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Meta 2015 Community Tier List Voting

Fortress | Sveet

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Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
16,256
Location
Northern IL
Its been two years since the last Community Tier List and our knowledge of the game has grown significantly. While most of the top tiers are expected to remain in their places, majority opinion on the high/mid/low tiers has likely shifted.

Voting rules from last time have been dropped. Anyone may submit a vote, and you are free to update that vote as you wish. Voting closes at 11:59 CDT on 6/30/2015. Please note that votes with duplicate characters or missing characters will not be counted. Votes that are obviously trolls will also be ignored (eg, Pichu in top 3).

Once again there will be two lists compiled. One will be all of the votes, the other will be restricted to players who are either ranked on the MIOM top 100 or rated top 200 by SmashBoards Rankings.


VOTE HERE


Tips for a successful vote
  • Create your list ahead of time. This will make it easier to submit the form.
  • The quickest/easiest way to fill out the form is using TAB and typing the character's name.
  • Post your list here and discuss it with others. Feedback will improve the quality of your vote!
  • Submit early and review your list before the deadline. You may find you disagree with your earlier opinion.
  • If you have a question, ask it. If you are wondering, someone else is too.
FAQ
  • Rules?
    • NTSC
    • 5 Neutrals (YS, FoD, BF, FD, DL) and 1 Counterpick (PS)
    • Wobbling is legal
  • more coming...
 
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alphabattack

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
117
This is the community tier list we made on r/ssbm

S TIer
1. Fox
2. Falco
3. Marth
4. Sheik
5. Jigglypuff
6. Peach
7. Captain Falcon

A Tier
8. Ice Climbers
9. Samus
10. Pikachu
11. Yoshi

B Tier
12. Luigi
13. Dr. Mario
14. Ganondorf
15. Mario
16. Young Link

C Tier
17. Link
18. Donkey Kong
19. Mr. Game & Watch

F Tier
20. Ness
21. Roy
22. Mewtwo
23. Zelda
24. Pichu
25. Bowser
26. Kirby
 
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thegrovylekid

Smash Cadet
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
58
S tier
1. Fox
2. Falco
3. Shiek
4. Jigglypuff
5. Marth
6. Peach
7. Ice Climbers
8. Captain Falcon
A Tier
9. Pikachu
10. Samus
11. Dr. Mario
12. Ganondorf
13. Luigi
14. Young Link
B Tier
15. Mario
16. Link
17. Yoshi
18. Donkey Kong
19. Roy
20. Mewtwo
21. Mr. Game & Watch
22. Pichu
F tier
23. Ness
24. Zelda
25. Bowser
26. Kirby

That's my votes, if you have any questions about which character where, PM me!
 
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RVKYS

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
111
Location
Provo, UT
I think marth > falco primarily because of the way he can deal with other top tiers, including fox. with recent innovation in his punish game against sheik, that mu is becoming less of a problem. PP makes marth peach look miserable for peach. Not that its a huge problem but soon marths could make samus matchup look as miserable as it is for peach. Overall, he deals with viable characters a lot better imo.
 

theMagnumDragon

Smash Cadet
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Messages
36
Location
Bethlehem, Pa
S
1. Marth
2. Fox
3. Falco
4. Sheik
A
5. Peach
6. Puff
7. Captain Falcon
8. Ice Climbers
9. Yoshi
B
10. Samus
11. Pikachu
12. Mario
13. Luigi
14. Doc
C
15. Young Link
16. Ganondorf
17. DK
18. Link
D
19. Mr. Game & Watch
20. Pichu
21. Zelda
22. Mewtwo
F
23. Ness
24. Roy
25. Bowser
26. Kirby
 

Doser

Smash Ace
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
572
Location
Lincoln Nebraska
I'm currently debating with myself on whether Fox or Marth is #1 and whether Falco or Sheik is #4.

Thoughts?
 

Gatoray

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
276
Location
Internet
NNID
Gatoray
3DS FC
3024-5880-3045
I really think you should require sign in to fill out the form. People can easily vote multiple times and skew all the results.

Nevermind, this is already the case.

My Tier List:
  1. Fox
  2. Falco
  3. Marth
  4. Sheik
  5. Jigglypuff
  6. Peach
  7. Captain Falcon
  8. Ice Climbers
  9. Pikachu
  10. Yoshi
  11. Samus
  12. Luigi
  13. Ganondorf
  14. Young Link
  15. Dr. Mario
  16. Mario
  17. Link
  18. Donkey Kong
  19. Ness
  20. Roy
  21. Pichu
  22. Mewtwo
  23. Game&Watch
  24. Zelda
  25. Bowser
  26. Kirby
My credibility = not very credible.
My single agenda = To get Ness out of F tier please. He's really not that bad.
 
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<LyKos>

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Messages
29
Location
Upland, Indy
S:
Fox
Marth
Falco
Sheik
Jigglypuff
Peach
Captain Falcon

A:
Yoshi
Pikachu
Samus
Ice Climbers

B:
Dr. Mario
Luigi
Mario
Ganondorf

C:
Donkey Kong
Young Link
Link
Pichu
Ness
Game & Watch
Mewtwo

Suck:
Kirby
Zelda
Bowser
Roy

Sup.
 
