Hey folks! here it is: the long awaited, kid tested, mother-approved, completely yet sort of arbitrarily scientific, obligatory…

[1.1.5] Tier List

Ah! The 1.1.5 patch brought many controversial opinions to the table, some ecstatic, some furious, and some outright dumb (pls nerf Ganon’s Warlock Punch pls too OP). All opinions aside, I think it is clear the 1.1.5 patch was a change for the better in terms of the longevity and value of Smash 4 as a competitive game, where now more characters may have an opportunity at being labelled as “viable”.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Let’s get to the tier list. I’ll break down each character that I have gathered a good amount of information on. Some of the underplayed characters are more sporadically ranked, as I believe we may not have discovered their full potential at this stage in the game’s life. Deal with it for now.

Things I took into account:

Tournament placings
Kill options/setups
Frame Data
Neutral
Opinions of top-level players
Current state of meta

Also note, that the throw %’s throughout this post were calculated without rage, on Mario, on Final Destination.

TOP TIER:

Bayonetta. A big source of drama in the smash community as of late. From Spain on the verge of banning her from tournaments, to ZeRo’s video outlining the controversy, to other top level players such as Ally voicing their opinions on Twitter – many have considered her overpowered. The common reasoning is that her ability to link combos to death is “too easy” without proper DI and SDI. I have not gotten the chance to play a good enough Bayonetta to have enough of a say in whether she is too powerful, but from what I have observed watching players such as Pink Fresh and Salem, she is definitely a force to be reckoned with. She has a variety of combos, usually starting with a Dtilt, Up-B, or a Side-B/Downward Side-B that can lead into kill setups at many different percentages, but once the opponent reaches very late percents (130%+) she relies mostly on Dtilt to Upair, or Fthrow (kills at about 200% from the middle of the stage, and 120% from the edge). Don’t even get me started on Witch Time.

Recently discovered by Kurogane Hammer:

Today I learnt: Bayonetta’s Up and Side Special calculate knockback as if everyone’s weight were 100 units.

— Kurogane Hammer (@KuroganeHammer) April 12, 2016

This means that Bayonetta’s Up-B and Side-B combo heavy characters equally to light characters, meaning the knockback will be the same for Jigglypuff as it will be for Bowser. This means the logical thought that lighter characters can escape her combos easier is only relatively true, remaining partially true because of their generally smaller hitboxes (*cough* sorry, Mewtwo.).

I think at this point in the game, while she is still relatively new she holds this top position with grandeur. Until players figure out how to efficiently avoid her setups, she will remain supreme.

TL;DR:

Lackluster neutral
Zero-to-death combos without proper DI
Long combos with proper DI
Decent kill options
Witch Time

Notable players: Pink Fresh, Salem, Saj

Rosalina. We’ve seen Dabuz absolutely wreck with this character. Rosalina thrives off of stage control. Her large, disjointed hitboxes are difficult to challenge. Setups are the key to playing Rosalina, by spacing Luma properly with Neutral-B or Jab. Her Jab and Jab infinite with Luma are very difficult to contest, and can block off parts of the stage during stage get-up reads. Her Down-B absorbs all projectiles, making her a little more difficult to stall against, while also giving her a big edge over Ness and Lucas, who rely on PK Thunder to recover. Attacks are more powerful with Luma, and can she net some early kills using Uair. Bthrow kills around 140% from the back of the stage, while Fthrow kills around 150% from the front. Luma makes it very difficult to grab her. Luma can also smash attack off of the ledge. Her Up-B has no hitbox on it, so it can be gimped. Avoiding Luma and keeping pressure on Rosalina to avoid Luma setups are key to winning this fight. Most Rosalinas will run away while they wait for Luma to respawn.

TL;DR:

Great when Luma is alive
Luma’s kill power and setups
Dat Uair tho (with Luma)
Luma Luma Luma, yay.

