Falco's Metagame development discussion; Part 3: Low aerial off stage game.

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Ground approach game[/size](on the ground less than a full horizontal IAP away up to next to the opponent):

Before we can decide to know what to use, we have to think about the opponents options.
1. Shield and wait for an option.
2. Shield and Attack as soon as they think they can.
3. Approach with an attack
4. Running Grab/ Shield Grab

Next are our available options for approach(first few moves, everything after is too much of a variable) as well as the number next to it of the opponent's option to which it works against.This is all assuming both characters are approaching from close to or on the ground. Punishing landings is a different aspect with different options.

Jab to Grab: 1 & 4
Jab to Ftilt: 1, 2, & 4 (1 and 4 because it spaces unless you're in their face. In that case only 2)
Jab to Dtilt(faster than Ftilt and has possibility to shield poke and sets up combos) Numbers: Same as Jab Ftilt
Jab to another Jab to above move: See above, It's just another mind game to let the opponent know that they're in a bad position because they keep getting hit, even if it's just a jab. Makes opponents more prone to shielding and rolling.
Ftilt spacing: 1 and 4 (Approaching with attacks screws up{3} the spacing and some characters can hit you with an instant dash attack out of shield{2})
Triple Jab: 2(shield will go down) 3, fast enough to catch attacks unless they ping, 4 fast enough for them to not grab
Running Shield (Wait for attack or their shield) and grab 1 and If you don't get grabbed first then 2 and 4 too
Spaced Grab(includes pivot slide grab because it's the same effect)(Spin sliding, no matter how stupid it may look, actually pressures opponents into shields and gives you a good grab opportunity)1 & 4
Instant Dash Attack(so good for punishing laggy moves) into end of move up tilt or instant up smash. Maybe 3. It should only be used to punish laggy moves.
Sliding Up Smash Don't use it. It will be shielded and you will get punished for it
Reflector: 3 (Only use it if you see they're getting aggressive)
IAP: Good a lot of things like spacing and getting away from bad positions; however doesn't have too many uses in this specific situation.

Since so many people wanted to add in lasers, here's a laser section.
Short hop silent laser into dash attack canceled up smash is a weird combo because even though it spaces pretty well, it doesn't work a good percentage of the time against the 4 main opponent's options. 2 and 3 but it can work on 1 and 4.
Short hop silent laser to sliding up smash: Don't use it. It will get shielded and you will be punished for it.
Short hop silent laser to any one of the above non laser moves adds the same effect as 2 jabs before an attack instead of one. Pressures the opponent into thinking they're in a really bad position and forces them to shield, side step, or roll away
The best effect for a laser to have would probably have to be a short hop double silent laser to any above non laser move.(First laser isn't silent) because it makes the opponent not able to jump and the silent laser pressures. Overall helps Falco control the situation more.

Full jumping aerials can be done out of shield as well as after combos. Consider it like the lasers(where you can just throw it in) except for at the end of the attack.

I did not consider opponent's side stepping into this logic because side stepping, if it works, means you're getting predictable. If you sidestep a lot, drop that habit. It'll really hurt you later on. If the opponent rolls, Falco's moves listed above don't have enough lag for anyone to punish them.

For short hopped aerials and short hop air dodge mind games, I find the best answer is to shield it and either grab them if they don't space the attack or punish them if they do with an instant dash attack right when they get out of your range if they did space it. For short hop air dodges, if your shield is up, which is should already be, you can grab them before they grab you. When your shield diminishes, roll away and let it regenerate.

Seeing that a lot of those moves cover 2 or 3 of 4 situations that's 50-75%. If you have an average of 62.5% success rate in your moves, you will win that match. This isn't including the random variables that happen in fighting games, but then again you can't predict those kinds of things. Random goods cancel with random bads as long as you don't put yourself in bad situations.
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[size=+1]Part 2: Low aerial game[/size](Credit to Blad01 for the main set up of this discussion part, it looked nice so I used it

1st Option : Opponent on the floor(Most likely heavier characters that don't want to jump) While on the floor there are about 5 options they have to use.

1. Sidestep
2. Shield grab
3. Attack
4. Roll away
5. Roll into you(or where you were coming from)

The listed options are still the options Falco covers but I will add numbers where Falco is in a punishable situation(i.e. they just side stepped your side smash.) There is a star next to the number where Falco is in a bad position vs a non punished position.

