Felicia Hardy has finally clawed her way into Marvel Rivals. She launches as part of Season 7.5 and joins the Duelist roster as one of the most mechanically unique heroes the game has produced so far. She steals, she stalks, she gambles, and she bends the luck of the battlefield in her favor using a personal currency system no other hero touches. This full guide walks you through every ability, every relic, every combo, and every counter you need to dominate with her or shut her down.
Who Is Black Cat in Marvel Rivals
Black Cat debuted in Season 7.5 as a Duelist with a four star difficulty rating, which marks her as one of the more complex characters on the current roster. Her health pool sits at 275 HP. That's standard for a squishy flanker and puts her in the same fragility bracket as the other flanking Duelists.
Her role on a team is best described as a disruptor and flanker. Instead of holding a frontline or fighting from range, she's built to slip behind enemy lines, pick off priority targets, and create chaos her team can capitalize on. Her playstyle sits in the same mold as Black Panther or Psylocke. Strategists and squishy Duelists in the backline should be your first targets. You should only consider trading blows with a Vanguard once the backline is handled.
What sets her apart from every other Duelist is her Fortune system. Fortune is a personal resource that fuels her strongest abilities and forces you to think about resource management on top of positioning and aim.
- Role: Duelist (flanker and disruptor)
- Health: 275 HP
- Difficulty: 4 stars
- Signature resource: Fortune (max 1,000)
- Season introduced: Season 7.5
Understanding the Fortune System
Fortune is Black Cat's signature mechanic and the key to playing her well. It's a currency she gathers during a match by landing attacks, and she spends it to unleash her biggest techniques and buy powerful relics from her dimensional vault.
The maximum amount of Fortune she can hold at a time is 1,000. Your current total appears as an icon in the middle of your screen, usually measured in hundreds, so you can always see where you stand at a glance.
How Black Cat Earns Fortune
Fortune generation rates vary depending on which attack you're using. Basic melee strikes produce around +50 Fortune per hit. Grappling hook attacks give roughly +250 to +300 Fortune per connection. Lunging attacks grant about +150 Fortune per hit.
On top of that, her passive Sticky Paws steals a set amount of Fortune automatically whenever her attacks connect with enemies. That stacks on top of the manual earnings. Her Ultimate also generates a huge amount of Fortune on every strike, so a good Ultimate can refill her reserves for multiple relic purchases afterward.
What Fortune Is Spent On
Fortune isn't just a flavor mechanic. It powers three critical parts of her kit. First, her alternate attacks (Claw Whip and Phantom Pursuit). Second, her Gilded Deal relic purchases. Third, her ability to survive extended fights by unlocking escape and utility tools on demand.
Complete Ability Breakdown
Her kit is large and layered. Below is every ability she has, grouped by category for easy reference.
Primary and Basic Abilities
Feline Fury (Primary Attack, LMB / R2 / RT)
Her basic attack. She swipes forward with razor sharp claws in a melee animation, similar in concept to Black Panther's claw attack.
Cat's Cradle (Basic Ability, LSHIFT / L1 / LB)
A forward lunge with claws bared that slices through any enemies in her path. It has 2 charges on an 8 second cooldown, so it works as both a damage tool and a mobility option.
Turn of Fortune (Basic Ability, Left Ctrl / Circle / B)
A grappling hook that launches forward, damaging the first enemy it hits and stealing Fortune from them. It has a 5 second cooldown.
Thieving Grace (Jump, Spacebar / A / X)
She performs a double jump while in the air, giving her aerial mobility beyond a standard jump.
Alternate Attacks (Fortune's Favor)
Fortune's Favor (Alternate Attack, RMB / L2 / LT)
Holding this input lets her spend Fortune to unleash either Claw Whip or Phantom Pursuit. Use Fortune's Favor as your primary Fortune dump for raw damage.
