Introduction
-----------------------------------
Below you will find the fifth official BBR tier list. Members were asked to take the latest BBR ruleset (3.1) into account for as much as possible, but ultimately votes were very much individual products as experiences differ. The exact voting procedure and data, as well as comments on specific character movements, can be found further down this article.
Thanks go out to:
-Ankoku, for his work on the data
-Shaya, for his work on the presentation
-Crow!, The Real Inferno and .joel for their help with the writeups
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tier List Version 5
-----------------------------------
Condensed Version
S: Meta Knight
A: Snake, Diddy Kong, Falco, Wario, Marth, Ice Climbers
B: Olimar, Pikachu, King Dedede, Mr. Game & Watch, Lucario, Zero Suit Samus
C: Toon Link, Kirby, Fox, R.O.B., Pit, Peach, Donkey Kong
D: Luigi, Wolf, (Zelda/Sheik), Sonic, Ike, Sheik, Ness, Pokémon Trainer
E: Yoshi, Lucas, Mario, Bowser
F: Captain Falcon, Samus, Jigglypuff, Link, Zelda
G: Ganondorf
Low tier tournaments have now officially lost Ike and gained Bowser.
Previous Tier Lists
v1 (September 1, 2008)
v2 (January 1, 2009)
v3 (June 5, 2009)
v4 (February 26, 2010)
Individual Character Movement
-----------------------------------
Please note, that with the inclusion of "Zelda/Sheik" as a character, obviously all characters below her would have a technical drop. However, all listed movements take this new inclusion into consideration.
e.g. Ike was 29th last tier list, and is now 25th - but he has moved above 5 characters.
-----------------------------------
For the voting procedure we kept it simple this time: we had individual members order all 38 entries and averaged out the posted lists. This is how tier lists were often handled in the past, the drawback being that it requires extensive knowledge of the cast. Considering it’s been more than two years since Brawl’s release, we felt able to do it again. Based on the voting we had several ways to place the gaps after the characters were ordered and polled four of them, with the spread presented coming out victorious.
Snake, Diddy Kong and Falco (more so the first two) were extremely close in terms of achieving second spot; a lot closer than it was during v4. There is a noticeably growing train of thought towards Snake not being the second best in the game.
The New Zelda/Sheik Entry<hr size="1" style="color:; background-color:" />The BBR has decided to introduce the combination of Zelda and Sheik as a character into the tier list's fifth iteration. There are several reasons for this decision.
Definition of the Zelda/Sheik entry:
Zelda/Sheik describes using both characters to the best of their abilities. This includes transforming mid-battle and choosing either of them on the character selection. Basically, Zelda/Sheik is defined as using both sides of the character as a single entity, rather than exclusively maining one of them.
Reasoning:
Zelda and Sheik can be played separately, but also in tandem. A player can decide to use either Zelda, Sheik or the combination. Unlike with Pokémon Trainer, a player is not penalized for using one of the characters for a longer time and they are also not forced to switch after a stock loss. Using the second character can improve the first one’s performance, as there are match-ups where one character has severe problems, but the other one has an easier time. You also can use tactics with the combination you couldn't use with the characters alone, for instance switching to Zelda with fresh KO moves after racking up damage with Sheik. The only drawback is needing to find a good time to switch, which isn’t helped by the fact that the Wii’s loading times determine how long it will take.
Now, one could say "Why don't you just have Zelda/Sheik as one character and remove the single entries?" Well, there's a few reasons for that, as well. As already mentioned, you can play each of the characters. You aren't forced to play the combination, and many people actually don't. Additionally, Zelda by herself is low tier, so removing her would cut down the options for low tier events at tournaments.
Individual Character Movement Explained
-----------------------------------
Note: This section might be updated in the future.
Winners
Fox
Fox is a reasonably viable, though difficult to use, tournament character who can hold his own against several top tiers. Watching TKD's performances against other top players, many BBR members are of the opinion Fox was underrated and might still be, despite bad matchups against Sheik and Pikachu, which goes to show a few bad matchups don't completely invalidate a character. It can even be argued that most characters in the game, including top tiers, have matchups they rather wouldn't stay in against. That said, Fox' bad matchups are on the extreme side and time will tell if he can live up to his potential.
Ike
It became readily apparent during the character discussion for Ike that he would be moving up on this tier list. Most of the BBR agreed that Ike has no business with the rest of low tier, especially with the performances of San in tournament, and on a smaller scale, players like Mr. Doom & Ryo. Aggregate tournament data also bears this out, with Ike outperforming many characters more traditionally considered to be low tiers. It is our opinion that Ike, while still having large weaknesses, is a character perfectly capable of operating in the lower sections of mid tier, much like Sonic has before him. Ike is no longer to be considered just a WiFi Noob character.
Losers
Bowser
No, Bowser's drop in placement is not because of the removal of the special pro-Bowser rule. The simple fact of the matter is that Bowser is a linear character that hasn't been successful at tournaments - even less so than most low tiers. Bowser still has some good options, but being a large target with a not particularly flexible game plan does not bode well for him as players continue to develop the metagame.