• SH Dair : A strong approach, but very punishable. If it is shielded you can DI and Fastfall backwards, or behind the opponent's shield.
  [highlight]Don't jump into people using this move if you're not planning to DI away or at least use it after the fast fall to make it harder to shield grab. It's very punishable like Blad01 said. Don't use this often.[/highlight]
  *If you DI backwards : A lot of characters can still grab you (long grab range), run and grab, dash attack, etc...
  [highlight]This is all part of the mind game. If you do that, it'll condition them to drop their shield sooner and allow you to hit them with a delayed aerial. Make this option a mind game and not part of your main strat. As for numbers, you're safe from everything, but there are no advantageous positions for either character, except maybe instant dash attack or rolling into you and attacking.[/highlight]
  *If you DI and fastfall behind a shield : It's much harder for the opponent to punish you, and even harder if you DI, Fastfall, and Jab. But it's also hard to space...
  [highlight]This is the best option for Falco's SH Dair. Fast fall always before you use it. Be careful, if it becomes predictable, they'll hit you out of the air before it comes out. Numbers are only considered when using the Dair at the end of the Sh: 1, 2 is 50/50, *3, 4 and 5 set both characters back to neutral fighting position(No advantages).[/highlight]
• SH Nair : Good for shield pressure. You can Nair to Jab, it will work most of the time against a shieldgrab reaction.
  [highlight] Unless they have a good reaction speed, it won't be punished. Still don't use it too often. It doesn't have much priority. Numbers: 1, 2 is 65/35 in Falcos favor, 3 is 50/50(whoever gets the attack out first wins) 4 and 5= neutral positions.[/highlight]
• RAR Bair : Well, i never use that... I find it too punishable.
  [highlight] Spaced backwards back airs are good wallers(makes it difficult to get through) but its not something you want to be approaching with. It could shield poke their head if they sit in their shield all day. Numbers: 2 only if they sit in their shield waiting for the grab[/highlight]
• SH Bair (behind opponent) : This is a pretty good approach. The opponent can drop his shield, and if he doesn't, it's much harder for him to punish you. But if he attacks you while you're shing... you're screwed :/
  [highlight]Numbers: 2 and 5(sex kick hits them at the end of the roll), 1 and 4 are back to neutral positions and *3. [/highlight]
  
• SH Airdodge, DI backwards : Well, sk92 uses that with a FSmash. It works if the opponent drops his shield... A reaction that he will very likely have, because he wants to punish the airdodge.
  [highlight] Good as a mind game, but not good as an always approach. Numbers: 1, 3(unless they instant dash attack out of shield), 5. 2 (if they sit in their shield) and 4 set back to neutral positions.[/highlight]
• SH Airdodge / SH FF behind opponent : I never used that, but it could be a mind game to try.
  [highlight]Falco has many options here. SH-AD to grab, to jab combo, to up tilt, to roll away. 1, (2, 3=unless they wait and punish you when you hit the ground, but because of Falco's speed, it'll be very hard for them to) 4 and 5 =neutral positions.[/highlight]

2nd option: Opponent short hops with you

My first reaction : Fu**, i'm screwed.
Well :

• If you didn't RAR... You're in a bad position. Fair, Nair, and Dair don't have very good range... (I mean they can't rival Marth's Fair) You can use the reflector, the laser, or simply airdodge.
• If you did RAR, use Bair Or Airdodge if the opponent has more range.

[highlight] When this happens, always be ready to laser, reflector, or air dodge. Anything else sets falco up at a disadvantage.[/highlight]

3rd option: Opponent is falling from above and just went into the low aerial game area(Lower than falco's full hop and above the ground.)

That depends on the opponent and his character...

• Wait for the airdodge : You can SHFF to grab an Airdodging opponent, charge a smash, sh and dj Bair...
• The opponent's attacking : Nair, Bair, or punish lag.

