Lordy's Captain Falcon Metagame Guide

[collapse=Introduction]

This is the current "Metagame Guide" for Brawl's Captain Douglas Jay Falcon (not to be confused with Rick Wheeler). Everything in here is worth reading if you're looking to improve your Falcon. Now of course, this guide isn't perfect and neither am I, feedback is encouraged.

PLEASE NOTE: Guides become outdated very easily, videos especially. Anything I say here can quickly become obsolete, so please keep that in mind.

External Links:​

• Captain Falcon's Hitboxes
  
• Captain Falcon's Frame Data
  
• The Falcon Boards' Compendium
  
• Dual Stick Mechanics
  
• Complete Guide to DI and Survival

Terminology:​

• AC (Auto Cancelling): performing a move in such that you do not experience any landing lag. You can auto cancel Falcon's aerials by immediately inputting an attack just after you short hop (slide your thumb from jump to A and simultaneously move the control stick.)
• Buffering: Inputting a command while you are in an animation for another move, the command you inputted will start the very frame it is able to. You can buffer any input within a 10 frame window - keep in mind there are 60 frames in a second.
• Dash Dancing: Quickly moving the control stick from right to left continuously to confuse the opponent as to what you are going to do next.
• Disjointed Hitbox: A hitbox that extends out of a hurtbox. Meaning you can get hurt in an area that your oponent cannot get hurt in (MK's sword, Snake's utilt.)
• FH (First-Hit): Refers to an nair executed low to the ground so that only the first kick hits the opponent.
• Hyphen Smash: Flicking the control stick (left or right) from a standing position and buffering an up smash.
• IASA Frame: Interrupt as soon as frame. This means that some move's cooldown lag can be cancelled early into another move.
• Metagame: A broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. (As defined by Wikipedia)
• Movestrings: A string of attacks. Movestrings can consist of true combos, psuedo combos, or moves made possible by reading the opponent and predicting/punishing their actions.
• SA (Super Armor) Frame: A frame where you will take damage from attacks but receive no knockback and will not flinch.
• Psuedo Combo/ Frametrap: A combo that is not 100% inescapable, but rather is a series of moves that can be reliably strung together.
• True Combo: A string of attacks that cannot be escaped.
• Wave Landing: Executing a Raptor Boost on a slanted floor, causing Falcon to slide across the ground.

Falcon's Metagame in a Nutshell:​

Falcon's metagame revolves around being quick and safe as possible - abusing Falcon's ground and aerial speed, jab game, and aerial game.

Rack your opponent's damage with jabs, grabs, uairs, and pseudo combos. Play safe - AC all your aerials, fast fall your uairs and nairs, buffer a jab for when you land, throw in some dashdancing. Know your spacing, know your priority, know what moves can be shown to get through your opponent's guard.

Darky-Sama said:

Players are often forced to approach with Falcon for the sole fact that he lacks a projectile game.

Playing defensively, baiting, fake-outs and {the one I stress the most} not trying to follow up just about everything you do with another {not guaranteed} attack, HOPING that it will hit when 75% of the time it won't.

That's how a competitive Falcon SHOULD play.

Click to expand...

teluoborg said:

By experience the most effective thing to do with Falcon when you landed a hit is passive aggression.

Going for the follow up is stupid.
But going defensive gives the opponent a break, which is exactly what he needs to go back to camping (because let's face it, no one will ever try to approach you).

When you've just hit your opponent your best bet is to rush to him while still being completely reactive to what he's doing.
Doing so forces the opponent to make a choice between turtling, fleeing or countering your "coming soon" offense. Wait for him to make that choice and punish accordingly. Rinse and repeat as much as you can.

Why it works is because in this situation you have what most characters lack to apply pressure : speed/mobility (and manliness).
So your opponent is forced to make a quick choice before he eats a Uair/dash attack.

It's very matchup dependant so there will be times where it won't work (like, if you're fighting MK), but Falcon's mobility is the only thing that he excels in, so use it.

Click to expand...

