*because obviously there are intricacies that I will never understand at my level, and I'm biased by my own experiences which are irrelevant to high level play

no order after rank:

SS - Rashid, Ibuki, Karin, Balrog

Rashid and Balrog can do whatever the fuck they want. it's insane what they can get away with, pressure-wise. Karin's buttons and conversions into damage are ridiculous. anybody in SFV can die off a big combo and one wrong guess, and Ibuki is the best at forcing that second 50/50.

S - Cammy, Akuma, Bison, Necalli

Cammy's block strings are abusive. Akuma is devastating when played expertly. fuck Bison, that's another one that gets away with mashing out braindead frame traps/plus moves/dashes. giving him a 3F escape did wonders for him, especially since it's more useful than an EX reversal half the time. Necalli has all the tools.

A - Zangief, Urien, Laura

all three can take a while to get going, but once you are knocked down it's curtains.

B - Guile, Ken, R. Mika, Chun-Li, Sim, Birdie, Nash, Vega, Kolin, Ryu, Alex

Guile could be higher. I know Ken has a dreadful time against him -- according to Chris T, Momochi and Daigo think it's 6-4, 7-3 Guile (Bison is easily 6-4 against Ken too).

C - F.A.N.G, Juri, Ed

FANG, Juri and Ed lack the big damage that other characters get so easily. they all work hardest for their wins.