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Tier list for Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
If you're just getting into Street Fighter V with the Champion Edition, here are the best characters
After a couple of months to get used to Season 5's initial balance changes, Street Fighter V Champion Edition has officially released, letting fans loose on the 40-strong character roster.
As we hurtle towards the start of a new Capcom Pro Tour season, it's time to put together a tier list to see how the roster characters stack up. One thing is for sure immediately, even the supposed ‘worst’ character in Street Fighter V can do some damage in the right hands and the tier spread from the very best to the weakest is nowhere near as pronounced as you may think.
With that in mind, we’re going to structure this tier list from S Rank (the strongest) to C Rank (the weakest), with A and B rank essentially making up the very strong mid-tier in SFV.
How we work our tier placement
We work out our tier placement based on four different areas:
Control of the neutral
The ‘neutral’ is how every match starts, with both characters facing off against one another, looking to control space with their attacks, push their character’s game plan upon their opponent and punish any poor choice with a crush counter or other attack that can lead into damage.
Tools needed for success
Certain tools in Street Fighter V are very effective and can give a character a leg up in certain situations. A three frame jab, invincible moves, strong V-Trigger or V-Skill, for instance, can be a big influence on tier position.
Matchups
Put simply, some characters have bad matchups. Zangief vs Dhalsim is a classic example, as Zangief has to work extremely hard to get in on the ‘Sim player, who can control the range and space of the stage with relative ease. The fewer bad matchups, the higher in the tier list the character.
Robbery
The V-Trigger comeback mechanic in Street Fighter V allows some characters to win matches against some pretty ridiculous odds. Being able to pop V-Trigger and steamroll your opponent before they have a chance to even think about what is happening is a strong tool for a few characters.
S -TIER
These characters are the best of the best. They have few, if any, bad matchups, most of the tools needed to be successful and have some strong V-Triggers/Skills that allow them to be able to cause players a lot of problems whether they’re on the offense or making a comeback. These characters are almost certain to feature in Top 8s throughout the forthcoming Capcom Pro Tour season.
G
G is the absolute daddy right now in Street Fighter V. He has a considerable amount of the tools needed to be a strong character and didn’t receive any considerable nerfs in the season 5 rebalance patch. In fact, he got buffed. Great buttons, strong special moves and two good V-Skills, but crucially he also has an extremely strong V-Trigger that allows him to perform long, damaging combos off his EX low Smash Under, which is very hard to react to, as well as his command grab. The President is going to be a fixture of high-level Street Fighter V this season, winning in dominant fashion or absolutely stealing victories left right and centre.
RASHID
Rashid is currently the best character in Street Fighter V
© Caocom
The top of the pile during Season Four, Rashid didn’t get the obvious nerfs necessary to make him anything other than an extremely strong character in the Season Five balance patch. An extremely aggressive character with great movement speed, great buttons that command respect in the neutral game and both his V-Triggers and V-Skills are excellent, giving him the freedom to choose whatever best fits the particular match up and still stay very, very strong.
CHUN LI
Chunners was a very strong character in the first season before getting substantially nerfed in season two, causing quite a lot of Chun mains to drop her. Since then, she’s gotten stronger in each balance patch until Season Five, where she’s in a really good place.
Those who stuck by her have definitely had their patience rewarded, however. She has amazing buttons that bully players in the neutral, gets a knockdown off her Heavy Hyakuretsukyaku leading to some new setup situations and has two very good V-Triggers. She requires slightly more skilled execution than G, hence her placement, but expect to see a lot of her in Season Five tournaments.
M. BISON (Dictator)
M Bison is an offensive powerhouse
© Capcom
The Final Boss himself sits towards the top of the tier list due to his relentless plus frame pressure, two great V-Skills and two great V-Triggers. Although he lacks a few defensive tools, his near overwhelming offensive capabilities more than make up for this.
IBUKI
The Mistress of Mix Ups! Ibuki combines excellent buttons with two really strong V-Skills - one dropping ninja caltrops that add to her devious left/right mix up game that is still being explored by top players - as well as her shuriken V-Trigger that further expands her arsenal of tricky setups. Once she’s got her V-Trigger she’s relentless in the ways she can deceive you - make a couple of wrong guesses and you’re going to end up stunned and likely dead.
ZEKU
A character that really came into his own in the last season with some really top players unlocking his potential and showing that, frankly, he has a couple of dominant tools.
His EX Bushin Flip is a safe left/right/command grab mixup that can lead to some considerable damage, while his two forms give him access to almost all the tools a character would need. He has some minor weaknesses (his Young Zeku form not having a reliable anti-air, for instance) but these are far outweighed by his ability to dominate the neutral space with clean, honest Street Fighter and then quickly switch to some absolute shenanigans in the blink of an eye. His setup heavy V-Skill 2 also looks really good but still requires some research from top players to fully flesh it out.
