Alright so either tonight or tomorrow we will most likely get a character profile...
We have 16 starters so far. (Assuming ZSS isn't selectable from the character select screen...)
What other starters are likely?
1)
Captain Falcon - It seems obvious that he must still be in the game, and I doubt he'd be relegated to secret character after becoming a starter in Melee.
2)
Ice Climbers - I just can't see them being cut... they are too unique! Plus it would make me sad.
Again, they were starters in Melee so I'm assuming they will not be unlockable characters.
3)
Ness or Lucas - We know an Earthbound character is in the game, and we know that Sakurai has dropped clues that Lucas is a possibility, so I'd say one of these two will be our starter (again, because Melee had Ness as a starter).
Alright, so all of Melee's previous starters are covered, but... I still predict one additional starter...
4)
[Animal Crossing Character] (Most likely Tom Nook!) - Yep! Why would this character be a starter? If you agree that only non-unlockables appear on the Dojo before the game's release, that means that Smashville is a starter stage. And it seems logical that all starter stages will have characters representing their franchise as starters too.
So, 4 more characters brings us to... 20 starters! What a nice round number.
Okay, I'm done!