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roboticphish

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
54
S Tier (Viable to win supermajors)
1. Fox
2. Falco / Marth
4. Sheik

A Tier (Viable to win majors)
5. Puff
6. Peach

B Tier (Viable to win regionals)
7. Captain Falcon
8. ICs
9. Yoshi
10. Luigi
11. Samus
12. Pikachu
13. Doc
14. Ganondorf

C Tier (Viable to win locals)
15. Mario
16. Y. Link
17. DK
18. G & W
19. Link

Garbage Tier (For dedicated players only)
20. Ness
21. Roy
22. Pichu
23. Zelda
24. Kirby
25. Mewtwo
26. Bowser
 

Yeroc

Theory Coder
BRoomer
Joined
Feb 28, 2004
Messages
3,273
Location
In a world of my own devising
Code:
Fox         // Forever #1
Falco       // In terms of overall capability, still better than Sheik and Marth (and goes even with them IMO).
Sheik       // Underdeveloped. Still has a better overall matchup spread than Marth, and wins the head-to-head.
Marth       // Being 4th is misleading here, still an exceptionally good character.
Peach       // Still think she's an excellent character despite lack of traditional mobility options.
Puff        // Better than everyone else below, but beginning to not say much.
Falcon      // Same.
ICs         // Same. Viable, but not a lot of readily available options to bring the most powerful tools into play.
Pika        // Same.
Samus       // Starting to get into niche territory.
Ganon       // Relies on punishing poor play, but gets above-average mileage out of it, so decent character overall.
Luigi       // Interesting moveset, hampered by mobility limitations and recovery.
Doc         // Struggles in neutral.
Mario       // Struggles in neutral and has less access to KO moves.
Yoshi       // Unorthodox character, requires very specific playstyle to be effective.
DK          // Bad shield, subpar mobility for size/weight.
Young Link  // Light, struggles to interact beyond projectile harrassment.
Link        // Less mobile, less versatile, but heavier (not always an advantage) version of above.
GnW         // Design oversights overshadow positive qualities. Light and floaty with linear recovery options leave him in trouble.
Roy         // Just no.
Zelda       // Most defensive character ever. Beats out those below her by virtue of kicks alone.
Pichu       // Mobility is the only thing that puts it above the bottom four.
Ness        // Hampered by recovery, lack of good aerials to augment awesome movement tools.
Bowser      // Same as DK without combo options. Punishes can be good but read-intensive.
Mewtwo      // Bad hurtboxes, tech rolls, shield, and several miscues in moveset properties. Light. 
Kirby       // Just bad overall. Around 2 good moves total.
 

roboticphish

Smash Cadet
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
54
I'm currently debating with myself on whether Fox or Marth is #1 and whether Falco or Sheik is #4.

Thoughts?
Fox is #1, Marth has comparatively weak matchups against several low tiers whereas Fox ruins them. Sheik has 4th place, since Falco/Marth have only one definitively losing matchup (Peach/Sheik, respectively) whereas Sheik has multiple (Fox/Falco/ICs/Puff)
 

tttt

Smash Cadet
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
41
Location
MDVA
S Tier (Wins majors/nationals, almost no questions about these belonging here, definitely viable)
1. Fox :foxmelee:
2. Falco :falcomelee:
3. Sheik :sheikmelee:
4. Marth :marthmelee:
5. Jigglypuff :jigglypuffmelee:
6. Peach :peachmelee:

A Tier (Can win locals and friendlies, viable)
7. Captain Falcon :falconmelee:
8. Ice Climbers :icsmelee:
9. Samus :samusmelee:
10. Pikachu :pikachumelee:
11. Luigi :luigimelee:
12. Yoshi :yoshimelee:
13. Ganondorf :ganondorfmelee:
14. Dr Mario :drmario:
15. Mario :mariomelee:
16. Young Link :younglinkmelee:

F Tier (Just not viable)
17. Link :linkmelee:
18. Donkey Kong :dkmelee:
19. Zelda :zeldamelee:
20. Ness :nessmelee:
21. Mr. Game and watch :gawmelee:
22. Pichu :pichumelee:
23. Mewtwo :mewtwomelee:
24. Roy :roymelee:
25. Kirby :kirbymelee:
26. Bowser :bowsermelee:
 
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Fortress | Sveet

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Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
16,256
Location
Northern IL
I really think you should require sign in to fill out the form. People can easily vote multiple times and skew all the results.
That is how it is :) Also, its really only the votes from the MIOM top 100 that "matter" for the final list, so it isn't a big issue if someone sneaks an extra vote into the community results.
 

Gatoray

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
276
Location
Internet
NNID
Gatoray
3DS FC
3024-5880-3045
That is how it is :) Also, its really only the votes from the MIOM top 100 that "matter" for the final list, so it isn't a big issue if someone sneaks an extra vote into the community results.
I actually just found that out before I saw your reply. Didn't realize I was already signed in, haha!

The community voting can be good, but only if you delete all the troll entries and maybe only give it a 5-10% weight for deciding the final tier list.
 
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Fortress | Sveet

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Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
16,256
Location
Northern IL
The only votes that really matter are the MIOM top 100 players. Everyone else is welcome to vote, and I will release a community tier list to go with the official one, but they will be separate.
 

