• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Super Smash Bros. Melee Gets a 13th Official Tier List

tier_list.jpg


Super Smash Bros. Melee just received its first official NTSC Tier List since 2015!

Notably, this is the first official Melee Tier List that wasn’t created here on SmashBoards. Instead, the 13th Official Tier List comes from PandaGlobal! Andrew “PracticalTAS” Nestico and Nico “Ryobeat” Rodriguez created this by getting 64 top Melee players to vote, 63 of which are on the current MPGR with the lone exception being Adam “Armada” Lindgren.


The 13th Official Tier List

S Tier: :foxmelee::marthmelee::jigglypuffmelee::falcomelee:
A Tier: :sheikmelee::falconmelee::peachmelee:
B+ Tier: :icsmelee::pikachumelee::yoshimelee::samusmelee:
B- Tier: :luigimelee::drmario:
C+ Tier: :ganondorfmelee::mariomelee:
C- Tier: :dkmelee::younglinkmelee::linkmelee::gawmelee:
D Tier: :mewtwomelee::roymelee::pichumelee::nessmelee::zeldamelee:
F Tier: :kirbymelee::bowsermelee:

13TH_MELEE_TIERLIST.png

:foxmelee: 0 :marthmelee: +1 :jigglypuffmelee: +2 :falcomelee: -2 :sheikmelee: -1 :falconmelee: +2 :peachmelee: -1 :icsmelee: -1 :pikachumelee: 0 :yoshimelee: +2 :samusmelee: -1 :luigimelee: +1 :drmario: -2 :ganondorfmelee: 0 :mariomelee: 0 :dkmelee: +1 :younglinkmelee: -1 :linkmelee: 0 :gawmelee: 0 :mewtwomelee: +1 :roymelee: -1 :pichumelee: +2 :nessmelee: 0 :zeldamelee: -2 :kirbymelee: +1 :bowsermelee: -1

:foxmelee: 1.68 :marthmelee: 2.36 :jigglypuffmelee: 3.18 :falcomelee: 3.56 :sheikmelee: 4.66 :falconmelee: 5.82 :peachmelee: 6.84 :icsmelee: 8.74 :pikachumelee: 9.62 :yoshimelee: 9.69 :samusmelee: 10.11 :luigimelee: 12.23 :drmario: 12.61 :ganondorfmelee: 14.83 :mariomelee: 15.53 :dkmelee: 16.42 :younglinkmelee: 17.31 :linkmelee: 17.66 :gawmelee: 17.95 :mewtwomelee: 20.22 :roymelee: 21.63 :pichumelee: 22.07 :nessmelee: 22.78 :zeldamelee: 23.49 :kirbymelee: 24.26 :bowsermelee: 25.74


If you want to see more about this tier list, check out PGstats' full article here. Also, make sure to keep an eye out for PGstats' community tier list, which will be released on March 31st, 2021!

Author’s Note: Personally, I think it was definitely time for Melee's tier list to be updated, and I'm pretty happy with the results! But what do you think? Please let us know in the comments below!

Credits:
Editing: @Scribe
Thumbnail: Zerp Zerp

Source: PGstats
 
Mitchell "Zerp" Brenkus

Comments

Definitely more accurate to the current meta.
I honestly agree with almost everything on this list, including where they divided the + and - tiers. The only thing I would change is Ness > Pichu, but that is very minor all things considering (especially since both of them are still very bad :p).

This list has some important milestones.
  1. The transition from 12th to 13th tier list is by far the longest time between Melee tier lists, the gap being by about 63 months (5 years + 3 months). The second longest transition being from the 10th to 11th tier lists, being about 31 months (2 years + 7 months).
  2. Bowser is now the new worst character in Melee, although Kirby is also in purgatory with him.
  3. Pichu is now ranked higher than four different characters. Considering he is the joke character, the character intentionally designed to be bad, I find this to be quite hilarious.
  4. Falco falling to #4 is fairly notable. He hasn't been ranked at #4 since October 2009, the 9th official tier list, where it was Fox > Marth > Sheik > Falco on that list. This time it is Fox > Marth > Puff > Falco.
  5. For the first time in her competitive career, Melee Sheik is no longer at the top 4, now being overtaken by Jigglypuff.