[highlight] This is a scenario where you really have to use your mind games to figure out what they're going to do. Falco is at the advantage here, but it's still about 50%/25%/25% (50=Falcos advantage, 25=neutral positions, 25 being their advantage)[/highlight]

Overall, just like the first topic, lasers are good. Use them to pull your opponent down to force them to deal with your ground speed. With this topic, IAP deserves notable mention, especially if you learn to cancel it. IAP cancelling has a lot of potential. So all Falco players should learn the timings for the cancel at all cancel points. Reflector is good for spacing, but is very punishable. Use it but use it only sparingly. From my experiences, this is Falco's worst approach option but because of Melee, Falcos everywhere want to approach like this. It's why we get ***** by GaW. Falco should just use his options on the floor. Remember though, even if it's a horrible approach, everything can work in a game at least once if done at the right time.

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Next discussion point is low aerial off stage game. This includes ledge play. It ranges below the point in between his Short hop and full hop from the ground floor(ignore platforms when measuring) and to barely off the edge to side or bottom blast zones.

Normally I use Jab to grab, then CG into DAC Up-Smash into Dair for the kill(If possible) if I feel its not safe just to jab and grab him, I just SH some Lasers until they decide to do something

I think it's safe to say that the best approach is lasers, however I find them more effective in a medium to medium-short range rather than super campy. Since a perfect SHL has zero lag, you can either go right into another one if it doesn't hit, reflect if they shield it and try to approach, or if it hits you have a billion more options. In this case, I like to u-smash against like characters like G&W and Meta at high %s, or you can really go into anything like a gatling, an AAA if you're close enough, tilts, a phantasm, endless options really...


As far as his ground move-set is concerned...

The only moves I'm rather disappointed with are his d-smash and his d-tilt. Both need to have a longer range, and d-tilt needs more range in the back. I still love d-tilt and use when necessary, typically when it's not expected. Other than that, I really have no problems. His other tilts are great. U-tilt has unrealistic range and decent priority after the first hit. I like to let my opponents fall into it, it's also a nice poke through platforms, and of course it's great after an auto-cancelled nair. His smashes are great. I save forward and down smash, but surprise with boost smashing whenever I can. Since I autocancel nair to u-tilt or d-tilt from time to time, they're usually not expecting a fresh d-smash at high percents.

Oh. And chaingrabs.

-mugen- said:

The only moves I'm rather disappointed with are his d-smash and his d-tilt. Both need to have a longer range, and d-tilt needs more range in the back. I still love d-tilt and use when necessary, typically when it's not expected. Other than that, I really have no problems. His other tilts are great. U-tilt has unrealistic range and decent priority after the first hit. I like to let my opponents fall into it, it's also a nice poke through platforms, and of course it's great after an auto-cancelled nair. His smashes are great. I save forward and down smash, but surprise with boost smashing whenever I can. Since I autocancel nair to u-tilt or d-tilt from time to time, they're usually not expecting a fresh d-smash at high percents.

Oh. And chaingrabs.

Click to expand...

i believe they nerfed his dsmash and dtilt b/c of how ****ty everyone else is in the game....due to sakurai's hatred for his japanese background of "honor" and "competition".

Airborne said:

i believe they nerfed his dsmash and dtilt b/c of how ****ty everyone else is in the game....due to sakurai's hatred for his japanese background of "honor" and "competition".

Click to expand...

Wow, I find that post to be extremely wrong on multiple levels, self-contradicting, and close to racist...

All in one sentence. Good work.

Personally, I think that Falco plays a better defensive and punishing game than a ground game, so I think that most of the time, it is smarter to let your opponent try to approach you through a barrage of SHL's and SHDL's while they try to keep proper spacing at the same time so that they can try to avoid being punished...but yeah. I guess if you had to have a good ground approach, I'd actually say shield grabbing isn't half bad...lol...um, you pose a good question. I just prefer his defensive and punishing game so much more than trying to bring the game to my opponent...especially on the ground. An occasional boost smash or boost combo could be effective, as well as even the shine or a jab-shine combo. If you shield their attack, maybe you could use a dtilt out of the shield and go for a dair/nair for a potential combo of sorts at medium percentages (60%ish?).

Jab mixups are amazing really, jab to grab, double jab to grab, jab to fsmash(rarely) punishes people who try to spot dodge in fear of a grab, and of course the most important one, the rapid jab. You need to keep them honest to the rapid jab otherwise they'll have no reason to fall for the jab to grab mixup.