Notable players: Dabuz

BORDERLINE:

Diddy. A contender for the best neutral in the game, with banana setups into combos and kill confirms, along with the threat of the bananas in general can trigger some mistakes. Diddy’s small size makes him a difficult target, especially when he is ducking. His Side-B command grabs OR attacks, making an easy mix up. Fair has good range and is decently powerful for edgeguarding. Dtilt can also combo into a variety of kill moves, making it a great kill confirm. Uair isn’t what it used to be in Diddy’s glory days, but it can still seal some kills if you’re competent at reading airdodges. His recovery can cover a lot of ground. Fthrow kills at 145% from the front of the stage, and Bthrow kills at 130% from the back of the stage.

TL;DR:

Bananas
Good kill confirms…
…that are usually off of bananas.

Notable players: MVD, ZeRo

Shiek. It was difficult to place Shiek. Even with the latest nerfs in 1.1.5, she still is one of the most threatening characters in the game. She has potentially the other best neutral in the game. Needle pressure, along with her Fthrow and quick Fairs/Bairs cause her to gain stage control quickly and maintain it with ease. Her Fair, if spaced properly, is virtually unpunishable on shield. Her main faults come now in her kill setups being much harder to pull off, with Dthrow no longer being a 50/50 option, and Fthrow no longer connecting as easily at higher percents, but it still can be done. Ftilt into Uair still connects well. The rest of her kill setups rely mostly on reads, which is why I placed her at #4 instead of #3.

TL;DR:

Needles
Retains stage control
Can be played extremely safely
More limited kill confirms than 1.1.4

Notable players: ZeRo, Mr. R, VoID

Cloud. Would definitely be top tier if his recovery wasn’t so poor, without a doubt. Does not benefit greatly from grabs besides gaining stage control, but the rest of his traits make up for it. He has strong disjointed moves that have great range, combined with quick ground speed. Cloud forces the opponent to approach by charging his Limit with Down-B. Nair is safe if spaced correctly. His Dair can cancel when landing if timed correctly, making it a pretty safe and strong option. Has a ton of great kill options, in the form of his smashes, Dair, Uair, Bair, and Limit Break. All his Limit moves can kill, with his Limit Cross Slash (Side-B) being the quickest and most fearsome.

TL;DR:

Forces Approaches with Limit charging
Limit Break
Hard-to-challenge hitboxes
Good ground speed
Recovery without Limit is limited

Notable players: Tweek, Mew2King

Zero Suit Samus. Although recently nerfed in 1.1.5, ZSS still possesses the tools and setups to be in the Top 6. Her Jab is insanely quick, being among the fastest in the game. Her Nair as well as her Dsmash are safe on shield, if spaced properly. Zair is also great when spaced. Her Neutral-B, along with her Dsmash allow a plethora of kill confirms, along with a grab to combo setups. Her grab is very punishable, even more so with the latest patch, so only grab when you know it’s safe. She has fantastic recovery, with the help of her Side-B, Down-B, and Up-B. Bair and Uair are great kill tools.

TL;DR:

Good followups off of grabs
Punishable grab
Does well on low ceiling stages

Notable players: Nairo, Marss

VERY HIGH:

Sonic. So quick, and to over come him requires a patient player that is good at reading the various options Sonic has out of Side-B, while also pressuring him at close range. His Up-B can gimp opponents. Sonic is a character that exceeds at closing gaps, but suffers when it comes to the up-close boxing. Has a good killing Backthrow as well (135%), and excels at timing out (plz don’t be that guy tho). If the Sonic can read your techs, he will be able to keep up no matter what option you choose!

TL;DR:

You’re too slow!
^

Notable players: SeagullJoe, Scatt

Mario. The combo man himself. From early percent, (10-12), usually starts with a Dthrow into Utilt (a few) > Uair string. He has a lot of mixup options that still connect, so just be wary and DI accordingly (usually away). Nair is a great tool for escaping combos. Usmash is so quick and is good enough to have started rumors about it having super armor (it does NOT, but it has intangibility frames!). Perfect pivoting Usmash causes the fastest part of the hitbox to connect first, making it an insane punish tool. Cape (Side-B) is a reflector, and can be used to gimp some character’s recoveries. F.L.U.D.D. (Down-B) is a good gimping tool for characters who have poor recoveries that are spaced incorrectly or don’t auto-snap. Personally, I have experienced this most harms characters like Cloud.

