Marvel Strike Force Black Order

Introduction and Overview

Marvel Strike Force Black Order is made up of Cull Obsidian, Thanos, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight. Thanos, who was introduced early in the game and originally featured in the “Best Kree Team,” became a central figure in the Black Order when the team was added. The Black Order was once a dominant force in Arena battles and has since undergone a minor rework, shifting its primary focus to War mode. Although it is considered an older team, it remains useful in Cosmic Crucible at specific ranks, where some players continue to rely on its synergy and strengths, while others debate its effectiveness compared to newer characters.

Team Members

The Black Order team in Marvel Strike Force is composed of five powerful characters: Cull Obsidian, Thanos, Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, and Proxima Midnight. Each member plays a distinct role that contributes to the team’s synergy and effectiveness in battle. Cull Obsidian serves as a tank with strong defensive capabilities, able to absorb damage and protect the team. Thanos, known for his high damage output and control abilities, acts as a versatile leader who can influence the flow of combat. Ebony Maw specializes in crowd control and debuffs, weakening enemies to give the team an advantage. Corvus Glaive provides a mix of offense and survivability, with abilities that can disrupt enemy formations while sustaining himself. Proxima Midnight excels in offense with her powerful attacks and ability to capitalize on enemy weaknesses. Together, these characters form a balanced and cohesive team that has proven effective in multiple game modes, particularly in War and Cosmic Crucible, where their combined strengths and unique mechanics can turn the tide of battle.

Core Mechanics and Synergies

In Marvel Strike Force, the Black Order team features a unique Infinity Stones mechanic where each member presents a specific Infinity Stone to Thanos on his first turn, granting him powerful positive effects. Proxima Midnight provides the Space Stone, which grants Speed Up to Thanos, increasing his turn frequency. Corvus Glaive offers the Mind Stone, giving Thanos an Offense Up buff to boost his damage. Cull Obsidian contributes the Power Stone, enhancing Thanos’s Defense Up for greater survivability. Ebony Maw presents three stones—Reality, Time, and Soul—granting Thanos Regeneration, Deathproof, and Immunity, significantly increasing his durability. When only one Black Order member is present, Thanos becomes Empowered, receiving buffs based on the available members. In this state, he can spread positive effects to allies, flip enemy positive effects to debuffs, and unleash a high Piercing Damage attack on all enemies. Ebony Maw serves a critical role as a Legendary character by providing defensive buffs and healing. His ultimate ability includes health steal, which is especially useful in Dark Dimensions. Upon spawning, he fills Thanos’s Speed Bar by 100%, ensuring Thanos takes the first turn. Additionally, Ebony Maw gains the Charged status when a Hero Controller ally dies, allowing him to apply Ability Block to Hero Controller enemies, disrupting their actions. Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive function as a tandem, always assisting each other in attacks while also removing positive effects from enemies to maintain control. Cull Obsidian acts as the team’s protector with strong offensive potential, dealing bonus damage on his Ultimate ability for each Deathproof status active on the team, up to five stacks. Together, these mechanics create a well-rounded and strategic team composition within Marvel Strike Force.

Utility and Game Modes

The Black Order team in Marvel Strike Force has found renewed relevance through a rework that positions them primarily as a strong Alliance War team. They excel in both War Offense and Defense, particularly in Room 6 on defense, where their presence can significantly disrupt opponents’ strategies. On offense, they serve as effective counters against teams such as Death Seed, Unlimited X-Men, Underworld, and older compositions, as well as Marauders when paired with characters like Maddy. Their impact in War has been demonstrated by players achieving over 1.2 million power with the team, making them a force to be reckoned with. Defensively, while they may not always secure victories, they reduce the efficiency of opposing teams and can become a frustrating obstacle if not handled carefully, often overwhelming enemies with their synergy and control. In Cosmic Crucible, the Black Order can function as offensive counters to various teams and have performed well at around 700,000 power. They are particularly effective against Symbiotes, random mixed teams, and the City Mystic node, as well as certain hybrid teams like New Warrior/Dark Hunter and Axmen/Phoenix, especially in the absence of characters like Colossus. They also show promise against Heroes for Hire, though H4H is generally less effective in this mode. Their success in Cosmic Crucible is highly match-up dependent, and their utility tends to decline as players advance from ranks like Platinum to Diamond. In raids, Ebony Maw is valued as a healer, while Thanos and Cull Obsidian provide sustain due to their large health pools, making them useful in specific lanes of Greek raids and for clearing easier nodes in Ultimus 7. Ebony Maw has also been recognized as one of the best characters in Dark Dimension, excelling in Legendary Dark Dimension 4 and helping the Black Order team drastically reduce completion times on the first four nodes of Dark Dimension 3. Overall, the Black Order remains a versatile and strategic team across several key game modes in Marvel Strike Force.

Team Placement & Turn Order

In Marvel Strike Force, effective placement of the Black Order team is crucial for maximizing their defensive capabilities, especially in Alliance War Room 6. Cull Obsidian is best positioned in one corner to serve as a sturdy frontline protector, with Thanos placed next to him to leverage his high health pool for added durability. Corvus Glaive should be positioned between Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw, allowing him to enter stealth and disrupt enemy chain attacks effectively. On defense in Room 6, it is recommended to place Proxima Midnight on one end next to Ebony Maw, while Corvus Glaive is placed on the opposite end next to Thanos, creating a balanced formation that capitalizes on their abilities and synergy. The typical turn order for the team begins with Thanos, who gains a +100% Speed Bar boost from Ebony Maw, allowing him to act first. Proxima Midnight follows, then Thanos takes a second turn, succeeded by Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, and finally Cull Obsidian. This turn sequence helps ensure that Thanos can use his Empowered state early, while the rest of the team supports through assists, buffs, and control effects to maintain pressure and control over the battle.

