Marvel Contest of Champions Battlegrounds Season 38: Attacker HP Dropped, New Howard Emote, Blade Slayer Sword Piece
Season 38 of Marvel Contest of Champions' Battlegrounds mode drops Attacker HP Remaining as a scoring metric to shake up the meta, layers three new Gladiator Circuit buff rotations on top of the Pre-Season and Victory Track, and hands Gladiator Circuit finishers a 'Howard Shaking Fist' emote, America Chavez action figures, and a 7-Star Stellar Forged Slayer Sword piece for Blade. Pre-Season opens April 22 with the Regular Season kicking off April 29.
Kabam is rolling Battlegrounds Season 38 into Marvel Contest of Champions this week, and the team is using it as a live experiment on the mode's scoring rules. The headline change: Attacker HP Remaining is being removed as a scoring metric to see how the meta shifts across a full season of play.
“With Season 38, we're continuing to experiment with meta-shifting tweaks to Battlegrounds,” Kabam said in the announcement. By cutting Attacker HP Remaining from the scoring equation, the dev team is explicitly pushing players to rethink deck building and in-match strategy — expect defensive picks and over-time stalling to feel very different than they did in Season 37.
Season Schedule
Key Dates
- Pre-Season Start: Wednesday, April 22, 2026
- Regular Season Start: Wednesday, April 29, 2026
- Gladiator Circuit — Weeks 3-4 Buff Swap: Wednesday, May 12, 2026
Buff Metas: Three Rotations, Three Flavors
Season 38 layers three distinct buff rotations on top of Battlegrounds. The Pre-Season and Victory Track buffs run the full season, while the Gladiator Circuit gets a mid-season swap on May 12.
Pre-Season & Victory Track Buffs
These buffs apply during the Pre-Season and remain active for the Victory Track throughout the season.
| Buff Info | |
|---|---|
| Fighter’s Flow | #Saga Attackers gain the following benefits:• When Blocking or struck by the Defender’s Special Attacks, gain a non-stacking 15% Energize Passive for 15 seconds. This effect also grants +30% Armor Rating.• When activating a Special Attack, gain a non-stacking 15% Amplify Passive for 15 seconds. This effect also grants +30% Critical Damage Rating.• When the Attacker gets tagged back in by their Striker or when the Attacker enters ISO-Burst, gain these Energize and Amplify Passives. If activated by ISO-Burst, pause the effects until ISO-Burst ends.• While this Energize and Amplify are active, gain a +30% Fury Passive.The effects of this node are unaffected by Ability Accuracy modification. |
| Ebb and Flow – Knock Down | The Defender has Protection, reducing all incoming damage by 60%. Knocking down the Defender removes the Protection and grants the Attacker a Fury Passive, increasing Attack Rating by 40% for 12 second(s). When the Fury expires, the Protection returns, and all Debuffs on the Defender are Purified. |
| Immune Cycle (Slow/Heal Block/Stun) – 3 | The Defender rotates between Slow, Heal Block and Stun Immunity every 10 seconds. |
| Health | 300% Health |
| Attack | 100% Attack |
| Daunt-Less | The Attacker starts with their Spirit Gauge at 50%. |
Gladiator Circuit — Weeks 1-2 Buffs
These buffs apply during Weeks 1 and 2 of the Gladiator Circuit, then swap out.
| Buff Info | |
|---|---|
| Fighter’s Flow | #Saga Attackers gain the following benefits:• When Blocking or struck by the Defender’s Special Attacks, gain a non-stacking 15% Energize Passive for 15 seconds. This effect also grants +30% Armor Rating.• When activating a Special Attack, gain a non-stacking 15% Amplify Passive for 15 seconds. This effect also grants +30% Critical Damage Rating.• When the Attacker gets tagged back in by their Striker or when the Attacker enters ISO-Burst, gain these Energize and Amplify Passives. If activated by ISO-Burst, pause the effects until ISO-Burst ends.• While this Energize and Amplify are active, gain a +30% Fury Passive.The effects of this node are unaffected by Ability Accuracy modification. |
| Ebb and Flow – Knock Down | The Defender has Protection, reducing all incoming damage by 60%. Knocking down the Defender removes the Protection and grants the Attacker a Fury Passive, increasing Attack Rating by 40% for 12 second(s). When the Fury expires, the Protection returns, and all Debuffs on the Defender are Purified. |
| Immune Cycle (Slow/Heal Block/Stun) – 3 | The Defender rotates between Slow, Heal Block and Stun Immunity every 10 seconds. |
| Immune-Efficient (Fury) 1 | Whenever the Defender is immune to any effect the Defender gains a Passive Fury granting 50% Attack for 10 Seconds. Max Stacks 3. |
| Health | 300% Health |
| Attack | 100% Attack |
| Daunt-Less | The Attacker starts with their Spirit Gauge at 50%. |
Gladiator Circuit — Weeks 3-4 Buffs
These buffs take over for the back half of the Gladiator Circuit.
| Buff Info | |
|---|---|
| Hazard Shift – Incinerate, Poison | Striking the Defender has a 40% chance to inflict the Attacker with an Incinerate Debuff, dealing 30% of the Defender’s Attack in Damage over 7 second(s). Every 12 second(s), this is swapped for a chance to inflict Poison instead. |
| Power Focus 2 | The Defender gains +60% Combat Power Rate while below 2 Bars of Power, but suffers -80% Combat Power Rate while above. |
| Power Overwhelming | While the Defender has above 2 Bars of Power they gain an indefinite Protection Passive, reducing damage from all sources by 75%. |
| Defender Bias (Special 2) | The Defender is more likely to activate Special Attack 2. |
| Health | 300% Health |
| Attack | 100% Attack |
| Daunt-Less | The Attacker starts with their Spirit Gauge at 50%. |
Rewards: Emote, Chavez Figures, and a Blade Sword Piece
Summoners who climb into the Gladiator Circuit (Vibranium 1) collect their regular rewards plus a bundle of Season 38 exclusives:
- A new “Howard Shaking Fist” emote — starring Howard the Duck in peak Howard energy
- 5 America Chavez Action Figures that can be traded in the Saga Store for special rewards
- A 7-Star Slayer Sword piece for Blade (Stellar Forged) — a major step for Blade players chasing the awakened build
What This Means for Summoners
Dropping Attacker HP Remaining is the kind of scoring change that ripples across every tier of the ladder — from casual Pre-Season matches to end-of-season Gladiator Circuit grinds. If you're a Blade main, the Stellar Forged Slayer Sword piece alone is probably reason enough to push for the top bracket. If you're a Deadpool or Gladiator enjoyer, the new buff rotations reshape counters week over week, so expect the early-season meta to look very different from the final two weeks after the May 12 swap.
Good luck in the latest Battlegrounds season, Summoners — the experiment is live.