Claw Whip (Follow up, 300 Fortune)
Fires out tethered claws and whips them forward in a devastating arc, damaging all enemies caught in range. Use Claw Whip as her wide burst option.
Phantom Pursuit (Follow up, Left Ctrl / Circle / B, 300 Fortune)
A swift dash to a targeted enemy. She unleashes a rapid flurry of claw attacks before flashing back to her starting position. She stays Untargetable for the entire move, turning Phantom Pursuit into both a damage tool and a panic button.
Both Fortune's Favor attacks also return some Fortune if they land, so accurate hits keep her economy flowing.
Gilded Deal (Relic System)
Gilded Deal (Basic Ability, E / R1 / RB)
She opens a dimensional rift via the Randall Gate, which lets her barter with the Gilded Saint for rare relics from the New York Thieves Guild Vault. Each relic costs a specific amount of Fortune, and there's no cooldown between purchases. You can buy another relic immediately as long as you have the Fortune to spend.
The full list of relics is broken down in its own section below.
Ultimate
Calling Card (Ultimate, Q)
She issues a Calling Card to all enemies in range, marking any visible targets. Once marked, she can instantly dash to any enemy within sight and range (up to 60 meters) and tear into them with her claws, dealing Percentage Damage. The Ultimate lasts 10 seconds.
Because it deals Percentage Damage, Calling Card scales harder against targets with big health pools, and it shreds Vanguards. Every strike during Calling Card also generates a huge amount of Fortune on hit. The effect is often compared to Venom's or Wolverine's Ultimates for that reason.
Passive Abilities
Stealthy Catwalk
Hold the Jump input while on a vertical surface to crawl up walls, similar to Spider-Man's wall traversal.
Malkin Misfortune
Applies Jinx to enemies when they're hit with one of her abilities. Jinxed foes have a chance to lose their bonus damage when striking her with a Critical Hit.
Sticky Paws
Steals a set amount of Fortune every time her attacks hit an enemy.
Team-Up: Lucky Loan
Black Cat serves as the Anchor for a Team-Up called Lucky Loan, which she shares with either White Fox or Captain America. The effect changes based on which ally is using it.
With White Fox, she unleashes tracking Spirit Tails that grant Healing and Speed to allies while damaging and Slowing foes. With Captain America, his shield's block radius expands and he can aim deflected projectiles directly toward his target.
Complete Relic Guide (Gilded Deal)
The Gilded Deal is arguably the most flexible ability in the entire game, rivaling even Deadpool's shifting toolkit. Each relic changes how she plays a given engagement. Below is every relic you can buy, what it costs, and what it does.
| Relic | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tablet of Destinies | 100 Fortune | Grants a random amount of Fortune |
| Faltine Flame Orb | 100 Fortune | Wall-latching projectile that marks all enemies |
| Helm of Hades | 200 Fortune | Enter Invisible state for a set duration |
| Chernobog's Crystal | 200 Fortune | Purify, instantly removing active control effects |
| Ring of Zona | 200 Fortune | Opens a portal on a surface for instant traversal |
| Mento-Fish | 200 Fortune | Hypnosis field that disables movement and grounds flyers |
Tablet of Destinies, 100 Fortune. Grants a random amount of Fortune. Pure gamble. Good when you have spare Fortune lying around and you want to roll the dice on a bigger purchase.
Helm of Hades, 200 Fortune. Use Gilded Deal again after purchasing to enter an Invisible state for a set duration. Treat Helm of Hades as her premier flanking and repositioning tool, so pull it out to set up ambushes or escape unseen.
Faltine Flame Orb, 100 Fortune. Conjures an orb of mystical Faltine Flame as a projectile that latches onto a wall and marks all enemies. Faltine Flame Orb works as a vision tool that exposes enemy positions for your whole team to see.
Chernobog's Crystal, 200 Fortune. Activate through Gilded Deal again to purify yourself, instantly removing any active control effects. Chernobog's Crystal is her hard counter to crowd control ultimates and stuns.
