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[FBC] ESAM
Smash Legend
ESAM here with my 2nd matchup thread. I know a lot less with this one, so help will be much appreciates
WARIO
Overview
Wario is a very strange matchup for all characters. He has the best mobility in the air, which leads to a very annoying style of play. He will be jumping, poking your shield, and retreating, which leaves very little room to do anything. Thankfully, you have thunder jolts which can really help this matchup. Wario has no projectile, so you can abuse it all you want, but spam with intelligence.
On the Ground
Wario shouldn't really be on the ground that often...his ace is his air game. However, there are several troubling factors about wario on the ground. First off, his F-smash is really good. With no DI, it can probably kill pika at 80%. It has super armor at its initiation, so it can eat through whatever you are doing, except if you are grabbing. This is Wario's 2nd best kill move, so beware. his DACUS is also very speedy, so you need to be careful when T-jolting, which is why i said spam smart. Bike is also very quick, and can eat through t-jolt, and eveything you do that isn't hitting him from above. However, if you hit wario off his bike and it stays on the level, try your best to keep wario away from it. If you knock wario off the level when his back is still on the stage, you can go out and edgeguard him so well, he has really no tricks he can do. His DI can still be a little tricky, but he can't just be mindgaming you that whole time, he has to come in.
In the Air
Wario's dair is his most troubling aerial. It is a multi-hit attack, so it will easily poke your shield. It is very quick to come out, and can easily combo you into bite, bike, or f-smash (f-smash only if the last hit doesn't connect). It has good priority, and can eat through your QA, so use it sparingly. WHen pika is at low%, wario can even dair, every hit, to F-smash, doing around 30%! When Wario lands from the air, if he is facing you, he will probably try to grab you, or SH another dair and eat your shield even more. If he is facing away, he might reverse F-smash, so be aware of where he lands and how he lands. Pika's D-smash outprioritizes Wario's dair, so again, this matchup is all based on positioning of air vs ground.
WHen warios are SH double fairing and DIing backwards immediately after, they are most likely doing this for spacing. Fair isn't strong enough to really do anything against you in terms of knocking you back, so they are either doing it for spacing, or, if you are off the level, to gimp your jumps and make it harder for you to recover. Bair, adversely, can kill you off the cliff. Uair, his strongest aerial, can kill unsuspecting pikachus VERY EARLY.
Grabs
Wario has always been bad when being grabbed. Pikachu does not have a CG on wario, but has many options out of grab release. Unfortunately, these opportunities only come when they release from the air. Most smart Warios will get out from the ground. However, from the air, you can Nair, U-smash, D-smash, and you can footstool to QA, which can lead to another grab. When wario releases to the ground, the only thing you can do is jab.
Pika cannot be CG'd by Wario's D-throw, but you should still jump away, otherwise you will get hit by his massive shoulder. You could also shield in this situation, but wario may grab you again, so its all about tricking him and hopefully avoiding his attacks.
Approaching
Against wario, you do not want to be the aggressor. Since wario has no projectile, try to rack up as much damage as you can with it. However, if you are at a disadvantage in the match and must approach, your options are limited compared to most other characters. Wario's bite attack (neutral B) can stop you dead in your tracks and rack up free damage. The safest way to approach is with the aid of a T-jolt. Full hop one, and run towards wario. If he shields the T-jolt, which he probably will, you can grab him. If he jumps over it, another likely possibility, you can be under him and start comboing him with u-air, since it will hit through wario's dair, so you can go to uair combo/fair or whatever else tickles your fancy.
Off the ledge
This is the one place that pikachu has the advantage. Wario's recovery is good enough, but is VERY punishable. Most likely, the first thing that they will do is bike, and jump off of it. Fall down with them and nair, or just shoot a well placed T-jolt to knock them off. This will force them to double jump, and up-b. Wario's Up-b DOES NOT AUTOSWEETSPOT!! He has to be melee-like and cling low to the edge, because if mistimed, he will 100% go over the edge and you can hit him with whatever you like. Pikachu's recovery, adversely, is varying, and you can go at tons of different angles, leaving the wario guessing.