ABIGAIL
Final Fight boss Abigail is a veritable tank
© Capcom
The round doesn’t start until Abigail gets his V-Trigger. V-Trigger 1, which buffs many of his normals, is really good but V-Trigger 2, his armoured charge, can completely swing a match in his favour once he has access to it. He can combo into it for big damage, fully charge it to give it guard break properties and even set up specific situations which make the full charge version basically unblockable.
With the most health in the game and near top damage output, anyone can be a threat once Abigail pops his V-Trigger. His V-Skill 1 Parry is very useful and top players are still finding ways to utilise his potentially not as good but certainly very interesting V-Skill 2, where he summons a tyre projectile. The last thing this big guy needed was a projectile in the neutral - but he’s got one now.
A-TIER
All characters in A-Tier should be considered extremely strong and well-rounded for the most part, but simply lack the exceptional aspects that make the S-Tier characters so effective. They are characters who can still cause significant problems and will also likely feature at the highest level throughout the Capcom Pro Tour season.
KARIN
A real top tier threat in Season Four, Karin received a few nerfs to her considerable corner pressure in the Season Five patch. She still has almost every tool possible in Street Fighter V, as well as some really good V-Skills and V-Triggers, so she should still be considered a very strong character.
URIEN
A character who has always been floating around the top is now really good in Season Five thanks in part to his new V-Skill 2, which helps him out in some of his most challenging matchups. Brilliant buttons to control the game in the neutral and two good V-Triggers, but Aegis Reflector remains one of the most devious in the game, with skilled players using it to reset combos and catch a player out, leading to ridiculous damage and stun.
AKUMA
Akuma relies on his V-trigger 1
© Capcom
No matter what, Akuma will always be a strong character because his move set is just so damn effective. He has an arsenal of ways to open you up and deal mega damage and that hasn’t changed. He’s still a glass cannon, but a few nerfs to his crouching medium punch and his ability to activate his V-Trigger 1 off a whiffed red fireball being removed hurts the very top level effectiveness of that character.
KOLIN
Kolin remains a really strong character, with terrifying mixups in V-Trigger 1 and now even has a one-button command grab as part of her V-Skill 2.
CAMMY
Could Cammy be back to form in Season 5?
© Capcom
After receiving some significant nerfs in Season Four, Cammy clawed back a fair bit of her effectiveness in the latest patch. Like Akuma, she has a toolset that is going to ensure she’s always quite strong. Her V-Skill 2 appears to be quite useful too, but it’s still a bit early to truly say.
LAURA
The Capcom Cup winner, sort of! Laura has always been a character who can steamroller you, but after Season One she’s never been among the really elite levels characters. She’s a character who can make short work of anyone on the roster if momentum snowballs in her favour and it’s going to be interesting to see if her V-Skill 2 gains any real traction.
GUILE
Guile is one of the best characters in Street Fighter V
© Caocom
Still a solid, simple character who controls the neutral extremely well, with both his V-Skills and V-Triggers being useful, allowing him to tailor his approach to whatever the match up requires.
POISON
The OTHER Capcom Cup winner! Poison initially seemed like the weakest of the three Summer DLC characters but it turns out, she may clearly be the best. Extremely good range, the best anti-air options in the game and some deceptively frightening damage.
KAGE
Kage is a character that won big in the Season Five patch notes! Better combo off jab counterhit, significantly better oki off uppercut, V-Skill 2 with V-Trigger 1 is big and target combo now hits on crouching.
ED
Another character who did very well in the Season Five patch notes and in very similar ways to Kage. Ed now has significantly more combo potential off light attacks, more plus frames off of his psycho punches and a really good V-Skill 2 that helps with some of his weaker matches.
NECALLI
Necalli hasn't received many changes and has been a consistent character
© Capcom
A consistently good character who never really received much in the way of changes over the course of Street Fighter V’s lifespan, he’s always been in a pretty good, strong position. With one of the best V-Triggers in the game and now another real good V-Skill, Necalli remains a strong character with almost every possible tool at his disposal.
R. MIKA
Mika got hit by a pretty serious nerf to her anti-air, robbing her of one of her more useful tools, but she’s still an offensive powerhouse who can force many 50/50 command grab mix up situations and her EX Brimstone still does a whole grip of damage.
MENAT
A very good zoning character in a game that doesn’t treat zoners particularly well. She has the tools to keep an opponent out and some incredible, tricky stuff she can perform with her V-Trigger 1, should the player in control be good enough to pull it off! Her defensive options, however, are a bit lacking.
GILL
It is still a bit early to truly place Gill, but a character with his damage output, mixup potential and a parry is always going to be pretty damn solid.
B-TIER
The B-Tier is a gang of good characters who may have a few bad matchups or are perhaps lacking in one key area. All of these characters have considerable strengths of their own and could be extremely good in the right hands of a character specialist, but ultimately A-Tier characters do a lot of the same jobs much better and with greater success.