Either way, it would interesting to see if a few older Smash games got updates to their official tier lists as well.
I think 64 may need a slight update and I am still super salty that SSB4 didn't get a new tier list at 2018.
It will take a very long time before we even think out making one for Ultimate.


Something to note, which I just learned by reading the article, is that the ballot done when making the list was done before Wobbling was banned, so the ICs tier spot is technically inaccurate for the current meta.

When looking at it again, the ICs does seem a bit too high.

Edit: K, thanks for the edit mods. Looks cleaner this way.
 
Last edited:
Hah the meele Tierlist makes me sad by just looking at it,
Atleast in ultimate/ Fighterz (i dont play many other fighting games) even low tiers can be used but in Meele if you want to win you cant play Kirby or Link!
 
D
Honestly, HBox is just too good of a player with Puff.

Mang0 is typing...
 
  • Like
Reactions: xzx
Which tournaments has Pichu been represented at all let alone placed well enough to deserve the bump up?
Oh, that's right, this is just based on votes. And not actual tournament statistics.
I don't think this isn't very accurate reflection of the current meta, but at least some of the characters get recognized for their viability.
 
I remember playing competitive Melee in college back in 2008ish and Yoshi was considered Bottom tier. I was never good enough that I would have won any locals even if I played the typical Fox / Falco / Marth, etc, but I never thought Yoshi felt that bad, and I did alright with him. aMSa was always a joy to watch and I'm glad the green dinosaur is now considered useable and not "Negligible" or whatever the tier list around then pinned him as, hah.
 
Important question though: Were the previous tier lists compiled votes to rank players or were they composed from actual tournament data and results?
They were compiled based on actual results, but I'm pretty sure that most of them were by Admins and people of certain roles here on Smashboards. To my understanding they were always results based, but you have to consider that to a certain degree that would extend to player consideration too. For example, Axe's Pikachu and aMSa's Yoshi surely are big reasons why they're so high, and HBox's Puff too. But they're result based, not just rando votes.
 
which is why you shouldnt call them official
I guess since Nintendo doesn't (not saying never has, but definitely hasn't in a while), officially hosted an in-person Melee tournament, it's about as official as official Melee tournaments. I'll agree that if you're going with "official" based on what Nintendo acknowledges, sure, it's not official, but for the Smash community that still plays and supports Melee, I'd say it's official to them. Nintendo officially stopped supporting Melee probably around the time Brawl came out, and that's been 15 years now.

So sure, it's not official, but to the people that still play Melee, it probably means something as close as you can get to the word "respected" / swap any synonym in there. shrug
 
Ultimate should get a tier list. Yes, the meta is always shifting (with balance changes and new characters and whatnot), but I think at this point in time we already have a good "base of understanding" to know where most of the characters are roaming in the tiers.
 
Ultimate should get a tier list. Yes, the meta is always shifting (with balance changes and new characters and whatnot), but I think at this point in time we already have a good "base of understanding" to know where most of the characters are roaming in the tiers.

The problem is we get tier lists every month from some of the more prominent members of the competitive scene yet there is still a lot of room for discussion since there's often quite a bit of questionable placements. The truth is...we genuinely do not know anything definitively. The game is still young, still has content due and patches due. Having a tier list now that might be invalidated by the next patch isn't helpful to anyone. Not to mention the tier lists constantly 'invalidate' themselves based on player making them.

It'll be years after the patches stop that anyone feels confident in a more 'concrete' list when the meta has had a chance to adjust...and even then we'll see 'secret top tiers' come out of no where or strong counter picks. As the meta shifts so will the list for a long while.
 
Did Yoshi get that high just on Amsa? It's funny how much one person can impact a tier list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xzx
Did Yoshi get that high just on Amsa? It's funny how much one person can impact a tier list.
Amsa was probably part of it though I believe the Melee scene has thought Yoshi IS a strong character but he requires so much work to bring him in line with the rest. He has some incredible strengths but also some very glaring weaknesses as well. Amsa just proves what the character is capable of. Most people just don't gravitate towards Yoshi. The character hasn't had a very dedicated player base until recent games from what I can gather.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Dan
Amsa pretty much kick-started the Yoshi meta.

