What is the GREATEST Melee Set of All-Time? | Melee GOAT Pyramid 

Toph and Waff are legitimately the best Melee historians, I'm a Doc kid, played Melee back in the day 2002-2004 but not competitively just casually with friends, they way they reminisce and bring life to older sets and the passion they bring to the table always makes me contemplate picking up a gamecube controller again and giving it a go, I don't think there is any other eSport with such a deep and profound historical timeline and even though I really only started tuning in probably 2017-2018, the way they explore older Melee moments makes me feel like I was right there with them watching it. Keep up the great work guys, Melee will never die with guys like you keeping that passion and fire alive.

2 of my personal favorite sets are 1) chudat vs hugs at EVO 2015 for top 8 losers side where Chu made an insane 2 to 1 stock sopo comeback in game 3, forever sending Hugo into a notorious downward spiral of becoming melees punching bag. My other favorite set 2) Westballz fly amanita at Pats House 2, the one infamous for the game 5 nailbiter where wes went for the presumably guaranteed dair spike to close out the set but messed up the timing, sending fly back on stage and himself to SD. Coincidentally this set also involved some last stock sopo clutch shenanigans so many in an icees fanboy at heart LMAO. Overall these lists were an amazing treat for a long time viewer, can’t wait for more melee historían content from the goats toph and brandon 🤞🏻

Love the content. I do wish there was a small clip of each set tho to accompany what they were talking about.

Ken vs Isai at Moast is one of the biggest jumps in skill the game has ever seen. That’s kind of when it started to look like Melee had reached another form. It might look underwhelming today, but it was so important for the games progression in reaching its potential.

Axe vs Zain at summit 9. Axe with a reverse 3-0 and massive clutch.

OH my god, thank you Brandon for putting Mew2King vs. Armada in tier 2. I normally agree with toph's melee opinions but that felt way out of place in tier 5. I'm surprised that PPMD vs Leffen at Apex 2015 isn't on here, that set stands out to me as one of the greats.

I can not believe that M2k vs Dashizwhiz in revival of melee match 4 did not make it to their lists. This set was simply perfect!

Great vid. I'd add amsa m2k at kings of cali to the list. Combining both perceived skill of the players and perceived viability of the characters I dont think we've seen an upset like that before or since

Will always love that mang0 leffen gen4 set. That clutch game 4. Mango somehow not dying from the top, then the most clutch up B in melee history. Scars commentary “that’s it”. Just for mango to fire right at big leff and then still had to find a way to clutch it out. Incredible moment.

The narrative hasn't solidified around them yet but Cody Zain sets (Jmook certainly looking to enter the triangle) are just magical, and the only reason they aren't as individually memorable is because each and every one is so consistently crazy. The two most skilled players of all time, playing *the* match up of the modern era at the highest level ever seen, knowing each other better than any two evenly matched players have ever known each other, having adaptations to each other's adaptations to tech that no one else is doing, and somehow it's always close game 5? It's just not supposed to happen. Cody Zain has the ability to take over so many spots on these pyramids.

Summit 11 grands easy. Perfect combo of stakes, hype, amazing next level play, Rivalry at the highest level, and an awesome matchup.

in terms of recent sets, Cody vs Zain at Shine 2023 was insane and one of the best sets of 2023

Thank you Brave for supporting GG Melee. Downloaded it the other day and I'm very happy with it

Leffen vs Armada in Winner's Semis at Big House 4 is one set I always think back to. This was when Leffen was red hot beating all the gods for the first time and he hits the craziest ledgedash where it looks like he teleports to mid stage on Pokemon Stadium to clutch Game 5 last stock. The fact that grand finals wound up being Mang0 vs Mew2King is still crazy because after that win I thought it was Leffen's tourney for sure.

21:44 gonna have to fact check this because while it was true at the time: aMSa is 2 months older than mang0 and won Scuffed World Tour on December 18, 2022 and mang0's last major win was Mainstage 2022 which was 2 weeks prior to SCW which makes aMSa the oldest major winner ever

hearing both of you talk about this game is super entertaining

Two of the most knowledgeable people of melee history!

