Official Olimar Stage Discussion

Castle Siege



Summary: Another stage that changes throughout the match, castle seige is composed of three phases that are complete different from each other, and each have their pros and cons for Olimar, and are good in different matchups. Like I've done with other stages that have different phases, I'm going to separate the phases of this stage into sections and talk about each of them specifically.

Phase One: An interesting stage, being that one half of the stage is set at a higher altitude than the other. This, in effect, boosts Olimar's ability to keep opponents out of his area by making fsmash and grab much more effective. The platforms benefit this as well, as they make it more difficult for the opponent to get in from above. So, in combination, the opponent has to both get past a grab/fsmash while not landing on the platform, which can become quite difficult. Fsmash is more effective when you have the high ground, although grab is still a viable option. Conversely, when Olimar has the low ground, grab becomes extremely superior, while fsmash actually becomes quite useless, as if it hits the slant, it loses its hitbox. The platforms are amazing for platform traps, due to how much area they cover, compared to how big the stage is.

Pros:
-Extremely easy to keep the opponent out of your area, due to platforms and the slants
-Grab becomes much more effective while having the low ground
-Fsmash becomes much more effective while having the high ground

Cons:
-Generally small size could pose a problem in some matchups
-Platforms can be problematic against characters that have superior platform options.

Phase Two: A really large stage, with a walk-off on both sides, which benefits Olimar greatly, due to our hindrance when offstage. We're also able to get easy horizontal kills, when close to the blast zones. For platforms, the stage has two really large platforms held by destructible statues near the middle of the stage, and two flags high up on both sides. The main problem with this stage for Olimar, is that a smart opponent is able to camp out the entire transformation, preventing us from dominating as much as we should on this phase. In theory, this would be the best phase for Olimar. But considering the opponent is able to avoid us, stalling out the phase, makes it just an intermission, of sorts. There are ways to keep pressure while the opponent is camping with the platforms/flags. One thing you may want to do is to destroy the statues, or at least the left one, as it's the higher of the two. Destroying the statues makes it difficult for the opponent to leave the flags if you pressure them while they're on it. Pikmin Chain, Up Air, and other minor options, can be used to keep pressure on the opponent and pick away at damage while they're trying to avoid you. You're also able to use this time to toss away Pikmin that you don't want, throwing them past the blast zone, and picking new ones. Oftentimes, if an opponent sees you doing this, they may begin approaching. Nobody wants to face an Olimar that has too many purples! In the event that the opponent doesn't avoid you during this phase, the statues give a different feel to the game, a bit. It makes moves such as our Nair and Up Air last quite a bit longer. It can be used to deceivingly delay fsmash. Also, while many projectiles are stopped by the statues, Pikmin Toss is not the case, so you're still able to camp through them. They can also be used to refresh some of your attacks, if you need to use your Up Smash for kills, or you'd rather White Latch to deal 6% per hit, rather than a stale 4%.

Pros:
-Huge space, lots of room to run.
-Walk-Offs on both ends, removing Olimar's vulnerability to gimps and his bad options when cornered at a ledge.
-Extremely early kills when near the blast zones
-Able to refresh moves with the statues, which is important considering Olimar's damage racking attacks are oftentimes the same as his kill moves.
-Against a stalling opponent, you're able to sift through the Pikmin you don't want, perfecting your line. Doing so is also a good bait to get an opponent to approach.
-Statues delay fsmash deceivingly.
-Pikmin travel through the statues, while many other projectiles don't.

Cons:
-Opponent is able to camp the section out, preventing us to get many of our benefits.


Phase Three: Definitely the worst of the three sections for one major reason. The terrain is a rare type of terrain found only in two stages, excluding some custom stage pieces. And considering the other stage is a part of Spear Pillar, this is the only stage that has this terrain legal. What's so bad about this terrain? It delays the speed of our Pikmin Pluck from nine frames to thirteen frames. Why does it do this? Nobody really knows. But it's a hassle, and doesn't benefit us whatsoever. The phase otherwise, isn't too complicated. It's generally flat, other than a bump near the middle-left. The stage tilts a bit like Lylat Cruise, but the ledges aren't as disastrous as Lylat's are to some characters (which doesn't affect Olimar). All in all the stage is simple, but corrupted by the Delayed Pikmin Pluck. The stage's slant isn't drastic enough to noticeably boost our grabs or fsmash, although it does by a slight bit. Similar to the first phase, Grabs are benefited by having the low ground, with fsmash being benefited with the high ground.

Pros:
-Slants slightly benefit Olimar's fsmash and grab game, but nothing drastic.
-Lack of platforms benefit Olimar in some matchups.

Cons:
-Delayed Pikmin Pluck
-Lack of platforms could become a problem in some matchups.


Counterpick:


Ban:
No one.

Strike Against: Marth, Diddy, Ice Climbers, Donkey Kong


Pluck Percentages
Phase One - Main Stage: 23%, 23%, 23%, 15%, 15%
Phase Two - Main Stage: 23%, 23%, 23%, 15%, 15%
Phase Two - Flags: 30%, 20%, 20%, 15%, 15%
Phase Three - Main Stage: 23%, 23%, 23%, 15%, 15%

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