Illyana Rasputin, also known as the mutant Magik, is one of the playable heroes in Marvel Rivals whose abilities use portals and a deadly sword to be a constant threat to an enemy team. Utilizing the dark sorcery of the dimension called Limbo, Magik is a fierce warrior who isn't afraid to get up close and personal with her adversaries. Alongside the right team, Magik can be an unstoppable force.

Although Magik is an incredibly unique character to the team hero shooter genre, you can draw comparisons from other games to get a good idea of how she plays. Even before selecting her for your next match, you can draw similarities between Magik and Reinhardt from Overwatch 2 to some degree. Magik is primarily a melee hero who specializes in dealing big damage at close range.

Every Magik Ability

Harness The Power Of Limbo And The Soulsword

Despite her complex powers, Magik is a fairly simple character to understand among the other confirmed heroes of Marvel Rivals. Many of Magik's skills are tied to her Soulsword, a weapon fueled by the many enemies she's destroyed in her battles against gods and demons in Limbo. Harnessing the power from Limbo's twisted realm enhances Magik's mutant abilities as she teleports around the battlefield effortlessly.

Magik, surprisingly, has long-range options with her sword to make up for the limited range of her normal attacks. That being said, Magik has a variety of skills she can use to close the distance between herself and an enemy as well. Although Magik does not have as many abilities as other characters, the ones she does have work together to eliminate opponents quickly once Magik gets close.

Like every character, most of Magik's abilities have a cooldown timer that must complete before you can use a certain skill again. Only one of Magik's abilities has multiple charges that allow them to be used multiple times before its cooldown starts.

How To Use Magik's Ultimate - Darkchild

Gain Buffs For All Of Magik's Abilities

Using all of her moves, Magik can slowly charge her ultimate ability, Darkchild. Activating your ultimate with Magik transforms the Limbo warrior into the demonic Darkchylde, a personification of Magik's violence and desire to strike down her enemies. The Darkchild Ultimate enhances all of Magik's abilities, causing them to gain extra properties for you to exploit for a limited time.

Darkchylde is one of the strongest characters in Marvel Rivals solely due to the enhancements she gives all of Magik's attacks. Your Soulsword strikes become much larger, capable of hitting targets further away from your character. In addition, each swing of the now enlarged weapon deals significantly more damage, giving you the chance to eliminate targets faster than Magik normally could.

You do not gain additional abilities while in the Darkchild state, nor any resistance to other character effects. Try not to use Darkchild when you are getting overwhelmed, as your defenses do not improve while using this ultimate.

Umbral Incursion's dash now starts much faster when Darkchild is active, allowing you to close in on enemies almost instantly. While Magik Slash only deals more damage, you can use Stepping Discs without expending a charge when in Darkchild form. The Eldritch Whirl has more range and damage, while Demon's Rage changes to summon a collection of fire pillars that erupt from the ground to damage nearby enemies.

How To Play As Magik - Tips & Tricks

Stay Close But Retreat When Overwhelmed

Magik is considered a "Duelist" character within the game alongside other heroes like Iron Man in Marvel Rivals. This means that Magik has a low 250 Health compared to other characters and can easily be overwhelmed if she tries to take on an entire enemy group at once. Magik should act like an assassin, using her strong abilities to close distance on an unsuspecting foe and taking them out quickly before retreating.

Thankfully, Magik's weakness is overcome somewhat by her ive ability, Limbo's Might, which lets her convert the damage she inflicts on enemies into Bonus Health. This gives you a way to contend in larger fights and regain large amounts of Health by targeting weaker characters. Magik works best when she is going after other low-health characters since she can deal more damage for larger Bonus Health boosts.

Wait to dive into an enemy team until they have lower health from your allies' efforts. Magik can be hard to target when an enemy team is focused elsewhere, especially if you suddendly flank them from a side they weren't expecting.

According to the above video by YouTube creator Dantics, you'll have a much easier time with Magik by singling out one enemy at a time during a brawl. Use Umbral Incursion to surprise a target, then hack them to pieces with your Soulsword. If you're feeling lucky, you can be less subtle with this approach by trying to hit a target with Magik Slash first before lunging forward with Umbral Incursion.

Don't be afraid to use Stepping Discs to retreat when you need to with Magik. Even with Bonus Health, Magik can go down fast when targeted by more than one opponent, especially ones who deal high damage in their own right. Leaving a demon with Demon's Rage or using Eldritch Whirl to knock back pursuing enemies can be a good way to reach your team or at least a healer who can help you get back into the fight.

Best Heroes To Team Up With Magik

Use Team-Up Ability Changes To Catch Enemies Off-Guard

Magik has a Team-Up ability called Dimensional Shortcut, which works best with Black Panther on your team. This synergy allows Magik to open a portal for either character, giving them a chance to suddenly reposition themselves in any location along the battlefield. This can help you launch a surprise attack on your enemies or set up a powerful combo with Black Panther's ultimate ability.

Although Magik herself can't use these portals, it gives more mobility to characters who already move with agility around a map. Other characters, like Doctor Strange, could use their portals with Magik's Team-Up to turn a map into a playground of portals. As you use Magik's abilities and ultimate to defeat enemies in Marvel Rivals, consider using her Team-Up as a way to trick enemy teams into thinking they're safe.

Source: Dantics/YouTube