Summit 11 grands: Hypest rivalry since Mango Armada in grands Validated Online results Came right off the whole "Fox can't beat Marth" discourse Game 10 Mango Losers run from round 1 of Summit First Mango Summit W Many gameplay highlights in the set itself (yes, you can say spaghetti, but there were also many great moments) Twice on FD First tournament back Biggest prizepool in melee history Came down to LAST STOCK 0% (this is the craziest part to me, you can't even script this shit)

Surprised to see neither have Mango Armada Genesis 3 grands. That was one of the hypest, most storied, most anticipated moments I can recall - the epic return of the Genesis series so many years later, a 1-1 tie for Genesis wins, Mango's plot armor to make an absurd losers run to meet Armada in grands, and an incredible set to battle it out for the Genesis victory tiebreaker. Also sparked the return of Genesis as a yearly entry, and now one of the most important tournaments every year

Great video. This is honestly making me emotional right now. I started watching melee competitively around 2014 and I can remember how I felt during a lot of these sets. Thanks for the nostalgia Toph and HMW!

Really enjoyed doing this, and as someone who only got into melee around 2016, I haven't seen several of these sets and will watch them now. Thanks GG

Having watched all of these (or close too), And having tuned in to many of them live I can say without a doubt melee became such a beautiful game, and has brought so much excitement and great memories to tons of people. Love these lists. Thank you!

I don't usually watch much Melee content that doesn't feature gameplay, but these GOAT Pyramids (and Melee Jeopardy) are prime entertainment - keep it up!

those videos are pretty good to teach some history for the uninitiated, i am grateful for them!

Mang0 v Hbox in grand finals of Smash Con 2022 is the most slept on set in melee history I will die with this take

Plup vs Hbox summit 9 is a personal favorite of mine. So many nail biting moments, a bracket reset and a some heart breaking losses. It never felt like there was a moment of calm and the tension kept building.

I watched Mew2King’s Big House 9 come from behind victory over iBDW (at the time) . Barely clutched it out , using an empty hop to bait him and it worked. M2K slumped over the TV, emotionally exhausted . The crowd of 100 or so ppl went absolutely nuts . That’d be near the top of my pyramid …

The one set that I would have personally included somewhere is Amsa vs. M2K at KoC 4. That was one of the formative sets of Amsa's career, not to mention was hype as shit, and kicked off my grueling Melee journey as a Yoshi main

This was a great video - the analysis was on point as well, loved a lot of the things Waff said in regards to importance of sets. The one set I think should definitely be in here is Ken vs PC Chris, when PC upset Ken for the first time. I think this was a historic set, probably the first you saw someone who was relatively unknown come up and topple the #1 and then establish themselves as a #1 contender going forward. I think it was incredibly important for the game and will always be looked back on for it's cultural impact and showcase of how the meta shifts from key gameplay decisions from tournament to tournament.

There should be a a list of links to all these sets somewhere online, like a melee history 101 for people getting into melee nowadays

Yes, I loved the last GOAT Pyramid video! Putting Brandon and Toph's combined treasure trove of knowledge/experience to excellent use!

thank you for the great content as usual! would of been even cooler if the list of unique sets was in the description so a new player could go watch them one by one

It is a testament to Melee's great history how different these lists are and how many incredible sets couldn't fit.

I wish there was a little window showing a brief moment of each set. Would take hella work but i know a lot of people here havent seen all of them and would appreciate it

that one combo from the beast losers set rewired my entire brain

Would love a top 5 doubles sets!

thank you guys for doing this. It gives me a bunch of sets I gotta watch, and a bunch to rewatch. Shoutouts to M2K v HBox at BH9 too. No spoilers if you haven't seen it. Vish and Chillin commentary was amazing.

I love how I can remember exactly where I was for almost all of these

Love these two, so insightful and introspective on the history of each set and the game itself. Really cool vid you guys

Mang0 vs. Zain at The Big House 9 takes the top spot for me. I was literally emotional after that set because I was so overwhelmed by how sick Melee is.

One of my favorite sets was M2k vs Armada at SKTAR 3. If I remember correctly it was M2k's first tournament win over Armada, and he had insane comebacks two games in a row. It was clutch, and his popoff gave me goosebumps. It also features his fox, which we didn't get to see a lot of compared to his other characters. Very fun set, highly recommend to watch if you haven't seen it :)

Kinda shocked we dont see Mang0 v. Armada @ MLG. That was the first set where I cognitively recognized how far and away they both were over the competition, watching them powershield each other numerous times was insane.

