Brawl's tier list
Meta Knight (SSBB) Ice Climbers (SSBB) Olimar (SSBB)Diddy Kong (SSBB) Marth (SSBB)Snake (SSBB)Falco (SSBB)
Pikachu (SSBB)Zero Suit Samus (SSBB)Wario (SSBB) Lucario (SSBB)King Dedede (SSBB)Toon Link (SSBB) Wolf (SSBB)Fox (SSBB)Mr. Game & Watch (SSBB)Pit (SSBB) R.O.B. (SSBB)Peach (SSBB)
Kirby (SSBB)Donkey Kong (SSBB)Sonic (SSBB)Ike (SSBB)Zelda/Sheik (SSBB)Sheik (SSBB)Ness (SSBB)Yoshi (SSBB)
Luigi (SSBB)Pokémon Trainer (SSBB)Lucas (SSBB)
Mario (SSBB)Samus (SSBB)Bowser (SSBB)Captain Falcon (SSBB)Link (SSBB)Jigglypuff (SSBB)Zelda (SSBB)Ganondorf (SSBB)

A tier list is a ranking compiled by the Smash Back Room of SmashBoards to summarize the overall relative metagame potential of the various characters throughout the Smash Bros. series. The lists are divided into "tiers" which group similarly-viable charcters together, hence the name. Tier list rankings are based off of the status of a character's metagame, tournament placings, and matchups; all assuming high-level play and standard tournament rulesets. The current top-ranked characters are Pikachu for SSB, Fox for Melee, and Meta Knight for Brawl. Tier lists are often controversial within the Smash community: the placements themselves are hotly debated, and the list as a whole is often misunderstood. (more...)