The S40 ladder is not playing fair anymore.

The safe comfort picks are getting pushed out. The current ranked snapshot is rewarding high-control roamers, sticky frontliners, and simpler late-game damage dealers that do not ask for perfect hands every fight. Live MLBB rank data currently shows Gord, Gloo, and Marcel sitting among the strongest performers by win rate, while Hanabi is one of the most popular heroes in the game right now.

If your goal is simple — hit Mythic before the meta swings again — these are the heroes worth respecting.

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The S-tier hero list for late May

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This is the clean S-Tier shortlist.

• Gord
• Gloo
• Marcel
• Hanabi

That list is not random. It lines up with the strongest-ranked trends visible right now: Gord, Gloo, and Marcel are all near the top of current live stat pages, while Hanabi remains one of the most picked ladder heroes and benefits from the current Gold Lane environment.

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Quick tip

If you are solo-queuing, stop trying to force “outplay” heroes every game. This patch rewards heroes that give value even when your team is messy.

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Why Gord is back in the conversation

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This is the easiest ranked surprise to understand.

Gord is currently one of the top heroes by live win-rate tracking, including on MLBB’s own public rank page and current stat mirrors.

That matters because he is not winning through novelty. He is winning because he does the simple things well:

• clears waves fast
• punishes clumped teams
• controls chokepoints
• and stays relevant even if fights get messy

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Quick tip

If you are using Gord to climb, stop roaming for random early skirmishes. Clear fast, rotate with purpose, and make enemies walk through your damage instead of chasing kills across empty lanes.

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Why Gloo is still a ranked problem

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Gloo keeps surviving the patch cycle because he punishes bad coordination.

Current stat pages still place him among the strongest heroes by win rate, and outside tracking has also shown him carrying extremely high ban pressure in high-level ranked environments through S40.

That is exactly why he remains so annoying on the ladder. Most Mythic-climb teams are not coordinated enough to punish him cleanly.

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Quick tip

Use Gloo when you want dependable frontline disruption, not flashy carry numbers. Your job is to break positioning and drag fights into bad shapes for the enemy.

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Why Marcel is defining the roam meta

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This is the most important hero in the article.

Marcel arrived in the S40 cycle as a new support with crowd control, shield utility, and a wide-area Stasis ultimate. The official March patch summary describes him as a control-heavy support built around automatic snapshots, shields, and teamfight disruption.

That kit explains the meta immediately.

When a roamer can bring shielding, control, and one big fight-stopping button, the role stops being only about vision and initiation. It becomes about tempo control. That is why Marcel feels everywhere right now.

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Quick tip

If your team is running Marcel, stop treating him like a generic support. Draft and move around his teamfight timing. His value spikes hardest when your team is ready to follow the control instantly.

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Why Hanabi is still worth the slot

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Hanabi is the easiest S-tier pick to misunderstand.

She is not sitting there because she is the trickiest Gold Laner in the game. She is there because she is popular, forgiving, and currently sitting in a healthier environment for marksmen than many past patches. MLBB’s current official rank page shows her as one of the most popular heroes right now.

There is also a broader patch reason. The official 2.1.67 summary says MLBB made a major sweep of Gold Lane Marksmen durability and lane-strength adjustments in late April, which helped keep the lane important in the current S40 cycle

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Quick tip

If you are climbing with Hanabi, play for consistency, not ego. Farm clean, respect your item timing, and stop forcing early hero plays that your scaling pick does not need.

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Heroes that feel strong, but are not the easiest Mythic grind

Not every good hero is a good ladder hero.

Some heroes still hit hard, still look amazing in clips, and still win in premades. That does not automatically make them the best route for a Mythic push. Right now, S40 favors heroes that:

• survive disorganized fights
• contribute without perfect execution
• and stay valuable even when your team drafts badly

That is why the heroes above feel so reliable. They reduce the amount of clean teamwork you need to still get value.

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How to spend your Starlight Fragments properly this month

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This is the easiest way to waste value if you are careless.

The current May 2026 Event Update confirms that free StarLight progression was reorganized starting 05/01, and that May includes a fresh StarLight cycle plus returning skins and shop events.

Spend your Starlight Fragments like this:

• prioritize skins for heroes you actually use in ranked
• do not burn fragments just because a skin is back
• if you are climbing with Gord, Gloo, Marcel, or Hanabi, give your fragment economy to heroes that affect your real ladder games
• skip vanity buys for heroes you only touch in Brawl or Classic

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Quick tip

Treat Starlight Fragments like ranked resources, not collector trophies. The best skin is the one attached to a hero that actually wins you stars.

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About skin stat buffs

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This part is small, but it matters. MLBB skins can come with minor stat bonuses in specific modes and conditions, which means cosmetics are not always purely visual. That does not mean skins will carry bad play. It does mean if you are already committed to a hero, there is a small edge in having the right skin ready.

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Quick tip

Do not buy skins for stat buffs alone. Buy them for heroes you are already using. That is how the value compounds instead of turning into account clutter.

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Final verdict

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If you want the cleanest S40 Mythic climb right now, the shortlist is clear:

• Gord for reliable mid pressure
• Gloo for frontline disruption
• Marcel for the current roam meta
• Hanabi for stable Gold Lane value

The numbers back that core group up, especially for Gord, Gloo, and Marcel, while Hanabi remains one of the most visible and practical ladder picks in the current environment. 

So the job is simple. Pick one lane. Pick one meta hero. Stop spreading your games across six experiments.

And if you want to lock in your preferred skins or prep your Starlight spend properly, top up your MLBB Diamonds through Carry1st and keep your ranked account ready while the meta is still this clear.