Sabre

Smash Apprentice
Writing Team
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Messages
84
S Tier
1. Fox
2. Falco
3. Shiek
4. Marth
5. Puff

A Tier
6. Peach
7. Pikachu
8. Falcon
9. Yoshi
10. Samus
11. Ice Climbers

B Tier
12. Doc
13. Ganon
14. Young Link

C Tier
15. Luigi
16. Mario
17. Link
18. Donkey Kong

D Tier
19. Zelda
20. Mewtwo
21. Ness
22. Roy
23. Mr. Game and Watch
24. Pichu
25. Bowser
26. Kirby
 

Jackson

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 4, 2014
Messages
1,331
Location
Alexandria, Virginia
S:
Fox
Marth
Falco
Sheik
Jigglypuff
Peach
Captain Falcon

A:
Yoshi
Pikachu
Samus
Ice Climbers

B:
Dr. Mario
Luigi
Mario
Ganondorf

C:
Donkey Kong
Young Link
Link
Pichu
Ness
Game & Watch
Mewtwo

Suck:
Kirby
Zelda
Bowser
Roy

Sup.
This really seems about right to me. I REALLY don't think Marth can be considered 4th anymore, he's either 3rd or 2nd. Him and Falco are debatable.
 
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kingPiano

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
574
I feel this list seems to make the most sense from a logical viewpoint. I've now learned and played all characters on a local level in friendlies, at 20-30 person tourneys, and I base my list on results and the thousands of hours watching streams and VODs over the years (as well as all the matches that I've seen in person only). Samus, DK, Mario, Roy, Link I have a deeper understanding of and have been playing a longer time (Ganon to a lesser extent). Kirby I have recently picked up as a main and within the past 3-4 months I've come to realize he's much better than people perceive, I'm able to beat top local players that use top tiers repeatedly and consistently. Also considering C. Rabbit and RRR's current results as well as past Kirbys like Bun Bun, Massive, Nashun, Leffen, Armada, Nizro, Taki etc.

Top -
1. Fox
2. Marth
3. Falco
4. Shiek
5. Puff
6. Peach
7. Falcon
8. Ice Climbers - I have some strong opinions about ICs, I think they are extremely easy unless you are Pichu/Bowser/Pikachu/M2/Marios
9. Pikachu

Mid -
10. Luigi
11. Ganon
12. Samus
13. Doc
14. Yoshi
15. Young Link
16. Link
17. Mario
18. Donkey Kong

Low -
19. Mr. Game and Watch
20. Roy - honestly not enough representation to conclude. And there are times when I get better results with Kirby now.
21. Kirby
22. Zelda
23. Ness
24. Mewtwo
25. Pichu
26. Bowser
 

TehGuitarLord

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
91
Location
Syosset, New York
NNID
Slice_O_Pie
3DS FC
1203-9544-5962
So I feel like within each group of tiers, there are smaller groups within them (ala the Brawl tier list). When looked at this way, I feel that things make a little more sense. I also consider how relevant the character is today.

High Mid Low

Top (Defines the metagame):
1. Fox - A lot of really good options. Fast, decent recovery, good combos, shine.
2. Falco - The only reason he's lower than Fox is his recovery.
3. Marth - Excellent spacing, has an easier time dealing with spacies, and more of an overall prominence in the meta.
4. Sheik - Long tech chases, chain grabs, good punish game. Less of a prominence than Marth, but still good.
5. Jigglypuff - Best recovery in the game, rest, amazing off stage game, long aerial strings, less of a prominence.
6. Peach - Tricky movement, turnips (with OP luck chance), good aerials, lives a long time.
7. Ice Climbers - Excellent ground game, wobbling, gets beat out by shine, way more relevant recently.
8. Captain Falcon - Fast, good punish game, knee, bad recovery, less prominence within the top players.

Mid Tier (Requires more technicalities to be successful):
9. Pikachu - Axe pushing the character to the point where he's a hair away from being a God is enough to justify this spot.
10. Samus - Great recovery, great zoning, but there is no player as good as Axe to justify her being higher than Pika.
11. Luigi - Fast ground speed, very floaty, bad recovery, a lot more relevant recently. Room to grow.
12. Doc - Lacks recovery, approach options, and prominence in the meta, but good at everything else.
13. Mario - The only reason he's lower than Doc is due to lack of proof that makes him better than Doc. Has potential.
14. Yoshi - Unorthodox, but viable. Once aMSa has won enough sets against the Gods, I'll consider Yoshi to be higher.
15. Ganondorf - Hits really hard, kills early, decent spacing, slow, meh recovery, relevant.

Almost Viable (Has the potential to be Mid Tier, but has too many shortcomings or not enough proof to be in Mid Tier):
16. Young Link - Good movement and projectiles, but situational. Better as a secondary than a main unless proven otherwise.
17. Link - Same as Young Link, but slower, stronger, more range, and can hold his own. Not enough proof/relevancy.
18. Donkey Kong - Green Ranger proves him to be higher than everyone below, but lower than everyone above.

Not Vialbe (I think you get the point):
19. Mewtwo - Good recovery, floaty, interesting gimmicks, but bad at everything else.
20. Game & Watch - Game design flaws hinder him from being in the Almost Viable tier.
21. Zelda - Floaty, good recovery, kicks do a lot of damage, not many options.
22. Roy - The same reasoning as DK, except there is no good Roy player.
23. Ness - Interesting movement, lacks range, laggy specials, bad recovery.
24. Bowser - DJ Nintendo is the only person keeping Bowser relevant, combo food, can land a good read.
25. Kirby - TripleR is the only person keeping Kirby somewhat relevant. Good up air.
26. Pichu - Who mains Pichu?
 

AJawesome07

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
88
Location
Washington
I think that we should get rid of ordered tier lists. It's an antiquated system that interferes with progress being made in regards to community opinion of characters.

