MGAW Strategies

[Neerowolf]

Alright, so I'm looking through the section for Game & Watch, but I'm seeing a severe lack of topics. Eleven is a lame number, especially for such a potentially awesome character.

I'm curious as to what you do with your Game & Watch. I find myself using his Brick f-air move too often. I short hop it and fast fall, then I pothole them up and try to repeat. Do you do something different, or do you have several strategies for certain characters?

Jigglypuff is a pain with her WoP, so I find myself constantly moving away then striking towards her. Most characters I try to stay generally away from until they open themselves up for me to get quick shorthopped key in. HOWEVER, I can't stand up against characters with range such as marth.

Just curious so I can improve myself.

(By the way, I'm at the skill level where I can wavedash 60% of the time, and I am only consistant at using it to slide into an edgeguard right now, if any of you remember how you improved at that stage, please help.)

[Bakaneko]

Mr. Game and Watch is horribly underrated as a character.

Anyways, I can beat Marths and other ranged characters with some effort. It's all about the mindgames with them. Try to fake a Marth out so he leaves himself open then attack him. Also, using Game and Watch's dash attack to overprioritize some of Marth's attacks can be good, as once his attack clinks on your helmet, you'll end up right in front of the Marth, where you can down tilt him and combo him.

[LAX]

I play really aggressive with nair, fair, and dair. I also use the judgement hammer way too much. If I'm on the ground then manhole = combos.

[Neerowolf]

I like the dash into tilt idea. Since the pothole has almost no lag before it hits, it's a good combo.

I spam pothole if they are shielding but not moving, and if they zip out of the way of it I shffl into a fair. Not to mention few characters have the ability to grab a ledge with a pothole over it. If I know they'll make it over instead, such as a zelda player or sometimes shiek, I jump and parachute while fastfalling. A quick, well placed parachute is a killer. I love it when my friend complains that my parachute is cheap.

Yeah, but I spam fair and dair like theres no tomorrow. I only spam because even without L-cancelling you can combo into a pothole almost instantly, unless you didn't hit the Dair straight on them.

Well does anyone see flaws in my stategy? Any suggestions?

[yithkai]

down throw or up throw-> parachute / hammer

[Neerowolf]

Yeah, I know about that combo, though the parachute is far better than the hammers.

[omegablackmage]

when your using the fair, try to space it and then l cancel into a greenhouse (what i call a greenhouse cancel) then into a dtilt. This comes out faster than just a manhole and can really work well to counter a grab. The same applies to a dair. Just remember with the fair to learn its spacing. For a wop jiggly, use the turtle's range to counter the constant barrage of attacks. If that doesn't work wait for an opening and use the range and priortiy of the fair. As for other offensive tactics, sausage can work really well as a distraction, toss a few, then move in for a hit. The opponent has less options as far as dodging when you move in with the bacon. As for other strats you could use, turtledancing, which is the use of the turtle at maximum range to keep the opponent at bay. This works good on a peach player who doesn' have a lot of range as it seems to keep the opponent tied up.

Throw combos work on just about every character. Experience will tell you whether to down throw or to up throw and whether to use a parachute, hammer, or a card. Some characters can be chain thrown (fox, falco). Make good use of your throws as they are good and always jump cancel your grabs, its much quicker.

As for edgeguarding, yes, use the dtilt to keep most people away from the ledge. This works on almost everyone except peach,sheik, and jiggz. When playing against a sheik you want to edgehog (no matter where they are off the edge) and when they see you hoggin they will try to land on the stage. When you see them land, roll on and then forward smash (their recovery has too much lag to shield in time), this doesn't work past 100 percent. When you play a peach, use the sausage to restrict the use of a float, then either try to intercept them with a fair or try for a dtilt. When playing a jiggz, you need to run out with a nair (or fair). Its difficult to chase an off stage jiggz, but you really don't have a lot of other options.

Other than that, learn how to sweetspot on every stage you might have to play. And always filter your hammers (using the hammer dry twice after getting a nine to help your odds of getting another nine, check the thread for more details.)

[GoVonzell]

I mostly do u-smash, f-smash, f-air, b-air, throws, the firemen move, and the judgement hammer. I never do Oil Panic.

[AngeloBangelo]

Fair - Dtilt - Nair is pretty good.

[omegablackmage]

try to stay away from using the up smash, it has quite a bit of start up time and almost no range.

[LAX]

I actually use oil panic all the time. Very laggy and opens you up to be attacked. No, I'm not kidding. I'll use it in a random spot just to taunt the enemy. Like if I'm jumping at them and I should use fair.

[chesterr01]

For some reason, GaW seems to have pretty good ccing at low percentages, I always underestimate it for some reason. So CC into dtilt whenever you can.

I heard the bair is great to pass through shields, you should test that too. Pretty much everything has been said now.

[LAX]

I forgot to mention that I <3 dc dtilt -> nair

[omegablackmage]

turtledancing into a shield is a good idea to keep the pressure on, just don't forget to space it and lcancel and whatnot. And when cc'ing, learn how long gaw can cc and when you should use it. This comes with experience.

[chesterr01]

*cough* gaw can't l-cancel uair, bair and nair. Ask SDM

[LAX]

I'm pretty sure it's only uair.

