Magik•Illyana Rasputina

Almost every mix-up in MARVEL Tōkon is a high/low — an overhead against a low. Magik's is a left/right, which is a fundamentally harder question, because guard direction changes depending on which side of you she is standing on. Teleport near a Dark Portal warps her next to the opponent with the exit determined by the direction you hold, and Teleport Slash attacks out of it. Two portals on screen means two possible arrival points.

What lifts her from gimmick to genuine top-tier is that the portals also change her projectiles. Demon Fire passing through a Dark Portal reappears next to the opponent. Demon Flame, normally a pillar of flame from the ground, erupts at the opponent's feet instead. So the portal is not just a movement tool — it relocates her entire offence.

Magik has two modes and you should always know which one you are in: portal on screen and no portal on screen. They are almost different characters.

Neutral. Without a portal, play a straightforward rushdown game. Demon Fire is a normal fireball, Rising Soul is a rising attack with invincibility to air attacks partway up, and Soulsword Slice is repeated slashes that cancel into Teleport before or after they land — which is your safety valve, since a blocked Soulsword Slice does not have to end with you standing there.

Setting up. Dark Portal places a portal positioned by the direction you hold, and two can be out at once. The second portal is what turns a coinflip into a real problem: the opponent has to account for both exits and for your projectiles changing origin. Place them at different heights, not side by side.

The mix-up. With a portal out, Teleport warps Magik next to the opponent with the exit direction under your control, and Teleport Slash attacks out of the warp with different behaviour on the ground and in the air. Meanwhile Demon Fire through the portal reappears next to them and Demon Flame erupts at their feet. So you can attack from the new side, or make them block a projectile from the new side and walk in from the old one.

Meter. Soulsword Sacrifice is a lunge into an attack string, and held near a Dark Portal she warps in to start it — a Super that is also a mix-up. Darkchild transforms her and strengthens her attacks, and critically more gauge spent means a longer state, so it is a scaling Ultimate rather than a fixed one. Queen of Limbo is the Darkchild-only finisher, and it ends the transformation.

Only ten entries in Magik's command list, but three of them form the portal system that defines her.

One warning: Magik is greedy with your Assemble Gauge. Every time you want a portal you will be tempted to call an assist to cover it, and that competes with the defensive Assist Guard Cancel you may need later. Decide before the round whether she is your point mix-up or your safe anchor — trying to be both is how Magik teams run dry.