F-tilt is also too good, one of our quickest ground moves, great range, and hard to punish on block so long as you space it right. I don't think people use this move enough, it really is a solid move.

As far as approaching..


If for some reason you feel the need to approach, using SHLs(not double) as you jump in is probably the best way to start, as you get closer get gets less safe to hang in the air, so after the mid-way point you should just dash or walk towards them if you want to keep getting closer.


From a dash, dash attack is fast as hell, it's also one of the more expected and punishable moves and doing this alone will more than likely get you grabbed, or ***** in some shape or form. Doing dash attack to upsmash makes this a little safer, but some characters will have no problem punishing this even still. The name of the game? Don't get predicible.

Dashing in close to shield is normally a good idea for any character really, you might get them to whiff something or block the hit and be able to punish(instant dash attack works well after this 4 frame startup ftw) Even if they don't bite, you should now be safely inside now and you get to work your f-tilt/jab mixups/whatever else you want to do upclose.

Dash to SH dair is one of the safest attacks from a dash as it allows you to space it so you attack, and if it's blocked you can DI backwards avoid most followups, it's isn't 100% foolproof of course, but then again nothing really is. The name of the game? Mixups.


Walking in to perfectly spaced f-tilts can work if they don't out range you on the ground(Snake,Marth, etc but you should be camping both of them anyway)



That's about it really, I'm probably forgetting one thing or two, but that's my general take on Falco's ground game, and ground approach.


Oh yeah, and down tilt sucks.

Since Falco is too easy to predict, his ground game has to begin after some lasering, even though that is predictable aswell.
After the lasers I jab combo pretty much all the time and I'm hating this habit since it makes me too predictable. I like dong Jab-Dtilt-Usmash as a little string since it's flashy and whatnot. Dtilt->HighFtilt->Shine is also a nice flashy string i do.
I have grown to phantasming way too much to run away and laser, but I'm finding this to be very predictable aswell. Want to rack up some damage? You can try the two Flashy Strings i mentioned or some continous Utilts can be good too. All his tilts are pretty good, not Snaketastic, but pretty good for Falco. Jab is sex and so is the fabled G-Combo.
Just mix it up as a Falco, try being less predictable like instead of going straight for the grab, start a chain that leads up to it unless your opposition isn't very bright and goes right into the grab.

Gatling combo ***** shield grabbers

Btw people, this isn't a 'teach me your ground game' discussion. If you want to word it as such to make it easier then fine. I have my own ideas for Falcos ground approach; however, it is nice to see new things people have as well as show beginner Falcos how to break down their game and use it accordingly.

Good job on the ideas, keep it up.

I usually do SHDbl Laser -> Shine

However, I only approach few opponents. Falcos projectile + Shine forces most opponents to approach anyways...

SHDL -> into dash attack+upsmash or jab combo to reflector or jab+grab or SH airdodge to other side into grab/dash attack into upsmash or if im with my back towards the edge of the stage a SHL to wave pivot. Actually he has alot of options. Which one I use depends on the % of my opponent. I almost always use SHDL or SHL in my approach. Not always of course

you know what I never see? The Boost smash where Falco turns around in the middle, that looks **** sexy, not amazingly useful, although if you hit them with the end of the attack it will send them in the direction that you are boost smashing in rather than the other way.

J4pu yeah that is pretty sexy, but people always shield it. It's not really a boost smash though. It's just a jump canceled rar running up smash.

You know whats amazing. Every good sized post talked about ground game included short hop lasers. I want Falco to evolve past the need to use his laser.

Post what your idea is the best moves or set-ups to do if you weren't allowed to jump.

Tommy is funny.

Falco has a gun. His gun lets him control his opponents and is a better option then dash to shield cancelled f-tilt or something.

If Falco were faster in running speed then he could just run up to his opponents and poke them.

But since he can't he needs his laser to pressure his opponent into shielding and set-up his ground game for either a block string or a mix-up.

So basic Falco shield pressure would look like SHDL to jab mix-ups/f-tilt/grab/retreating lasers.

How much further can you evolve past the use one of the most effective projectiles in the game... ?

SHDL Approach, Poke with jabs, ftilt, bair, and nair. SHDL leads into grab as well. Phantasm to correct spacing!

