two... hours... later
i think i put way too much thought into these >_>
Lucario is the only cut. 48 slots + 6 transformations = 54.
I think having lines poke out makes it look nicer than a square box.
[collapse=Reasoning]
Bowser Jr: Paintbrush makes him really unique. So would several Mario minions that he'd use as his specials.
Paper Mario: Applying stickers to himself gives him a lot of moves to choose from and it makes him stick out.
King K. Rool: We've yet to see a pirate in Smash, nor have we seen someone with canonballs. We now do.
Palutena: The staff is a key part in making her unique. We've also got light rays.
Takamaru: Ninja stars, fireballs, ninja smoke.
Mach Rider: Retro character with a lot of source material. Fighting on a bike could prove to be interesting. Easily the most replaceable character on the list though.
Shulk: Sword user that attacks at range makes him much different from the FE characters. Won out over Isaac due to Japanese popularity.
Karate Joe: After seeing Wii Fit Trainer, he just looks like he fits in so well. Karate poses would help set him apart from WFT's yoga. Won out over Little Mac due to having more material to draw from.
Prince Sable: No other character in Nintendo's history can transform into animals, as far as I'm aware. For simple programming, he transforms for attacks, and then reverts back to a human for idling.
Chrom+Lucina. Once they know how to make Ice Climbers work, adding a second character who functions would be really easy. These two are set apart from the other cast due to revolving around the mechanic "Pair Up" and have the ability to switch their leader.[/quote]