Hi, everyone. I’m happy to present my Top 100 Melee Sets of All Time, with today’s focus on the sets ranked 90-81. Here’s a brief FAQ on this project and The Book of Melee.
What is The Book of Melee?
“The Book of Melee” is my upcoming book about the history of the competitive “Super Smash Bros. Melee” community. It follows Melee’s greatest players and leaders through their collective efforts to support the scene’s survival over nearly two decades. I began working on the book in late 2016, and am releasing it for electronic consumption on May 8, 2019. Physical copies are TBA, and currently only available for those who purchased the book for a limited offer on The Big House 8 Compendium. Purchasing a physical copy will be available at a later date.
What is The Top 100 Melee Sets of All Time?
This project is exactly what it sounds like: a recap of my top 100 favorite Melee sets leading up to my book release.
How did you determine the Top 100?
As detailed in my introduction and methodology post, I went through all of Melee history and picked my favorite sets from each year and major tournament. After creating this initial list, I chose to order and cut down what I had selected, based on both the criteria I listed in my previous post and personal taste. Before anyone asks about why “X” wasn’t on the list, chances are that it could have easily made the Top 100, but just wasn’t selected. There were a bit more than 120 sets that I initially listed.
More accurately, the final project could be interpreted as “Edwin’s Top 100 favorite Melee sets of all time.” But I’d like to think that the effort I took into pursuing this project, as well as writing a book about Melee history, would be enough for this list to be somewhat of an authoritative starting resource for any newcomer to the scene, and not just some guy’s opinion.
I’ve never heard of you! What makes you think you’re qualified to determine Melee’s best sets above anyone else?
I’ve been writing about Melee news and Melee history for almost three years. I can’t say that this list is really anything more than just my opinion based on a set of arbitrary criteria that I try to be fair with, but I hope it’s an entertaining and convincing read for anyone interested in Melee.
90. PewPewU vs. Mango at NCR 2013
PewPewU has been a longtime Melee fan favorite, from once being dubbed as “the best Marth since Ken” to shocking the world with his upset over Hungrybox at Apex 2015. But out of the many PewPewU sets considered for the list, it was this one, where he faced off against Melee’s most beloved player, that stood out as one of his most memorable. Here’s another fun fact about NCR that makes it even more legendary: this was the first significant tournament in which Scar and Toph commentated together.
89. Silent Wolf vs. Druggedfox at HTC Throwdown
This losers semifinals set was among the most unexpected matchups at a national. Silent Wolf had made it this far after beating Mew2King, while Druggedfox had sent Mango to loser’s bracket and also edged out 3-2 victories over Colbol and SFAT, notably popping off at the heavily West Coast crowd after the latter set. This set is among the most under appreciated and incredible of 2015, with two god-slaying titans butting heads in their best matchups.
88. Mango vs. SilentSpectre at SCSA WCC
It was just a decade ago when NorCal and SoCal had the most heated regional rivalry in Melee. There were so many Mango vs. SilentSpectre sets to choose from, but nothing stood out as much as their epic clash at the same tournament of Wombo Combo. Between Mango proving to his doubters that his other characters were not far behind his Jigglypuff, the crowd-pleasing style of SilentSpectre and the legendary HomeMadeWaffles/Phil commentary duo, this set is a must-watch for anyone who loves good old-fashioned, grassroots regional lore. Warning: much like every other older era Melee set, the language used within it is outdated and not acceptable by modern standards.
87. Jman vs. Darkrain at Event 52
A much forgotten set among newer Melee players, this is still one for the record books. Jman had slowly been on the rise in Tristate and was the only player in his region to take a set off Mew2King, while Darkrain was a member of the elite Captain Falcon trio (Scar and SilentSpectre were his contemporaries) and had actually defeated PC Chris at Pound 3 a year prior. Its controversial ending remains one of Melee’s most infamous.
86. Zhu vs. SilentSpectre at Mango Juice
Zhu has been on the receiving end of many classic Melee moments, be it Wombo Combo or the JV4 against Mango’s Falcon. But at Mango Juice, he would harness his hatred for Falcon and countless sets of being beaten around by Mango’s secondaries in order to seek his revenge against the man who kneed him into meme-immortality. And what happens after the set; well, without spoiling it, let’s just say this would never happen for the fans today.
85. Hax vs. Kalamazhu at The Big House 4
Months before The Big House 4, Kalamazhu had been spotted scribbling in a notebook while watching Armada play Peach. At The Big House 4, Kalamazhu’s efforts were shown to pay off, as he blitzed through players like Lucky and KirbyKaze to face off against Hax, a longtime scene demigod now sporting a deadly Fox. Surrounded by a wild Michigan and pro-Kalamazhu crowd, the two would battle to the very bitter end, with its winner making top eight by the skin of his teeth.
84. n0ne vs. Mew2King at GOML 2016
Countless dead Captain Falcon mains lay in the trail of Mew2King’s career. And at this point, n0ne was a fan favorite known for his flashy combos, but ranked outside the Top 50 of the previous year. He was among Melee’s fastest improving players, but this was surefire defeat, playing a Melee god in one of his most feared matchups. Or was it?
83. Leffen vs. Westballz at BEAST 6
There’s practically no matchup like Fox vs. Falco in Melee, and the winners set between the two epitomizes the speed, technical skill and mental fortitude you need to play that matchup at the highest level. And with both player’s penchant for shittalk, particular on each other, and their disrespectful theatrics in the second set, which included Westballz picking Samus out of complete apathy toward Leffen and the two sarcastically patting each other on the back, their matches at BEAST 6 are among the scene’s most recognizable.
82. Armada vs. Hax at Justice 4
Hax promised a future of 20XX, where Fox would rule the metagame and overpower all other characters. At Justice 4, with a wild New York crowd treating him like the second coming of Jesus, against Armada, the longtime Melee god, Hax would play the best he had ever played up to that point. Would it be enough to defeat the unstoppable wall of Armada?
81. DaShizWiz vs. Falcomist at CGC
Legend has it that after much online back-and-forth between Shiz and West Coast smashers, the latter group decided to see if the Florida Falco could live up to his boasts. Raising community funds to fly Shiz out to NorCal, the scene was rewarded with a 15–game barnburner between Shiz and Falcomist, the defender of NorCal. Although it may not be the first set you think of with Shiz against a Marth, it’s highly worth checking out if you consider yourself a true Melee fan.
bignokh.com 