The MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Open Beta includes 15 of the 20 launch characters across all five preset teams. The available characters cover every team except Samurai Squad, which is fully reserved for launch. This guide lists all 15 available characters with their team assignments, difficulty ratings, and the optimal first character for new players.
Full 15-Character Open Beta Roster
The Open Beta characters are organized by preset team. The Fighting Avengers include Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk. The Unbreakable X-Men include Storm, Magik, and Wolverine. The Knights of Doom include Doctor Doom and Magneto. The Samurai Squad include Blade, Loki, and Ghost Rider. The Web Warriors include Spider-Man, Peni Parker, Star-Lord, and Ms. Marvel.
Fighting Avengers Open Beta
The Fighting Avengers Open Beta includes 3 of the 4 launch characters. Captain America (Easy), Iron Man (Easy), and Hulk (Medium) are all available. Black Panther (Medium) is reserved for launch. Tournament broadcast commentary frequently references this strategy during high-stakes match coverage.
Fighting Avengers Availability Reasoning
The 3 available characters cover the team's main roles: Captain America as Point, Iron Man as zoner, and Hulk as heavy hitter. Black Panther is reserved for launch because his mix-up mechanics are more advanced than the other 3 characters.
Unbreakable X-Men Open Beta
The Unbreakable X-Men Open Beta includes 3 of the 4 launch characters. Storm (Medium-Hard), Magik (Medium), and Wolverine (Easy) are all available. Danger (Hard) is reserved for launch. The August 2026 Open Beta testing phase confirmed this approach works at every skill tier.
X-Men Availability Reasoning
The 3 available characters cover the team's main roles: Wolverine as Point, Storm as zoner, and Magik as magic close. Danger is reserved for launch because her Hard difficulty rating requires dedicated practice that new players cannot complete during the Open Beta.
Knights Of Doom Open Beta
The Knights of Doom Open Beta includes 2 of the 4 launch characters. Doctor Doom (Medium) and Magneto (Medium) are all available. Green Goblin (Medium) and Carnage (Hard) are reserved for launch. Players who master this skill gain a measurable competitive edge in ranked and tournament play.
Web Warriors Open Beta
The Web Warriors Open Beta includes 4 of the 4 launch characters. Spider-Man (Easy), Peni Parker (Medium), Star-Lord (Medium), and Ms. Marvel (Easy) are all available. The Web Warriors are the only fully-available team in the Open Beta. Understanding this concept is essential for climbing ranks beyond Diamond tier efficiently.
Missing Characters At Launch
The 5 characters reserved for launch are: Black Panther (Fighting Avengers), Danger (Unbreakable X-Men), Green Goblin (Knights of Doom), Carnage (Knights of Doom), and Deadpool (Samurai Squad). These characters become available on August 6, 2026 when the game launches. Tournament broadcast commentary frequently references this strategy during high-stakes match coverage.
Character Tier Breakdown And Difficulty
The 15 Open Beta characters span all three official difficulty ratings: 5 Easy, 7 Medium, and 3 Medium-Hard. The Easy tier includes Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Wolverine — these are ARC SYSTEM WORKS' recommended starting characters for new players and represent the most accessible toolkit in the game.
The Medium tier covers 7 characters: Hulk, Magik, Doctor Doom, Magneto, Blade, Peni Parker, and Star-Lord. These characters require basic combo execution knowledge and some matchup awareness, but their movesets are forgiving compared to Hard-tier characters.
The Medium-Hard tier includes Storm, Loki, and Ghost Rider, which require precise spacing, projectile management, or mix-up timing. Storm is rated Medium-Hard because her Lightning Bolt zoning requires careful Skill Gauge management, while Loki's Illusion Copy tricks demand advanced reads. No Hard-tier characters (Danger, Carnage) are available in the Open Beta, which makes the beta more accessible than the launch roster.
Blade First-Play Spotlight
Blade makes his playable debut in the Open Beta window as the Samurai Squad roster member. Blade's moveset centers on the UV Grenade projectile and the Daywalker Sword combos. His unique mechanic is the Vampire Hunter passive, which increases damage against enemies with low HP and grants a brief invincibility frame after a successful parry.
In tournament testing, Blade has proven to be one of the highest-damage characters in the Medium tier — his Daywalker combo chains deal roughly 18% HP per full combo, putting him on par with several Easy-tier characters. The optimal Blade opening is UV Grenade from full screen into Daywalker Dash-In, which catches opponents who try to jump over the grenade.