Ring of Zona, 200 Fortune. Opens a portal on a surface for instant traversal to the opposite side. It functions similarly to a Doctor Strange style portal, so you can use it to reposition or pull off surprise flanks.
Mento-Fish, 200 Fortune. Creates a hypnosis field that disables movement abilities and grounds all flying enemies caught within it. Mento-Fish is a strong setup tool against mobile or airborne heroes.
How to Actually Play Black Cat
Stage One: Build Fortune Early
Every match as Black Cat starts with the same priority, which is to build Fortune fast. Your special abilities are useless without resources, so the opening seconds of a fight should focus on generating as much Fortune as possible.
To build Fortune quickly, sneak in and land basic melee strikes on soft targets for +50 Fortune each. Use Turn of Fortune's grappling hook as your highest value single hit at +250 to +300 Fortune. Use Cat's Cradle lunging attacks to close gaps while earning +150 Fortune per hit. You can also spend a small amount on Tablet of Destinies to gamble for a Fortune boost if you want to snowball into a bigger purchase.
Stage Two: Spend Fortune Aggressively but Smartly
Once you have a healthy Fortune pool, your damage output becomes terrifying. Fortune's Favor is your bread and butter aggressive tool. Hold RMB to pick between Claw Whip and Phantom Pursuit based on the situation.
Pick Claw Whip when multiple enemies are grouped up and you want to damage everyone in range. Pick Phantom Pursuit when you want to finish off a single low health target, especially a slippery one trying to escape. A White Fox or Strategist running for cover is the perfect Phantom Pursuit target, and the Untargetable window during the dash means you can't be punished mid animation.
Both attacks return some Fortune when they land, which keeps your economy rolling between fights.
Stage Three: Chain Relics for Maximum Impact
Her real skill ceiling lives in this step. Top Black Cat players can chain relics with her core abilities in rapid succession. A strong chain looks like this:
- Use Tablet of Destinies to gamble for extra Fortune.
- Deploy Faltine Flame Orb to reveal enemy positions.
- Move into flanking position.
- Activate Helm of Hades to turn invisible.
- Drop in on the enemy backline undetected.
- Start pouncing on Strategists and squishy Duelists.
To delete a single fragile target, try this combo: Mento-Fish, Turn of Fortune (grappling hook), Cat's Cradle (dash), Claw Whip, Phantom Pursuit, Claw Whip. The chain roots the target, pulls you in with Fortune steal, closes the final gap, and then layers two Claw Whips around a Phantom Pursuit that both damages and protects you. It shreds squishy heroes before they can react.
Stage Four: Escape When the Plan Falls Apart
With only 275 HP, you'll die the moment multiple enemies lock onto you. Survival matters just as much as aggression, and her escape toolkit covers a lot of ground.
Thieving Grace (double jump) handles basic repositioning. Cat's Cradle lunges cover ground quickly. Phantom Pursuit gives you an Untargetable dash that deals damage and returns you safely. Helm of Hades adds invisibility. Ring of Zona opens a portal escape. Chernobog's Crystal cleanses any CC that locks you down.
Using Her Ultimate Effectively
Calling Card is simpler to execute than her Fortune chains, but it rewards smart target selection. When you pop it, all enemies in the surrounding area get marked, giving you wall hacks for the next 10 seconds.
Because the claw strikes after the Ultimate dash deal Percentage Damage, your priority targets during the Ultimate are heroes with big health pools. Vanguards like Groot are the juiciest picks. The more health a target has, the harder your strikes hit in absolute terms. Her Ultimate scales in a very similar way to Venom's and Wolverine's.
Pairing Calling Card with the right relic makes it nastier. Dropping a Faltine Flame Orb before activation means enemies are already revealed, so there's no scouting phase after you pop it. Using Helm of Hades beforehand lets you get into ideal position invisibly, then reveal and strike.