[/collapse]

[collapse=Moveset Analysis]

Jab
[collapse=Hitboxes]




[/collapse]

• Rating: 5/5
• Uses:
  1. Racking damage
  2. Keeping your KO moves fresh
  3. Out-speeding your opponent in close quarters
  4. Stopping opponent's combos/approaches
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 3
  2. Ends on frame 16
  3. One of Falcon's best moves (Jab ->> Jab -> Grab)
  4. Jab canceling is better than going into the jab infinite (tapping A once or twice and cancelling it with a duck, then repeating)
  5. The jab infinite is not recommended when the opponent is at higher percent, however it can be useful for racking when the opponent is at low percents

Dash Attack
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 3/5
• Uses:
  1. Approaching (there are better options)
  2. Hitting an opponent lying on the ground
  3. Continuing movestrings or setting up an aerial chase
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 7
  2. Ends on frame 38
  3. Don't be obvious with dash attack, you will get shield grabbed
  4. A pretty fast move with good knockback angles

Ftilt
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 4/5
• Uses:
  1. Spacing
  2. Setting up pseudo combos, and mixing into your jab game
  3. Keeping your KO moves fresh
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 8
  2. Ends on frame 38
  3. Can KO at high percent (150)
  4. Angled ftilts are 5 frames shorter than regular ftilts

Utilt
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 3/5
• Uses:
  1. Breaking through high-priority moves like Tornado or GW's dtilt
  2. Edgeguarding
  3. A KO (if you keep it fresh)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 17
  2. Ends on frame 40
  3. Easily punishable if you get predictable with it
  4. Great range
  5. Has a disjointed hitbox
  6. Hits MK out of nado

Dtilt
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 2/5
• Uses:
  1. Hits on frame 11
  2. Ends on frame 33
  3. Mixing into your jab and spacing games
  4. Keeping your KO moves fresh
• Other:
  1. If you hold down on the control stick just slightly and tap A, Falcon will not go into his ducking animation but will dtilt from his standing animation - making it quicker and less expected
  2. Pops the opponent up nicely, allowing you to continue a movestring or connect a Knee

Fsmash
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 2/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing
  2. Punishing
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 19
  2. Ends on frame 48
  3. Has punishable cooldown lag
  4. Use the shutterstep AT to increase range

Usmash
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 3/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing
  2. Punishing opponents (hypen smash)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 22/28
  2. Ends on frame 43
  3. Great hitbox
  4. Does 21 damage, not bad for racking
  5. SDIable, it is possible for your opponent to escape the second hit

Dsmash
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 4/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing
  2. Mixing into your spacing game
  3. Punishing rolls
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 19/29
  2. Ends on frame 38
  3. Doesn't have too much lag, but it is punishable - so don't spam it

Nair
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 4/5
• Uses:
  1. Approaching (space correctly to avoid getting shield grabbed)
  2. Racking (FH Nair -> Up-B)
  3. Punishing
  4. Setting up psuedo combos (FH Nair -> Jab -> Grab)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 7/20
  2. Ends on frame 45
  3. Can KO if the opponent is at high percent and offstage
  4. Another one of Falcon's great moves, learn how to use this and implement it into your game

Fair
[collapse=Hitboxes]


[/collapse]

• Rating: 3/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing
  2. Punishing
  3. Gimping offstage (Flub -> Uair)
  4. Finishing a flashy combo (recommended)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 14
  2. Ends on frame 40
  3. Not spammable like it was in Melee and I don't recommend using it very often - save it for the kill

Bair
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 4/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing
  2. Approaching (RAR'd sourspotted Bair -> Ftilt)
  3. Racking
  4. Stage spiking an opponent trying to recover
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 10
  2. Ends on frame 36
  3. Sourspots at the wrist, hit here to combo
  4. Sweetspots at the fist, hit here to KO
  5. If used right after the apex of Falcon's short hop, you will suffer even less landing lag
  6. Overall a good move, it's quick and has good knockback

Uair
[collapse=Hitboxes]



[/collapse]

• Rating: 5/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing (at high percents)
  2. Approaching
  3. Racking
  4. Spamming
  5. Gimping (RAR offstage and hit them with the tip)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 6
  2. Ends on frame 34
  3. One of Falcon's most spammable moves
  4. It's quick and can be chained together
  5. Good for aerial camping and chasing