Ordered tier lists hurt more than they help, in my opinion. I think they hurt in multiple situations, such as when a player new to the community is interested in learning about the game, and the competitive meta. This has been happening more and more often due to the rapid growth of the melee community specifically. Let's say that the new player takes a look at the tier list, because they want to know what characters are generally thought of as good and what characters are bad. A new player that looks at a tier list and sees that Fox, Falco and Sheik are currently #1, 2 and 3, respectively, that new player can be given the impression that these characters are good, and other characters are not worth playing. In a more common instance, just because one character is higher on the tier list than another, it will make some people degrade other characters based on the number that character was assigned on the tier list (see C. Falcon and Ice Climbers).

I think it would be healthier for the community if we had a tier system where we organized with tiers and tier alone. No more numbers. It is not logical to bluntly state that one character is flat-out better than another character. For example, the tier system I have in mind would look like this:

(using the current tier list)
Tier S: Fox, Falco, Sheik, Marth, Jigglypuff, Peach, C. Falcon, Ice Climbers
Tier A: Dr. Mario, Pikachu, Samus, Ganondorf, Luigi, Mario
Tier B: Y. Link, Link, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Roy, Mewtwo, Mr. G&W
Tier F: Ness, Bowser, Pichu, Kirby
 

tunnelblaster

Smash Rookie
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
2
Location
Plainfield, Indiana
Here's my rankings just from watching lots of melee but with little tourney experience
S
Fox
Sheik
Captain Falcon
Falco
Ice Climbers
Marth
Puff
Peach
A
Luigi
Ganondorf
Pikachu
B
Young Link
Samus
Yoshi
Link
Zelda
Mario
Dr. Mario
D
Roy
Ness
DK
G&W
F
Bowser
Mewtwo
Kirby
Pichu
 

Comet7

Smash Lord
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
1,027
Location
Somewhere over the rainbow
NNID
Comet7
S+: Fox
S: Falco, Marth
Viable:
A+: Sheik, Jigglypuff
A: Peach
A-/B+ Border: Captain Falcon
Could win large tournaments with a lot of effort:
B+: Ice Climbers
B: Samus, Pikachu, Luigi
Could get high placings at large tournaments:
B-: Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Ganondorf
Bad, but not absurdly bad:
C+ Young Link, Mario
C: Link
C-: Donkey Kong, G&W
Awful Tiers:
D: Pichu, Kirby, Mewtwo, Ness
D-: Zelda
pick a different low tier:
F: Roy, Bowser

I think Pichu deserves his spot for mobility and good aerials. There is a separate tier for Bowser for lack of a good neutral game and mobility. Zelda gets the same excuse as Bowser but she at least has kicks. Roy auto loses vs floaties and is overrated against spacies. Kirby's ground game and decent aerials along with crouch is better than most give him credit for (though I would not expect a lot of people to know much about Kirby). I think Young Link at least has some decent matchups, unlike Mario, who just has a decent Jigglypuff matchup (but I don't know much about either character).
 
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kingPiano

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
574
I think that we should get rid of ordered tier lists. It's an antiquated system that interferes with progress being made in regards to community opinion of characters.

Ordered tier lists hurt more than they help, in my opinion. I think they hurt in multiple situations, such as when a player new to the community is interested in learning about the game, and the competitive meta. This has been happening more and more often due to the rapid growth of the melee community specifically. Let's say that the new player takes a look at the tier list, because they want to know what characters are generally thought of as good and what characters are bad. A new player that looks at a tier list and sees that Fox, Falco and Sheik are currently #1, 2 and 3, respectively, that new player can be given the impression that these characters are good, and other characters are not worth playing. In a more common instance, just because one character is higher on the tier list than another, it will make some people degrade other characters based on the number that character was assigned on the tier list (see C. Falcon and Ice Climbers).

I think it would be healthier for the community if we had a tier system where we organized with tiers and tier alone. No more numbers. It is not logical to bluntly state that one character is flat-out better than another character. For example, the tier system I have in mind would look like this:

(using the current tier list)
Tier S: Fox, Falco, Sheik, Marth, Jigglypuff, Peach, C. Falcon, Ice Climbers
Tier A: Dr. Mario, Pikachu, Samus, Ganondorf, Luigi, Mario
Tier B: Y. Link, Link, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Roy, Mewtwo, Mr. G&W
Tier F: Ness, Bowser, Pichu, Kirby
Well you're in a thread that is based on how you vote and rank each character. Not only that but each member's ordered vote combined with a healthy sample size helps display large deviations, trends, and gaps which yields results that are far more interesting than just "tiers only" which would end up looking very similar. If you were to distill it down to it's purest essence there are only 2 tiers that really matter - viable and non-viable - but that would get boring quickly and that's not the goal of this thread.

I feel specific placements only hurt new players if they are impressionable enough to follow what everyone else thinks blindly. It's true a lot of people are prone to mimic other's opinions and thoughts but honestly if that's their mentality then they are far better off starting with a top tier character. They'd most likely be doomed for failure if they tried maining a non-top tier since you have to be creative and intelligent to find any success instead of just watching and copying.
 
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thegrovylekid

Smash Cadet
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
58
I was going to show a picture I made of mine, but it's not letting me upload it, so….