ZANGIEF
‘Gief got a few nice buffs in Season Five and his new V-Skill 2 does actually help out in some of his bad matchups, but he is still very much Zangief and if you can keep him away from you, he’s going to struggle getting his best stuff going. He doesn’t need a lot to really mess up your day, mind.
FALKE
An underrated character who now, with a few buffs in the Season Five patch, is able to dish out some decent damage as well as implement a really effective zoning game. She’s also a real counterpick if you’re looking for a way to deal with divekick characters.
CODY
His V-Skill 2 could elevate him up this list with a little more exploration, but Cody did pretty well in the Season Five patch and now is in a good place. More reasons to use his knife V-Trigger, but his pipe/command grab V-Trigger is still really devastating.
E. HONDA
Honda is really flying under the radar right now. In fact, if there’s any character on this list who may be getting incredibly undervalued in the tier list, it’s this sumo Street Fighter legend. His new V-Skill 2 gives him access to some really big damage and his EX butt stomp is one of the cheapest moves in the game. He could be a real threat...
F.A.N.G.
F.A.N.G is underrated, just like his hat & facial hair combo
© Capcom
Another underrated character. He has suffered with a chronic lack of defensive options in the past and no real way of dealing with pressure, but his new parry V-Skill has at least given him SOMETHING to use in situations where he’s having to be on the back foot. When a good F.A.N.G. player gets his mixups and setups going, he’s a character that is very unique and very effective.
BIRDIE
Like Mika, Birdie got hit pretty hard by a nerf to his anti-air, which was one of the best in the game in Season Four. He also got a few nerfs to his buttons in the neutral, as well as a really underwhelming and seemingly useless V-Skill 2. Maybe the biggest victim of Season Five.
SAKURA
A few small buffs have made her a much more viable character, with a recent Evo Japan win making a lot of people think that she is perhaps a bit better than she actually is. Far from the strongest Shoto, but clearly in a much better place in Season Five.
BALROG (Boxer)
Phenomenal damage output, but flawed, Balrog isn't in a great place
© Capcom
Definitely improved! His V-Skill 2 actually makes his worst matchup (Zangief) one of his best! His damage output is still phenomenal and can cover for a few of his flaws, but other than that specific instance he remains in a similar place to last Season. Long gone is the terror of Season Two T.A.P!
LUCIA
Despite initially seeming like the best, she’s probably the weakest of the Summer 2019 characters. Although she has plenty of tools at her disposal, none of them are particularly outstanding.
BLANKA
Perhaps underrated, Blanka has a lot of good tools, damage and mix up potential and yet, there are multiple characters who essentially do the same job only better.
KEN
The remaining Ken players appear to be getting some success using his new V-Skill 2 but he otherwise sits in a similar place to where he was in Season Four. A few tweaks and buffs were received, but the only reason you’d pick him over Kage or Akuma is if you really like the character.
RYU
Same situation as Ken, only Ryu got a really good buff to his V-Trigger 1 that makes it the powerful comeback tool it always was supposed to be.
SAGAT
Sagat is really good at what he does, which is to control space with his Tiger Shot projectiles and punish jump ins with Tiger Uppercut. Unfortunately, most of the best characters have loads of ways around projectiles.
ALEX
Once Alex gets in on you, he’s able to crush you in seconds if you make a couple of poor choices. Unfortunately, despite getting almost entirely buffs and a decent new V-Skill 2, they make him better at the matches he already won and no better in the matchups he loses.
C-TIER
The weakest in the current meta. These characters do have some genuine strengths, but are categorically lacking in certain areas that means they have multiple bad matchups within the roster. Although there is no truly trash tier in Street Fighter V, there are other characters in the game who simply do almost everything these characters do in a superior way.
NASH
Guile's mentor has the same flair for nonsense hairstyles
© Capcom
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once a proper top tier, Nash is now a character who simply doesn’t do anything particularly well, despite having quite a few good tools. A character who is bettered, fundamentally, by almost all of the roster. Except these next two...
VEGA
A recipient of a LOT of buffs in the Season Five patch notes, including a new move, but Vega is still a character with a lot of bad matchups. He can be bullied, he struggles to cope with pressure and lacks a lot of the tools needed to be successful. Again, the tier list is nowhere near as large a gap from top to bottom as a lot of other games, but life for a Vega main is still a struggle.
DHALSIM
A look at the Season Five patch notes would give you the impression that Dhalsim is much better now. Unfortunately, much like Alex, Dhalsim has been given tools that help him in matchups that he didn’t need help in, while a lot of his worst matchups have been given buffs or - in the case of Zangief - a V-Skill 2 that gives ‘Gief a fighting chance in a notoriously one-sided fight! Dhalsim didn’t really get any better while everyone else got at least a little improved.