TL;DR:

Utilt and/or Uair
Usmash
F.L.U.D.D.
Mixups

Notable players: Ally, Anti

Fox. Ace-wing pilot Fox Mcloud’s speed and versatility make him a threat to almost every character, possessing a super fast Jab.that is great for mixups into a grab, or even an Usmash at higher percentages. Has a self-comboing Utilt, which can lead into many reads. Kills usually rely on Usmash/Uair, based off of read rolls, airdodges, or tech-chases. Nair can escape combos. Dair has less landing lag when hitting an opponent, usually enough less that a followup is possible. Bair is quick, and can be a kill move at higher percentages. Fthrow kills at 145% from the front of the stage. His recovery is somewhat linear, but the option of using either Side-B or Up-B is helpful for mixing up (and they cover quite the distance, especially together).

TL;DR:

Usmash / Uair off of reads
Speedy
Somewhat linear, but long recovery
He’s Foxy

Notable players: Larry Lurr

Meta Knight. It was initially thought that Meta Knight suffered severely from the 1.1.5 patch, since it made his Uair to Up-B combo harder to string together. However, it can still be done, and the new programmed trajectory opens up a new realm of combos. His Fair received reduced landing lag, making it a little safer tool in neutral. His Nair is good for escaping combos, as well as edge guarding. His Dtilt trips opponents occasionally, opening up an easy punish. His Fsmash is a great tool on shield in neutral, as the opponent is forced to respect it. All of his Specials can be used to recover, making him extremely hard to gimp. His edge guarding game is one of the best in the game. His Uthrow can kill at about 170%, and kills earlier when underneath a platform.

TL;DR:

Edguarding game on point
Hard to edgeguard him
Great recovery mixups

Notable players: Tyrant, Leo

Pikachu. Great combo potential, but suffers in damage output. His Utilt is great to start combos, and his aerials are great afterwards. Has a few kill setups, in the form of Uthrow to Full Hop Lightning, or relying on a read or punish that allows a Usmash. Quick attack is a great approach option, combo starter/extender, as well as recovery. He has a solid set of aerials: Fairs are good when spacing/gimping, Nairs are good for escaping combos or to simply throw out a hitbox before you land. Bairs trap opponents and rack up damage, and Dairs are great when paired with a Short Hop for tech chases, or simply as a mixup/read.

TL;DR:

Good combos, weak damage output
Decent kill options
Quick-attack (Up-B)
Tiny little rodent

Notable players: ESAM

Ryu. His kill confirmed Up-B out of Utilt is scary to avoid. His damage output per hit is also a big threat, it only takes him a couple hits to get you into kill range. Due to the various moves that have alternate and precise inputs, he is extremely difficult to learn how to play effectively in making the right move decision. Has a lot of recovery options, as all of his special moves move him a little, from Neutral-B stalling your fall, to Side-B or Down-B for horizontal recovery, to his Up-B Shoryuken.

TL;DR:

Shoryuken kill confirm at 70ish percent
Killer damage output
Can mixup recovery, but…
Exploitable recovery

Notable players: Mr. R, False, Ryo

HIGH:

Villager. A character that relies on mixing up and projectiles. Characters without a reflector must be very patient against a Villager in order to not get walled out by his Fair and Bairs. His Nair is great for escaping combos, and has very little landing lag. His 3-Turnip Uair and Dair can be good options to kill off of the top or to spike, respectively. Unfortunately it is based off of RNG how many turnips he pulls. His Neutral-B, or Pocket, can take any projectile and His Up-B covers a lot of ground but does not have a hitbox to protect him from, making him gimpable. It is best to either spotdodge or jump over his Side-B, as then it takes longer for him to be able to use another one. His Bthrow kills at around 110 from the back of the stage.