DNA instant said:

SHDL Approach, Poke with jabs, ftilt, bair, and nair. SHDL leads into grab as well. IAP to correct spacing!

Click to expand...

FIXED

Emblem Lord, my logic here isn't to completely negate the laser. If I take the focus away from it, it'll develop Falco's non campy game to a point where its even more practical than camping. It's like Marth's Side B move(I'm not good with Marth so bare with my example) Although it's a good move that catches Sidesteps and pressures shields, it's not the only thing you want to do. I feel like I have seen Falco's camping potential and if that's all that Falco has, we would be in trouble. I think the laser should only be used to cover distance between them while approaching from very far distances(just outside of phantasm)

I want to be able to break up Falco's game into different components. Ground approach game shouldn't include so many lasers. His camp game...well go for it. It's good but people will lose focus on Falco's real game.

These next sections are separable aspects of Falco's game we can focus on.
Ground approach game(on the ground less than a full horizontal IAP away up to next to the opponent)
Low aerial game(below the space about half way in between short hop and full hop)
Low aerial off stage game(below high aerial anywhere off the stage as well as ledge play)
High aerial and off stage game(above Low aerial game and obviously off stage high, these are too similar to separate)
Long distance camp game(self explanatory)

Of course different sections will have their own subsections. We can really develop Falco by taking one step at a time instead of shooting it all with lasers.

Reverse Pivot/Boost Grab comes in handy for Ground game. But SHDL will make it of use more.

Immediate Aerial Phantasm also helps, but would it be considered part of his Aerial game haha? He barely rises above the ground, so I'd consider it ground game.

Jab cancelled grab is effective if your opponent isn't expecting it. They'd easily ground-dodge it. Jab x 3 helps alot and racks up quite the damage. F-Tilt to Reflector is good at low percents.

And thats basically all I got for now. Tomorrow I may add more.

KuroZero said:

Reverse Pivot/Boost Grab comes in handy for Ground game. But SHDL will make it of use more.

Immediate Aerial Phantasm also helps, but would it be considered part of his Aerial game haha? He barely rises above the ground, so I'd consider it ground game.

Jab cancelled grab is effective if your opponent isn't expecting it. They'd easily ground-dodge it. Jab x 3 helps alot and racks up quite the damage. F-Tilt to Reflector is good at low percents.

And thats basically all I got for now. Tomorrow I may add more.

Click to expand...

Lmao, if it's iffy, throw it in anyways. The only reason we use IAP is because grounded phantasms have so much lag.

(Wanted to make it a separate post from the quote but I'm not going to double post)
Once we get to 25 or 30 posts, I'll put a summary up and move on to the next section. Try to make situations where Falco limits the opponents options. If something works 60-75% of the time, then we're doing a good job.

Example: Jab to fast shield to jab to grab/dtilt/rare fsmash or turn around fsmash.

The jab makes the opponent shield and you could probably just go for the grab. If you're fighting a marth(Up b's a *****) or someone with fast attacks the shield will block it. Keeping a fast shield will reduce the risk of getting grabbed. The second jab lags out the shield just long enough to either grab them after it or diminishes it enough to dtilt and shield poke it. I explain shield poking at the end. Their only option is really to sidestep or roll, which either way doesn't damage us. If they sidestep or roll behind you, a turn around fsmash can catch a side step from the backwards hit box or after the roll.

About shield poking: A move shield pokes(hits the through their shield) if you hit them and the hit box on the attack doesn't touch the shield. If the whole move is executed and it doesn't touch their shield, but touches their body, they will get hit. Because dtilt has a small vertical hit box, its not hard to shield poke with it.

Jab to Fsmash can be decent depending on the character (if they can punish the 'wind' part of it).

The Fsmash just needs to be spaced. Like jab, walk away, then Fsmash.

but you probably already knew that. =\

The jab doesn't make good opponent shield... They can also Jab after yours pretty easily, or even grab you...

That's why i began the Jab X 2 into Grab, a little more safe...

Blad01 said:

The jab doesn't make gound opponent shield... They can also Jab after yours pretty easily, or even grab you...

That's why i began the Jab X 2 into Grab, a little more safe...

Click to expand...

