Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tier List
Only Meta Knight, Ice Climbers and Snake make S tier in the RankedBoost Super Smash Bros. Brawl tier list as of November 2026, out of 37 characters graded. 7 more characters sit one step below in A tier.
Meta Knight
Ice Climbers
Snake
Diddy Kong
Falco
Olimar
Marth
Zero Suit Samus
Wario
Pikachu
Fox
Pit
Lucario
R.O.B.
Sheik
Peach
King Dedede
Lucas
Mr. Game & Watch
Sonic
Toon Link
Wolf
Ike
Mario
Pokémon Trainer
Donkey Kong
Luigi
Yoshi
Kirby
Bowser
Captain Falcon
Jigglypuff
Samus
Zelda
Link
Ganondorf
NessWhat each tier means
- STop The strongest picks in the retail game
- AStrong Strong picks, a step below the top
- BSolid Solid picks that hold their own
- CSituational Below the middle of the roster
- DBottom The weakest picks in the retail game
Character art from Super Smash Bros. Brawl by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Board breakdown
Meta Knight is the best character in Brawl, and the only fighter graded S for his kit, his tournament results and how hard he is to play against. The Ice Climbers and Snake share S with him, yet both drop to A on how hard they are to play against, and Snake on results too.
Select a face to open that character's card on the board.
Snake is the best character you have to unlock, and the only unlockable fighter in S. The Subspace Emissary unlocks him once you clear Battleship Halberd Interior, where he joins your party. You can also play 130 VS matches, or 15 on Shadow Moses Island, then beat him in the battle that follows.
Snake and Sonic made Brawl the first Smash game with fighters from other publishers, yet they land far apart: Snake grades S and Sonic grades C. Sonic's Spring Jump launches him way up, but used on the ground it leaves the spring behind, and opponents can use it to follow him.
Pokémon Trainer grades C as a single card for the whole team: you play Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard and change between them during a match. A Pokémon you keep out too long grows tired, so plan your switches.
The Ice Climbers sit 2nd in Brawl, behind only Meta Knight, because a grab from them can lead straight into a KO. The catch: losing the partner wrecks their recovery, as Belay gives the Climber left behind very little height.
Link, Ganondorf and Ness are the worst characters in Brawl, at the foot of D, the lowest tier. Of the eight fighters in D, they are also the easiest to play against.