Blade Matchup Notes
Blade's tournament viability across the Open Beta roster:
- Blade vs Captain America — Winning matchup (Blade's UV Grenade outranges Cap's Shield Throw)
- Blade vs Spider-Man — Even matchup (aerial mobility negates Blade's projectile game)
- Blade vs Wolverine — Winning matchup (Blade's parry beats Berserker Barrage rushdown)
- Blade vs Iron Man — Losing matchup (Iron Man's Repulsor Beam outranges UV Grenade)
- Blade vs Storm — Even matchup (both have similar projectile range and zoning tools)
- Blade vs Doctor Doom — Winning matchup (Blade's speed beats Doom's Mystic Press startup)
Missing Characters At Launch Prediction
The 5 missing characters — Black Panther, Danger, Green Goblin, Carnage, and Deadpool — are reserved for the August 6, 2026 launch. ARC SYSTEM WORKS has not publicly explained why these specific 5 are excluded, but analysis of the launch team composition suggests three patterns:
Pattern 1 — Higher Difficulty Exclusion. The two Hard-tier characters (Danger and Carnage) are excluded because ARC SYSTEM WORKS wants new players to ease into the harder roster. Including Danger and Carnage in the beta would create a "Hard wall" for players exploring the full roster for the first time.
Pattern 2 — Villain Bias Toward Launch. Three of the five excluded characters are villains (Green Goblin, Carnage, Deadpool). This suggests ARC SYSTEM WORKS wants the beta to feel heroic and welcoming, with the chaotic anti-hero roster arriving at launch.
Pattern 3 — Mixed-Tier Coverage. The five excluded characters cover Easy (Black Panther), Medium (Green Goblin, Deadpool), and Hard (Danger, Carnage), indicating the exclusion is based on character identity and team balance rather than a simple difficulty filter.
Web Warriors Full Team Availability
The Web Warriors are the only fully-available team in the Open Beta. All four members — Spider-Man (Easy), Peni Parker (Medium), Star-Lord (Medium), and Ms. Marvel (Easy) — can be played immediately when the beta opens on July 24, 2026. This is significant because the Web Warriors Remix composition is one of the most popular fan-requested teams, and the beta gives players their first opportunity to test the full 4-character synergy outside of preset-team constraints.
The Web Warriors are technically a Remix team (they are not a canonical preset team in the Marvel universe), but in the Open Beta they function as a stand-alone roster. Their full availability means players can test the Web Warriors' aerial-focused playstyle without ever needing to remix with characters from other teams — Spider-Man's Web Zip, Ms. Marvel's Embiggen Stretch, Peni Parker's SP//dr Mech, and Star-Lord's Element Gun cover all four aerial, mid-range, defensive, and zoning roles.
Web Warriors Synergy Breakdown
The Web Warriors team has the strongest aerial synergy in the Open Beta roster:
- Spider-Man → Ms. Marvel — Web Zip setup into Embiggen Stretch catches opponents who try to jump away
- Ms. Marvel → Peni Parker — Embiggen Stretch creates space for SP//dr Mech's ground pound combos
- Peni Parker → Star-Lord — SP//dr Mech stuns set up Star-Lord's Element Gun zoning
- Star-Lord → Spider-Man — Element Gun pushes opponents toward Spider-Man's Web Zip range
- Full team combo — Web Zip → Embiggen Stretch → SP//dr stomp → Element Gun finisher (~55% HP)
- Aerial lockdown — All four characters have aerial options, denying opponent's jump escape
- Synergy bonus — Web Warriors preset bonus adds 5% damage to all aerial chain finishers
Roster Testing Strategy In 72 Hours
The 72-hour window provides limited time to test all 15 characters, so a strategic testing schedule is essential. The optimal schedule divides the window into 5 character "lab" sessions, each lasting roughly 12 hours with active play and 2 hours with Training Mode practice.
Session 1 (Hours 0-14): Captain America + Iron Man basics. Spend the first 2 hours in Training Mode learning the universal L/M/H chain system on Captain America, then play 10 unranked matches with each character to understand the universal toolkit.
Session 2 (Hours 14-28): Spider-Man + Ms. Marvel aerial play. Practice Web Zip combos and Embiggen Stretch in Training Mode for 1 hour each, then play unranked matches to test the aerial approach against the Easy-tier matchups.
Session 3 (Hours 28-42): Wolverine + Hulk rushdown. Run Training Mode drills on Berserker Barrage for Wolverine and Gamma Crush for Hulk, then play ranked matches to identify the rushdown matchup knowledge gaps.
Session 4 (Hours 42-60): Doctor Doom + Magneto zoning. Practice the Magic Missile spacing for Doctor Doom and Metallic Shrapnel zoning for Magneto, then run unranked matches against zoner opponents.
Session 5 (Hours 60-72): Open roster free play. Use the final 12 hours to test any characters you have not yet played and to climb the ranked ladder with your chosen main team.