Dair
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 2/5
• Uses:
  1. Spiking an opponent offstage
  2. Approaching (AC'd Dair -> Jab/Ftilt)
  3. AC'd dair to knee (true combo at certain percents)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 16
  2. Ends on frame 45
  3. Learn how to AC and bait your opponents punishes
  4. This can be used to buffer turnarounds and buffer in a jab/ftilt/dash attack

Falcon Punch
[collapse=Hitboxes]
N/A
[/collapse]

• Rating: 1/5
• Uses:
  1. Could be used if Jiggz misses a rest or if a Ganon is trying to Warlock Punch/ Utilt
     you
  2. Helping recovery - when recovering towards the stage use a 360, when recovering while facing away from the stage use a 180
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 53
  2. Ends on frame ?
  3. If used go for a 180, 360, or 540 instead
  4. Very situational, not recommended to use in a serious match

Falcon Kick
[collapse=Hitboxes]

[/collapse]

• Rating: 2/5
• Uses:
  1. Punishing opponents in lag, or rollers/spotdodgers
  2. Racking
  3. Approaching (there are better options)
  4. Helping recovery (when higher in the air)
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 15 (air 16)
  2. Ends on frame ?
  3. Can be used to punish moves like Tornado, aerial and grounded FK will work
  4. Has better priority than Raptor Boost
  5. Best when the opponent is at a higher percent
  6. Cooldown lag is punishable even if you hit the opponent

Raptor Boost
[collapse=Hitboxes]



[/collapse]

• Rating: 3/5
• Uses:
  1. Setting up Falcon's aerial game
  2. Punishing opponents in lag (spotdodgers)
  3. Approaching (try dashdance>RB or reversed RB)
  4. Recovering
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 21 (air 23)
  2. Ends on frame ?
  3. Very punishable if missed
  4. Low priority
  5. Best when the opponent is at a lower % to setup movestrings
  6. Can be used to mock waveland on slanted floors

Falcon Dive
[collapse=Hitboxes]



[/collapse]

• Rating: 4/5
• Uses:
  1. KOing (at high %)
  2. Racking (FH Nair -> Up-B)
  3. Punishing (Jab -> Up-B)
  4. Using OoS
• Other:
  1. Hits on frame 14
  2. Ends on frame ?
  3. Can be used to stage spike edgehoggers
  4. Very punishable if missed

[/collapse]

[collapse=Character Specific]

Character Specific:​

-4: (close to) unwinnable
-3: large disadvantage/hard countered
-2: medium disadvantage
-1: small disadvantage
0: even
+1: small advantage
+2: medium advantage
+3: large advantage/hard counter
+4: (close to) unloseable

Click to expand...

-3 - Video (Reflex, Stroumbert, Ally, Lionman)

• Tips:

1. Keep the lead and force MK to approach YOU
2. Recover around MK when offstage to avoid getting gimped
3. Never attempt to fight MK offstage
4. Falcon Kick, Dsmash, Utilt > Nado
5. SDI bair and fair, SDI uair chains to the right, left, or down
6. Grab Release -> Regrab/Uair for racking damage
7. Grab Release -> Hyphen Smash for the KO
8. Punish Tornado

• CP:

1. FD
2. SV

• Ban:

1. Brinstar
2. RC

-2 - Video (Ally, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Zdrop any bananas you catch or keep ahold of them for combos
2. Try to keep Diddy airborne
3. Run towards Diddy the second the match start and catch any banana he throws before he can use them
4. Know how to handle your banana

• CP:

1. BF
2. RC
3. Brinstar

• Ban:

1. FD

-2 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Knee, Up-B, or Raptor Boost Snake out of his Cypher whenever you have the chance
2. Watch out for Snake's tilts, grenades, mines, and his DACUS (jab him out of this)
3. Approach with Dash -> Shield or RAR'd Bair
4. Try to keep Snake in the air and Uair **** him
5. SDI Snake's Nair (up and away)

• CP:

1. SV

• Ban:

1. Halberd

-3 - Video (Stroumbert, Player-3, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Jab Falco out of his Phantasm (the first third of Phantasm is invincible)
2. If you have a comfortable lead, plank Falco until he approaches you
3. Don't get grabbed at percents lower than 40
4. Use Jab -> Grab sparingly as Falco's Jab is faster than Falcon's
5. Use spaced Bairs and AC'd aerials to avoid the grab

• CP:

1. Lylat
2. YI
3. RC

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. FD

-2 - Video (Ally, Stroumbert, Lionman, Haze)

• Tips:

1. Stay out of Martha's tipper range
2. Recover (high) around her offstage to avoid getting gimped
3. Play VERY carefully and defensive
4. SDI Blade Dance's low combo (up) and punish with a Bair
5. Be careful when jabbing as you can get Up-B'd
6. Punish Fairs with Up-B OoS

• CP:

1. FD
2. RC

• Ban:

1. BF

-1 - Video (Ally, Ally #2, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Don't get grabbed at low percents, Wario can dthrow chaingrab us
2. Stay in front of or under Wario in that air
3. Don't fall for Fsmash mindgames, Wario's fsmash has SA and IASA frames
4. Beware of Chomp and his air camping capabilities
5. Punish Wario's approaches with Uair and Utilt
6. Grab Release -> Nair -> Uair ->> Foorstool (0%-20%)
7. Grab Release -> Up-B (30%-90%)
8. Grab Release -> Knee for the kill

• CP:

1. FD
2. SV

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. Brinstar

-3 - Video (Ally, Ally#2, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Use spaced Bairs and AC'd aerials to avoid the grab
2. DON'T GET GRABBED
3. Try to desynch them, note that Nana has a 6 frame lag behind Popo
4. Try to gimp one of them when they are recovering
5. Keep them in the air at all time
6. Grab Release -> Uair Sopo

• CP:

1. RC
2. BF
3. Delfino

• Ban:

1. FD

-3 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Try to get in with RAR'd Uair or spaced AC'd Bairs
2. Grab Release -> Uair
3. Jab stops Oli's Side-B and Dsmash
4. Try to keep Olimar in the air as much as possible
5. Always edgehog his recovery
6. Don't get grabbed at low percents, you will get combo'd

• CP:

1. RC
2. Frigate

• Ban:

1. BF
2. Halberd

-3 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Don't get grabbed from 10-30%
2. If you get grabbed, DI the Usmash/Nair and you will always survive
3. Jab cancels Pika's spam shocks
4. SDI up and away out of Pika's dsmash and SDI other multi-hit attacks
5. Watch out for Thunder and QAC
6. Wall with Uair and Bair

• CP:

1. Delfino
2. BF
3. RC

• Ban:

1. FD

-2 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Always get the first kill
2. Never sandbag against Lucario, his Aura enables him to make comebacks easily
3. Jab cancels uncharged aura bawlz
4. Try to edgehog or hit him out of his Up-B (it has no hitbox)
5. Don't get baited by his near lagless Fsmash
6. DI Uthrow inwards and footstool him
7. Mash out of Force Palm

• CP:

1. BF
2. YI
3. Lylat

• Ban:

1. FD

-1 - Video (Stroumbert, lordhelmet, Ally)

• Tips:

1. Always use Fthrow at low percents to frame trap D3
2. Jab cancel **** D3
3. Don't get grabbed, space (at higher percents DI away and buffer in a jab when getting CG'd)
4. Keep D3 in the air and Uair **** him
5. Punish his recovery with a Knee or Up-B
6. Watch out for sheildgrabs and D3's Bair

• CP:

1. BF
2. Lylat

• Ban:

1. Delfino
2. Castle Siege
3. FD

-2 - Video (Reflex, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Don't get grabbed or dsmashed at low %, punish missed grabs with a grab or a Knee
2. When CG'd DI away and buffer in a jab
3. Use jab>grab sparingly as ZSS' jab is faster than Falcon's
4. Watch out for her uair as it outmatches Falcon's own air game

• CP:

1. SV

• Ban:

1. Castle Siege
2. FD

-2 - Video (?)

• Tips:

1. Utilt beats most of his disjointed moves like Dtilt and Jab
2. Don't try to gimp his recovery
3. Grab Realease -> Uair
4. Punish Bair

• CP:

1. YI
2. Lylat

• Ban:

1. BF
2. JJ
3. Brinstar

-1 - Video (?)

