How do you fight Ike?

1. The most powerful swordsman in the game.
2. FSmash, nuff said
3. tilts, u-smash and d-smash
4. never let up
5. Hang on ledge followed by b-air

1. What is your general opinion of Ike as a character?

Frighteningly strong, but has limited safe approaches vs. Link. When I come across an Ike player I am "cautiously optimistic". I always try to remember that no matter how much I am winning by, the game is not over until final stock is done. One missed spot dodge on a Fsmash evens things up real quick.

2. What moves do you fear from Ike?

With the caveat that every one of Ike's moves can be dangerous if used properly, the ones that I keep an eye out for are:

A. Fsmash. It rarely connects, but when it does Link does not have the recovery to make it back, even at mid-lower percents.

B. Bair. Deceptivley fast, huge knockback.

C. Jab combo. Waaaay too much damage and knockback for a move that fast.

D. SH Nair. Fast, good priority, sets up for Utilt/SH Uair's.

E. Usmash. Covers his entire body, reaches really far behind, hurts.

F. Fair. Not because it is incredibly good, but it is the one most commonly used to approach.

3. Which moves do not trouble you at all?

A. Counter/DownB. Comes out too slowly to be much use, and won't help much against projectiles.

B. Dtilt/Dsmash. Limited range makes them none too useful.

C. Neutral B. Again, no range. I'm going to be running away from him for most of the match.

D. SideB. Punishable, and I will usually have a projectile in between me and him anyway.

4. Which moves/techniques do you use against Ike to gain the advantage?

Depends on the other player. Generally I will try to force an approach and play spacing games for as long as I can. When he gets close, I try to bait a punishable attack so I can gain some distance again. Favorite tactics include:

Spacing games:
-SH forwards/backwards, bomb, quikdraw
-FH forwards/backwards, boomerang, quickdraw
-FH arrow, quickdraw
-Boomerang (tossed upwards) into charged arrow
-SH forwards/Backwards, Zair, into dash, into uair/utilts as much as possible
-Ike is slow enough in the air that I can often predict his landing and hit him with a dash grab during the 4 frames of landing lag. Do this constantly and it gets predictable, but as a mix up/mindgame, it can be effective.

If he manages to close to me, favorite tactics include:

Distance finders:
-Jab combo
-Jabx2 cancled into utilt into uair, etc
-Jabx2 canceled into grab
-SH Nair into utilt into uair, etc
-Up B out of sheild/spotdodge
-Charged Dsmash to counter rolling approaches

5. What specific edgeguards do you employ versus Ike?

If he is coming in low to use Aether for recovery:

-A SH bomb drop over the side can spike him against the stage, unless he times it miraculously to land on the super armor frames.
-SH Dair can catch him unawares, but timing to miss the sword and hit him as he rises is hard.
-Tap him with the tail end of the gale boomerang and it will push him back an inch or so, but give him no heght to work with. Sometimes it's enough.

If he is charging Side for recovery:

-A simple walk off edgehog can doom him, if timed just right.
-Jump off the side to get in between him and the stage, airdodge. It makes him attack and short it.
-If you have time, a charged arrow messes this one up pretty badly.
-SH Dair hurts this one a lot.

Ike can go either way, but I tend to feel like the game is mine to lose. If I mess up, I'll lose, if I don't, I'll win.

Ike is slow and tall enough that all of Link's projectiles are viable to use, as well as repeated Zairs as a spacing/mindgame tool. I tend to spend most the the match shorthopping with projectiles one way or another, trying to stay outside his range and bait a punishable approach.

If I start getting predictable with this, I'll go crazy offensive for a few moves, forgoing all projectiles, just to put some pressure on him, then go back to poking.

Hope this helps.

1. his quickest moves aren't quick enough to give him solid defense for close fighting. he's more about predicting your enemy's trajectory and keeping that area covered with great range and power. his attacks cover areas and have offset timings which can make it difficult to dodge or airdodge through. He's a kind of character where his basic stats go a long way. Let's face it, hit for hit, he is a beast.
2. i think the best ike players will use their counter, Dsmash, utilt, grabs, Nair, A-A-A combo and super armor to keep himself protected from close game. His Up Smash is the scary one in my opinion. Bair is good for tall and airborne enemies. Powershield EVERYTHING and keep momentum. If you MUST use his Side special, jump with it so you can at least have more options. Let it go early in the air for short, or later on the ground for long. When you just use it on the ground you are asking for pain. And no...it is never faster to charge the side B than it is to just dash attack. Except when falling from the air.
3. Forward B. I find it to be overused by new players. Forward air is easy to see coming, and has a large commitment, don't get greedy with it, it becomes a weakness if overused.
4. I play link so any projectile is a good start. Specifically I use bombs and Zair (aerial clawshot)
5. Jump out and take the hit from his forward b. Hit him before he is in horizontal range of doing his UP B. Using a ranged attack to outprioritize his UP B (when not in super armor) Ike is the most in danger of dying when he is at a downward diagnal of the stage



i assume quicker characters that don't have any projectiles will keep a mid-distance outside your sword. They will be quick enough that from that safe distance, they could rush you and you wouldn't have much reaction time leaving you with very few viable moves that are quick enough to fit into that small window of time.

they will basically play it safe because it sucks to screw up and get hit by ike.

they will elicit an attack on your part so that you are open to be rushed. They will get inside you and pick you apart.


what you have to do is threathen them back in a safe way so that you aren't committed to a move that allows you to get punished.

short hop Nair, Utilt, Dsmash, A-A-A, and anything that has to do with grabbing.

instead of trying to use your down special (the counter) on people rushing you or hovering around just outside your reach, i suggest you make use of powershielding instead, less of a penalty.

up B
down B
neutral B

are all best used as counters in my opinion

they all have their drawbacks, so they take some extra kind of prediction. Mix them up. Use them in surprising ways. Don't rely on any one more than the other. You need to keep them surprised.

The only thing you have to know about Ike, (for fighting him, I mean) is that if you use the Galerang correctly, he might as well just stop playing the game and go outside. The Galerang completely ***** Ike, considering it has full control over his movement.

1. What is your general opinion of Ike as a character?
Very bad character.

2. What moves do you fear from Ike?
Forward Air

3. Which moves do not trouble you at all?
Forward Smash

4. Which moves/techniques do you use against Ike to gain the advantage?
AIRDODGE, projectile spam.

5. What specific edgeguards do you employ versus Ike?
Reflector, multiple forward airs until he can't recover (not too hard to do), jump off and get hit by his quickdraw resulting in Ike falling to his doom.

5. Other
I am a believer that Ike's recovery may be fundamentally flawed.

before coming on to the boards i was just hoping someone would make a thread like this. awesome.

spam and shield grab

aAndy said:

spam and shield grab

Click to expand...

Spam WHAT and shield grab?

Projectiles, I'm guessing. What else can Link spam?