Pit
Pit's placement in the previous tier list was mostly formed based on speculation of yet-unrealized potential, but that potential (if it exists...) still has yet to materialize in regions other than Japan, where the stage selection heavily favors him. As such, he is moving down to a place which more closely corresponds to his present abilities in the US, Europe and Australia.
Pokémon Trainer
It is the opinion of the BBR that while Pokémon Trainer has the tools to keep himself from dropping back to Low Tier, he rarely performs well in tournaments outside of Reflex. It seems to us that Reflex is a massive outlier in terms of results for his character, which data seems to support. Reflex has several times the number of placings of the second best Pokémon Trainer and is close to being the character's metagame on his own. Because of this, Pokemon Trainer rounds off the bottom of the mid tier characters.
Below you will find the fifth official BBR tier list. Members were asked to take the latest BBR ruleset (3.1) into account for as much as possible, but ultimately votes were very much individual products as experiences differ. The exact voting procedure and data, as well as comments on specific character movements, can be found further down this article.
Thanks go out to:
-Ankoku, for his work on the data
-Shaya, for his work on the presentation
-Crow!, The Real Inferno and .joel for their help with the writeups
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tier List Version 5
Top
S:
(±0)
A:(±0) (±0) (±0) (+2) (±0) (-2)
High
B:(+2) (±0) 
(-2) (+1) (-1) (+2)http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=279323
Middle
C:(±0) (+1) (+4) (±0) (-5) (±0) (-2)
D:(±0) (±0) (***) (+2) (+5) (-2) (±0) (-3)
Low
E:(+2) (-1) (+1) (-5)
F:(±0) (±0) (±0) (+1) (-1)
Ganon:(±0)
S:
(±0)A:
(±0) (±0) (±0) (+2) (±0) (-2)High
B:
(+2) (±0) (-2) (+1) (-1) (+2)http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=279323Middle
C:
(±0) (+1) (+4) (±0) (-5) (±0) (-2)D:
(±0) (±0) (***) (+2) (+5) (-2) (±0) (-3)Low
E:
(+2) (-1) (+1) (-5)F:
(±0) (±0) (±0) (+1) (-1)Ganon:
(±0)Condensed Version
S: Meta Knight
A: Snake, Diddy Kong, Falco, Wario, Marth, Ice Climbers
B: Olimar, Pikachu, King Dedede, Mr. Game & Watch, Lucario, Zero Suit Samus
C: Toon Link, Kirby, Fox, R.O.B., Pit, Peach, Donkey Kong
D: Luigi, Wolf, (Zelda/Sheik), Sonic, Ike, Sheik, Ness, Pokémon Trainer
E: Yoshi, Lucas, Mario, Bowser
F: Captain Falcon, Samus, Jigglypuff, Link, Zelda
G: Ganondorf
Low tier tournaments have now officially lost Ike and gained Bowser.
Previous Tier Lists
v1 (September 1, 2008)
v2 (January 1, 2009)
v3 (June 5, 2009)
v4 (February 26, 2010)
Individual Character Movement
Please note, that with the inclusion of "Zelda/Sheik" as a character, obviously all characters below her would have a technical drop. However, all listed movements take this new inclusion into consideration.
e.g. Ike was 29th last tier list, and is now 25th - but he has moved above 5 characters.
Voting Procedure & Data
1. Meta Knight ±0
2. Snake ±0
3. Diddy Kong ±0
4. Falco ±0
5. Wario +2
6. Marth ±0
7. Ice Climbers -2
8. Olimar +2
9. Pikachu ±0
10. King Dedede -2
11. Mr Game & Watch +1
12. Lucario -1
13. Zero Suit Samus +2
14. Toon Link ±0
15. Kirby +1
16. Fox +4
17. R.O.B. ±0
18. Pit -5
19. Peach ±0
20. Donkey Kong -2
21. Luigi ±0
22. Wolf ±0
23. Zelda/Sheik *new*
24. Sonic +2
25. Ike +5
:shiek:
26. Sheik -2
27. Ness ±0
28. Pokémon Trainer -3
29. Yoshi +2
30. Lucas -1
31. Mario +1
32. Bowser -5
33. Captain Falcon ±0
34. Samus ±0
35. Jigglypuff ±0
36. Link +1
37. Zelda -1
38. Ganondorf ±0
For the voting procedure we kept it simple this time: we had individual members order all 38 entries and averaged out the posted lists. This is how tier lists were often handled in the past, the drawback being that it requires extensive knowledge of the cast. Considering it’s been more than two years since Brawl’s release, we felt able to do it again. Based on the voting we had several ways to place the gaps after the characters were ordered and polled four of them, with the spread presented coming out victorious.
Snake, Diddy Kong and Falco (more so the first two) were extremely close in terms of achieving second spot; a lot closer than it was during v4. There is a noticeably growing train of thought towards Snake not being the second best in the game.
