The newest Mario game is out, and this time it’s taking a deep dive into the tennis world. Mario Tennis Fever has been out for almost a week now, and players are hard at work figuring out what works and what doesn’t. How do different characters square up to each other, weaknesses and strengths, counters, etc? And with that, there’s one non-negotiable that comes after: tier lists.
We’ve finally received the first round of tier lists from the community. There are some hiccups here and there since new characters are constantly added, but aside from that, the tier lists are looking solid. The most accurate Mario Tennis Fever tier list I’ve gone through until now has definitely been by a YouTuber, Damnedinfaith – Playmaker, so that’s one I’ll be going through today, plus some extra tips and tricks.
Mario Tennis Fever Tier List
| S-Tier | A-Tier | B-Tier | C-Tier | D-Tier | Unrated (New) |
| Blooper | Boo | Bowser | Birdo | Luma | Nabbit |
| Donkey Kong | Koopa Troopa | Daisy | Diddy Kong | Kamek | All Baby Characters |
| Petey Piranha | Bowser Jr. | Dry Bowser | Dry Bones | Waluigi | Wriggler |
| Rosalina | Spike | Koopa Paratroopa | Yoshi | Chain Chomp | Piranha Plant |
| Mario | Goomba | Pauline | Toadette | ||
| Wario | Luigi | Peach | |||
| Shy Guy | |||||
| Toad |
Now you’ve seen the entire tier list, and you’ll understand why it makes sense. Blooper and Donkey Kong are super strong in the meta right now, and players just haven’t found the right counters for them. They’re closely followed by Petey Piranha and Rosalina.
The A and B tiers are both solid picks, especially if you know how to play them. Characters like Bowser Jr. and Mario are great picks for beginners who don’t have a handle on the game yet and prefer balanced, well-rounded characters. As for C-tier picks, they’re extremely niche picks. You could pick them as a counter to a few characters or maybe for synergy in doubles matches, but outside of that, their usefulness is very limited.
D-tier in the list is a no-go. Even if you really like a character from there, like Waluigi, for example, I’d definitely recommend going a different route. Not only are these characters underperforming, but they also don’t excel in any area of the game. Maybe they’ll be buffed in the coming patches, but for now, the chances of winning with them are extremely low.
Finally, we have the Unrated category. I mentioned that there’s a plethora of new characters, namely the baby versions. Since there haven’t been enough testing and stat checks on them, they’ve been placed in the Unrated tier alongside Nabbit, Wriggler, and Piranha Plant.
That’s a basic rundown of the top characters in Mario Tennis Fever right now, but getting good at the game goes beyond that. To excel in Solo mode, you also need to understand which character fits your playstyle, something I’ll be going over next.
Character Attribute Breakdown
Every character in Mario Tennis Fever is allocated a certain attribute that dictates their playstyle. Be it Power for characters like Bowser, or Speed for Paulina. These attributes define what they excel at, and should definitely be taken into account when choosing a main.
Players who prioritise power shots and quick rallies wouldn’t be able to unlock Boo’s full potential as a curved-shot specialist. And the same goes for every other character on the list. Here are the 5 attributes characters are divided into:
- Power
- Speed
- Control
- Spin
- All-Round
Let’s break these down one by one.
Power
Characters who love smashes and ending rallies with those highlight shots are placed in the Power category. The aim is to catch your opponent off guard with fast shots they can’t return. Players might struggle with the setup initially since not every shot can be played as a smash. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up making more fouls than points.
Best Characters: Donkey Kong, Petey Piranha, Wario
Speed
Next up, we have speed. When talking about speed, these characters don’t focus on fast shots; their movement on the court is unmatched. Characters with the speed attribute have the most court coverage in the catalogue, and can return shots from almost anywhere on the court.
These are great against Power matchups since you’re not bound by movement. But gaining points on others becomes equally difficult since your shots are straightforward.
Best Characters: Koopa Troopa, Goomba, Yoshi
Control
If you’re someone who loves to strategise and place shots which are most likely to find a gap, Control characters are your best bet. These characters prefer accuracy and precision over power and movement speed. Control exactly where your shots go and exploit gaps in the opponent’s movement to score quickly.
Best Characters: Koopa Paratroopa, Peach, Shy Guy
Spin
Similar to Control, we have the Spin class of characters. These characters love to deceive you about where their shots are going, and are great once you get the hang of them.
Unlike Control characters whose shots you can at least predict, Spin character shots can change direction at the last second, causing you to miss. Once mastered, Spin is definitely a top-tier class to play around with.
Best Characters: Bowser Jr., Boo, Blooper
All-Round
The final piece of the puzzle is the all-rounders. These are balanced characters that have a little bit of everything. Shot power, control of shot, movement speed, and an aspect of spin to finish it off. They don’t outclass characters of a particular type, but they’re great to learn the mechanics before diving into a class.
Remember that just because they’re all-rounders doesn’t automatically make them better than other classes.
Best Characters: Mario, Rosalina, Daisy
