Editing Byleth (SSBU)

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===Tier placement and history===
===Tier placement and history===
Initial opinions on Byleth, shortly after release, were mostly lukewarm, if not negative. Most players believed Byleth was a mid-tier or even a low-tier fighter, citing his poor frame data, slow mobility, limited landing options, and poor matchups against faster characters that can fight up close. An early success for Byleth came at {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}, where {{Sm|MkLeo}} used him to defeat {{Sm|Maister}} in grand finals; despite this, most players remained unimpressed, citing how MkLeo used {{SSBU|Joker}} until the very last game of the tournament, Maister's poor record against him, and {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s weakness against long ranged characters, in addition to matchup inexperience due to Byleth's then-recent release. A few weeks afterwards, the [[COVID-19]] pandemic hit North America, forcing a halt of tournament activity and leaving most of Byleth's early metagame development to proceed online. Although scarce in competitive play, Byleth eventually found noticeable representation from MkLeo in mid-2020, who chose to play Byleth over Joker as he was unsatisfied with how Joker played under additional input lag. Although his performance was worse online, MkLeo nevertheless remained one of the best players in the online era. Buffs to Byleth during the pandemic further improved his standing, and more players began believing Byleth to be a viable threat. However, players still dismissed Byleth as MkLeo's "online main", implying that Leo didn't take online tournaments as seriously and would eventually return to Joker following the reopening of offline tournaments.
Initial opinions on Byleth, shortly after release, were mostly lukewarm, if not negative. Most players believed Byleth was a mid-tier or even a low-tier fighter, citing his poor frame data, slow mobility, limited landing options, and poor matchups against faster characters that can fight up close. An early success for Byleth came at {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}}, where {{Sm|MkLeo}} used him to defeat {{Sm|Maister}} in grand finals; despite this, most players remained unimpressed, citing how MkLeo used {{SSBU|Joker}} until the very last game of the tournament, Maister's poor record against him, and {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s weakness against long ranged characters, in addition to matchup inexperience due to Byleth's then-recent release. A few weeks afterwards, the [[COVID-19]] pandemic hit North America, forcing a halt of tournament activity and leaving most of Byleth's early metagame development to proceed online.


MkLeo defied these expectations by continuing to use Byleth when offline play returned, often using him as his sole character throughout 2021 and 2022. With Byleth, MkLeo has achieved dominance on par with what he had with Joker before the pandemic, and he placed no less than second in every tournament he has attended until {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}} while winning the majority of them. His efforts greatly shifted the community's perception on Byleth, and many began considering Byleth as an upper-mid tier to high tier fighter.
During this period, MkLeo decided to continue using Byleth online, being unsatisfied with how Joker played under additional input lag. After adjusting to the new environment, he found success with Byleth, leading to a final placement of 5th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7]]. Buffs to Byleth during the pandemic further improved his standing; more and more players began believing Byleth to be a viable threat, however the character was still occasionally dismissed as MkLeo's "online main", implying that Leo didn't take online tournaments as seriously and would eventually return to Joker following the reopening of offline tournaments.
 
MkLeo defied these expectations by continuing to use Byleth in all events he attended since the return of offline tournaments, starting with {{Trn|SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals}}, often using him as his sole character. With Byleth, MkLeo has achieved dominance on par with what he had with Joker before the pandemic, if not arguably even greater, as he has placed no less than second in every tournament he has attended until {{Trn|Smash Ultimate Summit 4}}, winning the majority of them. His efforts have shifted the community's perception on Byleth, leading most players to believe that Byleth is an upper mid tier to high tier fighter.


While Byleth is widely agreed to have been initially underestimated, skeptical players have argued that Byleth's success was largely due to MkLeo's skill as a player, as no other Byleth players have been able to get close to his consistency: data collected by [[OrionRank]] curator {{Sm|Barnard's Loop}} also showed that MkLeo made up roughly 66% of all results obtained by Byleth up to November 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/LoopBarnard/status/1461497570925101058|title=Byleth data up to November 2021}}</ref> On the other hand, the only other Byleth player with consistently notable achievements globally was {{Sm|Rizeasu}}, a player who was also known for playing a variety of other characters outside of Byleth. As such, Byleth was ultimately ranked 32nd on the first tier list; despite ranking as a high tier, the placement was still rather low for a character that had been used to win majors.
While Byleth is widely agreed to have been initially underestimated, skeptical players have argued that Byleth's success was largely due to MkLeo's skill as a player, as no other Byleth players have been able to get close to his consistency: data collected by [[OrionRank]] curator {{Sm|Barnard's Loop}} also showed that MkLeo made up roughly 66% of all results obtained by Byleth up to November 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/LoopBarnard/status/1461497570925101058|title=Byleth data up to November 2021}}</ref> On the other hand, the only other Byleth player with consistently notable achievements globally was {{Sm|Rizeasu}}, a player who was also known for playing a variety of other characters outside of Byleth. As such, Byleth was ultimately ranked 32nd on the first tier list; despite ranking as a high tier, the placement was still rather low for a character that had been used to win majors.


Following the first tier list, Byleth's overreliance on MkLeo was shown even further, as his success and usage of Byleth began declining towards the end of 2022, particularly after his run at {{Trn|Ludwig Smash Invitational}}. Outside of MkLeo, Rizeasu continued to use Byleth in his roster while {{Sm|Reno|p=Japan}} also became a prominent player in the Japanese scene, however neither of them were able to fill the gap left by MkLeo. With dwindling representation at a national level and MkLeo himself admitting that Byleth doesn't fit well with the current metagame, Byleth fell 10 spots to 42nd on the second and current tier list ranking near the top of B- tier, one of the biggest drops of any character from the first to second tier list.
Following the first tier list, Byleth's overreliance on MkLeo was shown even further, as MkLeo began shifting away from Byleth to other characters. Although Leo still pulled out the character on occasion, He notably had less success with Byleth compared to his other characters. Outside of MkLeo, Rizeasu continued to use Byleth in his roster while {{Sm|Reno|p=Japan}} also became a prominent player in the Japanese scene, however neither of them were able to fill the gap left by MkLeo. With dwindling representation at a national level and MkLeo himself admitting that Byleth doesn't fit well with the current metagame, Byleth fell 10 spots to 42nd on the second and current tier list ranking near the top of B- tier, one of the biggest drops of any character from the first to second tier list.


=={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: A Heroic Legacy==
=={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: A Heroic Legacy==

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