Introduction

Hi! I’m Barnard’s Loop. For the last time, I’m here to present OrionRank. For 2018, I did the numbers work, while freeziebeatz did the graphic work, this time with a Persona-inspired template.

The methodology is more or less what it was in prior years and will be published on Day 5 with other closing bits of material.

Anyways…

This ranking may be the most chaotic of them all. It’s a year where Japan has their own near-equivalent metagame due to the increase in value their events got after 2017, it’s a year where many long-loved titans retired or fell off due to a lack of activity, and it’s a year often defined by smaller regional events, as majors started to rapidly take a backseat as the year neared its end.

Without further ado…

#100 – Stroder

Change from 2017: +18

Clocking in at 100, the U.S.’s top ranked Greninja ends his Smash 4 career with solid regional performances, narrowly placing 100th with the help of wins on VaLoR, Charliedaking and Elegant at GameTyrant Expo 2018.

While most notable for his Greninja and a definitive win on Nairo in 2017, Stroder has shown himself to play numerous characters, one time going as far as ending a New Mexico regional with a Random ditto vs. Arizona peer Skylar.

#99 – dyr

Change from 2017: -44

As with many players, Dyr saw his attendance significantly drop in 2018. Despite this, a handful of majors and regionals were enough to nab Florida’s signature Diddy Kong player 99th.

At those regionals, he upset Salem, and notably developed positive records on both Manny (now known as Nightmare) and Zinoto.

#98 – Karna

Change from 2017: NEW

Despite struggles nationally, Karna made headway in 2018 by carving out wins on three top level Bayonetta mains. With a positive record on Mistake (now tamim), Karna has one of the most notable accomplishments of players in this column.

The first of many top level Sheik players to come, Karna also ranks as Texas’ second best player for 2018. It can be assumed that part of his skill in fighting Bayonetta likely came from match-up experience against not only Lima, but other notable Texas-bound players such as Zael, Dragonite, and Shadow_PR.

#97 – Exodia

Change from 2017: NEW

Rarely traveling to event, Exodia nonetheless stacked up respectable performances and (alongside Strike, who narrowly missed the Top 100) put a name to the Western, non-BC (Prairies) region of Canada.

Most notably, the country’s best active ZSS main has a positive record on Blacktwins, and placements like 25th at Frostbite and 2nd at the PNW’s final regional Port Priority 4Ever secured his late spot in the Top 100.

#96 – Koolaid

Change from 2017: NEW

New England’s veteran Sheik breaks into the Top 100 for the first time, most notably with a run at Collision XV that included an upset on Salem. Additional wins versus Marss and nearby Upstate New York player Dark Wizzy offset more lackluster national performances, allowing Koolaid to place 96th.

#95 – quiK

Change from 2017: -25

Despite little travel in 2018, quiK’s precise strikes on Tyroy at Midwest Mayhem 11 and a clean win at Albion 3 – Europe’s premier event of 2018 – allow quiK to slip into the Top 100.

With less large scale Europeran events and a less busy year overall to give Europe opportunities, Europe’s presence on the ranking is unfortunately limited, making quiK one of the few players on the continent to appear in the Top 100.

#94 – IcyMist

Change from 2017: +56

No stranger to Top 100s, IcyMist first appeared on OrionRank 2016 as 81st. Despite a dropoff in 2017, a very strong performance at Super Smash Con 2018 secure her a spot deeper into the 90s.

This run included wins on Blacktwins, Rags, Captain L, Wrath, and Elegant – easily enough to offset her worse runs at Frostbite & GENESIS and general lack of attendance during the year. While individual game wins aren’t used in the ranking, she notably took games off of VoiD and Larry Lurr at that same event.

#93 – Geist

Change from 2017: NEW

Like IcyMist, Geist has attended events that exist in between the barrier of the Midwest and Tristate. Geist notably turned this into a brief rivalry with Dabuz that saw a close regional set and a more decisive set in Geist’s favor at Super Smash Con 2018.

With wins on Midwest’s depth and east coast titans Fatality & Dabuz, Geist cracks the Top 100 as the first of many Bayonetta mains that will be seen on this ranking.

#92 – Midnight

Change from 2017: NEW

The third player on today’s list to exist in the line between Tristate & the Midwest, Midnight’s Rosalina lacks the height of wins the former two players manage. However, he makes up for it with quantity of nonetheless solid wins, sporting 7 unique top 100 wins, including an even record with Tyroy.

Similar to the prior two, Midnight also had a notable run at Super Smash Con, placing Top 32.

#91 – Legit

Change from 2017: +3

A familiar 90s-rank occupier from last year, Legit once again makes Top 100 in large part due to a win on a massive upset win vs. Nairo at GENESIS 5. Notably, he also has a positive record on higher ranked NorCal peer Lui$, as well as a 2-0 record on top level SoCal Fox Eon.

While his regional performances are more rough around the edges, Legit could have a higher peak if given the opportunity to travel more often. He notably outperformed multiple U.S. players at EVO Japan, despite the low placement.

#90 – Jakal

Change from 2017: NEW

Despite mixed results throughout the year, Jakal almost assured himself a top 100 spot with his run at Shine, where he defeated both MKLeo and VoiD, placing 5th at New England’s signature major event.

In addition to these quality wins, he also took a win vs. ANTi at PNW + Tristate event Port Priority 3.

#89 – Konga

Change from 2017: -29

Notable for his incredibly breakout in 2017, Konga returns for Smash 4’s final year with a diversity of wins that span across the U.S and nearby British Columbia. His most impressive run came at Super Smash Con, where he defeated regional threats Drystan & Mekos before capping things off with a 2-0 win on ESAM.