Investment and Upgrades

In Marvel Strike Force, general investment in the Black Order team should be approached with consideration, especially if they have not reached around 700,000 power. Below this threshold, investing significant resources may not be justified, as other teams tend to offer better returns in terms of performance and future utility, particularly at higher ranks where Black Order’s effectiveness diminishes. Regarding Red Stars, most Black Order characters perform adequately at 4 Red Stars, though Thanos and Corvus Glaive benefit the most from additional stars due to increased damage output. Cull Obsidian can be taken up to 5 Red Stars to enhance his Protector abilities and survivability. For Iso-8 class recommendations, Thanos is commonly built as a Raider to maximize critical hits on his Basic and Ultimate attacks and to apply Vulnerable early, though some opt for Striker to capitalize on double hits or Healer for sustain. Proxima Midnight is often assigned the Skirmisher class to apply early Vulnerable, gain focus bonuses, and dispel buffs on her basic attacks, with some choosing Striker for additional double attacks. Ebony Maw is usually placed in the Skirmisher class to apply Vulnerable to primary targets and boost debuff effectiveness, while Healer is a popular alternative for improved sustain in raids. Corvus Glaive is frequently built as a Striker to optimize damage output and take advantage of his bonus Iso-8 attack, especially when paired with Proxima, but Raider and Skirmisher classes are also viable depending on playstyle. Cull Obsidian benefits from the Striker class to increase damage and utilize his bonus attack, with Fortifier boosting survivability and Healer providing sustain options; however, his counterattacks do not apply Vulnerability when built as a Raider. For Tier 4 abilities, essential upgrades include Ebony Maw’s Ultimate and Passive, Thanos’s Ultimate and Special, Cull Obsidian’s Passive, Corvus Glaive’s Passive, Special, and Ultimate, and Proxima Midnight’s Passive and Ultimate. Recommended but less critical upgrades involve Thanos’s Passive and Basic abilities, Ebony Maw’s Basic and Special, Corvus Glaive’s Basic, Proxima Midnight’s Basic and Special, and Cull Obsidian’s Ultimate and Special. These investments help maximize the Black Order’s potential across various game modes in Marvel Strike Force.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Counters

The Black Order team in Marvel Strike Force has clear strengths and weaknesses that influence their performance in various matchups. They excel against Wakanda teams, as Thanos can flip Shuri’s Defense Up buff, and are effective counters to Symbiotes, Marauders (especially when paired with Maddy), Heroes for Hire (H4H), Death Seed teams—where Thanos applies Immunity before Magneto’s blinds and Dark Beast removal is critical—Unlimited X-Men, Gamma teams by preventing characters like She-Hulk, Hulk, and Red Hulk from gaining Charged status and clearing Hulk’s Taunt, as well as older teams and squads that don’t flip buffs or possess Safeguard. On the other hand, they struggle against newer, meta teams and Wakanda teams in Cosmic Crucible, where they can be defeated before taking their first turn. Teams that flip buffs, such as those with Ikaris’s Ultimate, or teams with Safeguard to block Thanos’s special ability, present significant challenges. Their effectiveness also declines at higher Cosmic Crucible ranks. In Reactor mode or against teams that prevent Speed Bar generation on spawn—like New Avengers—Thanos’s buffs, which apply on his first turn rather than true spawn, are less effective. Additionally, Knowhere on his own can outdamage and outlast the Black Order. Common counters include mirror matches where careful timing of Thanos’s buff flips determines the outcome, Infinity Watch, designed specifically to counter Black Order and capable of significant damage, and Eternals, who can overpower them easily. T’Challa-Ravagers are efficient counters, especially with investments in T’Challa or Stitcher for Dark Dimension 5, delivering heavy damage. Uncanny X-Men teams featuring Magik offer straightforward wins against large Black Order squads. Doc Ock-Sinister Six and Symbiotes teams disrupt the Black Order effectively across all modes, using characters like Mysterio to blind Cull Obsidian and Swarm to disrupt him. Silver Surfer alone can challenge Black Order significantly at similar power levels, and combined with X-Factor, his impact increases, especially considering Shatterstar’s special since Thanos flips Defense Up. Shadowland teams, although requiring significant investment, serve as reliable counters relying on Night Nurse and Moon Knight’s passives for speed and sustain. A-Force teams with Doom or Black Bolt also counter well, with Black Bolt capable of delivering around 75,000 damage. The Condylus Spaghetti Mash Hybrid (CSMH), consisting of Silver Surfer, Doc Ock, Ultron, and Invisible Woman, and Secret Avengers, capable of strong punch-ups around 150,000 damage, are also common counters. Finally, Web Warriors present additional challenges for the Black Order. Understanding these matchups is key to effectively deploying or countering the Black Order in Marvel Strike Force.

Farming Locations

In Marvel Strike Force, each member of the Black Order team can be acquired through specific in-game sources. Thanos is primarily obtained from Cosmic 2-9 missions and Gamma Raid Orbs, making his shards accessible through campaign progression and raid rewards. Corvus Glaive can be farmed in the Arena Store and Milestone III Orbs, providing options for players focusing on PvP or milestone achievements. Proxima Midnight is available in the Blitz Store and Milestone III Orbs, rewarding players who participate actively in Blitz events and milestone completions. Cull Obsidian’s shards are found in the Raid Store, Gamma Raid Orbs, and Milestone III Orbs, offering multiple avenues including raids and milestones for acquisition. Ebony Maw is a Legendary character, meaning his shards are obtained through special Legendary Events that occur periodically, requiring dedicated participation to unlock and upgrade him. This distribution allows players to gather and develop the Black Order team through a combination of gameplay modes and event participation.