[SonicZeroX]

-------------------------------------
N-Air

Total: 44
Hit: 20-29
Auto cancel: <2
Landlag: 15
L canceled: CAN’T
-------------------------------------
U-Air

Total: 39
Hit: 7-16, 21-22
Auto cancel: <6
Landlag: 18
L canceled: CAN’T
-------------------------------------
B-Air

Total: 39
Hit: 10-21
Auto cancel: <9
Window for landing hit: 9-39
Landlag: 18
L canceled: CAN’T
Landing hit hits on frame 1
-------------------------------------

^Right off of SDM's site. Chesterr1's right.

[chesterr01]

Of course I'm right, I know every character like it was a part of my body. This is why I can help on every board here. ^_^ Of course not many people know about the l-cancels of GaW.

[Neerowolf]

Down tilt is by far the best combo setting move. It sets up kills too.

[omegablackmage]

check one of the other threads it sez right in it that you can lcancel it

[Blind]

You know, everybody else complains about his tiny shield, and yet if you light shield with him you'll never have any difficulty. Any hit will slide him away so further attacks won't be able to follow up and your shield will cover your entire body for at least an extra hit more than if you full shield it. Works for me, anyhow.

I personally go for the throw combo into hammer unless the parachute is guaranteed for a KO. Judgment is worth it if only because several attacks will prevent your opponent from responding and you have the chance of an instant KO, and even if that fails there's the chance for an eight which, if I remember correctly, has an effect just like the neutral+b flame spike except stronger. It's definitely worth it at the beginning of the match when you can't get a 1 or a 2.

I'd like GW's up-tilt if it had more priority, but as it is it's a great juggler and just spamming it underneath a ledge leaves you less open than trying to parachute.

I don't like CC-ing that much with GW (and believe me, I'm a guy who loves his CC), because you don't get that much life before you're screwed. Damage is just bad for you. Except against... Pichu, I guess, or another GW, any war of attrition you fight will leave you losing. Sucking up 10 just to land a single hit will make you lose much faster (unless, of course, you're CC'ing for the KO. Then by all means...)

[omegablackmage]

its the six hammer that your thinking of, its the one that has a fair amount of knockback and semi spikes. and as for throw combos, you want to go with hammers at low percent and parachutes at higher percents. Its a wasted nine if the opponent has like 100 percent, and if the opponent has around 5 percent and you hit him with a chute, you risk being counter attacked.

and as for the up-tilt, i use it a lot now that i understand how it works. It only doesn't work against things with more reach than it, like marth's down air maybe. other than that its golden. It counters a lot of characters down airs. Like ganon's, samus's, fox's, falco's, captain's, and all the other annoying dairs. As long as you know how to offset the timing, your golden. And yes, it can juggle many characters for a lot of hits.

[DireVulcan]

=b

Yeah..

And like.

Pretty much.

[omegablackmage]

his post is like those cingular commericals with the bars... sorry

[Thomaat]

Sausage can work really well as a distraction, toss a few, then move in for a hit. The opponent has less options as far as dodging when you move in with the bacon.
When taken apart, this sounds actually quite funny.

...

Sorry.

[omegablackmage]

oh you funny guy, actually i see what your saying, and it does have comedic value to it.

[Rose]

Using the aerials that cannot be l-cancelled is risky. I stray away from bair if I'm fighting a Fox. However, bair and nair work wonders against floaters. Bair can set up nair, as well as keep overly agressive characters out of your range (WoP? No thanks, Jiggs. GTFO).

But whiffing a bair can really mess you up : (

Another thing to note is that GAW's tech is total crap. An apt Fox can just tech punish the hell out of you, so GAW actually needs to either 1.) not be forced into teching or 2.) play mindgames with the his teching. Not teching in a direction usually helps.

And my last note of GAW observation is this:
GAW would certainly be in at least High or Upper tier if not for his craptacular defense (piss-poor shield, laggy spotdodge, hard to sweetspot on some ledges, bad tech, long tumble, light weight). Most of his moves have some nasty lag, but that isn't really as bad as his ineptitude at NOT DYING. One launch is all it takes for many characters to execute death combos on GAW. So I have summed this much up...GAW must always be craftily offensive and avoid getting hit. Even CC's rack up the damage too much to use in pedestrian situations.

[pkmvodka]

check one of the other threads it sez right in it that you can lcancel it


you can't.

you imagine it it seems.

[omegablackmage]

ok maybe so, i don't have an AR or whatnot so i couldn't test it. However you might want to take this arguement up with FootandBaseball, one of the original gw masters, who seems to think you can. The thread stickied at the top of this board is the one your looking for.

[pkmvodka]

You cannot l-cancel them.

[LAX]

It probably just has really small lag time.

[omegablackmage]

i could care less, i say don't argue with me. You think this affects my game in any way?

[pkmvodka]

nice attitude.

[omegablackmage]

no, you just seem to be snappy but im probably assuming too much b/c its the internet, my apologies.

[DireVulcan]

^
< Stfu.
V

[Mic_128]

Get back on topic or this'll be closed.

[omegablackmage]

dire vulcan imma keel you!

[DireVulcan]

Ya gotta be tough somewhere if it's not gonna be in tourney matches.

Right Mic?

[Mic_128]

Come over to Australia for Eastern Invasion 2. I'll see you then.

Or aren't you prepared to fly half way around the world?


And since the topic has been derailed so bad....