Doctor X
Smash Lord
We of the Pit boards are trying to restart our matchup discussions since the ones we already have are mostly poo and the ones we don't have are several. We're working on a number of ways to go about it, and this is one of our ideas...
We're preparing writeups on the matchups as we view them, taking care to remain unbiased and limit ourselves solely to information we've personally tested. We'll then run these by their respective boards and see how the other side feels about it. We're holding off on matchup percentages for now... I think we'll resolve that with votes after we have a definitive writeup.
Anyway... I'm not sure why we're starting with Ike, but we are, so congrats.
The following is a sort of draft I wrote up that I feel is mostly correct. Let me know how you guys feel about it and feel free to suggest anything that I may have overlooked.
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The main thing you really have to worry about is Ike's jab/grab mixups. The basic idea is that, when he lands the first jab on your shield you're compelled to keep your shield up to avoid getting hit by the second jab. He then cancels out of the jab chain and grabs you. If, however, you're expecting the jab-cancel and attempt to drop your shield, you very well might eat the second jab which inevitably leads to the third. Pit has a number of ways to deal with this. You can, like all characters, rolldodge away between the first and second jabs to ensure he doesn't grab you. However, If you have quick enough reaction time you can punish him. Just keep your shield up, but as soon as you see him cancel, drop your shield and utilt him. This will beat either a grab or a follow-up jab. Of course if he continues through the jab chain until the third hit, you can drop your shield and punish the lag however you choose.
Ike hates arrows a lot. They’re capable of shutting down his forward-B approach game and can interrupt almost all of his moves. On top of all this they’re a decent way to gimp him. Just shoot him over and over again while he’s trying to recover. If he’s low and far enough away from the edge it’s a guaranteed kill.
On the subject of gimping, note that, as with any character, if you see Ike charging his forward-B to recover, you can jump in the way of it and he will die. Pit is particularly good at doing this because of his multiple jumps. Most of the time this is worth the sacrifice of getting hit. Sometimes-- when you're at high percent, mostly-- it's not such a good idea. Mirror gimps are not very viable at a high level, even though they may seem deadly. There are plenty of ways Ike can get around them-- recovering close enough to the edge so getting turned around doesn't matter, for example. Not that you shouldn't seize the opportunity if there is one, but most good Ikes won't give you such opportunities.
Other things you need to watch out for include Ike's offstage aerials and wall infinites. These can very quickly cost you the game if you're not weary of them. His aerials are most dangerous when you're gliding and thus incapable of airdodging. His fthrow wall infinite can be initiated with a back throw, so if you see an Ike standing with his back to a wall, do not engage him. Shoot him with arrows until the wall disappears (as they do on most tournament stages) or he gets bored and moves away from it.
Counterpick-wise… If it isn’t banned by the TO, always, always, always ban Pirate Ship. Ike simply dominates that stage.
We're preparing writeups on the matchups as we view them, taking care to remain unbiased and limit ourselves solely to information we've personally tested. We'll then run these by their respective boards and see how the other side feels about it. We're holding off on matchup percentages for now... I think we'll resolve that with votes after we have a definitive writeup.
Anyway... I'm not sure why we're starting with Ike, but we are, so congrats.
The following is a sort of draft I wrote up that I feel is mostly correct. Let me know how you guys feel about it and feel free to suggest anything that I may have overlooked.
-
The main thing you really have to worry about is Ike's jab/grab mixups. The basic idea is that, when he lands the first jab on your shield you're compelled to keep your shield up to avoid getting hit by the second jab. He then cancels out of the jab chain and grabs you. If, however, you're expecting the jab-cancel and attempt to drop your shield, you very well might eat the second jab which inevitably leads to the third. Pit has a number of ways to deal with this. You can, like all characters, rolldodge away between the first and second jabs to ensure he doesn't grab you. However, If you have quick enough reaction time you can punish him. Just keep your shield up, but as soon as you see him cancel, drop your shield and utilt him. This will beat either a grab or a follow-up jab. Of course if he continues through the jab chain until the third hit, you can drop your shield and punish the lag however you choose.
Ike hates arrows a lot. They’re capable of shutting down his forward-B approach game and can interrupt almost all of his moves. On top of all this they’re a decent way to gimp him. Just shoot him over and over again while he’s trying to recover. If he’s low and far enough away from the edge it’s a guaranteed kill.
On the subject of gimping, note that, as with any character, if you see Ike charging his forward-B to recover, you can jump in the way of it and he will die. Pit is particularly good at doing this because of his multiple jumps. Most of the time this is worth the sacrifice of getting hit. Sometimes-- when you're at high percent, mostly-- it's not such a good idea. Mirror gimps are not very viable at a high level, even though they may seem deadly. There are plenty of ways Ike can get around them-- recovering close enough to the edge so getting turned around doesn't matter, for example. Not that you shouldn't seize the opportunity if there is one, but most good Ikes won't give you such opportunities.
Other things you need to watch out for include Ike's offstage aerials and wall infinites. These can very quickly cost you the game if you're not weary of them. His aerials are most dangerous when you're gliding and thus incapable of airdodging. His fthrow wall infinite can be initiated with a back throw, so if you see an Ike standing with his back to a wall, do not engage him. Shoot him with arrows until the wall disappears (as they do on most tournament stages) or he gets bored and moves away from it.
Counterpick-wise… If it isn’t banned by the TO, always, always, always ban Pirate Ship. Ike simply dominates that stage.