Over at the Team Stickbug’s website, SKD published an analysis of the current metagame in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. He provides his own tier list in addition to explaining what pushes certain characters in front of others, and what the low tiers lack to be more relevant in highly competitive gameplay.
His tier list is as follows:
Top(S+/S/S-): Izayoi > Nine, Rachel > Carl, Arakune, Izanami
Great(A+/A): Tsubaki Jin > Valk, Azrael, Mu, Litchi
Good(A-,B): Amane, Makoto, Celica, Naoto, Relius > Ragna, Hibiki, Platinum, Hakumen, Kokonoe, Mai
OK(B-): Lambda, Nu, Terumi, Es, Tager, Hazama, Tao
Bad(C,C-): Bullet, Bang, Noel > Kagura, Susanoo
(Not ordered within “>”.)
As a disclaimer, SKD explains that tiers matter mostly at high level, competitive gameplay. Something that players view as “broken” may just appear so until someone figures out how to deal with it–this tier list came up by knowing well what the cast members’ constraints are.
What defines the more flawed (B- and below, approximately) characters? An inability to maintain pressure and pull stable rewards in neutral. That’s easy to see from characters like Kagura, Bang, and Bullet, who have not only have trouble approaching but staying in on their opponents, and they don’t have enough in their toolset to surprise the high-tier echelon. SKD puts Hibiki as a marginally tournament-viable character, who lacks a little bit in the mix-up and rush-down departments, but it’s solid enough, and he can also score some good conversions while remaining relatively safe.
SKD continues to explain why he placed certain top tier characters (slightly) above others and explains how their neutral and pressure makes them powerful. The article is still a work in progress, but definitely a worthwhile read over at the Team Stickbug website.
Sources: Team Stickbug; @SuperKawaiiDesu