Potentially banning Steve is the question facing the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competitive scene at the moment. The Minecraft character has recently seen significant advancements in his meta that have led to new players catapulting into top 2o finishes at major tournaments. Consequently, many fans and top players of the game are beginning to worry that Steve may jeopardize the future of SSBU.
Murmurings of Steve's potential have been stirring in the SSBU scene for a little while now. The Japanese player Acola's dominance at home with the Minecraft character and Yonni's newfound successes in North America have made some wary of Steve. June's Gimvitational tournament all but confirmed everyone's concerns, though. Not only did Yonni place in the top 6 but Acola dominated all of his competition to take first place, practically sweeping anyone who came into his path. The Gimvitational was a highly exclusive event for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's best players, making this achievement all the more impressive.
While it is clear that both Acola and Yonni are very talented players, many have pointed toward their newfound heights as grounds to ban Steve. The voices sharing this message include many of the top players who attended the Gimvitational tournament. Even one person who didn't attend the event, MkLeo, SSBU's undisputed number one player, questioned on Twitter whether Acola's usage of Steve was cheating. Players and tournament runners have thus been put into the hot seat, as they have to decide whether they want to ban Steve from SSBU or not before he has the chance to potentially ruin the game. Steve's building ability already breaks SSBU stages, and the new meta evolutions exacerbate these issues.
Cons: Steve Is Only Just Getting The Lime Light In SSBU
To start with the cons, banning Steve from SSBU tournaments right now could limit the potential of new top players. Many Steve mains are only just beginning to see major success with the character even though he's been out for nearly two years. Acola has been at the top of his game in Japan since the MaeTami Summer Festival in 2021, which makes sense considering the slower, more defensive pace of the Japanese meta. However, the American player Yonni is also beginning to rise the ranks in a much more aggressive meta, with him getting regular top 20 placings since March of this year. Banning Steve would halt the advancements players like these two are beginning to make in their careers as well as the advancements they are making for Steve and the competitive angle of Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Furthermore, banning Steve would hurt other top players and their unique counter picks against the Minecraft character. In Japan for instance, the Yoshi player Yoshidora has seen tremendous success as of late and has even become a top 20 player in the world. Part of what validates his success is his ability to take sets from Acola, as he is one in around seven players in Japan able to beat the Steve player. Moreover, Yoshi - who usually does not fare well against top tiers with disjoints - is only one of a few characters who has a positive match-up against Steve, meaning that banning Steve as a main fighter in SSBU could hurt the development of lesser picked characters who can counter him. The same is true for Tweek's Sephiroth, Kola's Cloud, and perhaps many other players and characters who have not had their potential against Steve developed yet.
But the worst consequence banning Steve would have for SSBU is the hard stop it would put on the game's overall evolution. For the longest time, MKLeo has been the top player in the world, and the characters and he and other SSBU masters have gravitated towards are the sword users, Wolf, Palutena, and ROB, with only a few other characters sprinkled in. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with this now, in the long run, SSBU's roster may begin to lose its variety in a sense because, at the top level, only 15 fighters are used out of 89 even though there are many other viable options. What Steve is offering SSBU at this moment is the chance to shake things up: Maybe Acola can prove to be MKLeo's biggest challenge when they eventually fight, and maybe new characters will rise the ranks because of their ability to counter Steve's strengths.
Pros: A Steve Ban Could Stop Him From Becoming SSBU's Bayonetta
When saying Steve has the potential to be healthy for the future of SSBU, one must also admit he has the potential to be detrimental, too. Steve has a lot of traits that make him a polarizing character: his blocks allow him to be very campy; his combos do very high damage and can be easy to perform; his recovery is incredible; and he has a great win factor with diamond weapons. Each of these traits also belonged to the best character in Super Smash Bros. for the low-selling Wii U, Bayonetta.
As the final DLC character of Super Smash Bros. 4, Bayonetta essentially left the game unplayable. Everything about her was so broken to the point that she essentially got to play her own game, one that only she was good at. This led to the rise of new top players, too, many of whom did not see such levels of success before Bayonetta and still have not seen such success since she was nerfed in SSBU. Steve is arguably having the same impact on the meta with SSBU, as many of the top Steves are only just beginning to reach regular top 20 status at major tournaments now that his punish game and neutral have been better developed. This could ultimately be harmful for the game, as Steve could punish top players for not picking him as the SSBU meta continues to completely transform the game.
The worst effect Steve could have on SSBU in the long run is making the game boring. Even though Steve and Super Smash Bros. 4's Bayonetta have amazing combos, they can be boring to watch. Steve can have really cool set ups like blocks placed beside the ledge for stage spikes, but when he's played optimally, all of his moves look the same and his constant mining can be exhausting to the eyes of viewers. Top players, too, could grow bored, as the future may see them face not just top Steves, but Steves in tournament pools and at locals. Eventually, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Minecraft character has combos and set-ups that will become ubiquitous, and every Steve will know how to immediately punish their opponent with an 80%-dealing combo. This would spell the end of SSBU in the same way Bayonetta brought Super Smash Bros. 4 to its demise: a large minority of players will pick up Steve and study his combo game and neutral for easy wins, and the majority of players will grow frustrated with having to deal with Steve at all levels of play.
The jury is still out for Steve at the moment, but it is likely still too early to tell whether he is ban-worthy or not. While he is certainly no Super Smash Bros. Brawl Meta Knight, his annoying style of play does have the potential to drive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's fans to the de facto soft launch of MultiVersus. Some of the concerns voiced about Steve may have been jokes, but even so, it will take some time for the meta to completely absorb the recent surge of Steve.
Sources: MkLeo/Twitter