The Smash Back Room tier list has changed many times since its inception. Previous versions of the list are as follows. In later tier lists, characters are broadly ranked by their tier, and further ranked by the order in which characters are listed within the tier list. Earlier tier lists use numerical rankings, and characters with the same numerical value are listed alphabetically.
First tier list (September 1, 2008)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
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| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||||||||||||
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| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | ||||||||||||
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| Low | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | |||||||||||
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While many players wanted to have a tier list within a month or two of Brawl's release, the SBR decided to wait before making the first tier list. The idea was that making a tier list too early would result in it quickly becoming outdated, forcing the SBR to make a second one on short notice. Players' predictions of the tier list changed dramatically between the game's release and September. The most noticeable fluctuation was Snake's placing, who was first considered about mid tier, then sky rocketed to the perceived #1 spot above Meta Knight, this opinion being backed up by tournaments where Snake took almost all the top spots (in one case, the top 5 placings were all Snake). It wasn't until Mew2King began dominating with Meta Knight that players started believing that Meta Knight was a superior character, a belief that is widespread and undisputed today.
Second tier list (January 5, 2009)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #2 | ||||||||||||||
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| SS | S | A | B | C | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10-11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | |
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| 15.00 | 13.91 | 13.03 | 12.94 | 12.50 | 12.09 | 11.94 | 11.47 | 11.38 | 10.94 | 10.34 | 10.16 | 10.06 | 9.59 | |
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| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | ||||
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| 8.88 | 8.47 | 8.44 | 8.16 | 7.91 | 7.41 | 7.03 | 6.91 | 6.66 | 6.44 | 5.91 | ||||
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| 27 | 28-29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | |||||
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| 4.56 | 4.50 | 4.41 | 4.16 | 3.94 | 3.66 | 2.28 | 2.03 | 1.88 | 1.63 | |||||
By this time, no player doubted Meta Knight's placing in the old tier list. In many players' opinions, Meta Knight wasn't just better than every other character, but better by a noticeable gap. Meta Knight was considered so good that it caused a huge debate on whether Meta Knight should be allowed in tournaments. After many heated discussions, the SBR decided by vote that Meta Knight should be left alone and no one should be banned.
Snake was also elevated above other characters to a similar degree, though not to the point of being considered banned. This resulted in both of these characters having their own tiers. Diddy Kong also received a huge bump up the tier list after NinjaLink successfully beat Mew2king by abusing Diddy's bananas to a level not seen before. Olimar also got a huge bump to be tied to Lucario at 10th.
Third tier list (June 4, 2009)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #3 | ||||||||||||
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| S | A | |||||||||||
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| B | C | |||||||||||
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | ||
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| D | E | F | ||||||||||
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 |
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The first tier list to not have Captain Falcon last on the list. Instead, Ganondorf is last because of his very slow attacks, terrible recovery, and lack of mobility.
In this list, Wario and Sonic made a large jump. Wario's change is due to the newly found usefulness of his great air mobility, coupled with great recovery and heavy weight, making him a very defensive character that is hard to KO. While most of the community perceived Sonic as a bad character, dedicated mains continued to defy the tier list of Jan 1, 2009 by placing high in tourneys. In this tier list, their efforts were finally recognized. Donkey Kong fell four, R.O.B. fell three, Lucario fell three-four, while Ice Climbers rose four.
Fourth tier list (February 26, 2010)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #4 | ||||||||||||||
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| C | D | E | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26-27 | |
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| F | G | |||||||||||||
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | |||||
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This tier list once again placed Meta Knight at his own separate tier. Another noticeable difference was Ness' rise. In previous tier lists, Ness was ranked low, but is now placed in the lower part of the middle tier, tied with Bowser for 26/27th place. Diddy Kong and Ice Climbers also had a notable rise, now being #3 and #5 respectively on the tier list. Pit also rose four places from the last list. Zelda fell quite a bit, going down nine places from the previous list.
Fitfh tier list (September 24, 2010)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #5 | ||||||||||||||
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| C | D | |||||||||||||
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
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| 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | |||||
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While Meta Knight had previously set a record for having his own tier at the top, Ganondorf sets a more dubious one by having his own tier at the bottom. This is also the first tier list to have a spot for Zelda and Sheik used as a pair. Other notable things about the new tier list are Fox's and Ike's high rise on the tier list (Ike's streak of falling down on each tier list was ended and he returned to his position on the original tier list), Bowser's significant drop and introduction into the low tiers, Zero Suit Samus' introduction into the high tiers, and this was the first Brawl tier list to have a character repeat in the #3 spot with Diddy Kong (in previous tier lists, the character in the #3 spot was different for each tier list). This is also the first tier list where R.O.B. has not fallen.
Sixth tier list (July 4th, 2011)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #6 | ||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |
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| D | E | F | ||||||||||||
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
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| G | H | |||||||||||||
| 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | ||||||
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For the first time in Brawl's history, Snake is no longer in the number 2 position; Diddy's rise from 11th in the first tier list continues to as far as most people expect it to go. The biggest position change from the last list is Wolf, who jumped up six places, returning to his original position from the first tier list.
Other notable notes are that Toon Link is now considered high tier for the first time, and Yoshi is no longer considered a low tier character. Luigi and Kirby both dropped four places, and this is the lowest both these characters have been so far. Ganondorf no longer has his own tier at the bottom. Ike, for the first time, is the highest he has ever been, being 23rd.
Seventh tier list (April 28, 2012)
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List #8 | |||||||||||
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| SS | S | A+ | A- | ||||||||
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| 1.000 | 2.344 | 3.375 | 3.750 | 5.813 | 5.844 | 6.375 | |||||
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| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
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| 8.000 | 8.656 | 9.844 | 11.656 | 12.531 | 13.094 | 14.438 | 15.219 | 15.844 | 16.563 | 18.031 | 18.500 |
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| 20.750 | 21.281 | 21.844 | 22.625 | - | 24.063 | 24.406 | 25.938 | ||||
| E | F | ||||||||||
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | |
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| 27.688 | 27.781 | 28.094 | 30.344 | 31.406 | 31.938 | 33.219 | 34.000 | 34.813 | 35.375 | 36.844 | |
The BBR grouped tiers together for this list: Top (S, A, B), High (C), Borderline (D), Mid (E, F), and Low (G, H). Use of the borderline group in mid-tier tournaments is up to the TO.
In this tier list, Olimar and the Ice Climbers made significant advances into the higher tiers, with Olimar taking the number 2 position from Diddy Kong and Falco now finally loses his 4th position to the Ice Climbers. Snake fell to fifth, the lowest position he has ever held. Pit and Zelda/Sheik each rose three positions, while Wario fell three, Donkey Kong fell five and Luigi fell four to the bottom of F tier.