going up:
IC's
Wario
Luigi
Pikachu
Sonic
Peach
Pokemon Trainer
Yoshi
Jigglypuff
Shiek
Pit
going down:
GaW
Zss
Fox
Mario
Bowser
Ness
Falco
Lucario
Zelda
ROB
Kirby
Key characters staying where they are for the most part:
Marth
Link
Olimar
Ganon
Lucus
Snake
MK
DDD
Wolf
Ike
Captain Falcon
Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong
Toon Link
Samus
THE TOP/ HIGH
Despite Apex, MK is clearly the most dominant character still. with snake behind him, but the development of another character changes the metagame regardless.
The top of the list makes the most major changes with IC's proving thier abilities pitted againt even MK, with strong defensive setups and high damage chaingrabs. though requires more technical skill, IC's threaten to take a spot in B, or even A tier. DDD will probably rise slightly as Falco and possibly GaW lose to his more dominating results in tourneys, despite having good MU's against him. Marth is fine where he is, if only dropped slightly to make room for the newcomers. Wario also has a chance to progress into A tier.
MID
Rob will drop, as the meta explores and discovers even more ways to make his weaknesses even more detrimental. Lucario may also see a drop as the rise in the metas of characters like Ice Climbers and Pikachu threaten to eclipse his own, Marth , DK, and Diddy Kong's games are still strong despite other characters advancements, however they probably won't move up any time soon. right now, they are at the peak of thier potential. with all this going on, kirby gets a little left behind; his metagame hasn't advanced much compared to the others, and though he is solid he takes a small drop in rankings.
D-tier and below
Pit and Peach move up as Zero Suit goes down, and along with wolf. sink into E tier. Sonic probably makes one of the larger jumps this time around, and gets one of the opening spots behind peach, as does luigi. Pokemon Trainer and Yoshi battle for Sonic's vacant spot, and Shiek's still developing game brings her upwars, but only as high E-tier, but this character, like sonic, has the potential to move up a tier by the fall. zelda probably makes one of the worst drops, and will most likely get sent in F tier, or bottom E tier. Mario may make a slight jump, but nothing significant in the last months justifies him going up a tier. Other than Ness dropping a slot or two more, and Jiggs getting some respect and passing LInk and possibly getting into F tier, the bottom of the barrel stays intact. Sorry Ganon.