I did make 1 change before I voted: I switched Pichu with Zelda. The reason being Pichu's great speed and mobility, alongside a powerful up-smash and combo move in the N-Air vs. Zelda's inability to approach, bad projectile, easily edge hogged recovery, and lack of finishers outside her kicks.
 

OldManDyl (OMD)

Smash Cadet
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
53
Location
Indianapolis
National-Winning Viable
Fox
Falco
Marth
Sheik
Jigglypuff
Peach

Regional-Winning Viable
Ice Climbers
Captain Falcon
Samus
Pikachu
Luigi
Yoshi
Ganondorf
Doctor Mario

Local-Winning Viable
Young Link
Donkey Kong
Mario
Link

Barely Viable in Friendlies
Game & Watch
Zelda
Mewtwo
Pichu
Ness
Roy
Bowser
Kirby
 

CptJPuff

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
313
I can't wait for trolls to ruin this and make Pichu or Kirby A-Tier.

EDIT:
Went back and looked at what I had put down and cringed so hard.
 
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Rotomatic

Smash Rookie
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Messages
18
My vote:

Here's my list.

1-4 all tourney viable at highest level, 5-8 a little below 1-4 in viability, 9-14 semi-viable, 15-26 low tier tourney viable otherwise low tier hype and nonviable

  1. Fox

  2. Marth

  3. Falco

  4. Sheik

  5. Peach

  6. Puff

  7. Falcon

  8. ICs

  9. Pika

  10. Doc

  11. Samus

  12. Luigi

  13. Yoshi

  14. YLink

  15. Mario

  16. Ganon

  17. DK

  18. Link

  19. Pichu

  20. Roy

  21. M2

  22. G&W

  23. Ness

  24. Kirby

  25. Zelda

  26. Bowser
 

Rotomatic

Smash Rookie
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Messages
18
Fox is #1, Marth has comparatively weak matchups against several low tiers whereas Fox ruins them. Sheik has 4th place, since Falco/Marth have only one definitively losing matchup (Peach/Sheik, respectively) whereas Sheik has multiple (Fox/Falco/ICs/Puff)
What ****ing low tiers does Marth not dominate?
 

RedmanSSBM

Improving My Process
Joined
Apr 11, 2013
Messages
1,744
Location
Greensboro, NC
Please note that my tier list is based on what I have perceived in the past 2 years in terms of results and consistency. I do take character ability into consideration but my tier list is primarily based on what has been done and the capabilities of the characters already being shown in the past two years.

S-Tier: Characters with the absolute ability to win a national

1: Fox :foxmelee: - Definitive best character due to his excessively good moves and his overwhelming representation in the current meta. His shine is his definitive best most because of its many uses including using to combo (i.e: waveshining) and gimp. Really flexible recovery methods as well as deadly combo ability. Only character in the game that can hit an opponent while recovering and kill off of it. When the character is pushed to its limits he becomes a menace to deal with.
2: Marth :marthmelee: - We've seen numerous examples of Marth succeeding well in this meta moreso than the characters below him. With stellar performances by PPMD, PPU, and other top Marths, being able to handle Fox and Falco extremely well, and deadly punish games and amazingly flexible movement. He could use more representation but from what I've seen from really good Marths is a lot of consistency, and that's ultimately what matters.
3: Falco :falcomelee: - With PPMD playing his Marth more recently than his Falco, and players like Westballz and Zhu struggling to be consistent in the current meta, it's hard for me to place Falco any higher. Mango is definitely the saving grace of this character as he shows he can consistently do very well vs Fox, putting him at #3.
4: Sheik :sheikmelee:- Until recently, Sheik wasn't represented too well and it seemed she was dying off, but now we have some recent and new changes from the Sheik meta, but they are not enough. I believe that Sheik could very well rise above Falco if there are more Sheiks that continue to push the character's meta into the future, but as for right now this is where I feel she belongs.

A Tier: Extremely solid characters that are on the cusp of winning a national

5: Peach :peachmelee: - I'm putting Peach above Puff on my tier list simply because the players who have represented her have a much better time beating Foxes than Puff does. Because Peach has a better time vs Fox (as Evidenced by Armada still being able to keep toe-to-toe with Mango) and Puff has a harder time vs Fox (Hungrybox is often losing to Foxes that are ranked below him on MIOM top 100, as well as losing many games to other significantly lower-level Foxes). Peach and Puff do have one thing in common though and that is they deal with all of the other top tier characters very well. I am starting to see more Marths do well vs Peach but it is a very uphil battle for the Marth usually.
6: Jigglypuff :jigglypuffmelee: - Extremely solid character with amazing recovery ability and punish game. If it weren't for Fox having such a solid matchup on this character, she would probably be higher.
7: Captain Falcon :falconmelee: - This character hasn't changed too much in the past 2 years. The arguable best Falcon in the world left the character for Fox back in late 2013, though there are numerous efforts to make this character to be more developed in the current meta (i.e: 20GX). Falcon is staying where he is because there hasn't been a breakthrough performance from a Falcon or numerous Falcons yet. He still does very solidly but there hasn't been anything outstanding from what I've seen. He is likely to be more developed and possibly higher in the future, hell even as high as above Peach if there can be consistent results to back it up.