#88 – MuteAce

Change from 2017: +0

While MuteAce will certainly be more known for his fiery start to Smash Ultimate, he’s had his runs in Smash 4 since 2017. First noted for his win on Leo, MuteAce carried some of that momentum into 2018 with wins on Larry Lurr and Raito at Super Smash Con 2018.

Outside of this, MuteAce managed to take wins on Florida’s depth as well as notable upper-East Coast players like Sinji and Koolaid.

#87 – Eon

Change from 2017: -28

With across-the-board consistency, Eon remains one of SoCal’s prime Fox players, frequently taking sets off of top players. While he notably stuffed Sigma’s hopes at Hyrule Saga, he managed a successful win vs. VoiD, as well as lesser-but-solid wins comparable to Sigma, such as other top Toon Link yeti.

The often forgotten but still notable event Noods Noods Noods: Melee Edition saw him take his set over VoiD, and netted him one of the three wins he has on K9sbruce in 2018.

#86 – Rideae

Change from 2017: -3

Rideae manages to rank similarly to 2017 thanks to a strong run at CEO 2018 that concluded with a 3-2 win over Samsora. Considered the third best Pikachu, Rideae additionally stacks up a long list of Florida wins, most notably Dyr among Florida players ranking top 100.

#85 – Shu

Change from 2017: NEW

Quietly slipping into the top 100, Shu’s placing was aided heavily by his win at Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier 2, where he defeated Zackray and Abadango. The former win, while initially innocuous, later became critical due to Zackray’s solid performances.

Shu, like a later ranked Japanese player on this list, is a long-time Smash veteran, noted for top level performances in Melee during the mid-2000s, as well as presentable Brawl runs.

#84 – Vinnie

Change from 2017: -15

A well-decorated veteran, Vinnie demonstrated his peak level player once again this year. At CEO, he was a late entrant, and thus forced to essentially enter a death pool with Zaki and Rags. He manages to win the pool, and went on to defeat both Salt One and Samsora, the latter being by far his most valuable major win.

At the regional level, he defeated Dabuz & Fatality, and otherwise defeated various regional depth players. For this solid record backed by a strong performance at CEO, Vinnie once again makes the top 100.

#83 – Lea

Change from 2017: +20

After Japan’s shake-up of the game in 2017, their events across the board started to have a lot of value. This has resulted in a large quantity of Japanese representation on the list, with Lea being a notable 2017 name that barely missed Top 100.

This year, Lea takes the title of best Greninja through a series of impressive wins at Japanese events, as well as a take down of ANTi at EVO Japan.

His 4th at Umebura 34, while not as impressive in terms of win quality as Some’s streak at Frostbite 2017, still represents the highest peak placement for a Greninja at a major event.

#82 – THUNDER

Change from 2017: NEW

The first major surprise on this list, THUNDER ranks in the top 90 through regionals. Regionals are a critical factor in much of this ranking, as the game slowed to a crawl after Summer, allowing them to hold a lot of influence and sway.

At the regional level, he’s managed wins on top level players like MIstake, SDX, and Larry, and retains a rival record vs. Ontario threat Blacktwins.

#81 – Rox

Change from 2017: NEW

Another surprise addition to this list: Rox! Monterrey’s best player, Rox has won multiple super regional events in Mexico, netting him points. Most critically in comparison to some of his peers who missed Top 100, he has a win on MKLeo – something very few people can tout.

#80 – Mao

Change from 2017: NEW

One of many members of Kanto’s depth, Mao is one of the few Cloud players to ever defeat KEN. Needless to say, he had addition solid wins on people ranked well above him, including positive records on Zackray and Raito.

His negative strikes holding him back are his rougher runs at Japanese majors, best represented by one good run at Sumabato Smash 4 Final versus his much poorer 49th at Umebura Smash 4 Final.

#79 – Paseriman

Change from 2017: NEW

Representing 2015’s old guard, Paseriman returned with a vengeance in early 2018. He notably has a positive record over Top 20 players, and a positive, extended record on Raito.

He, unlike many Japanese players ranked, also attended a supermajor. At Frostbite 2018, he took a solid number of regional-level wins, losing two close games to Salem and a less close set to DarkShad to place 13th.

#78 – Charliedaking

Change from 2017: -11

Despite consistency struggles throughout the year that drag his ranking down, his ability appears to be proficiency at the Fox ditto. Given that Fox has a fair share of top level mains, it suited CDK very well, with him having wins the other Top 100 ranked North American Fox mains.

#77 – Salt One

Change from 2017: NEW

Despite a rocky start, Salt One managed to continue to prove Georgia’s depth by challenging some of his strongest peers and successfully defeating them. He has an ongoing mixed record vs. Sonido, as well as an even 2-2 record on Fatality.

As a consequence, Salt One also remained a consistent threat at Georgia monthlies, and put up a solid run at the U.S. final major in 4, DreamHack Atlanta. There, he notably defeated Locus.

#76 – Shoyo James

Change from 2017: -27

Despite medical issues in his hands that made it hard to play, Shoyo James still put up an incredible exit to the scene, likely only held back by a necessary lack of attendance. At Smash N’ Splash 4, his top performance of the year, he defeated both Captain Zack and Komorikiri.

Outside of this, he stacked up good wins at Frostbite – Sonido, MVD, and Rags – with his run only ended by Cosmos and a close game 5 set vs. Salem.

Outro – Day 1

That’s it for today! There’s a bit of dryness to this article as many of the records are scarce, so it’s difficult to go into detail for players that lack fundamentally unique features or situations, but I did my best to relay the skill & quality of the players who made the ranking. Tomorrow, you’ll see #75-#51 – a section full of surprises.