Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tier List - 2021 Edition

 

Tier lists are a good way of learning what characters find the most success in a fighting game. If you’re having trouble learning who to play, a tier list can help you decide. While they are a good place to start, they’re not set in stone. Tier lists can change with time and updates. Who knows, if your character isn’t very high, you could be the one to change people’s opinion of them. Smash Ultimate is a huge game with a thriving competitive community and here’s a tier list based on community opinion and results.  

 

S Tier

S tier comprises the strongest characters in the game. You will see at least a few of these characters in every top 8 of a stacked tournament. These characters have won or placed well at super majors consistently. They all are solo main viable and have very few losing matchups. These characters and their strengths directly affect the tiers below because if a character is weak but has a decent matchup against one of these characters, that character will be more relevant because of that. 

 

1. Pikachu

 Pikachu Smash Ultimate render

Pikachu may be the cute mascot for the Pokemon franchise, but he’s a menace to fight. Pikachu is fast, strong, and tiny making it hard to hit him. His combos aren’t easy, but they aren’t the hardest, and once mastered, he’ll deal tons of damage every time he touches you. 

 

Pros

• Fast
• Amazing projectile
• Small hurtbox
• Great damage output

Cons

• Lite
• Difficult to pick up

 

2. Joker

Persona 5's Joker

 

The Phantom Thief Joker is the main of the best player in the world, MK Leo. Leo has won many tournaments with him and really pioneered the meta for the character. His Slim character model, insane mobility, and broken mechanics (Arsen) make him a very scary character to fight against for any player. 

Pros

• Fast
• Comeback mechanic
• Small hurt box
• Really good recovery

Cons

• Combo food

 

3. Palutena

 Palutena Smash Ultimate render

The Goddess of light decided she needed to step up and show everyone else what real power is in Smash Ultimate. Palutena is really strong. She has some of the best moves in the game combined with super-fast ground movement and aerial speed. She has a neutral air that can invalidate certain characters and because of that she acts as a sort of gatekeeper for many characters lower on the list. 

 

Pros

• Fast
• Great moves
• Easy to learn
• Very consistent in tournaments

Cons

• Not the best ground moves
• Tall and easy to hit

 

4. Shulk

Shulk Smash Ultimate render

 

The Monado wielding protagonist from the Xenoblade series is one of the most mind-bending characters in the whole roster of Smash Ultimate. His neutral B can change his stats and drastically change how you have to fight him. That combined with the fact that he has a giant sword… Shulk is a rough time for many characters. 

 

Pros

• Monado arts
• Giant sword disjoint
• Incredible kill power
• Amazing defense 

Cons

• Incredibly hard to learn
• Predictable recovery

 

5. WOLF

Wolf Smash Ultimate render 

Star Wolf is the character that has a reputation in the smash community as the “I don’t know who to play” character. Wolf is a very strong and easy-to-learn character. He’s got tools for most situations and a simple game plan. He can use his laser to space out most characters and then use his huge ariels and tilts to catch people trying to approach him. 

 

Pros

• Easy to learn
• Large, strong moves
• Great projectile

 

Cons

• Exploitable recovery
• Combo food
• Simple approach options

 

6. Peach/Daisy

Peach Smash Ultimate render

The Princess isn’t in another castle, she’s in your head. Peach is a scary character to fight against in Smash Ultimate. Peach has a specific ability where she doesn’t have to worry about the damage reduction short hop aerials have in smash ultimate. Her float allows her to use her aerials at full damage at any height. This makes getting hit by Peach very scary. One hit can lead to massive damage and your life at times.

 

Pros

• Massive damage output
• Great kill power
• Excellent recovery
• Great projectile

 

Cons

• Very hard to learn
• Floaty 

 

7. Wario

Wario Smash Ultimate render

About the only place where he shines above Mario, Wario is notorious for playing dirty, and smash is no different. His waft mechanic is scary. Once he has a full waft online, he’s the scariest character to fight in the game. On top of waft, he has a great combo game and recovery. He was nerfed recently (his easy waft combos were taken out) it just takes more effort. 

 

Pros

• Great comeback factor
• Good combo game
• Good recovery

 

Cons

• Combo food
• Lack of range

 

8. Snake

Snake Smash Ultimate render

This super soldier has come prepared with tons of gear. Snake is a super strong character with so many tricks that makes it hard to keep up. You’d think maybe he’d rely on his gadgets and be weak up close, but no. Snake can fight hand to hand just as well. Snake uses his c4 to cover space and when you get close, he’ll uptilt, dash attack or grab you.

 

Pros

• Overwhelming for the opponent
• Super strong kill moves
• Creative

 

Cons

• Exploitable recovery
• Hard to learn

 

9. Lucina

Lucina Smash Ultimate render

Marth, I mean Lucina, doesn’t have to worry about getting confused for Marth because she’s much better. Most echos won’t get a separate placement, but Lucina is significantly better than the original swordie. Her lack of a strong tipper sounds bad, but her whole sword is stronger for it. It makes her stronger than Marth and the default swordie for Ultimate. Her sword is fast and feels nearly impossible to get around. 

 

Pros

• Simple to learn
• Amazing disjoint 
• Fast

 

Cons

• Simple gameplan 
• Tall

 

10. Zero Suit Samus

Zero Suit Samus Smash Ultimate render

It’s called a power suit, but it only holds Samus back apparently. The Last huge Ultimate tournament before we lost offline was won by a ZSS main, Mars. While he’ll say “Zss suxs”, He also showed how good this character is. ZSS can hit you and can kill you at a large range of percentages. She’s super fast and very small when moving in the air making it hard to catch her landings. 

 

Pros

• Amazing kill power
• Really good mobility
• Hard to hit
• Best recovery in the game

 

Cons

• Lite
• Hard to learn

 

11. Mr. Game&Watch

  Mr. Game & Watch Smash Ultimate render

This guy might not exist in the 3rd dimension, but that doesn’t matter. Game&Watch is annoying. He will use his up B on you if you touch his shield. He will then continue to juggle you forever with his up air and nair. Game&Watch might not look like it, but he’s one of the most dangerous characters in the game.

 

Pros

• Very hard to hit.
• Amazing out of shield options
• Very good ledge trapping tools

 

Cons

• Lite 
• Not much range

 

A tier

A tier characters are strong.  Some have won big tournaments and it isn’t uncommon to see them in top 8. These characters tend to either have a lot of representation or really strong representatives that place very well.  

Sephiroth

Diddy Kong

Pacman

Pokemon Trainer

Min Min

Roy

Steve

Pyra/Mythra

Mario

Young link

Wii fit Trainer

Inkling

R.O.B

Captain Falcon

Fox

Chrom

Greninja

Olimar

Pichu

Shiek

Sonic

Ness

 

Btier

This tier contains characters that are strong but with very pronounced weaknesses. They can do well on a local level and on a national level sometimes, but the players who use them don’t usually play just them. They’ll have a stronger secondary to help with their character’s bad matchups. 

Terry

Hero

Megaman

Link

Falco

Bowser

Marth

Cloud

Duck hunt dog

Mii gunner

Ike

Mii Brawler

Lucas

Luigi

Yoshi

Dk

Toon Link

Ken

 

C tier

C tier contains characters with little to no results on a national level and not often many results on a regional level. These characters are rarely if ever seen in a super major top 16. Some of these characters have seen success but due to the advancing meta, they’ve lost relevance. Some of these characters are also very rare to see. For example, Ice climbers haven’t been explored at a top level in Ultimate yet and many think they have more potential. 

Rosalina

Robin

Byleth

Bayonetta

Corrin

Incineroar

Ridley

Simon/Richter

Piranha plant

Bowser Jr.

Villager

Samus

Mewtwo

Ryu

King Dedede

Banjo and Kazooie

Pit/Dark Pit

Mii Sword Fighter

Meta Knight 

Dr. Mario

IceClimbers

Zelda

King K Rool

Lucario

 

D tier

This tier is sad. These characters are objectively bad compared to the rest of the cast. They lack many amazing tools and most characters have a winning match-up vs them. These characters have seen no results at a national level (Aside from the time Nairo counter picked Gannon vs Light in EARLY Ultimate). Ultimate is a very balanced game compared to previous smash games, and while these characters are clearly a tier below the rest, they still have tools and their moments. Who knows, you could make them rise in the ranks!

Jiggly Puff

Kirby

Isabell

Ganondorf

Little Mac

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