B Tier: Solid mid-tier characters that tend to do very well at nationals, but not necessarily win them

8: Ice Climbers :icsmelee: - This character has really solid representation in the meta and with wobbling being a huge threat to many of the higher tiered characters, I thoroughly believe that ICs should be here on the tier list. Wobbles' performance at EVO 2013 was extremely stellar for the character, even if Wobbles himself has dropped off a bit from that performance. There are still many other ICs like Fly Amanita, Nintendude, DizzKidBoogie, etc. that do very well at almost any tournament they go to. ICs are not higher on the list because even though they do really well vs certain top tiers, they also do pretty badly vs Peach, Puff, Falcon (to a degree), and even Ganondorf. Because of the strength and weaknesses of the character colliding like this, I see the number 8 spot as a right place for this character.
9: Samus :samusmelee: - This was a tough one. I had to think about choosing between Samus and Pikachu for this spot and I think Samus just barely comes out on top for a few good reasons: For starters, the players that represent her in the current meta are still loyal to her (the only exception being Plup). Both Hugs and Duck and other Samus mains have had really consistent results and have shown what the character has got. Samus' remarkably and arguable even matchup vs Fox surely shows with results against Leffen and other top Foxes. She's an extremely solid and unique character that with her heavy weight and amazing recovery make her awfully difficult to kill, yet she lacks a lot in the neutral, and the player playing as her has to be really smart about the decisions that they make.
10: Pikachu :pikachumelee:- Axe has absolutely shown that Pikachu is rather viable in this current meta. With rather consistent and outstanding performances like EVO 2014 and MLG 2014, he has done a lot to show the true potential of the character. However, the reasons I put Pikachu below Samus is because that there really isn't much representation besides Axe at the top level. And even Axe doesn't just purely main Pikachu anymore, often picking out his secondaries for his other matchups that he struggles with. This is one of those decisions that was made between this character and Samus purely on how well represented the character is in the current meta, because both have shown to do really well, honestly. If there was at least one more Pikachu that was Axe's level, then there would be a good chance that Pikachu could be above Samus next time.
11: Yoshi :yoshimelee: - This one should be the most obvious and the biggest leap in the tier list. We've seen in the past two years just what this character can really do thanks to aMSa. With a 9th place finish at APEX 2014, and a stellar 5th place finish at APEX 2015, as well as numerous other incredibly high placings, there is no doubt in my mind that this is where Yoshi should be on the tier list. He has had some rough results in Japan though, and many people speculate that Yoshi simply hasn't been figured out yet in the US, but in Japan they know better. But that is only speculation and it hasn't really shown through yet in the past two years. Yoshi has an amazing punish game, his double-jump armor is extremely useful and well utilized, and he has numerous tricks up his sleeve that he could pull out at any minute. I'd really like to see this character get better representation in the future, as it is clear that this character can go to great lengths and tango with the best. Yoshi isn't higher up mostly because of his representation and the fact that people truly don't know the matchup that well. Will he go down the tier list in the future? Or will he continue to go up? That will be something interesting to see for sure.

C+ Tier: Slightly better than C Tier. Capable of performing very well at nationals and winning regional tournaments

12: Luigi :luigimelee: - This is where things start to get hairy and become a bit more subjective, so apologies if this opinion of mine is not one you agree with. Luigi has a relatively good representation at a high level, with players like Eddy Mexico, Abate, Vudujin, Blea Gelo etc. showing that this character can still perform rather well, even at nationals. Eddy Mexico's performance at the SSS that he won should definitely not be overlooked, but it is also not the complete basis for placing this character here. Luigi at times seems like he just falls short of really breaking into top 8 at a lot of major tournaments. I feel like with more development and better representation he can get to B tier easily.
13: Dr. Mario :drmario:- This isn't a good day for the Doc. He's dropped a bunch mostly because of Shroomed switching his main to Sheik. Without Shroomed, Doc is so under-represented in the current meta that it's not even funny. There isn't another Doc out there that has come even close to what Shroomed has done, and now that that's gone, it's looking grim for the Doctor. He's a good character for sure, it's just his representation has dramatically increased, putting him below Luigi. I know that there are some aspiring Doc mains out there but none of them are high level as of yet. This character can still do it pretty well, we just need more people to play as him (Personally I find him to be really fun, almost considering maining him in the future in hopes of representing him better.)

C Tier: Characters that just barely aren't going to make it very far at a national level. Though they can perform fairly well, there are just some matchups that are nigh impossible for them to overcome

