Matchup Thread Export Directory
META KNIGHT
DIFFICULTY: HARD - 40:60
META KNIGHT
DIFFICULTY: HARD - 40:60
Quick Tips
- Down-smash after down-throw? YES
- Bucket anything? NO
- A well-timed UpB against ALL of MK's B moves will put MK in a disabled free-fall state. (See video)
Videos
- UTDZac vs. Dojo - FS6 Game 2
- UTDZac vs. Dphat - KTT Game 1 KTT Game 2
- UTDZac vs. D4Ba - KTT Game 1 KTT Game 3
- DMG vs. D4Ba - KTT Game 3
General Matchup
- Meta Knight is a much faster character than GW in almost every situation. The startup time on his attacks are lower, the ending/landing lag on his attacks are lower, runs/trots faster, and he can glide. All of these factors will probably lead to MK players being able to out maneuver GW's.
- MK has infinite amount of priority on all of his attacks (except glide attack), however GW will likely have more range than his attacks (in the cases of bair, fair, dtilt) which, since they are disjointed, will cut through. However, moves like ftilt, up b, and fsmash will break this rule.
- MK's b moves prove to be exceptionally annoying. His mach tornado (neutral b) grants him excessive amounts of priority, maneuverability, and damage dealing ability. His forward b allows him to recover to the stage often unchallenged due to high priority and his up b is incredibly fast and strong while allowing him to glide/glide attack which is also quite strong and difficult to punish.
- Although usually considered to be bad at landing kills, MK has enough options to give gw trouble. The dsmash is an extremely fast smash attack that, when fresh, can easily kill gw in the early 100's, maybe sooner depending on the situation. The up b and glide attack, when used near the edge, can kill gw very early as well.
- Other than straight kills, it is also possible for MK's to edgeguard with the dair far off the stage. He can also grab the edge just as you try to up b to it and then use his own up b near the edge to send you back out, which can be difficult to avoid at times.
- Edgeguarding MK usually involves aggressive use of the up b and forward air off the stage to score quick kills. On some stages it is also possible to stage spike MK with the dash attack near the ledge if they are trying to up from below. Making use of the up air will also help gw to control MK's position. Dairs will go through his upb and the top of his tornado, which can really limit his recovery options if you know what your doing.
- MK will often be able to combo game and watch a reasonable amount, usually from grab to fair setups, dtilts, up airs, up b's, and even tornado's.
- GW has no particular problem comboing MK, although it may be easier for him to DI out of your multi-hitting attacks easier because he has a smaller frame. Dthrow to dsmash has to be teched to be avoided, and since his tech rolls and buffer rolls aren't amazingly long, tech chasing mk shouldn't be too hard. Also, his air movement might seem good, but thats only because he has a lot of jumps, use up airs to pressure him when hes above you and force him into the position you want him to be in.
Basic Strategies
- Keep in mind that MK has no projectiles to force you into an aggressive stance. He will usually have to come to you, which, if you make good use of moves like the dtilt, will put him in a bad position.
- If a MK player begins to spam the tornado often, there are a lot of options. Moves such as the dash attack, forward smash, down smash, and back air are known to be able to take MK out of the tornado from the side if used correctly. The dair will always hit him out of it from above. If you up b right next to MK then you can pop him way up into the air forcing him to be in freefall animation, which should allow him to be punished with a smash. If you get caught in the tornado you can either mash up b (this will shoot him way up about half the time) or try to di upwards out of it and then air dodge.
- Remember that you have more range and priority with your fair, bair, and dair when battling him in the air, which you should use to your advantage when encountering him here.
- On the ground, most MK players will approach with dash attacks or dash grabs, both of which are very quick. This can be countered by the even faster dtilt, which will knock them away to be chased for a dash attack or a grab even.
- Learn to combo with the neutral air and up b will as this will rack up a lot of much needed damage in the matchup. Also, the downthrow to dsmash combo will often work if they don't tech, and if they do learn to chase with an up smash, which will kill quite early.
- Up air their recovery attempts, tornado, forward b, or down b in the air. This will put them in awful situations that usually end in well charged smashes.
- Learn the situations that meta knight players are likely to dsmash in. This is the move you need to avoid the most. Usually they will do it after glide attack canceling, when they think they can hit your shield and not be punished, or they will begin to use it a lot as your percent rises. Keep an eye out for it as it can kill very early.
- When recovering, you have two options generally, high or low. High will usually give you the best results v mk, yeah you might take a hit, but the odds of getting gimped are pretty low. If you go low, you have a better chance of not taking any damage at all, but also you could get gimped and lose a stock. Different mk's give different results, try both and see what your opponent does.
- Only challenge the glide attack with a back air, as its the only move that will work consistently against it. It looks very predictable, but that doesn't mean a fsmash will go through it. GW players will find themselves dieing very early from this move if they challenge it the wrong way as its quite strong.
Stages
- Corneria, if on, will work well as it has a short ceiling (gw has more upward killing attacks than mk) and you can fin camp/infinite as well. Stay in the middle if you need to avoid getting killed and your at high percents. Green greens also can work in your favor, yielding early kills if you play in the middle section. Unfortunately, these stages are usually banned. Other suggestable stages are halberd, again for the short ceiling.
- Personal preference is a very big deal here. Work on the stages that you feel the most comfortable on as GW and MK will often look for the same things in stages.
- Avoid stages with enclosed areas like Luigi's Mansion as the tornado/dtilt locks become quite annoying here.
Frame Data
- Neutral B: 12-104 (can last up to 92 frames)
- Side B: N/A
- Up B: 8 (invincible frames start on 5)
- Down B: N/A
- Fsmash: 24
- Dsmash: 5, 10
- Usmash: 8, 12, 17
- Ftilt: 3, 6, 9
- Dtilt: 3
- Utilt: 8
- Nair: 3
- Fair: 6, 10, 13
- Bair: 7, 13, 20
- Uair: 2
- Dair: 4
- Jab: N/A
- Dash Attack: 5
- Standing Grab: 6
- Dash Grab: 8
- Pivot Grab: 8
