Cyntalan Maelstrom
Smash Ace
Part of arguing for tiers based on Theory Fighter is the current capability to play at that theoretical level. A comparison I like to draw from is Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. The game has been dumbed down to 4 characters over the years, and while they are considered the best, in Theory Fighter, they all lose to a specific duo - Strider/Doom. Strider super w/ Doom's anti-air assist makes for a high-chip damage trap that is impossible to escape, provided the Strider can keep up the execution flawlessly. The problem? It's really easy to mess up the execution. Strider's commands are easy to mix up, and if one gets entered instead of the other, it not only ends the trap, but puts both Strider AND Doom in full vulnerability for a potentially devastating amount of time.
Similarly, Fox, in Theory Fighter, should be undeniably the best character due to waveshining being a makeshift infinite. All it should take is one shine, then shine until they're off the stage, then repeat. Of course, the execution for such maneuvers is really easy to mess up, and one mess up is all it takes for the opponent to escape. Unlike the Strider/Doom instance, however, it doesn't necessarily put Fox in a devastatingly bad position.
So really, one does need to take the current level of execution into play, as well as the current metagame. You can't pull the results of the best players and say the characters they use are the best any more than you can pull the popular results and quantify the character placings. You can, however, look at those results, and understand WHY the results are what they are. What the current strategy is, what works, what doesn't, how well can people reliably execute said strategy, as well as input understanding. These are the factors that pull a tier list from pure Theory Fighter into an understandable list.
Similarly, Fox, in Theory Fighter, should be undeniably the best character due to waveshining being a makeshift infinite. All it should take is one shine, then shine until they're off the stage, then repeat. Of course, the execution for such maneuvers is really easy to mess up, and one mess up is all it takes for the opponent to escape. Unlike the Strider/Doom instance, however, it doesn't necessarily put Fox in a devastatingly bad position.
So really, one does need to take the current level of execution into play, as well as the current metagame. You can't pull the results of the best players and say the characters they use are the best any more than you can pull the popular results and quantify the character placings. You can, however, look at those results, and understand WHY the results are what they are. What the current strategy is, what works, what doesn't, how well can people reliably execute said strategy, as well as input understanding. These are the factors that pull a tier list from pure Theory Fighter into an understandable list.
You mean, aside from that brutal Marth counterpick, right?