There are many variables. I find the jab into grab works all of the time unless they sidestep which then I just do triple jab or jab, jab, ftilt or dtilt if their shield magically was able to come back before the second jab. When I said it would make the opponent shield, that was my mistake on wording. The approach and just going into them would make them shield because its one of the safer things to do. If you mix it up between triple jabs and one jab, when they shield one jab they'll keep it out expecting a triple jab to easily be shield grabbed.

Your post is what I like to see in these kinds of discussions. Keep up the good work.

Something i like to throw in is....
When you jab multiple times in a game, eventually the person is gonna start to side step to avoid the grab. So, to become unpredictable, i would do a jab then charge an Fsmash, and time is so that you can get them at the end of their spotdodge. If times perfect, it is unshieldable (not a word lol) due to most chars spot dodge having around 2-4 frames in the end where the dodge is ending but they have become vulnerable.

J4pu said:

FIXED

Spoiler

10 IAPs

Click to expand...

I thought the IAP was implied. (What I'm really tryin say izzat, come on now, never regular phantasm. It's too laggy)

Update. Check the first page:

Begin New discussion on Falco's Low aerial game described on the last paragraph(section)

Well, I'll add what I can. Correct me if its wrong.

The easiest and safest low aerial approach is the SH Dair obviously since it spikes them into the stage, or has some decent forward knowback if you don't sweetspot it properly. However, this is the one approach any good player will predict on Falco's part I think. I believe someone said before that you can DI backwards a bit if the Dair connects to a shield, but I'm not sure and haven't tried it just yet.

Another great approach is SH nair, since it leads so flawlessly into a ground game. Rising nair into a jab combo, followed up with an uair to put them back into the air. Follow up with another nair, bair, or dair to whatever works best for you.

RAR bairs are awesome since it's possible to chain a ton of them together if you don't sweetspot it, and finish it off with a sweet spotted bair to send them flying (somewhat).

Since you don't want lasers mentioned, I won't discuss them. But my favorite approach of all of these is the nair because it combos into Falco's ground game, mainly the jab which can lead into almost anything. And if the nair is shielded initially, the following ground attack will force them to keep it up. Or if they attempt to shield grab, they get punished for it.

Yojimbo said:

Well, I'll add what I can. Correct me if its wrong.

The easiest and safest low aerial approach is the SH Dair obviously since it spikes them into the stage, or has some decent forward knowback if you don't sweetspot it properly. However, this is the one approach any good player will predict on Falco's part I think. I believe someone said before that you can DI backwards a bit if the Dair connects to a shield, but I'm not sure and haven't tried it just yet.

Another great approach is SH nair, since it leads so flawlessly into a ground game. Rising nair into a jab combo, followed up with an uair to put them back into the air. Follow up with another nair, bair, or dair to whatever works best for you.

RAR bairs are awesome since it's possible to chain a ton of them together if you don't sweetspot it, and finish it off with a sweet spotted bair to send them flying (somewhat).

Since you don't want lasers mentioned, I won't discuss them. But my favorite approach of all of these is the nair because it combos into Falco's ground game, mainly the jab which can lead into almost anything. And if the nair is shielded initially, the following ground attack will force them to keep it up. Or if they attempt to shield grab, they get punished for it.

Click to expand...

You can throw in lasers, I just try to get the discussion away from them to avoid Falco falling into a state of nothing but lasers.

Overall, Good post. Is it possible? Are we actually making progress? Continue with the good work..

Bump. Double post yeah I know, but we need to develop this thread. For Low aerial game, present your options for both opponent jumping(being aerial at your same level) and while they're on the ground.

Falco actually has a pretty good rush down game based on some of his moves incredible speed and priority. That being said. I think Falco's best ground game is one where he doesn't have to actually use his rush down game. He has the best horizontal control in the game via lasers, so even though he has some other solid option, I tend to abuse his best one. Between IAP and lasers, I can constantly adjust my ground spacing, and effectively limit my opponents options most of the match. While it seems shallow, the spacing is very critical, and takes a while to get a hang of. I've gotten past the point of playing shallow, because I know I'm using Falco's best option, and I'm not limiting myself by trying to play differently. Other than the above two moves, the rest of my ground game includes mostly shffl Nairs, Jab, and Grab. These moves in conjunction with lasers and IAP provide the best level of spacing manipulation and pressure control.