TL;DR:

Projectiles
Up-B has no protection

Notable players: Ranai

Yoshi. Possesses a really dang good set of frame data, his Usmash has a lot of range and is a great kill option. All of his smashes are quick. His Nair is one of his best tools, breaking out of combos and tacking on good damage. He has a decent neutral game by throwing eggs with his Up-B. It also moves him upwards slightly, but without a double-jump Yoshi’s recovery doesn’t go very far. His double-jump has super armor on it, making it also a good escape to combos. Dair can rack up a lot of damage (30+!). His Uair is another good kill option. An occasional Down-B mixup can also be a fantastic kill if your opponent slips up.

TL;DR:

Quick moves
Many quick kill options
Lacking recovery without a double-jump

Notable players: The Wall

Ness. The boy wonder. PK Fire (Side-B) into a throw if your opponent can’t SDI. Dthrow into Uair or Fair, depending on where the opponent DI’s. His Fairs link together. Nair is great for escaping combos, and for landing. Ness can Full Hop and Bair twice and cancel his landing. Bair, Uair, and a Dsmash on the ledge are great kill options. Oh yeah, and his Bthrow can kill extremely early on the edge for a throw (85%, around 120 from the middle of the stage). Down-B can absorb projectiles, giving him some percentage back. PK Thunder (Up-B) is a fantastic edge guarding tool. Ness struggles against Rosalina, Villager, Lucas, and other Ness due to his recovery being absorbable. While recovering, if Ness hits and bounces off of the stage after being propelled from a PK Thunder, there is a small window of time you can press Up-B again to use another PK Thunder.

TL;DR:

Back throw
PK Thunder control
Recovery can be gimped

Notable players: FOW, Nakat

Mewtwo. This psychic creature has received numerous buffs since his initial release, from things like his running speed, to his slight weight increase. Not only his he a little tougher, but he has always had some pretty cool tools under his belt. His Jab isn’t super fast, but the first hit can combo into a variety of moves. Shadow Ball (Neutral-B) is great for kills when fully charged, but can also be a good approach in neutral when smaller shots are fired. Dtilt and Utilt are both great combo starters. Fairs can link at lower percents, and at later percents becomes a viable kill option. His Bair has a long disjoint behind him, making it a good spacing move. Uair can combo into itself at lower percents, or with the sour spot of the hitbox, or it can kill at higher percents with the sweet spot. Nair is a great followup to many moves, and can lead into many other moves if the opponent’s DI is read. Mewtwo has two kill throws, from his Uthrow being able to kill at about 130%, and his Bthrow kills around 130 from the edge of the stage. Usmash is another great kill tool, useful for reading rolls, or can be led into from the sour spot of Utilt. His recovery is phenomenal, it goes a great distance and can be mixed up between his Confusion (Side-B), his double-jump, and Teleport (Up-B). His Confusion is also a reflector, and a Command Grab. Usually, the safest option for an opponent after being hit with a Confusion is to jump, and Mewtwo can follow accordingly. His downfalls come with his weight and size. Although he is a little heavier since patch 1.1.5, he is still one of the lighter characters in the game. His large size also makes him easier to hit.

TL;DR:

Disjointed hitboxes
Quick combo-opening tilts
Shadow Balls (Neutral-B)
Uthrow and Bthrow are grand
Great mixups and distance in recovery

Notable players: Mew^2, Abadango

COMING SOON…

Toon Link. He’s essentially Smash-4’s incarnated Bomberman. Bombs (Down-B) can lead into many different followups, making them great tools for combo starters, extenders, and kill confirms, most notably leading into his Fair. His Utilt can combo into itself. His Uair kills and is great for reading airdodges, and has a long lingering hitbox. Overall good projectile pressure. Has a slow and punishable tether grab, but it can be used for recovering. Usmash can also kill.

TL;DR: