orintemple
Smash Lord
The Big Book of Fox Matchups v1.1v1.0 The guide is created.
v1.1 Did some minor additions and revisions to descriptions of Kirby, Dedede and Pikachu.
v1.2 Rewrote a few of the matchups and added to a few others.
v1.3 Rewrote some matchups and added a .5 ratings system.
Introduction
Welcome to the Big Book of Fox Matchups. I realized that among all of the guides and random threads that there was no single compilation of matchups for Fox, so I decided to take it into my own hands. Hopefully this will help all of those out there who are having trouble fighting against a specific opponent. All ratings are partially opinionated due to my personally experience along with facts, so your results may vary. Also, feel free to make suggestions as I will make updates occasionally to add in extra helpful advice.
Keep in mind that I am no pro, I consider myself a good player, but nothing spectacular, so I may not be right about everything. If something is incorrect please say so, preferably nicely, we don't need a flame war in here.
Basics
Fox has some basic tactics that work well against most enemies and should be kept in mind.
Dash attack -> u-tilt -> u/fsmash - This combo works great against almost all characters and can land about 30-50% depending on how many u-tilts you get in. Some characters you can manage 3 u-tilts and still get the smash in, although someone with a vast knowledge of DI will make this combo's length shorten significantly. Be sure to not be too predictable with your dash attacks also.
D-air -> u-tilt/smash - This is a classic combo that can be done over again many times in the right situation. Watch for shield grabs though. A full hopped d-air is auto canceled so you can also use it right into smashes at higher %s. The d-smash works well for a good horizontal kill.
D-air -> shine - This is mainly for spacing/damage at higher %s and can also be used to start a shine dash. There are better alternatives then this but it is good to keep up your unpredictability.
N-air -> any ground attack - Fox's n-air auto cancels even out of a short hop so you can go directly into another attack if you want. Good for approaches and mixing it up.
Remember to use Fox's speed to your advantage. Quick movement and quick attacks work very nicely together. Coupled with his decent power, you can take out many foes with ease.
Matchups
*Difficulty ratings after matchup description*
Mario
Mario is mostly the same old Mario he always was. Mario shouldn't give Fox too much trouble. The old "cape the illusion or firefox" trick doesn't as well as it used to.(although it can still be done.. That was Mario's greatest advantage against Fox. His projectile is slow moving and easy to shine away. Fox has a huge speed advantage and roughly the same power overall as Mario. This fight is in favor of Fox all the way. 2/5
Luigi
Luigi is a goofy fighter. He is unpredictable and downright weird, but that is only a small obstacle. The real problem is that nasty n-air. It is instant, lagless, strong and has seemingly infinite priority. You can't keep up a u-tilt combo because of it, and it stops many of your other tactics too. Any Luigi player who has discovered the greatness of this move will surely solve all his problems with it, and that is what makes this fight hard. Luigi also has other great aerials and a decent ground game. Just like in Melee, Luigi is a great Fox fighter, so watch out. Overall he isn't the hardest matchup you can face, but he isn't a pushover. 4/5
Peach
Peach is way faster than she looks. She still has her turnips but they are not as dangerous anymore and they disappear if you shield them. She can still bait your shield with a turnip then f-air you when you drop it though. which can be hard to predict. She can also "combo" you with her dash attack. Her d-smash is nerfed a lot so you won't need to worry about getting trapped for 80% anymore, although it still has its uses. All of her aerials a quite good, and about as quick as yours. She is also great at gimping your recovery by floating out to you and hitting you from it. Her ground game suffers against Fox though, as she is not as fast of combo-enabled. This is a debatable match in terms of difficulty, although I find myself having trouble against a good Peach. 3.5/5
Bowser
Bowser is big, strong and mean… but he is SLOW. Take advantage of this. Some slow characters can put a fight even against Fox, but Bowser isn't one of them. His attacks shouldn't be taken lightly, but as long as you don't get hit you won't need to worry. He is also so big, that he has a hard time DIing out of your low % combos, so combo away. He can get you with his Bowsercide over-B easily when you have higher %s, but at that point it only benefits Bowser if he has a crazy amount of damage, which he shouldn't because you can u-smash kill him easily when he gets up there. 1/5
Donkey Kong
This will be harder than Bowser, but not much. Like Bowser, DK is very large so you can get some nice u-tilts in successions with no problem at low %s. He is quite a bit faster than Bowser overall, and that is what makes this fight harder, but he is nowhere near as fast as you. Use this to your advantage and run circles around him. Before your opponent knows it you will have him damaged enough to go in for a nice u-smash kill. Donkey Kong's b-air is surprisingly quick, as well as a powerhouse, so be wary of it. This Kong also has three spikes and a big ol' fist that can kill you pretty low. Don't let him catch you off guard and you will be fine. 2/5
Diddy Kong
This little guy can put up quite a fight; luckily you have a reflector to make all his bananas turn against him. Diddy's air game is better than yours, so try to keep it on the ground if you can. His ground game is decent, but overall weak. His u-smash is worthless in terms of power, although it can be comboed into through his dash attack, which deals good damage. His f-smash and d-smash are reasonably powerful, but nothing too spectacular. Luckily he is kind of a light weight, probably only slightly heavier than Fox. Also, his recovery is huge, but pretty bad in terms of practical use. It is predictable, and easy to punish if you know how. Also he blows up if he hits a wall, so you may be able to shine spike him under the stage for a kill. This fight should be pretty average. He is very fast but without his uber bananas backing him up it will be hard for him to set you up for anything good. And Beware the face-hump spike, and I guess his normal d-air spike too, if you have higher damage.3/5
Yoshi
Yoshi has no real third jump. Use this to your advantage. His eggs can be shined away with ease so those are no problem, and his egg roll, while much better now, is still easy to avoid, and has less priority than you're f-smash. His ground game is good due to his ability to d-smash out of a shield, but that is the only one you need to worry about too much. He can combo his b-air tail slaps into an f-smash sometimes though, which hurts. They are generally just basic smashes, though. The biggest thing to remember with Yoshi is that his second jump gives super armor, so you can't really attack him while he is doing it, and you sure as hell can't shine spike him. Plus he can f-air spike you if you try to get him while he has that super armor. Still, you have the almighty speed advantage; use it well. Oh, and be careful for his u-air, it is killer. 2.5/5
Wario
Wario is a weird fight. He is a high-risk high-reward fighter, so make sure to dodge his attacks and you can rock him hard. His attacks have quick start-up but HUGE lag afterwards, allowing you to punish with ease. His f-air may be a slight annoyance due to his Jigglypuff-like air movement, but it isn't very strong, can't be used to combo, and can't be used for Wall of Pain since Wario only has two very sub-par jumps. When Wario blinks red, make sure to be on the defensive because his fully charged fart is crazy strong. Otherwise you should have this in the bag. 2.5/5
Link
Link is quite slow, and the lag on his attacks, as well as his grab, make him very easy to punish. His projectile firing rate and spammability are also slow, so they are easily powershielded or shined away. His bombs can pose a nuisance when thrown at your feet, but learning not to try and shine bombs, instead dodging them, is a good practice. Link, being a heavy projectile user, will need to be approached, but your speed advantage makes it easy to get inside, although it will still take some work.. Link has great priority on his u-air and can slide his u-smash, which is also a good attack. This makes approaching him from above dangerous. Approaching him from the front and trying to get behind him through his shield is good. Dash grabs also work well on Link, due to his slow attack speed. His u-air and d-air have great priority, but the d-air can be seen coming a mile away and the u-air is avoidable with DI. Fox has an advantage in this fight due to sheer all around speed, and he beats Link in more areas than Link beats Fox. 2/5
Zelda
Here we go, the real fight. Zelda is a PAIN. This is among my most hated fights as Fox no doubt. Din's Fire can be shined away, although it won't go back and hit her, at least you won't be rocked by it. The problem with her is that you have no approach. Her smashes have hardly any start up OR ending lag, they just happen and are gone. If you try to approach from above, she will hit you with her godly u-smash. If you try from the front, f-smash, or sometimes even u-smash (yes, its that good.) She can also Nayru's Love you off of her. Her d-tilt can also make you trip, which is annoying AND it can be instantly chained with a d-smash (which doesn't suck anymore) if you don't trip. Everything you do is a losing situation. You can't even laser spam her because of Nayru's Love and Din's Fire. The best thing you can do is wait for an opening to dash in with a shield-canceled grab. Another thing that may work is using n-airs to d-tilts. This is the fastest approach option besides grabbing and is good when you need to be less predictable in your approach. Mix up the n-air and the grabs. Make sure to keep Zelda on her toes by playing games with dashes, shields and empty short hops. You will need a lot of patience and great mindgames to make it through this fight alive. If need be, take this fight to the air(harder than it sounds), her aerial game isn't all that good with the nerf of the f/b-air. Good luck! 5/5
Sheik:shiek:
Hopefully Zelda will make this choice and transform to Sheik. Sheik is a lot like Fox actually. She has an annoying projectile, but not an entirely dangerous one and she is fast. Sheik is somewhat weaker than Fox and no longer has the godly f-air from Melee. Her d-smash will be her most used kill move so watch for it, although it isn't all THAT strong. Sheik still has a strong aerial game; especially now that she can do a real short hop, but so do you. This will be a fast action packed fight, with both players on their toes. Just use your best instincts and take her out. Nothing special to this fight really, just shine the needles cause they can do a lot of damage when charged. 3/5
Ganondorf
This fight is simple. It is just like Bowser except against a SLOWER character. Watch for the side-b because a good Ganondorf player can tech chase you with it and Ganoncide(or Slam Dunk as I call it), but otherwise just use all of your slowpoke slaying abilities. This should be one of the easiest fights you can have. 1/5
Toon Link
Toon Link is a beast. He is a camping master but that can be done away with by you shine. Of course you don't want to be shining away projectiles all day. This is where it gets hard. TL has a vastly superior aerial game, and his ground game is also very good. It may be best to wait for him to approach, but he probably won't. If your opponent actually approaches, you can take him down with smart play but he is a master camper and you will need to be patient but quick to get through any tight opening you can find. The moment he lets his guard down go at him and get your combos in, although his small size and good aerial maneuvering make this hard too. This is a hard fight; just do what you can to make it a little easier for yourself. 5/5
Samus
Samus is projectiles. Reflect them. Her close range game has nothing on yours so just use your tactics and you should be ok. She can't make quite the wall of projectiles that Toon Link can, so getting inside shouldn't be too bad and once your there you can dominate. * N/A
Zero Suit Samus
Zero Suit Samus is very weak, but she is also VERY fast. Almost every one of her attacks are faster than yours. Her aerials, specifically u-air is great for comboing and she can drag you to the ground with up-B. Fortunately she only has two real kill moves, the b-air and forward B. Overall you have a better ground game than her, so you can get it your basic n-air and d-air combos in as long as you can get inside her HUGE range. Her blaster is not very spammable so she won't be camping though. Her grab is slow but if you get grabbed prepare to feel the hurt because it is one of her best combo starters. A new problem with ZSS that has recently arisen is that she has the ability to d-smash chain you. She can do 2 d-smashes, then let you flop onto the floor and do two more d-smashes during your lag until very high %. This is very easy to do on Fox due to his falling speed and many ZSS players will try to do this now that it has been discovered. An chain always makes a matchup much harder than it should be.4/5
Pit
Pit is a jerk. He has insane recovery, a crazy spammable projectile and decent close range game. Pit is quick like you but has a vastly superior projectile. You can shine it away but it is very fast and can be hard to notice. His air attacks are good, and his ground attacks aren't bad either. Pit lacks power, he is weaker than you for sure, but even so he isn't THAT weak so don't get cocky. He will probably try to camp you and hit you with aerials when you get in close. Because he has 3 jumps he can also pseudo-Wall of Pain if you're not DIing correctly so try not to stay out in the air too long. You have better close up range than him though, so try to space him in a way where he would feel unsafe shooting arrows but too far to use hit poor melee combat range. Oh, did I mention he can't use his up-b again if you hit him during it... 4/5
Ice Climbers
These two have an infinite grab and can lock you with ice shots like Falco can with his lasers. They have nearly infinite grab possibilities. They are also faster than in Melee, but they are weaker. The key here will be to take out Nana so you can gimp Popo's recovery, since the side-b recovery has been nerfed. Also, don't grab them because you will probably be punished the by other climber for the grab. * 3.5/5 (5/5 if they do the infinite grab consistently)
R.O.B.
ROB is the master of camping; even more so than Toon Link(maybe). His Gyro dominates you and can be picked up and thrown by ROB, but not by you until it stops spinning. His laser can bounce and when fully charged has some great power. He will spot dodge and trap you into his evil d-smash wheel and he will use his massive power to knock you at every turn. Luckily, this fight isn't as hard as it sounds. A good ROB will keep you at bay with his projectile spam, but all his projectiles have cooldown times, which is when you strike. Shine his shots and get in there before the next barrage. Be careful, as he will try to trick you into his d-smash when you attack. His aerials are mostly slow, but unpredictable. His n-air is great and hard to see coming and his f-air can be used to combo you in mid air. He also has a very powerful spike in his d-air. He is pretty big though, and falls fast so you can get him with some nasty combos. A good ROB is really hard but a decent ROB should be no problem for Fox to handle. Just be aware of some of his best tactics and capitalize on them. 3/5
Kirby
Kirby is not slow anymore, but he still has no approach. This is good for you because Kirby can't camp, meaning he HAS to approach, but he really can't approach with much. His f-smash has deceiving range and stays out quite a long time. It is also quick and powerful. It is basically his version of your u-smash, but he can't run and do it. Kirby can duck under your lasers which makes camping him impossible but you win in range and speed. His hammer is also massively powerful and hits twice in the air making it extra annoying. It is also an unexpected attack since it comes out pretty fast and is much better than it seems. Your basic combos won't work well in this fight due to his floatiness so racking damage may take longer and be more dangerous. His recovery is very good but it is easy to b-air edgeguard him and his weight makes him a prime target to get u-smashed at low %. 3/5
MetaKnight
This guy is FAST. He is much faster than you so stay alert. You will need to play it safe against this guy otherwise you will end up being Wall of Pained by his ridiculously fast aerials. His smashes are pretty weak but good enough to kill you at high %s. Plus they are also crazy fast. His best kill move is probably his up-b. When sweetspotted on you it has huge knockback and can kill easy. He gets to glide after it to so be careful of it when you are trying to edgeguarding him. He will most likely try to trap you into getting hit by a d-smash also, and since it is so fast it is near impossible to avoid if he does it. Abusing you superior range will help you in this fight. Although it is a disjointed hitbox, MK still has very low range. He is also very light, so use b-airs and smashes to try and knock him out of the park. Combos won't work too well here but hits add up, and you can get pretty low % kills against MetaKnight. 4/5
King Dedede
The King is a slow guy at first glance, but some of his attacks are lightning fast. You can easily combo this big guy due to his weight but he will still get out of them faster than someone like Bowser or DK. His b-air is super fast and can be use to Wall of Pain like a big, fat Jigglypuff. His n-air is instant so it can interrupt. His f-tilt will be used for spacing and can get annoying when you are trying to approach. Speaking of approach, he can outcamp you with Waddle Dees. The Waddles Dees get in the way of your laser blasts while Dedede continues to spam them at you. He will also get the occasional Waddle Doo, which shoots a lightning stream thing and Gordos which are the new stitch face turnip. The Waddle Dees can also jump at you and hit you, so don't forget about them. Using your speed to rush in for quick hits is the way to go. N-air combos work well since they are the quickest and least predictable of your approaches. You could also try to f-air, land behind him and do a pivot grab if you can since he is tall and easy to hit with a short hopped f-air. Luckily for you, Dedede's trump card, the chaingrab, does not work on Fox so at least he won't be getting any free ,easy damage on you that way. 4/5
Captain Olimar
This guy is tricky. It is very hard to get used to his playstyle and you will likely find yourself getting owned the first few matches. Olimar is hard to fight at first but Fox has a great advantage on him. You can shine all his thrown Pikmin back at him and do the massive damage to him instead. Also, if some get on you a shine or two will kill them instantly. This match is all about shining. You can also shine spike him very easily because of his horrid tether up-b. Edgehogging also works wonders against this guy. Be careful for Olimar's lightning quick, huge range attacks though, as they are powerful to boot. He has a spike but it is very situational due to needing the red Pikmin for it to work well. His grab reach is also huge, and has little lag too, especially for a ranged grab. It will be a good fight once you get near him, but before that you should have some damage on him provided he doesn’t change his Pikmin throwing playstyle against you. 3/5
Fox
The day will come when you must face yourself, and it will be a struggle. When facing another Fox, as all dittos go, your opponent has all the same attacks as you do, so you need to beat him with superior strategy .You obviously can't hope to outprioritize him and you have the same speed, recovery and everything else. The best way to go about this matchup is to take advantage of the mistakes. As a Fox player yourself, you should know what moves will lead to punishment so you have a heads up. It is also easier to predict the actions of one playing your own character. This will be all about punishment. Fox is hard to punish as he is so quick, but it can be done. Play a defensive game and you will succeed. Neither of you will be able to camp and spam, so you will both need to get into the action. Just let him go first. Once he attacks use your shield and punish him. This fight is hard and easy at the same time, you almost know what is going to happen before hand, but so does he. N/A
Falco
Falco is a different story than Fox. His shine will trip you often, which is annoying. He has a nice spike to get you with and the rest of his moves are roughly equal in power and speed to yours. He also has a superior laser which is great for both approach and spamming and can infinite you in the right situation. He is a little bit slower than you overall though. Falco will either try to SHL approach you which can be dealt with by shining them back at him and taking control or he will spam and wait for you to come. If he plays a defensive game you need to approach him from above. If you play smart you can bait him out of the shield and punish him for dropping it. This is how you will have to do most of your approaching. Play quickly but cautiously. You also shine his lasers if you are close to get an attack in. This battle will be rough as Falco has a superior laser but if you can find a way past that it will be similar to fighting another Fox. The most important thing about Falco is that he can chaingrab Fox, and rather easily, which can lead directly into a spike by a good player.4.5/5
Wolf
Wolf is similar to Wario in playstyle, high-risk high-reward, although he is much more dangerous. His f-smash has insane range and he has good aerials and other ground attacks. His f-tilt will kill at moderate %s and his blaster beats yours. You can shine it back at him but it is slow and doesn't reach far so it probably won't hit him like Falco's. Also if he lasers at close range the gun blade will hit you. Wolf is slower than you but moves in strange ways that can trick you. The biggest point here will be to get around the lasers and inside with quick safe attacks. Do not do anything risky otherwise he will make sure you pay for it. Be very aware of Wolf's movements because an f-smash is always waiting right around the corner. 4/5
Captain Falcon
This guy is very fast and epically manly but don’t let that discourage you, he isn’t that hard to beat. He will likely try to approach with n-airs and grabs. You can easily punish this by shielding the n-airs and rolling or spot dodging the grabs. Due to the new physics Falcon (and mostly everyone) can’t really combo the way they did in Melee, so you don’t need to worry about your fall speed being a burden to you. Falcons tend to play aggressively due to his speedy nature, so just take your time with him and you can beat him easy with a defensive game. He doesn’t really have any moves that will beat you regularly, so he can’t spam much. Be careful for his great b-air as it can come as a surprise. Lasers are also great against Falcon since he has no projectiles; just make sure not to leave yourself open for Falcon to rush you. 1.5/5
Pikachu
Pikachu is a hard match. He is fast, powerful, and has great recovery as well as an annoying projectile. Shine away his thunderbolts and respond with some lasers. Take into account that his thudnerbolts are much harder to deal with than just shining. He will try to approach AND retreat with them, and you can't hope to shine all day and get anything done. Dodging and slowly approaching may help here. Just make sure to not get too involved in dodging the bolts and leave yourself open for a smash. When it comes to close combat, watch out. His d-smash can suck you in and own you but it is VERY easy to DI and keep yourself from being killed by it. His aerials are all quick and useful. Pikachu can also chaingrab Fox to about 80% with d-throws, which is just dumb. His thunder is much safer and deadlier now but you can shine it and use it against him, which is often unexpected by Pikachu players. He also has increased range on the f-smash. He got huge buffs since Melee. His u-smash is just like yours; so don’t be fooled into the same tricks you use. Pikachu is hard to hit due to his size and speed. This also makes him hard to combo after you do hit him. You need to play smart here. This match is all about punishing. Pikachu has little lag on his attacks but it is still enough to punish him if you are close. Use your quickest attacks to beat his, also opt for high priority moves like your d-air. N-air to ground attacks will also help for fast damage dealing. Keep moving and don’t get caught off guard by his surprisingly powerful attacks. Fortunately he is light, so you can get him good with a u-smash under 100% for a kill. 5/5
Pokemon Trainer
This guy just stands around throwing Pokeballs all day, there is nothing you can do about him.
Squirtle
Squirtle is fast and annoying. His aerials are really quick and good for combos. He is also another small and hard to hit guy so you will likely miss a lot. He can easily punish you for mistakes, although it probably won’t hurt that much. His u-smash is beastly though, so watch out for it. Squirtle can also use withdraw, which is like Yoshi’s egg roll except he can’t be hurt while inside it. You can just jump to avoid this, as it is relatively short. His recovery isn’t all that hot, so take advantage of that. He is also among the lightest characters in the game so you can smash him off easily even at low %s. As long as you can hit him you can beat him. 3/5
Ivysaur
Ivysaur has a slow projectile but you can get caught into another attack if you get hit close enough near Ivysaur. His range is crazy on most attacks, especially his f-smash and grab. Attacking from above is the easiest way to go, although Ivysaur’s u-smash is ridiculously strong. He will likely do a lot of shield grabs to punish you for hitting his shield due to the crazy range. His throw is also pretty good so you need to play it safe. Ivysaur is a very defensive character, and will likely be played that way by a good player, so you need to break his defense. Mix it up with aerials and shield canceled grabs for approach. You can also try to play defensive and spam lasers with your superior projectle range, but that won’t be enough to kill him. Also watch for the bullet seed, which can rack up major damage if you are caught right in it. Ivysaur has terrible recovery as it is a tether, so just edgehog him for the stock. 3/5
Charizard
Charizard will be the easiest of the three Pokemon. He is very slow and heavy. He has few quick attacks and is also big enough to shield stab once you have pressured enough. His range is good, but not as good as Ivysaur’s. He also lacks a projectile so you can laser him safely until you get an opening. Just keep pounding up his % and finish when he’s high enough. It will take a lot of damage to knock this big guy out, but his weight, speed and size make him easy to combo for a lot of damage. His recovery is the best of the three Pokemon and he has a spike on his d-air but he doesn’t have much else against you. 2.5/5
Lucario
Lucario’s aerials are quick and have strange hitboxes, making him awkward to fight in the air. He can also combo well with them due to their low knockback. His d-air also lets him air stall and is quite powerful. Stick to the ground for this one. Fighting Lucario in the air is just too hard. His ground attacks are only of average speed and power, so that is where you want to be. You are much quicker than him here, so just fight him with your d-airs, n-airs, tilts, and smashes to come out victorious. One thing to note on the ground is that a good player will try a lot of jab cancels, which can lead into u-tilts for getting you into the air. He will also jab into forward B which is inescapable if you are hit by the initial jabs at lower %s. Be careful of his aura too. Lucario is relatively light so try to get a KO before 100% if you can. After that his aura gets strong enough to be a major threat to you. Use your superior ground speed to make this an easy fight. Go to the air if you want a challenge. 3.5/5
Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff has seen some nerfs since Melee, but she is still a strange fighter. She can still Wall of Pain, with her newly buffed f-air and her same old b-air. Staying on the ground is the best approach to this fight, as her ground game is quite poor. She will use her superior air movement to use retreating attacks on you, so you cannot shield grab her. She also has little lag to punish. Jigglypuff is one of the masters of spacing so you will need to be unpredictable to get inside her comfort zone. Using dash attacks and quick n-airs when she hits the ground is the safest way to deal with this. You are in danger of being grabbed but it is better than being set up for an aerial combo. She is light, so your smashes will be devastating, especially during her downtime when she must land. Keep yourself well spaced enough to avoid her approach and counter it when she lands. * 3/5
Marth
Marth is a rough fight. He is very quick and has way more range than you. He also has a plethora of kill moves, especially on a lightweight like Fox. His usual strategy will be to f-air you over and over across the stage, which works at lower %s, until you are off the stage where he can chain the f-air into a d-air spike. A good Marth will use this all day. He may also try to f-air in the ground attacks like f-smashes. This is how most Marth's will fight you. It is very hard to get out of once you are hit by that initial f-air so that is what you need to focus on. Besides this Marth only has range on you. On the ground you can do all of your normal tricks as long as you wait for him to put away his range. This battle will either be an exchange of combos or you will get rocked with f-airs the entire game. His d-tilt has IASA (interruptible as soon as)frames still so he can do another attack before the animation is even done. His u-tilt is also very good for getting you back into the f-airs he so loves. His other aerials are good too, but they are mostly for kills. Keeping on the ground is a good idea in this fight, since you can at least match Marth everywhere but range there. Luckily you always have the edge in terms of laser spam to rack up damage since he has no projectiles at all and isn't quite as fast a mover as you. This fight sounds like a huge disadvantage for Fox, but it is only a moderate disadvantage really. There are much worse things then fighting Marth. 4/5
Ike
Ike is a slow, but not in the same way you would expect a slow character. Most of Ike’s attacks have long startup and huge lag, but he shines with the few amazing quick attacks he has. First off, his side-b is fast and great for approach. He will also use this to recover, but you can gimp it by jumping in front of it, causing Ike to fall to his death. His b-air is instant and has little lag. Ike will RAR this a lot in many cases. He may also approach with n-airs, which are slower but have huge clearing room all around his body. His d-air is a deadly spike that can actually kill quite well unlike most spikes in Brawl. All of Ike’s attacks have insane range and power. He doesn’t have a single move that can’t kill. Even his neutral a combo can kill at higher %s. This move is also unavoidable if you are hit by the first attack, which is super quick and can easily be used as punishment for hitting his shield. He has many things that make him a great slow character, but he is still a slow character at heart. If you use your speed and combos to rack up his damage he won’t know what hit him. He is heavy and has a good recovery options, but he has to choose between horizontal and vertical recovery, he can’t have both, so you can get him with that. He is quite easy to shine spike due to the nature of his recovery. Most importantly try to avoid his attacks at all costs, as every single one can kill you. 3/5
Ness
Ness can absorb your lasers so don’t bother spamming them. He has good range on some attacks but poor range on others, so space yourself accordingly. His f-throw is very strong, so avoid being grabbed. Shine away his PK attacks and get inside for some hits. He is slower than you so you have many options for approach. His Yo-Yos actually do something now, so remember that they are not completely useless anymore. He will try to get you with f-smashes or grabs out of PK Fire, which can make for a good deal of damage.You can still gimp his recovery easily by jumping into the thunder, just like Melee. * 3.5/5
Lucas
This guy is another bad fight for you. He seems like Ness at first glance, but he is much more dangerous. His PK Fire is good to spam but you can shine that away. He can also absorb your lasers and his bubble will do damage if it hits you when finishing. You can sneak lasers in his lag from projectiles, since yours outranges his, but it is sometimes not worth it. His f-smash is strong and fast. His d-smash is strong but very slow and only hits forward. His u-smash is slow but insanely powerful and hits everywhere, so stay away when he uses it. His d-tilt can trip you and his other tilts are good too. His aerials are also good. He can spike with his b-air at the end and his f-air is quick and unpredictable. It will take some work to get near him and when you do you are still in danger for his melee attacks. You are faster than him, but he slows you down significantly with spam and scary moves. You also can’t gimp his recovery by jumping into the thunder because it goes through you. Shield his attacks and punish, his attacks are mostly slower than yours so you’ve got that going for you. 5/5
Mr. Game and Watch
The 2D wonder has a great d-air that autocancels, usually into a d-tilt. This is nearly impossible to punish so just get him afterwards or before he does it. G&W has been improved a lot so he will be a real challenger now. His f-air is still good and his b-air does a lot of damage now. It also WRECKS your shield. His smashes are pretty good, but they are mostly your basic smashes, so don’t worry about them too much, but the tilts can be annoying. He can also attack out of the floating part of his up-b so it is hard to hit him there. He doesn’t have a good projectile so you can laser him pretty good. He may bucket a few to hit you with later but the attack is predictable and three lasers won’t be very powerful in the bucket anyway. He is a strange guy to fight but you should have the advantage here, if only a little. It is hard to pinpoint the exact problem in this fight, but it does have its issues. G&W can build damage surprisingly quickly, especially with that b-air, but so can you, so don’t let him get ahead. 4/5
Snake
This is another hard fight. Snake is slow and powerful, but he is a great camper. He will turn the stage into a giant trap to restrict your movement, one of your greatest allies, and punish you for moving wrong. His u-smashes can be used for some genious setups and he can slide halfway across the screen with it while charging. His neutral combo, and f-tilt combo are crazy strong, and will kill easily. His u-tilt is one of his main killing attacks, and can be done out of his amazing dash attack. He out ranges you, out prioritizes you, and makes your speed advantage useless with all the traps. His f-air is a spike, although it is very slow and hard to pull off and his b-air is another great kill move with huge range, priority, and long duration. Snake can also attack from his up-B but he is very vulnerable while flying and can be grab gimped out of it if he gets to close to the stage while you are standing there. 5/5
Sonic
Sonic isn’t that hard. He is really fast on the ground, but his attacks are not very good. It will be hard to keep up with him but your hits will do well and it will take a lot for him to kill you. Like Olimar, you may be overwhelmed by his general playstyle at first and lose(although not as badly as your first time against Olimar). He is very fast that it is really hard to hit him when your not used to it and he will be coming at you with attacks at every opening, but once you get used to the way he moves you can tear him up. Patience is key here. He has no projectiles to stop you and you can spam yours as long as you’re not careless. Sonic is very weak so you can overpower him easily. You have about equal range, but you have a bit of an advantage on a few. His up-b is really good (but only vertically) and he can attack while coming down so be aware of it. Sonic is very slow in the air and his aerials are only moderate, so you can take care of him up there too. Sonic is only the illusion of fast, so take him down with your real speed. 2.5/5
That concludes the character matchups.
* I haven’t had much experience fighting this character so input would be very appreciated.
Conclusion
Fox is a good character. He may have been nerfed from being the god of Melee but he is not as bad as people seem to think. He has some problems with predictable approach, but his surprising power, blazing speed, nice projectile and great combos make up for his rough time getting inside and starting a combo. Keep on going and take on any opponent!
Good Luck!*This guide will be updated as I gain information*
*PM me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments*
). I'm not convinced that Marth is THAT bad of a matchup for fox. Without L-cancelling he has quite a bit of lag now so if you draw out an attack (all it takes is a short hopped fair) you can sneak in and start comboing. Of course, it's possible that my friend just hasn't figured me out yet and I've just been lucky...
![[FBC] ESAM](/data/avatars/l/92/92614.jpg?1365783210){kind=avatar}
