control him, Gambit can switch between different card Decks to alter what his skills do, consuming a unique resource in the process. By conjuring specific cards from these decks, Gambit can cleanse negative affects, provide standard healing, damage enemies, or debuff foes all at once. Mastering these abilities is key to success with Gambit.

The two decks Gambit can switch between are named Healing Hearts and Breaking Spades, which have a timer attached to how long Gambit can have them active once selected. When Gambit chooses what deck to use, he can "Raise" or "Fold" with those cards, giving him two core abilities with each deck to use in the right situations. This added complexity with Gambit makes his abilities much harder to get a grasp of, but knowing all of his options is half the battle.