I'm shocked that Ken has no sets on this list. Anaheim, New Garden, Moast, Game Over, there's a lot to choose from I'd pick Anaheim if only for the exhaustion both Ken and PC had after the set finished (PC's hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a week, dude was sweating up a storm)

For the rivalry, having no Hbox vs Mang0 sets is kinda crazy

One of my favorite sets ever is Hungrybox vs Amsa at Summit 6. Obviously it's a pool match so the stakes aren't exactly the highest but it was 30 minutes of what I could only describe as a war of attrition.

It was an exhibition set with no real stakes or story line, but SFOP vs Magi at the golden gauntlet was maybe the best and most entertaining melee I've ever seen played.

Fantastic lists y'all, couldn't agree more!

This was a really great video! If there were highlights for each set, this video probably would be on the GOAT pyramid for melee youtube content lol. I understand it's a lot of extra work, but i think it would have made an extra amazing video!

toph puts the "active" in active listener.

Seeing no Mang0 Leffen Genesis 4 broke my heart… I think I watch that set every month

I played smash bros casually as a kid. Recently my wife and I got a switch. We got 2 games, 1 being ultimate. We loved playing it, then we both watch the hbox documentary. We loved how cracked they played, which is why I got into melee hard. Smash summit 11 was hype that I watched it 3 times 😂

Little late to the party here, but one I'd probably put on there in the lower tiers would be Wife vs Ken at mlg Atlanta 2005. It's just entertaining melee from a past era

Good discussion

I personally think Hbox vs Armada Evo 2016 was the absolute peak of Melee. It was the biggest stage the game has ever had, and on that stage were 10 straight games of the greatest Melee I've ever seen. Hungrybox pulling off the reset after being down a stock and heavily damaged is the definition of clutch. Now that Melee is no longer at Evo and we've entered a new generation of players, tournaments, and spectators, the game and scene are still as amazing as ever, but we are still chasing that lightning in a bottle that was Evo 2016 Grand Finals

if I was gonna make one of these my list would be so full of cody zain and jmook zain sets. like, every single set those fuckers play is just some of the best melee I've ever seen. that said, my #1 is for sure summit 11 grands. that set was nuts, mang0's entire run was nuts, and the narratives leading up to the event with all of quarantine were just unreal. like, I'm not even really a mang0 fan and I still think it's summit 11 and I don't think it's terribly close. one set I'm surprised to not see anywhere on here though, is jmook cody genesis 9 grands. with jmook's breakout being at genesis the last year, it being sheik's first solo major win (and a supermajor at that), and both of their runs being really fucking good up to that point. like, idk I think that set was fire af

mang0 vs. Leffen at genesis 4 is a huge set for me. It's peak Melee.

Glad I saw this pop up in my feed. Great content--as always.

Zain vs. Mang0 Summit 11 will probably always be my number 1. The first big tournament after everyone was locked up in quarantine. Mang0 making a huge loser’s run. The final set coming down to the 2 best players from the online era. The 2 FD wins in a row by Mang0 to reset the bracket (including that disgusting last stock of game 5). The largest prize pool in Melee history. Last stock, game 10 with the most emotion I’ve ever seen from 2 players after a set. Mango getting his first ever Summit win. It was just so perfect. I was in a good mood for a full week after that set.

Axe vs silent wolf at evo was the reason I started playing melee. But mango vs hbox evo 2013was so fucking sick oooooohhhhhh he read that roll. Or zain versus leffen at smashing and splash when zane took his 1st set ever off of leffer was also sick at. I just knew he was going to be one of the best after that set.

I cant belive Axe vs Zain at Summit 9 didnt make either of your list

I am interested in this question!

Amsa vs. Mango grands at Big House 10 in terms of recent tourneys. Amazing combos on both sides and “A YYYYYYYYYOSHI” taking it all.

I think abate vs s2j and m2k vs dashizwiz both deserve mentions.

I love the video, but wish it had some gameplay from some of the sets edited in here

Awesome video, was surprised not to see mango armada evo 2013 in their. I agree with Toph, summit 11 best set of all time

I doubt any of us will have a unanimous agreement on the GOAT set, but I think we could all agree that all of these sets are important because they show the history of the game. How people grew as players over their careers and how characters were utilized and reinvented such as aMSa with Yoshi. Zain has said part of him wanting to compete was seeing old melee sets from Ken and PPMD. Plus, I enjoy looking back at old sets and seeing how although the play is "dated", the fundamentals of how some characters were played aren't grossly different or how some matchups are approached. Take Ken's Marth. In many ways even as far back as 2005 it's fundamentally comparable to someone like Zain's. But conversely it is crazy to watch old Yoshi games and then compare to aMSa's Yoshi now.