14: Ganondorf :ganondorfmelee: - This character is bad, let that not be any misconception. Although in my opinion a very good character to learn fundamentals with, Ganondorf is just not going to succeed in this meta all on his own. Ganondorf has some amazing representation and dedication to him, but even the top Ganondorfs have shown to be rather inconsistent at times. Bizzarro Flame has certainly gotten better and more noted, and Kage continues to be a solid player, but neither of these players have had any spectacular results in the last two years. They have certainly taken sets off of some really notable players, but eventually the Triforce of Power's energy comes to a halt later on in a bracket, with even Kage bringing out his secondary Falcon for certain stages. A common phrase I hear when people talk about Ganon is that everything that is to discover about him has already been discovered. While that might be true in theory, there is still a lot more that the current top Ganons could be doing to advance this character. Linguini was definitely on par with this kind of development, but he retired before it really be seen as the character's ability. Ganon's got some nice tools to use and he hits really hard, but his god-awful recovery, falling speed, slow moves, and slow running speed really hold him back, and it's really hard to see him get any better.
15: Link :linkmelee: - Link has a lot of tools that he has at his disposal that make him a really unique and often difficult character to deal with if you don't know how to fight him. He's definitely the much better represented of the two Links in this current meta, and even has the ability to perform well in certain high tier matchups like Marth, Peach, Puff, and possibly others. He's got a really good recovery, being flexible and more often that not very hard to deal with or overcome or outspace. He's slow, but his projectiles are often his saving grace. H'es a very unique character that has to put in a lot of hard work in order to succeed, and we've seen certain cases of Link beating some notable players, but definitely not really any high placing at nationals. He often really falls short there.
16: Mario :mariomelee: - Although much better represented than his PhD counterpart, he still falls short of his ability as a character, rather than his representation. He does have a better recovery than Doc though, but his killing ability is a huge setback for him. I honestly don't know whether to put Mario above Link or not, but because I'm basing this off of what has happened, I think Mario goes below. As far as I'm concerned, there are solid Mario players out there, but they haven't taken too many sets off of really notable players. Again, this is really subjective and I'm still not super sure, so if you want to debate this placement with me I can understand fully.
17: Donkey Kong :dkmelee: - I've seen a few of the top DK mains have some notable success vs high level players. He's got long hitboxes, a great combo game on spacies and even other characters, a tricky recovery, and some other gimmicks that he has at his disposal. You're definitely going to have to keep on your toes vs a really solid DK player, but sadly many of DK's defensive options are poor, as well as having numerous moves that are very slow to come out. He's a rather fun character that can catch you off guard if you underestimate him.
18: Young Link :younglinkmelee: - This character's placement has been controversial in the past because of what people believe is his ability as a character. Armada definitely made him look rather viable with his runs vs Hungrybox, but as of last year that is no longer the case, as Young Link has out-stayed his welcome. Sadly, this character also suffers from being very under-represented much like Dr. Mario, and his tier list placement suffers as a result. Yes, he is faster and has better projectiles than his older counterpart, but what he really lacks in is killing power, and the days of bomb to dair combos being deadly are likely to be no more, or at least until someone really gives this character a go again. Yes, I do believe the character itself has a lot of potential, it's just no one is maining him right now (Axe uses him from time to time but I'm not sure about YL development in general. Feel free to enlighten me if you know more).

D Tier: These characters are relatively bad but have some redeeming qualities or gimmicks about them that can make them hard to deal with. Very hard to win a regional, if not impossible.

19: Mr. Game & Watch :gawmelee: - This character is at the top of this tier simply because of his representation and his rather decent offensive ability. Notorious for having the worst shield in the game, G&W has some redemption when it comes to his combo ability and disjointed hitboxes. He's also got a heck of a recovery, allowing him to go far off stage and still make it back. His biggest weaknesses are his light weight and falling speed, as well as his horrendous shield, not to mention that certain aerials of his cannot be l-canceled. It's cool that there are players like Qerb who try to keep this character alive and find some success with him. And because of that, I'm putting him at #19.
20: Zelda :zeldamelee:- She has some decent representation, but not enough activity in my opinion to warrant her above G&W. If Cosmo would still enter Melee tournaments regularly with this character then I would have reconsidered, but that isn't really the case at the moment. There have been some tricky things that Zelda has done over the past but nothing too extraordinary. She's a real defensive character with a deadly fair and bair, which is sadly her only real redeeming quality. Her terrible recovery makes it really easy to edgeguard her, not to mention that she is light and dies easily. She has really poor defensive options aside from spacing her moves right. She's got a lot of gimmicks that can definitely catch you off guard, and a smart Zelda player can make you afraid of her bair/fair, but unfortunately she just isn't really going to do very well, and I don't see her getting much better either.
21: Pichu :pichumelee: - It's almost a meme when you think of how many times you hear people say that Pichu should be higher on the tier list, it's about time that I put that into consideration. Pichu admittedly is pretty bad but I don't believe he is god awful. His biggest weaknesses are that he hurts himself when he uses certain moves and that he's one of the lightest characters in the game, often dying at ungodly low percents. But people often forget that Pichu is basically the worse-off little brother of of Pikachu, and has some tools to do at least somewhat decently. Pichu is fast and actually has some decent aerials. He has a terrible tech roll, but his small size at times makes him hard to hit. Pichu can definitely get away with causing damage to himself if you use the right moves. I'm not a huge advocate for this character but I do feel like people give this character very little credit. Less credit than what is due.
22: Mewtwo :mewtwomelee: - This character isn't really too bad. At first I was going to put him in F Tier, but then I thought for a minute about some of his redeeming qualities. He actually has some decent range on his attacks. He has an excellent recovery. He has a few powerful moves, albeit slow, and his movement is pretty decent as well. Sure he dies relatively early cause of his light weight, but I don't really see too much wrong with him. If there could be another Mewtwo like Taj then that would probably move him up by a significant margin, but that is not the case right now. I don't know too much about this character but it seems like to me that he isn't too bad. Oh wait. His tech animations are horrendous. He has hurtboxes on his freaking tail. Hmmmm. A hard one to call. Would like to see more exploration or representation of this character.
23: Bowser :bowsermelee: - This character has some neat tools and gimmicks that can keep him afloat, but he won't be lasting long. Bowser's Up-B out of shield is honestly one of his saving graces that make people think twice about attacking his shield. Sure, he is very slow and a huge target to hit, but a good Bowser player can have some pretty interesting tricks up their sleeve, and not to mention that Bowser is really heavy and can take a long time to die. He's got some combos here and there and his recovery isn't too bad, but again he's very gimmicky and isn't really going to get very far.