Dairs for the low aerial game. Nuff' said. :D

Let me throw in some options you guys or girls can address separately.

1st option: Opponent on the floor
Most likely the opponent will shield going for a shield grab so take that into account.

2nd option: Opponent short hops with you (Both short hopping to each other)

3rd option: Opponent is falling from above and just went into the low aerial game area(Lower than falco's full hop and above the ground.

Good job on posting so far.

Bump.

10char.

Point 1: Laser + Phantasm around until opponent decides to make a move. Jabs might be acceptable aswell.

Point 2: Nair if the distance is minimal. Lasers otherwise or Dairs.

Point 3: If opponent = Low range, Utiltx necessary. Otherwise, Shield, lag punish, shield grab.

Option 1: Autocancel a nair, opponent will usually drop his shield only to be punished by a jab.

Option 2: I would recommend dairs or lasers because there are many follow-up options after these.

Option 3: It depends what your opponent does in the air. They will either airdodge or use an aerial, and in some cases projectiles may be involved. If they airdodge then charge a smash. If they aerial then shield and punish. Falco's reaction to projectiles depends on how the opponent is spaced relative to falco. If mid-range, then shine (e.g. lucas may use a short-hopped PK fire).

chaingrab metaknight's a55

Low Aerial Game. I respond to that, because i really need to stop approachind mindlessly a shield with SH Dair.

1st Option : Opponent on the floor

• SH Dair : A strong approach, but very punishable. If it is shielded you can DI and Fastfall backwards, or behind the opponent's shield.
  If you DI backwards : A lot of characters can still grab you (long grab range), run and grab, dash attack, etc...
  If you DI and fastfall behind a shield : It's much harder for the opponent to punish you, and even harder if you DI, Fastfall, and Jab. But it's also hard to space...
• SH Nair : Good for shield pressure. You can Nair to Jab, it will work most of the time against a shieldgrab reaction.
• RAR Bair : Well, i never use that... I find it too punishable.
• SH Bair (behind opponent) : This is a pretty good approach. The opponent can drop his shield, and if he doesn't, it's much harder for him to punish you. But if he attacks you while you're shing... you're screwed :/
• SH Airdodge, DI backwards : Well, sk92 uses that with a FSmash. It works if the opponent drops his shield... A reaction that he will very likely have, because he wants to punish the airdodge.
• SH Airdodge / SH FF behind opponent : I never used that, but it could be a mindgame to try

2nd option: Opponent short hops with you

My first reaction : Fu**, i'm screwed.
Well :

• If you didn't RAR... You're in a bad position. Fair, Nair, and Dair don't have very good range... (I mean they can't rivalise with Marth's Fair) You can use the reflector, the laser, or simply airdodge.
• If you did RAR, use Bair Or Airdodge if the opponent has more range.

3rd option: Opponent is falling from above and just went into the low aerial game area(Lower than falco's full hop and above the ground.

That depends on the opponent and his character...

• Wait for the airdodge : You can SHFF to grab an Airdodging opponent, charge a smash, sh and dj Bair...
• The opponent's attacking : Nair, Bair, or punish lag.

SH Dair : A strong approach, but very punishable. If it is shielded you can DI and Fastfall backwards, or behind the opponent's shield.
If you DI backwards : A lot of characters can still grab you (long grab range), run and grab, dash attack, etc...
If you DI and fastfall behind a shield : It's much harder for the opponent to punish you, and even harder if you DI, Fastfall, and Jab. But it's also hard to space...

Click to expand...

I think SH d-air's are not shield grabbable if you sweet spot the d-air against the shield. I've seen SK92 do it in videos, and I do it myself whenever possible. (Though I do fight a lot of Falcon, and his grab range is terrible).

I also think that when your opponent short hops with you, pulling out your gun is a pretty good option, assuming they aren't right on top of you already. If you have enough time to pull the blaster you can SHDL them, and then follow it up with an up-smash, or jab combo, jab-to-grab.

Don't you want to change the discussion, Tommy_G ?

Also, about the sweetspot Dair... I pretty sure Olimar, Dedede, link, t. link, samus, zamus, even maybe snake can sheildgrab it.