When wario knocks you off the level, try to sweetspot the ledge as quick as possible. If wario is going after you, watch out for the jump-gimping fairs, and surprisingly strong bairs that can kill you if you aren't ready for it. If you see a wario is just staying on the level waiting to ledge-hog you, use your DJ and QA above the level. However, this can be a mindgame, so try to go at an angle that would sweetspot it or not. He might just be mindgaming you to get an F-smash or fart. A drop down fart can be lethal, as most times he hits you with farts are, so be very conscience of the timer.
Fart/Thunder
Farting is wario's #1 kill move far and away. The charge that has the strongest knockback for his fart is from 1 minute to 1:55, it can kill pikachu at 30%. If you are playing wario, make sure that the timer is on, so you can tell when he has it. The point that does the most damage is after 1:55. It does 40%, has some killing potential, but not even as much as his F-Smash. Beware of this move, and be conscience of the time always. When you knock wario away, glance at the time. When he uses it, look at the time so you can base when he will probably use it next. This is wario's most dangerous move in his entire arsenal.
Thunder, on the other hand, doesn't work too well against wario. Sure, it can disrupt recovery, but wario has a lot of horizontal movement in the air, which renders it very situational. You will want to use this mostly when he is off the cliff to disrupt his recovery, or when he is recovering high with his bike.
Killing
Wario DEFINITELY has the edge while killing. His F-smash, Uair, Fart, and bair off the level can kill pikachu relatively easy, considering he is lightweight. On the other hand, pikachu, although having decent killing potential, must be in close range with wario to even think about killing him. His thunder, a frequently used killing attack for pikachu, is basically useless in this matchup. So, the only think pika can reliably kill with are u-smash, f-smash, and nair. Nair will be somewhat difficult to land due to wario's superiority in the air. F-smash will be difficult to sweetspot since wario is constantly moving, and u-smash will be hard to sweetspot for the same reason. Also, even if you land those attacks, wario is pretty heavy, so your kills will be very difficult to obtain.
Overall
Wario has the advantage, 55:45
WARIO
Overview
Wario is a very strange matchup for all characters. He has the best mobility in the air, which leads to a very annoying style of play. He will be jumping, poking your shield, and retreating, which leaves very little room to do anything. Thankfully, you have thunder jolts which can really help this matchup. Wario has no projectile, so you can abuse it all you want, but spam with intelligence.
On the Ground
Wario shouldn't really be on the ground that often...his ace is his air game. However, there are several troubling factors about wario on the ground. First off, his F-smash is really good. With no DI, it can probably kill pika at 80%. It has super armor at its initiation, so it can eat through whatever you are doing, except if you are grabbing. This is Wario's 2nd best kill move, so beware. his DACUS is also very speedy, so you need to be careful when T-jolting, which is why i said spam smart. Bike is also very quick, and can eat through t-jolt, and eveything you do that isn't hitting him from above. However, if you hit wario off his bike and it stays on the level, try your best to keep wario away from it. If you knock wario off the level when his back is still on the stage, you can go out and edgeguard him so well, he has really no tricks he can do. His DI can still be a little tricky, but he can't just be mindgaming you that whole time, he has to come in.
In the Air
Wario's dair is his most troubling aerial. It is a multi-hit attack, so it will easily poke your shield. It is very quick to come out, and can easily combo you into bite, bike, or f-smash (f-smash only if the last hit doesn't connect). It has good priority, and can eat through your QA, so use it sparingly. WHen pika is at low%, wario can even dair, every hit, to F-smash, doing around 30%! When Wario lands from the air, if he is facing you, he will probably try to grab you, or SH another dair and eat your shield even more. If he is facing away, he might reverse F-smash, so be aware of where he lands and how he lands. Pika's D-smash outprioritizes Wario's dair, so again, this matchup is all based on positioning of air vs ground.