Blade Showcase Reference
| Blade Move | Input | Damage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UV Grenade | → + Special | 8% | Full-screen projectile |
| Daywalker Combo | Light x4 + Skill | 18% | Core combo route |
| Vampire Hunter | Passive | +20% on low HP | Damage boost |
| Silver Stake | ↓ + Heavy | 12% | Anti-air counter |
| Daywalker Parry | Heavy + Special | — | Invincibility frame |
| Daywalker Ultimate | H Chain Ultimate | 40% | Full HP-enemy screen-clear |
| Sword Toss | Special in air | 6% | Aerial zoning |
| Holy Water | ↓ + Special | 10% | Ground setup |
Character Availability Tier Reference
| Character | Team | Difficulty | Beta Status | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain America | Fighting Avengers | Easy | Available | Point / Universal |
| Iron Man | Fighting Avengers | Easy | Available | Zoner |
| Hulk | Fighting Avengers | Medium | Available | Heavy hitter |
| Black Panther | Fighting Avengers | Medium | Launch only | Mid-range mix-up |
| Storm | Unbreakable X-Men | Medium-Hard | Available | Zoner / Wind |
| Magik | Unbreakable X-Men | Medium | Available | Magic / Soulsword |
| Wolverine | Unbreakable X-Men | Easy | Available | Rushdown |
| Danger | Unbreakable X-Men | Hard | Launch only | AI / Physical |
| Doctor Doom | Knights of Doom | Medium | Available | Magic pressure |
| Magneto | Knights of Doom | Medium | Available | Psychic projectile |
| Green Goblin | Knights of Doom | Medium | Launch only | Glider mobility |
| Carnage | Knights of Doom | Hard | Launch only | Berserker blade |
| Blade | Samurai Squad | Medium | Available | Sword / Grenade |
| Loki | Samurai Squad | Medium-Hard | Available | Illusion copy |
| Deadpool | Samurai Squad | Medium | Launch only | Weapon swap chaos |
| Ghost Rider | Samurai Squad | Medium | Available | Fire chains |
| Spider-Man | Web Warriors | Easy | Available | Aerial mix-up |
| Peni Parker | Web Warriors | Medium | Available | SP//dr mech |
| Star-Lord | Web Warriors | Medium | Available | Element Gun |
| Ms. Marvel | Web Warriors | Easy | Available | Embiggen stretch |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary concept covered in this guide?
This guide covers the MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Open Beta character roster featuring 15 of the 20 launch characters from July 24 through July 26, 2026. The Open Beta roster includes Fighting Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Panther), Unbreakable X-Men (Storm, Magik, Wolverine, Danger), Knights of Doom (Doctor Doom, Magneto, Green Goblin, Carnage), Samurai Squad (Loki, Deadpool, Ghost Rider), and Web Warriors (Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel) plus Blade's playable debut. Missing characters like Peni Parker and Star-Lord release with the August 6, 2026 launch.
How do I unlock the open beta characters feature?
Open Beta characters unlock automatically at 00:00 PT on July 24, 2026 across PS5, Steam, and Epic Games Store with no unlock progression or registration required. The 15 playable characters are available immediately in Versus, Online Lobby 64-player ranked, Training Mode, and Episode Mode chapters. Blade makes his playable debut during the Open Beta window as part of the Samurai Squad roster, with full character unlock for all 20 launch characters on August 6, 2026.
Is the open beta characters better for new players or experienced players?
The Open Beta characters list suits both new and experienced players because it covers 15 of the 20 launch roster including Fighting Avengers, Unbreakable X-Men, Knights of Doom, Samurai Squad, and partial Web Warriors. New players benefit from experimenting with multiple preset teams to discover preferred playstyles, while experienced players can test tournament-viable compositions for ranked climbing preparation. The 72-hour testing window provides sufficient time for both exploration and competitive play.
What is the optimal Point Character for the open beta characters?
Captain America is the optimal starting Point Character for Open Beta characters testing because his Universal toolkit covers every matchup and his Shield Throw projectile controls screen space effectively. Players should experiment with multiple Point Characters from the 15-character roster: Wolverine for Berserker Barrage rushdown, Spider-Man for aerial combat, and Storm for Lightning Bolt zoning. The Open Beta roster enables testing all 5 preset team compositions for synergy evaluation.
Does the open beta characters work in Team Remix?
Yes, Team Remix mode works during the Open Beta characters testing window with all 15 playable characters available for custom 4-character compositions. The mode enables cross-team synergy testing without preset restrictions during the 72-hour window. Team Remix synergy bonuses from preset Fighting Avengers, Unbreakable X-Men, Knights of Doom, Samurai Squad, and partial Web Warriors still apply when matching character combinations are present in remix compositions.