F Tier: These characters are completely trash. There is almost no hope for these characters in this meta and it is probably best that you play someone else

24: Ness :nessmelee: - Poor guy. Terrible range. Arguably worst recovery in the game. Has only so few redeeming qualities. Ness is a weird character in which people claim that he really isn't as bad as he is, yet I'm having a hard time seeing it to be honest. He does have some cool Yo-Yo Glitch tricks that can potentially advance him as a character, but I haven't really seen these developments but put into application just yet. Ness should definitely go up if someone can really apply all the technology that has been found by him over the years.
25: Roy :roymelee: - God awful character. Truly one of the worst. He is pretty much the polar opposite of his Fire Emblem comrade, having his strong hits be at the center of his sword. He might as well be using a dagger for crying out loud. Wet Noodle is damn right, Roy hardly has hitstun on a lot of his aerials and he only manages to get a few hits at times. His weight is okay but his falling speed makes his aerial mobility off-stage pretty much non-existent. Sure, his recovery can be angled a bit better but it's still pretty damn bad. He's got some strong hits and whatnot but he's so susceptible to CC it's not even funny. Roy can definitely mess up some low level players but you're generally not gonna find many people even of mid-level losing to a Roy, that is unless it's Sethlon. Hell, even Sethlon doesn't want to give this character one final go for EVO this year anymore because he just doesn't enjoy him in any capacity. I don't know where people get off saying that Roy has untapped potential because I'm pretty sure Sethlon, Neo, and maybe some other Roys really gave it their best shot. I don't know. Maybe Roy has some small things that help him, like his counter maybe? Please enlighten me if there's something I'm forgetting here.
26: Kirby :kirbymelee: - This should be obvious. All around terrible character with virtually no redeemable qualities. He has some dumb suicide gimmicks that will only work on complete numbskulls. He has some other gimmicks but they just aren't enough to get him even remotely going anywhere. Bair is really his only good move. What more do I need to say?
 
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trash?

witty/pretty
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vancouver bc
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????
as a general request, can we drop the weirdness that is the way the current tier list was sectioned off with? no god damn way captain falcon is on the same level as fox. at the very least, the top 4 should be separated from the other top tiers, because the big four are very clearly above and beyond overall

I ain't voting because I know I'm not in-depth enough into melee to justify adding my opinion, but that always kind of bugged me
 

SleepyK

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Messages
5,871
i'd prefer ties to be counted as both in the same slot if possible, but if not then sequential order makes sense

1 Fox
Tie 2 Marth/Falco
Tie 3 Falco/Marth
4 Sheik
5 Captain Falcon
6 Peach
7 Jigglypuff
8 Ice Climbers
9 Samus
10 Pikachu
Tie 11 Luigi/Dr. Mario
Tie 12 Dr. Mario/Luigi
13 Mario
14 Yoshi
15 Young Link
16 Link
17 Ganondorf
18 Donkey Kong
19 Roy
20 Mr. Game and Watch
21 Mewtwo
22 Ness
23 Zelda
24 Bowser
25 Pichu
26 Kirby
 

ShadowzVoid

Smash Apprentice
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Oct 6, 2014
Messages
79
Location
New England, US
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ShadowzVoid
1. Fox
2. Tie Sheik/Falco
3. Tie Falco/Sheik
4. Marth
5. Peach
6. Puff
7. Ice Climbers
8. Captain Falcon
9. Samus
10. Pikachu
11. Doc
12. Luigi
13. Yoshi
14. Ganondorf
15. Mario
16. YL
17. Link
18. Donkey Kong
19. Mr. Game and Watch
20. Roy
21. Mewtwo
22. Ness
23. Zelda
24. Bowser
25. Pichu
26. Kirby
 

HarmakPaul

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harmak
S+ Tier:
1: :foxmelee:
2: :marthmelee:
3: :falcomelee:
4: :jigglypuffmelee:
5: :sheikmelee:
A Tier
6: :falconmelee:
7: :peachmelee:
B Tier:
8: :samusmelee:
9: :icsmelee:
10: :pikachumelee:
11: :yoshimelee:
C Tier
12: :luigimelee:
13: :drmario:
D Tier:
14: :ganondorfmelee:
15: :mariomelee:
16: :younglinkmelee:
17: :linkmelee:
18: :gawmelee:
E Tier:
19: :dkmelee:
20: :pichumelee:
21: :zeldamelee:
22: :nessmelee:
F Tier:
23: :roymelee:
24: :kirbymelee:
25: :bowsermelee:
26: :mewtwomelee:

I'm not the most experienced player, but I think I'm knowledgeable enough to have an opinion.
 
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Spak

Hero of Neverwinter
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Jul 30, 2014
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Earth
S Tier
1. Fox
2. Falco
3. Marth
4. Shiek
5. Puff
6. Peach
7. Falcon
8. ICs

A Tier
9. Pika
10. Samus
11. Luigi
12. Doc
13. Ganon
14. Yoshi
15. Mario

B Tier
16. YL
17. Link
18. DK
19. G&W
20. Pichu
21. Roy
22. Zelda

F Tier
23. Mewtwo
24. Kirby
25. Ness
26. Bowser

EDIT: Added separators for tiers.

EDIT 2: Brought Pichu to 21, moved Zelda and Mewtwo down to compensate.

EDIT 3: Swapped G&W and Roy.

EDIT 4: Re-ordered A-Tier.

EDIT 5: Switched Pichu and Roy.
 
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