Emma Frost is known as the White Queen and the moment you take to the field in her Diamond Form, you’ll know exactly why. A dominant, monarch-like force on the battlefield, Emma has everything you need to succeed as a Vanguard. She has tools for every situation and can go up against any hero and come out on top, so long as you use her incredible kit appropriately. Read on and learn why Emma Frost is one of the most terrifying mutants in the Marvel Universe (and now in Rivals).
How should you play Emma?
Magneto has been considered, by many top players, to be the most well-rounded Vanguard in the game, but Emma may change that with her arrival in Season Two. She has everything you’d want in a Vanguard character, but you’ll need some skill and practice to bring her whole moveset together as she has more readily available abilities than any other character in the game.
Frost’s damage is fantastic in her Diamond Form, allowing you to pummel your way through the defenses of “shield” tanks like Dr. Strange and Magneto. And her ranged telepathic abilities in her normal form let you chase down foes and shred their health bars with her Psychic Spear ability, which functions like a single-target Eye of Agamotto on a short cooldown (Dr. Strange’s incredibly powerful Ultimate ability).
The White Queen also has access to powerful crowd-control abilities in Diamond Form, lunging forward with Carbon Crush, grabbing enemies before turning around and slamming them into the ground behind her. This combos perfectly into her Crystal Kick, letting her separate select foes from their allies, and teeing her teammates up for a knockout (something Bucky’s hook does well, which can easily be described as a character-defining” power).
If all that wasn’t enough, Frost also has a shield in Mind’s Aegis, which she can project even upwards of 30 meters from her current location. The shield has 500 health and can be used to negate Ultimate abilities from characters like Hela, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, and many more.
Speaking of Ultimate abilities, Psionic Seduction prevents enemies from using their Ultimate abilities for a lengthy duration, so use it when you really need to secure a kill and win a team fight. Catch enemy Strategists in it to prevent them from turning the tables and use Psychic Spear on high-priority targets immediately before using her Ultimate to deal double damage and ensure the kill.
But that’s not all this Ultimate does. After a few seconds of exposure, opponents will start to walk towards Emma, so you can use it to pull foes out of stationary support Ultimates like Invisible Woman’s. If you position yourself so there is a gap in the floor between you and your enemies, you can even make them fall to their deaths. You could also pull them out from behind corners so your Punisher turret can take them out. There are tons of possibilities and I can’t wait to see what the community comes up with.
Getting used to the rhythm of her standard and Diamond forms is where great Emma players will differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack, so get out there and kick groups of enemies into walls (it does extra damage).
What are Emma’s abilities?
Marvel Rivals gives Emma Frost a wide variety of ways to destroy enemy heroes while also setting up her teammates for victory. Her abilities are as follows:
- Psionic Seduction (Ultimate): Project a field up to roughly 30 meters away that deals constant damage, locks enemy Ultimate abilities, and causes afflicted foes to run towards Emma after a few seconds.
- Telepathic Pulse (Primary Attack): With a range of roughly 15 meters, this psychic beam deals more damage the longer it damages enemies, ramping up over time. The current power is shown just below the targeting reticle. It will decay after a few seconds of not damaging enemies.
- Psychic Spear: Pulls a fraction of the enemy’s mind out of their body. When it explodes, it deals extra damage to the enemy. Telepathic Pulse can go through it and hit both the mind fragment and the opponent, effectively doubling the damage. Always use this on enemy Strategists or other high priority targets before activating Emma’s Ultimate, as it will virtually guarantee the kill.
- Mind’s Aegis: A hovering diamond shield that Emma places in the world. Project it further by holding the activating button down before releasing. It has a hefty 500 health and it can be recalled manually (which you should do when you don’t need it anymore).
- Diamond Form: Transform Emma, and her moveset, into her Diamond abilities. She also becomes Unstoppable, which makes her immune to crowd-control abilities, and she takes less damage. When it hits the fan, use this and turn the tables.
- Faceted Fury (Primary Attack - Diamond Form): Melee strikes are Emma’s primary attack while in Diamond form, so start swinging.
- Carbon Crush (Diamond Form): One of her most important abilities, this command grab lunges forward, grabbing the targeted enemy and slams them down behind her. Follow it up with Crystal Kick to separate key enemies from their teammates.
- Crystal Kick (Diamond Form): Emma performs a spinning kick, slamming into as many enemies are in front of her and knocking them all back. If she knocks them into walls, they take additional damage.
- Mind Link (Team-Up Passive): Emma dedicates a portion of her psychic energy to assist Magneto and Psylocke, giving them each abilities that conjure doppelgangers that echo their hosts abilities.
When times get tough just remember, a diamond (form) is a girl’s best friend. Go get ‘em, White Queen.
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