Code:
RANK CHARACTER AVERAGE STDEV MODE
1 Meta Knight 1 0 1
2 Snake 3.13 1.31 2
3 Diddy Kong 3.33 1.55 3
4 Falco 3.71 1.78 4
5 Wario 5.76 1.96 5
6 Marth 5.85 1.92 5
7 Ice Climbers 6.62 1.18 7
8 Olimar 8.71 1.45 8
9 Pikachu 8.98 2.31 9
10 King Dedede 10.36 2.27 10
11 Mr. Game & Watch 12.05 2.32 12
12 Lucario 12.29 2.18 11
13 Zero Suit Samus 12.75 2.25 11
14 Toon Link 15.00 3.16 14
15 Kirby 16.05 2.61 17
16 Fox 16.55 3.38 18
17 R.O.B. 17.00 2.60 16
18 Pit 17.91 3.53 18
19 Peach 18.05 3.15 15
20 Donkey Kong 19.13 2.72 19
21 Luigi 21.56 2.67 21
22 Wolf 22.36 3.09 22
23 Zelda/Sheik 23.35 2.59 24
24 Sonic 23.82 3.34 26
25 Ike 25.22 2.79 25
26 Sheik 25.33 2.54 28
27 Ness 25.75 2.43 26
28 Pokémon Trainer 27.40 2.10 26
29 Yoshi 29.71 2.07 29
30 Lucas 29.78 2.35 30
31 Mario 30.47 3.48 32
32 Bowser 31.69 4.04 34
33 Captain Falcon 33.45 2.02 33
34 Samus 33.78 1.65 35
35 Jigglypuff 33.98 4.66 36
36 Link 35.44 1.48 36
37 Zelda 35.49 1.92 37
38 Ganondorf 37.91 0.35 38Definition of the Zelda/Sheik entry:
Zelda/Sheik describes using both characters to the best of their abilities. This includes transforming mid-battle and choosing either of them on the character selection. Basically, Zelda/Sheik is defined as using both sides of the character as a single entity, rather than exclusively maining one of them.
Reasoning:
Zelda and Sheik can be played separately, but also in tandem. A player can decide to use either Zelda, Sheik or the combination. Unlike with Pokémon Trainer, a player is not penalized for using one of the characters for a longer time and they are also not forced to switch after a stock loss. Using the second character can improve the first one’s performance, as there are match-ups where one character has severe problems, but the other one has an easier time. You also can use tactics with the combination you couldn't use with the characters alone, for instance switching to Zelda with fresh KO moves after racking up damage with Sheik. The only drawback is needing to find a good time to switch, which isn’t helped by the fact that the Wii’s loading times determine how long it will take.
Now, one could say "Why don't you just have Zelda/Sheik as one character and remove the single entries?" Well, there's a few reasons for that, as well. As already mentioned, you can play each of the characters. You aren't forced to play the combination, and many people actually don't. Additionally, Zelda by herself is low tier, so removing her would cut down the options for low tier events at tournaments.
Individual Character Movement Explained
Note: This section might be updated in the future.
Winners
Fox
Fox is a reasonably viable, though difficult to use, tournament character who can hold his own against several top tiers. Watching TKD's performances against other top players, many BBR members are of the opinion Fox was underrated and might still be, despite bad matchups against Sheik and Pikachu, which goes to show a few bad matchups don't completely invalidate a character. It can even be argued that most characters in the game, including top tiers, have matchups they rather wouldn't stay in against. That said, Fox' bad matchups are on the extreme side and time will tell if he can live up to his potential.
Ike
It became readily apparent during the character discussion for Ike that he would be moving up on this tier list. Most of the BBR agreed that Ike has no business with the rest of low tier, especially with the performances of San in tournament, and on a smaller scale, players like Mr. Doom & Ryo. Aggregate tournament data also bears this out, with Ike outperforming many characters more traditionally considered to be low tiers. It is our opinion that Ike, while still having large weaknesses, is a character perfectly capable of operating in the lower sections of mid tier, much like Sonic has before him. Ike is no longer to be considered just a WiFi Noob character.
Losers
Bowser
No, Bowser's drop in placement is not because of the removal of the special pro-Bowser rule. The simple fact of the matter is that Bowser is a linear character that hasn't been successful at tournaments - even less so than most low tiers. Bowser still has some good options, but being a large target with a not particularly flexible game plan does not bode well for him as players continue to develop the metagame.
Pit
Pit's placement in the previous tier list was mostly formed based on speculation of yet-unrealized potential, but that potential (if it exists...) still has yet to materialize in regions other than Japan, where the stage selection heavily favors him. As such, he is moving down to a place which more closely corresponds to his present abilities in the US, Europe and Australia.
Pokémon Trainer
It is the opinion of the BBR that while Pokémon Trainer has the tools to keep himself from dropping back to Low Tier, he rarely performs well in tournaments outside of Reflex. It seems to us that Reflex is a massive outlier in terms of results for his character, which data seems to support. Reflex has several times the number of placings of the second best Pokémon Trainer and is close to being the character's metagame on his own. Because of this, Pokemon Trainer rounds off the bottom of the mid tier characters.
Discuss away!
