The following is an archived post from the Amiibo Dojo. It has been uploaded to the Exion Vault for referential purposes and retains its original publication date; some of the post’s links may not function currently or exist at all.
Clash of Champions 0, my first ever self-hosted amiibo tournament, has just concluded. We had a nice, diverse set of entrants, with many surprising amiibo ended up ranking quite high. In this post, I’m going to talk about why things went how they did, and I’ll also be including details on the next Clash of Champions. Let’s begin.
Tournament Rules & Entrants
First up, here’s the bracket. The rules were 2-stock games, best 2 out of 3, on omega stages only. No items, all bonus effects allowed. Little Mac was also entirely banned from the tournament. Here is a spreadsheet containing the characters entered, as well as the stats and bonuses of each amiibo:
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As you can see, we had a wide variety of different amiibo who entered. In addition to the usual Ganondorfs, we also had some underrepresented characters such as Luigi, Ike, Mr. Game & Watch, and Dark Pit in the mix.
Character and Bonus Trends
Something I’ve been noticing lately is that both Lucas and Roy are popular entries- not just in Clash of Champions, but since their release, they’ve popped up quite often. This tourney continued the trend of neither character getting any significant results.
As far as bonuses go, there was not much diversity at all. Of 33 different amiibo, 21 had Critical-hit capability, 19 had Explosive perfect shield, and 23 had Improved escapability. This isn’t much a surprise, considering both Amiibo Trainer and I preach the efficiency of these bonuses.
The Tournament Winner & Notable Placements
Despite all of the diverse entries, a Ganondorf won. I’m happy for Chief Grizzly, the amiibo’s trainer, but I’m honestly sick and tired of seeing Ganondorf win. It’d be easy for me to say that since my King Dedede amiibo lost to one in grand finals, but I know how strong Ganondorf is – I even won a tournament with one.
It’s that blasted command grab that allows Ganondorf to seal the deal. Even if his opponent techs the landing, it’s still free damage for the king of evil. By the way, the Ganondorf amiibo that won the tournament had a stat spread of 40/70/10 and the bonuses Improved escapability, Lifesteal, and Critical-hit capability. Pretty standard stuff, but still a relatively impressive win.
Some notable placements were a Luigi and Mr. Game & Watch. They both played extremely well, and even made it to the top 8, but were defeated by Lucario and Ike, respectively. I was sad to see them go.
Speaking of Ike, he placed 4th in the tournament, which surprised me. A lot of trainers have had trouble with him, and to see one do so well fills me with determination. Obviously, his trainer was highly skilled for their Ike to do so well.
As I type this post up, I’m feeling kind of like this. After extensively training my King Dedede amiibo against Ganondorf in particular, he still didn’t make it. He placed 2nd overall, which isn’t bad, but it would’ve been nice to see him win. I don’t think a King Dedede has won a tournament in recorded history, so that would’ve been something new.
Amiibo Tier List Shifts
As a result of this tournament, the Amiibo Tier List will get some minor changes. I know for sure that Luigi, Ike, and Mr. Game & Watch will move up. I’m probably going to move down Roy and especially Lucas, two characters who are entered often but never do well. Whether this is because their true potential hasn’t been unlocked or they’re just “bad” amiibo overall is unknown.
Going Forward
I thank everyone for participating in Clash of Champions 0. This was kind of a “test run” for my new bi-weekly tournament series. On Saturday, May 28th, I will host another tournament. Little Mac will continue to be banned, but for the next tournament, Ganondorf, Bowser, Marth, Lucina, Rosalina & Luma, and Lucario will not be allowed.
This is not a permanent rule – it’s another experiment. I think, at this point, we’re all sick and tired of seeing Ganondorfs, Lucinas, and Lucarios win tournaments, so let’s try taking them out of this metagame and seeing who comes out on top.
You may be wondering why Ness and Mario, two high-ranked amiibos, are allowed in the next tournament. In Ness’ case, his AI was badly nerfed in update 1.1.5. He can’t make decisions as good as he used to, and is not a dominating character anymore. As for Mario, he’s pretty good, but after more work with him, I don’t think he’s S-Rank material. He gets into the habit of jump and cape as well as using down smash too much.
The tournament two weeks from now will also allow two amiibo per person, but it will be single elimination. If your amiibo loses a single match, it’s over, but you’ll have two chances to rise to the top. I know I’ll be entering King Dedede, and I’m debating whether to enter Super NES or Pac-Man.
In any case, thanks for reading, and I will see you all this week with some new and super-exciting guides!
