Compare Doctor Strange's Gamma Maelstrom Team-Up with Psionic Vortex. Explore community preference by competitive rank and platform, review both anchor partners, and preview every Enhanced effect for Season 9.5.
TOTAL VOTES214
COMMUNITY LEADERPsionic Vortex83% preference
LEAD MARGIN140votes between options
PLATFORM DATA
Team-Up totals
Showing all ranks.
ANCHORHulk17%
Gamma Maelstrom
Upgrade Maelstrom of Madness to Gamma Maelstrom. This drastically boosts energy charge rates and removes the Anti-Heal curse.
COMMUNITY CHOICE
ANCHORInvisible Woman83%
Psionic Vortex
Upgrade Maelstrom of Madness to Psionic Vortex. Enemies caught in are Launched toward you. Shield of the Seraphim also gains increased shield value.
FEATURED TEAM-UP VIDEO
Green Maelstrom or Blue Maelstrom!? Doctor Strange's New Team-Ups
Doctor Strange gets two Team-Up options in Marvel Rivals Season 9.5: Gamma Maelstrom with Hulk and Psionic Vortex with Invisible Woman. Both offer different advantages, but which Doctor Strange Team-Up is better? This featured video compares their strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases.
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Team-Up analysis
Strengths, tradeoffs, and ideal situations for each option.
Doctor Strange is not simply choosing between two bonuses: Gamma Maelstrom and Psionic Vortex push the kit toward different priorities. The better choice depends on map geometry, team composition, fight tempo, and whether the anchor partner already provides value on their own. The analysis below weighs both the base effect and Enhanced ceiling without treating a situational advantage as a universal answer.
OPTION 1
Gamma Maelstrom
ANCHOR · Hulk
Gamma Maelstrom, anchored by Hulk, gives Doctor Strange a very specific tactical route: Upgrade Maelstrom of Madness to Gamma Maelstrom. This drastically boosts energy charge rates and removes the Anti-Heal curse. As a Vanguard, it should be judged by how well it helps initiate, hold space, or survive while the team advances. Its sustain component has value in extended fights, but loses impact when allies cannot survive the initial burst. In practice, this option is best when the composition can play around that condition and reproduce it reliably. Its weakness appears when the fight forces Doctor Strange to react outside that plan, because part of the value is tied to a particular window, position, or interaction. With the Enhanced effect active, when teaming up with Hulk, releasing Gamma Maelstrom retains some energy, and stored Gamma energy doesn’t decay over time. That raises the option's ceiling, but it also means the composition with Hulk has to justify the team slot.
OPTION 2
Psionic Vortex
ANCHOR · Invisible Woman
Psionic Vortex, anchored by Invisible Woman, gives Doctor Strange a very specific tactical route: Upgrade Maelstrom of Madness to Psionic Vortex. Enemies caught in are Launched toward you. Shield of the Seraphim also gains increased shield value. As a Vanguard, it should be judged by how well it helps initiate, hold space, or survive while the team advances. Its sustain component has value in extended fights, but loses impact when allies cannot survive the initial burst. The defensive layer can deny a predictable damage window, although timing and placement matter more than raw output. In practice, this option is best when the composition can play around that condition and reproduce it reliably. Its weakness appears when the fight forces Doctor Strange to react outside that plan, because part of the value is tied to a particular window, position, or interaction. With the Enhanced effect active, when teaming up with Invisible Woman, any damage dealt by Psionic Vortex provides proportional Bonus Health for Doctor Strange. That raises the option's ceiling, but it also means the composition with Invisible Woman has to justify the team slot.
Detailed rank breakdown
See how preference changes as the competitive tier rises.
ANCHORHulk17%
Vanguard
Doctor Strange
ANCHORInvisible Woman83%
Bronze2 votes
Silver8 votes
Gold22 votes
Platinum36 votes
Diamond53 votes
Grandmaster58 votes
Celestial28 votes
Eternity2 votes
One Above All5 votes