• Tips:

1. Tink's recovering Up-B can be spiked with Raptor Boost (use it offstage towards the ledge)
2. Grab Relase -> Uair
3. Uair and Bair camp him
4. Juggle him with Uair
5. Shield and punish Zair
6. Jab stops his projectiles
7. SDI Tink's Fsmash to escape the second hit (SDI up and then jump)

• CP:

1. Frigate
2. Lylat
3. YI
4. BF

• Ban:

1. Halberd
2. FD

-1 - Video (Willz, LA96, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. SDI Dair, Uair (sideways)
2. Gimp his Up-B with Uair
3. Always shield Fox's drill and punish with a Jab -> Grab
4. Jab beats Fox's Phantasm
5. Juggle Fox with Uair
6. Don't wait to approach or you will just take damage from his lasers

• CP:

1. Lylat
2. Frigate
3. YI
4. Norfair

• Ban:

1. FD

-2 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Jab beats Wolf's Phantasm
2. Don't let yourself get laser camped
3. Don't stay on the ledge for too long as you can get dsmashed off
4. On SV and BF he can over-B through the stage, don't let this surprise you
5. Beware of his extremely quick smash attacks

• CP:

1. Lylat Cruise
2. Frigate
3. YI

• Ban:

1. SV
2. FD

-2 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Camp Peach with spaced Bairs and (RAR'd) Uairs
2. Edgehog carefully against her as her umbrella has hitboxes
3. Know that her only good killing moves are Fair and Usmash
4. DI Peach's combos carefully
5. Shieldgrab Peach's Dair
6. Keep her in the air and spam Uair, she has the worst airdodge in the game

• CP:

1. BF

• Ban:

1. JJ

-1 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Abuse your jabs, FH Nair -> Jab ->> Jab -> Up-B
2. Use a lot of SH'd Nairs and Bairs
3. Hold up to escape his cargo throw
4. Keep DK above you in the air
5. DK easily outranges Falcon, keep this in mind
6. Let DK approach you
7. Recover low to avoid gimping attempts from DK
8. Watch out for SA frames on his Giant Punch and Up-B
9. Know that DK will mixup Bairs and B-Reversed Giant Punches

• CP:

1. SV
2. BF

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. YI

-2 - Video (Stroumbert)

• Tips:

1. Outzone him with superior-ranged attacks (Uair/Utilt)
2. Grab Release -> Uair
3. Don't get grabbed or Utilted at low percents
4. (S)DI up and away to escape his grab combos
5. Be wary of Fsmash, Hammer, and Bair KO attempts

• CP:

1. YI
2. SV
3. FD

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. Delfino
3. Picto

-1 - Video (Stroumbert, Killua)

• Tips:

1. Abuse your jabs and Uair
2. Don't try crazy gimps
3. Watch out for his projectiles and camping
4. Beware of spotdodge -> Dsmash and Fair chains
5. Fhanfus Loop

• CP:

1. BF
2. YI

• Ban:

1. FD
2. JJ

-1 - Video (Stroumbert, Willz)

• Tips:

1. Keep the percent lead so she can't plank you
2. SDI her Fsmash (up)
3. Try to Uair her recovery offstage
4. Watch our for arrow spam and her reflector thing
5. Beware of looped arrows

• CP:

1. BF
2. YI

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. FD

-1 - Video (?)

• Tips:

1. Let Sonic approach you and punish whatever he throws out
2. Sonic's airgame is pretty even to Falcon's, stay in your good zones
3. Don't run, walk
4. Don't airdodge or spotdodge and you won't get charged Fsmashed or Baired

• CP:

1. Lylat
2. FD

• Ban:

1. YI

-1 - Video (Ally, Ally #2, Acedude, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Shield Fairs and Nairs and punish his landing lag
2. His Up-B can be intercepted with our own Up-B
3. Ike can be shieldgrabbed at the apex of his Up-B
4. Be careful with jabbing as Ike's has better reach and priority
5. Be careful when trying to gimp him as his Up-B has SA frames and can spike you
6. Don't get hit by his smash attacks (lol)

