Source: NetEase Games (official key art via Steam)
Path to Doomsday: Avengers: Infinity War is the 2v2 mode that has been eating everyone's queue time since Season 10.5 launched, and it runs until December 11. Twelve players split into six duos, fight round-robin 2v2 deathmatches in the Jungle of Wakanda, and the first squad to hold all six Infinity Stones wins. It sounds simple. It is not. Here is the full Marvel Rivals Infinity War mode guide, from the rules to the duo picks that actually work. The mode basics are laid out in NetEase's official patch notes, and this guide builds on that with strategy synthesized from community play.
How the Marvel Rivals Infinity War mode actually works
Each match starts with six duos, and every duo gets one random Infinity Stone. You cannot pick which one. Each round pairs two duos in a short 2v2 deathmatch. Win a round against another duo and you take their Stone. Eliminate a duo entirely and you claim every Stone they were carrying. First squad to collect all six wins the match.
The health system is what makes it brutal. You and your partner share a pool of 100 health, and there is no passive regen between rounds. Losing a round costs you health: 15 points early on, ramping up to 35 per round in the late phases. Hit zero and you are out. So a sloppy round one costs you 15, but the same mistake at phase 9 can cost 35 and end your run outright.
Stones are not usable from the start. They activate at phase 4 with their base effect, then at phase 7 every Stone awakens into its enhanced form automatically. The controls are simple: press Z to cycle your Stones, G to use the selected one. Between rounds you draft cards from a random pool that upgrade abilities and stats, letting you build different loadouts and counter whatever the other duos are running.
The hero pool: who you can actually pick
Only 13 heroes are legal in this mode, all from the original film's roster: Doctor Strange, Captain America, Groot, Thor, Black Panther, Black Widow, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, Winter Soldier, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Rocket Raccoon. Your normal ranked tier list does not map cleanly onto this mode, because the small arenas and 2v2 format reward different things: burst damage, mobility, and self-sufficiency.
The standout picks so far: Iron Man's flight and poke let him control the vertical space of the Wakanda map. Black Panther and Spider-Man are dive monsters that thrive when there are only two targets to track. Doctor Strange brings the best defensive utility of the pool. Mantis and Rocket Raccoon are the premier support picks for duos that want sustain. Thor is a strong flex pick with raw damage and durability.
Avoid picks that need a full team to function. Heroes whose value comes from big team-wide ultimates or long setup combos tend to underperform when fights are decided in seconds and there are only two of you.
Best duo combinations
The strongest duos pair one initiator with one finisher. Black Panther plus Mantis is a classic: Panther dives, Mantis keeps him alive and adds crowd control. Iron Man plus Doctor Strange gives you air control and a wall of protection that most duos cannot break through in the time they have. Scarlet Witch plus Winter Soldier is the burst option, deleting one enemy before the fight really starts.
The key insight: you do not need the meta duo to win. You need a duo where both players commit to the same plan. A coordinated off-meta pair will beat two random strong picks every time, because 2v2 punishes disconnection harder than any other format.
Infinity Stone strategy: when each Stone wins fights
Since your starting Stone is random, the skill is in playing what you are dealt. Base effects come online at phase 4, so rounds 1 to 3 are pure hero fights: no Stones, no excuses. Bank your health here. Every point of health you save in the early rounds is health you carry into the Stone rounds, where fights get decided by who presses G at the right moment.
General Stone rules: save offensive Stones for fights you are already winning, not as bailouts for fights you are losing. The enhanced forms at phase 7 are dramatically stronger, so if you can survive to phase 7 with your health intact, you become the scariest duo in the lobby. And remember the elimination jackpot: knocking a team out entirely hands you every Stone they carry, which can take you from one Stone to three in a single round. Target weakened duos aggressively once teams start dropping.
Card drafting: the rounds-between-rounds game
The card draft between rounds is where a lot of players throw away wins. Prioritize cards that fix your duo's weakness, not cards that buff its strength. If you are already winning fights, take the card that counters the duo most likely to challenge you. If you are bleeding health, take survivability: damage reduction and healing beat a few extra percent of damage when every point matters.
Also pay attention to what the other surviving duos are drafting. The lobby is only six teams, so you can track who is building for burst, who is building for sustain, and plan your engagements around it. Play the lobby, not just the round in front of you.
The three mistakes that get duos eliminated
First: fighting every round like it matters. It does not. Losing a round on purpose against a scary duo to preserve health is a legitimate strategy, because a 15-point loss early beats a 35-point loss late. Second: ignoring the Stone timers. Teams that forget phase 4 exists walk into the first Stone-powered round unprepared and get steamrolled. Third: chasing eliminations when you should be farming Stones. You win by holding all six Stones, not by having the most round wins. A duo with four Stones and low health is in a better position than a duo with one Stone and full health.