Before he came around to place highly in USA tournaments, the character was virtually nonexistent and everyone believed him to be a low tier character.
Thanks to Amsa, he proved that Yoshi is a very potent character in the game. Following his performances, the character's reps, although scarce, also exploded.

In recent years since the 12th tier list, where Yoshi was placed at 13th, Amsa rose even more in prominence in the competitive scene, becoming a top 15 player, eventually rising to be a top 10 player. Yoshi's rise to 10th in the 13th tier list is a reflectance of this.

They were compiled based on actual results, but I'm pretty sure that most of them were by Admins and people of certain roles here on Smashboards. To my understanding they were always results based, but you have to consider that to a certain degree that would extend to player consideration too. For example, Axe's Pikachu and aMSa's Yoshi surely are big reasons why they're so high, and HBox's Puff too. But they're result based, not just rando votes.
Past tier lists made by SmashBoards were indeed made by admins. The Smash Back room for all the smash games has been inactive since the 4th official SSB4 tier list, emphasis on why we didn't get a final one before Ultimate came out.
While results do play a prominent role in their tier placements, the other fundamental things to consider when making a tier list, such as potential and matchups as well.
One example of this is Ryu and Pikachu being ranked 4th and 5th, respectively, on the first official SSB4 tier list, despite not having the reps or results to back those placements. This would be reflected in both characters dropping down in future tier lists.
 
Ultimate should get a tier list. Yes, the meta is always shifting (with balance changes and new characters and whatnot), but I think at this point in time we already have a good "base of understanding" to know where most of the characters are roaming in the tiers.
We likely won't be seeing any tier rankings for Ultimate until all the DLC fighters have been released, and updates for the game have concluded. But even then, we are talking about an 80+ fighter roster, versus Melee's 26.
 
Hah the meele Tierlist makes me sad by just looking at it,
Atleast in ultimate/ Fighterz (i dont play many other fighting games) even low tiers can be used but in Meele if you want to win you cant play Kirby or Link!
i take it your a low level player? tier lists only apply to higher ranked players

which is why you shouldnt call them official
i dont think anyone in community would accept nintendo's tier list as official
 
which would prove they dont know what the word official means
You're actually the one here with a skewed definition of official, funny enough. For something to be considered official, it needs to come from a person or group that is deemed to be an authority on the subject, and not some random person or group off the street. It would also need to be a person or group that exudes some sort of major influence, so that their statements or opinions are recognized.

However, the context is super important. A tier list relates to the competitive scene. Nintendo has proven time and time again that they are not an authority on Competitive Smash. An official tier list shouldn't come from them to begin with, nor does it. Meanwhile, these official Melee tier lists come from reputable sources within the competitive scene, with input from the scene's highest ranking players. Ergo, it's an "official" tier list.

Nintendo owns the IP, but that has no bearing on whether or not a tier list is official because Nintendo isn't an authority on the competitive scene.
 
You're actually the one here with a skewed definition of official, funny enough. For something to be considered official, it needs to come from a person or group that is deemed to be an authority on the subject, and not some random person or group off the street. It would also need to be a person or group that exudes some sort of major influence, so that their statements or opinions are recognized.

However, the context is super important. A tier list relates to the competitive scene. Nintendo has proven time and time again that they are not an authority on Competitive Smash. An official tier list shouldn't come from them to begin with, nor does it. Meanwhile, these official Melee tier lists come from reputable sources within the competitive scene, with input from the scene's highest ranking players. Ergo, it's an "official" tier list.

Nintendo owns the IP, but that has no bearing on whether or not a tier list is official because Nintendo isn't an authority on the competitive scene.
the actual meaning for when its used as an adjective is " relating to an authority or public body and its activities and responsibilities" so youre meaning isnt right
 
Good to see the Puff getting the recognition she deserves.

Surprising to see Sheik drop from the top 4, but at least Falco's still there.
 
You're still mistaken, then. The context here is competitive Smash. Nintendo is not an authority on Competitive Smash. The literal highest ranking Melee players are, by definition, authorities on competitive Smash.
alright ill concede
 
Top Bottom