I really appreciated the pacing of this video

did toph forget the camera was rolling or something

Summit 6 Armada vs M2K has to be up there

ok I just went and watched Leffen v. Armada at Paragon 2015, and yeah that was different. P.S. shout out to VGBootCamp

Sad nobody had Chris Best vs Net1234 at Evo 2016 on their list, but good lists regardless.

Without watching, and without even thinking (lol), my instant reaction was Mango v Armada Royal Flush grand finals

AmSa Mang0 big house 10 is definitely my goat. Both their runs were looking so good and the game 5 kinda blew my mind AmSa finally winning a major also helps it i think

M2K Armada Smash Con 2018 would've been the best ever had it gone to last stock. But even still it might be my fav. Mango Zain from summit 11 was just too good tho... Hugs amsa from genesis is an underrated pick that i think people forget about.. unfortunate ending but the set itself is a joy to watch and it was cool to see hugs finally get that top 8 he deserved!

3. M2K Shiz - (Classic Era) 2. Mang0 Armada - Royal Flush 2017 (Gods Era) 1. Mang0 Zain - Smash Summit 11 (Modern Era)

Hbox vs Armada GTX grands is underrated, Mew2king vs Armada Summit 6, and Plup vs Leffen Evo 2016

The biggest problem with melee right now is that zain mango summit 11 felt like the end of melee’s biggest storyline - everything after just feels like an epilogue

Two of favorites not listed are N0ne vs Lucky at GOML 2016, and Mew2King vs Leffen at PAX 2015. Especially from Leffen dominating Mew2King like a week before 😂

Mannnn Zain vs Mango Summit 11 just gives me pain. I feel like Zain just collapsed, and I can't even go back to watch it because I feel so bad for him lmao.

Was kinda surprised Wobbles v Hbox wasn't there since that was probably some butterfly effect type shit too. I mean does Hbox become a divine being 3-4 years earlier like damn this shit really makes me think about this game's history more than I usually do.

Specifically clicked on this vid to make sure Mang0 vs Zain Summit 11 and Mang0 vs Leffen G4 were ranked appropriately. Was not disappointed!

I don't think any one set can be more iconic than mang0 walking up slowly on hax$. Just a display of dominance that can never be achieved again.

Shocked genesis 2 grand finals didn't make the list Zain Cody at shine def deserves to be up there as well My sleeper pick is mango vs plup at LTC 2022 where mang pulled out the bird game 5 and is the only time the two have played in gf Overall solid lists tho! Fun video :)

Zain vs Wizy at some Genesis, you know the one where Wizy fainted at the end

Not a single set from Genesis 3? I know mango got whooped in the second set of grands, but that first set was so plot armor filled for mango.

this needs a reupload with short clips attached to each set!

Most underrated set in my opinion is Captain Smuckers vs Zain at the Gang, grand finals. Zain wasn't the Zain he is now, but was already prob top 10/15 - had beaten Plup/Leffen/SFAT. Had just taken Wizzy to game 5 (infamous spaghetti game on Stadium). Zain beats Smuckers 3-2 in Winners, Smuckers then beats Drephen, reverse 3-0s Crush and then 6-0s Zain in Grands to win the tourney. 9 straight games against the top 2 seeds who were huge favorites over him. One of the greatest Captain Falcon performances ever. Completely destroyed Zain.

genesis 4 mango leffen, easy. after that I would pick some lesser known sets and those would be.. savestate vs armada SSC 2018 drephen vs army genesis 7 salt vs blue summit 13 mango vs hbox reverse mains at summit hbox ness vs armada young link apex leffen vs prof at pxb

great vid!

In terms of recent sets, Jmook Zain GF Collision 2023 or Cody Zain Shine 2023

hmw spittin about Mango vs Zain at the big house. Falco’s ate that month

You should do this idea but for non legal tourney stages

Trip down memory lane :)

Cody v zain will take up like 5 of these slots before too long, the level of play is just so extremely juicy

My fav is mango vs armada at genesis 3 was bad ass even tho mang0 lost it was so good

to this day my favourite set of all time is fly amanita vs silent wolf at koc3

Armada on every tier. Tells you who the actual GOAT is.

Really feel like that cod vs zain at shine should be here or one of there other sets cus they always have bangers

Maybe I'm just a slippi kid but Summit 11 Grands was amazing

Crazy how much my list would change from their’s just because I play a different character