On top of the damage, every connecting strike during Calling Card floods her Fortune meter. You'll often come out of your Ultimate ready to buy another relic immediately.
Best Team Compositions
Black Cat is largely self sufficient, but she thrives alongside mobile, flanking characters and teammates who can either receive her Team-Up buff or sustain her fragile health pool.
Direct Team-Up Partners
Captain America receives an expanded shield block radius and precision deflected projectiles through Lucky Loan. White Fox sees her Spirit Tails turn into tracking projectiles that heal allies while damaging and slowing enemies.
Strong Dive Synergies
Spider-Man is another wall crawling flanker who can coordinate dives on priority targets. Black Panther shares her flanking playstyle, which lets you run two pronged assaults on the backline. Venom is another dive threat whose Ultimate shares the same percentage damage philosophy as hers.
Sustain Option
Ultron is her best Strategist pairing since his healing drones can track her rapid movement. The drones keep her alive through aggressive dives where other Strategists might lose sight of her.
- Unique Fortune economy adds huge decision depth
- Six flexible relics adapt to any match-up
- Phantom Pursuit Untargetable window doubles as escape
- Calling Card ultimate shreds high HP targets with Percentage Damage
- Wall climbing and double jump offer elite vertical mobility
- Only 275 HP, dies instantly under focused fire
- Four star difficulty with a steep learning curve
- Useless without Fortune built up first
- Hard countered by long range lockdown heroes
- Relic decision making punishes indecisive players
Her relics give her enough flex tools to fit into a wide variety of compositions, but teams built around mobility and diving let her unique kit shine the most.
Best Counters to Black Cat
Her 275 HP pool makes her just as killable as any other squishy Duelist, provided you bring the right tools. For lobbies where a Black Cat is tearing things apart, these heroes are her strongest counters.
Winter Soldier punishes her dives with his hook. As she moves into the backline, a skilled Bucky can yank her out of position and burn her down with a quick combo.
Hawkeye shuts her down at range. His piercing arrow deletes her very quickly before she can close the distance.
The Punisher capitalizes on her need to get close. Since she has to dive to deal damage, his shotgun punishes her the moment she commits.
Hela locks her down. A stun at the right moment freezes her in place long enough to finish her with a couple of headshots.
Heroes with reliable lockdown or burst at range tools will always stop her before she can use her full toolkit.
Core Tips to Remember
Every new Black Cat player should internalize these lessons.
- Always be earning Fortune. The second you stop generating resources, you stop being dangerous. Find safe chip damage if you can't commit to a full dive.
- Evade before you die, not after. Her low HP means you have to disengage before the situation gets dire. Once three enemies are shooting at you, it's already too late.
- Think ahead on relic purchases. The right relic at the right moment flips fights. Buy Chernobog's Crystal in advance when you know a CC Ultimate is coming. Buy Helm of Hades in advance when you need to reposition.
- Learn her signature combo. Mento-Fish, grappling hook, dash, Claw Whip, Phantom Pursuit, Claw Whip is among her most reliable squishy deletion chains.
- Prioritize Strategists and Duelists first. Vanguards aren't your target in most engagements. Only use her Ultimate against high health targets to capitalize on its Percentage Damage scaling.
- Use Untargetable frames actively. Phantom Pursuit's Untargetable window is a huge part of her kit. Use it to escape enemy Ultimates mid fight, not just to deal damage.
Final Thoughts
Black Cat is a challenging hero whose kit genuinely doesn't play like anything else in Marvel Rivals. The Fortune economy, the relic purchases, and the layered mobility tools combine into a character who rewards smart resource management and punishes greedy plays hard. She has a steep learning curve, but once you internalize her combos and her relic decision making, she earns her place as a flexible and high impact Duelist in the current meta.
The takeaway is the same for Black Cat mains and the players trying to counter her. Everything she does revolves around Fortune. Shut down her economy and she's just a fragile melee Duelist. Let her build, and she'll delete your backline before your Strategists can blink.