• CP:

1. Frigate
2. SV
3. FD

• Ban:

1. Delfino

-2 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Shield and DI away when Luigi Jabs you
2. Stay grounded, don't fight Luigi in the air unless you're under him
3. Uair ***** Luigi, use it as an approach (SH FF'd Uair) and in the air
4. Don't let yourself get punished by Jab -> Up-B
5. Don't try to gimp the Weegee Missile unless you know what you're doing
6. Watch out for his Nair as it ruins Falcon's aerial game
7. Stay out of Fsmash range when you reach 70%

• CP:

1. BF

• Ban:

1. JJ
2. Brinstar

-2 - Video (Player-3, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Be careful with jab mixups, Sheik has many quick attacks
2. Don't try any running approaches
3. Don't get Ftilted at low percent as you can get locked in for a while (SDI down and shield if you get locked in)
4. Watch out for her needles and hyphen smash (as it goes quite far)

• CP:

1. Frigate
2. RC
3. Lylat
4. YI

• Ban:

1. FD
2. BF

0 - Video (Ally)

• Tips:

1. Grab Release -> Knee to KO (strict timing)
2. Grab Release -> Uair
3. Pummel to force a ground release>regrab
4. Learn how to gimp him (interrupt on his PK Thunder to cancel it)
5. SDI up and away out of his PK Fire
6. Watch out for spam and Ness' PK Thunder gimp attempts
7. Don't get grabbed at high percent as Ness' bthrow kills very early

• CP:

1. FD
2. SV

• Ban:

1. Delfino
2. Brinstar

-1 - Video (Ally, teluoborg, Stroumbert)

• Tips:

1. If you get grabbed, mash extremely fast to break out
2. Stay on platforms if possible
3. Keep Yoshi above you in the air and spam Uair
4. Watch out for egg spam
5. Beware of his Pivot Grab

• CP:

1. BF
2. YI
3. Lylat

• Ban:

1. FD

-1 - Video (Ally, Player-3, lordhelmet)

• CP:

1. SV
2. FD

• Ban:

1. JJ

-1

• Tips:

1. Grab Release> Regrab for racking damage
2. Grab Release -> Uair
3. Space well, Falcon outranges Squirtle
4. Don't be in the air unless you're under him, Squirtle has a beast aerial game

+1

• Tips:

1. Grab Release -> Uair
2. Keep him in the air as long as you can
3. Always edgehog his recovery
4. SDI away when stuck in bullet seed
5. Jab cancels Razor Leaf
6. Watch out for his dair spike

0

• Tips:

1. Stay close to Charizard and abuse jabs
2. When trapped in Flame Breath, SDI up and away to get out
3. Watch out for Rocksmash, it does a ton of damage and can KO
4. Beware of his glide attack, and know that he has 3 jumps

-1 - Video (?)

• Tips:

1. When grabbing Lucas, pummel him until he ground breaks, dash regrab
2. Air release -> Uair to guarantee a KO at high percents
3. Be careful with your spacing as Lucas has a lot of spammy, disjointed attacks
4. Take advantage of the time it takes him to recover
5. Watch out for his spikes and smash attacks
6. Beware of PK Fire and PK Thunder gimp attempts

• CP:

1. FD
2. SV

• Ban:

1. Brinstar

-1 - Video (lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Try to out space him at low % as Mario has a superior combo game
2. SDI up and away and jump or down and shield to escape his Utilt chains
3. Recover low, and don't try to recover with Raptor Boost
4. Beware of his cape when recovering

• CP:

1. BF
2. Delfino
3. RC

• Ban:

1. YI
2. JJ

-1 - Video (Stroumbert, lordhelmet, BigLord)

• Tips:

1. Stay close with jab cancel mixups
2. Be cautious and patient with his Fortress OoS
3. When you're hanging on the ledge, roll in so that you do not get Fire Breath *****
4. When trapped in Fire Breath, SDI up and away or up and towards to escape
5. Watch out for his quick, powerful tilts

• CP:

1. Lylat
2. BF
3. FD
4. SV

• Ban:

