Tier list

A tier list is a ranking of each character's metagame, based on 1-on-1 battles with tournament settings.

SSB tier list
This list is cited from a GameFAQs post and generally reflects the sentiments of top-level SSB players.

Current SSBM tier list
This is the eighth Smash Back Room NTSC tier list since its inception. This list is current of 7/10/2006, but is subject to change at any time.

Controversy of the Existence of Tiers
Controversy arises periodically over the existence of tiers, most notably during the tier wars at GameFAQs and Smashboards. Some smashers, called "anti-tiers," argue that every character can be played equally well. In support of this argument, they claim that the tier list creates a cycle in which players choose only higher-tiered characters, and thus only those characters develop an advanced meta-game, thereby reinforcing the tier list.

The unanimous consensus of competitive players, however, is that tiers do exist. They argue that it would be almost impossible to balance a game of unlike characters - without specific redesign, characters would have the tendency to fall into tiers, by dint of their myriad variables (differing attack power, running speed, etc.). Furthermore, the developers cannot foresee top-level strategies, and thus even their deliberate efforts could fail to balance the game at a professional level. Years of empirical results support this conclusion as well; national tournament-winners of Melee almost always use Marth, Fox, Falco and Sheik.

The list itself, of course, is subject to change at any time: the meta-game shifts largely, changing the tier list throughout the years. Anti-tiers use this point to argue that the tier list can't be true if it changes. Pro-tiers respond by pointing out that it may be true for a particular, static meta-game, and that this argument doesn't weigh against the existence of tiers themselves, but merely against a particular meta-game.

Tiers exist at all levels of play, though the rankings are highly changed from casual play to competitive play, due to different strategies and a different meta-game from the tournament level.