WHen warios are SH double fairing and DIing backwards immediately after, they are most likely doing this for spacing. Fair isn't strong enough to really do anything against you in terms of knocking you back, so they are either doing it for spacing, or, if you are off the level, to gimp your jumps and make it harder for you to recover. Bair, adversely, can kill you off the cliff. Uair, his strongest aerial, can kill unsuspecting pikachus VERY EARLY.
Grabs
Wario has always been bad when being grabbed. Pikachu does not have a CG on wario, but has many options out of grab release. Unfortunately, these opportunities only come when they release from the air. Most smart Warios will get out from the ground. However, from the air, you can Nair, U-smash, D-smash, and you can footstool to QA, which can lead to another grab. When wario releases to the ground, the only thing you can do is jab.
Pika cannot be CG'd by Wario's D-throw, but you should still jump away, otherwise you will get hit by his massive shoulder. You could also shield in this situation, but wario may grab you again, so its all about tricking him and hopefully avoiding his attacks.
Approaching
Against wario, you do not want to be the aggressor. Since wario has no projectile, try to rack up as much damage as you can with it. However, if you are at a disadvantage in the match and must approach, your options are limited compared to most other characters. Wario's bite attack (neutral B) can stop you dead in your tracks and rack up free damage. The safest way to approach is with the aid of a T-jolt. Full hop one, and run towards wario. If he shields the T-jolt, which he probably will, you can grab him. If he jumps over it, another likely possibility, you can be under him and start comboing him with u-air, since it will hit through wario's dair, so you can go to uair combo/fair or whatever else tickles your fancy.
Off the ledge
This is the one place that pikachu has the advantage. Wario's recovery is good enough, but is VERY punishable. Most likely, the first thing that they will do is bike, and jump off of it. Fall down with them and nair, or just shoot a well placed T-jolt to knock them off. This will force them to double jump, and up-b. Wario's Up-b DOES NOT AUTOSWEETSPOT!! He has to be melee-like and cling low to the edge, because if mistimed, he will 100% go over the edge and you can hit him with whatever you like. Pikachu's recovery, adversely, is varying, and you can go at tons of different angles, leaving the wario guessing.
When wario knocks you off the level, try to sweetspot the ledge as quick as possible. If wario is going after you, watch out for the jump-gimping fairs, and surprisingly strong bairs that can kill you if you aren't ready for it. If you see a wario is just staying on the level waiting to ledge-hog you, use your DJ and QA above the level. However, this can be a mindgame, so try to go at an angle that would sweetspot it or not. He might just be mindgaming you to get an F-smash or fart. A drop down fart can be lethal, as most times he hits you with farts are, so be very conscience of the timer.
Fart/Thunder
Farting is wario's #1 kill move far and away. The charge that has the strongest knockback for his fart is from 1 minute to 1:55, it can kill pikachu at 30%. If you are playing wario, make sure that the timer is on, so you can tell when he has it. The point that does the most damage is after 1:55. It does 40%, has some killing potential, but not even as much as his F-Smash. Beware of this move, and be conscience of the time always. When you knock wario away, glance at the time. When he uses it, look at the time so you can base when he will probably use it next. This is wario's most dangerous move in his entire arsenal.
Thunder, on the other hand, doesn't work too well against wario. Sure, it can disrupt recovery, but wario has a lot of horizontal movement in the air, which renders it very situational. You will want to use this mostly when he is off the cliff to disrupt his recovery, or when he is recovering high with his bike.
Killing
Wario DEFINITELY has the edge while killing. His F-smash, Uair, Fart, and bair off the level can kill pikachu relatively easy, considering he is lightweight. On the other hand, pikachu, although having decent killing potential, must be in close range with wario to even think about killing him. His thunder, a frequently used killing attack for pikachu, is basically useless in this matchup. So, the only think pika can reliably kill with are u-smash, f-smash, and nair. Nair will be somewhat difficult to land due to wario's superiority in the air. F-smash will be difficult to sweetspot since wario is constantly moving, and u-smash will be hard to sweetspot for the same reason. Also, even if you land those attacks, wario is pretty heavy, so your kills will be very difficult to obtain.
Overall
Wario has the advantage, 55:45
