First MultiVersus tier lists say Taz OP, Velma trash

Since the dawn of the internet, gamers have strived to be first-to-screen with their opinions.

MultiVersus isn't technically out-out yet (though you can definitely pay $40, $60, or $100 to play it's current "open beta," which isn't labeled as Early Access in Steam), but websites and streamers are already tripping over themselves to tell you who the best characters are, three days into the game's existence. The verdict so far? Taz good, Steven Universe bad.

To get a better sense of the consensus for this still-evolving game, I read five tier lists on the web and three on YouTube, aggregating them into a single scoresheet. 

What I learned from looking at a bunch of MultiVersus tier lists: 

• The top-ranked character was Taz, who received five S-ranks
• Batman was close behind at #2, with three S-ranks and four A-ranks
• Shaggy (who is apparently better in a fight than Superman) and Harley Quinn tied for third place, earning an identical distribution of rankings
• The character with the least consensus was Bugs Bunny (two Ss, two As, two Bs, two Ds)
• Velma scored poorly, earning two C-tiers and four D-tiers
• Steven Universe was D-tier in 5 lists, scoring only one B-rank as their highest vote
• Bruisers had the highest average score (3.7; A/B-tier)
• Supports had the lowest average score (1.96; C-tier)

Almost every list praised Taz's aggressiveness and mobility. "The Taz-nado is an easy and reliable move to execute," wrote Jaren Navarrette on Sirius Gaming. "It can land multiple hits in conjunction and throw enemies out of the fighting ring."

Judging by the amount of teams at the moment that consist of two Taz players, it seems the wider community has noticed too.

"His ability to spin … often has the ability to propel enemies out of the arena due to the multiple hits it lands," wrote Luke Hinton on Gfinity Esports. "While his base attacks aren't quite as impressive, with a few charges and bites, it's his hurricane-style special ability that'll serve you very well." And per The Loadout: "He can also turn enemies into a cooked chicken with his Bottomless Pit Passive Ability, which also allows him to heal."

Iron Giant was an awkward outlier in the eyes of the panel, with YouTuber Cuppa calling him "almost unplayable in 1v1s" and others saying his capacity for damage doesn't make up for his canonically giant, easy-to-hit character model. Perhaps that suits a canonically pacifist character, though that's little consolation when you're watching him fly off-screen after eating another super punch.

Despite receiving a buff during the MultiVersus alpha, Steven Universe ranked lowest among the group of tier listers, with GGrecon.com declaring "Support characters are the worst characters in the game right now. They lack effective combos to deal damage and knock out opponents, while also having hard movesets to fully utilise." Cuppa agreed: "If you have players who are smart, and they just rush Steven, it can be over."

It's fascinating to me that a meta can be established so quickly for a competitive game that is still taking shape. A tier list of individual characters is also a slightly odd fit for Multiversus, inasmuch as the game's core focus is 2-on-2 battles. So it may be that support characters really do need a buff, or perhaps players haven't had time to fully explore their potential within the right team-ups.

Following an alpha playtest earlier in the year MultiVersus launched on Wednesday for pre-orderers and via lucky players who received access via Twitch Drops. Next week it will release as a free-to-play game, and Warner Bros. Games says that more characters could be on the way soon "in the next few weeks and seasons ahead."