1. Brinstar
2. Norfair

0 - Video (Royr, Ramzeh, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. SDI Samus' Fair (up) and Uair (sideways)
2. Samus can't kill, lrn2DI
3. Watch out for Samus planking and camping
4. Jab beats out Samus' projectiles
5. Fhanfus Loop
6. FH Nair -> SH AC'd Knee

• CP:

1. Frigate
2. YI
3. SV

• Ban:

1. BF
2. JJ

0 - Video (Ally, Haze, Gardex)

• Tips:

1. Stay close and jab Link to shreds
2. Link's recovery sucks, when he is offstage Flub -> Uair for the kill
3. Be cautious of Zair and know that Raptor Boost will go under it
4. Jab will stop most of Link's projectiles

• CP:

1. FD
2. RC

• Ban:

1. BF

0 Video - (mlorenzo)

• Tips:

1. Air camp Jiggz with bair/uair, force an approach with a percent lead
2. Always punish a missed rest with (Reverse) Falcon Punch
3. Punish a Jiggly charging a rollout (when recovering from up high) with a Knee or flub
4. An uncharged, grounded Rollout can be punished with Jab (punish a fully charged one with Falcon Kick)
5. Jiggly's pound lasts through Falcon's spot dodge
6. FH Nair -> SH AC'd Knee

• CP:

1. BF
2. PS1

• Ban:

1. RC

0 - Video (Ally, Ally #2, lordhelmet)

• Tips

1. Keep her in the air and destroy her with uair
2. If she uses Din's Fire offstage, punish her freefall or edgehog her
3. Edgehog her recovery or even Falcon Punch it
4. SDI fsmash (up) and usmash (down)

• CP:

1. Lylat
2. PS1
3. RC

• Ban:

1. FD

+1 - Video (Ally, Ally #2, lordhelmet)

• Tips:

1. Turbo Jab beats Side-B Approaches
2. Abuse shield grabs on moves like dash attack and Wizard Kick
3. Flub -> Uair for the gimp
4. Free uair out of his up-B

• CP:

1. RC
2. BF
3. FD
4. YI

• Ban:

1. Brinstar
2. Norfair

[/collapse]

This sucks.

SuperFalconRX said:

This sucks.

Click to expand...

Lol, glad to see you made an account just to troll me.

This rocks.

It's pro, because I helped make it.
Hyesz. Good work, Lord.

good shiz lord, glad to see u used some stuff i said

Sexy thread helmet. Needs moar Willz Combo though.

Willz said:

Sexy thread helmet. Needs moar Willz Combo though.

Click to expand...

Lmao, maybe I'll put that in if I get enough videos for an "AT Section"

excellent thread lordhelmet
hopefully, this will help improve those interested in maining greatness ^_^

You probably won't use it very often unless your pretty high in recovering but reversing a falcon punch gives you a little bit of horizontal recovery.

Psychoace said:

You probably won't use it very often unless your pretty high in recovering but reversing a falcon punch gives you a little bit of horizontal recovery.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I forgot to mention that FP and FK can help Falcon recover.

Awesome thread. Glad to see that a lot of the things we said are included ^.^.

Correction, Lord. You're supposed to do a 360 Falcon Punch while recovering, like I do. It adds a tad bit more horizontal momentum to your recovery.

"One of Falcon's best moves, use this often (jab>>jab>grab"

*Falcon's grab range is horrible, use with caution*

"# Using the Gentleman is better than going into the jab infinite (tapping A once or twice and cancelling it with a duck)"

The Gentlemen is the 3rd hit of jab (where he knees). It was useful in Melee because this hit had a lot more knock back and you couldn't get punished for it. The 3rd hit in brawl is terrible and is not better than the jab infinite.
tl;dr: The Gentlemen is not jab canceling (unless the definition of The Gentlemen changed from Melee -> Brawl....)

Dash Attack:
4. Punishing because it's fast. 5. Getting away after you autocancel a b-air or something since it covers a small distance very quickly.


Dsmash:
4. Psuedo combo with 1st hit n-air (since most of the 1st hit n-air combos have very low KO potential).

Nair:
It's spelled shield.

Fair:
AC knee is a good approach in certain situations and leads into jab -> grab and such. Also psuedo combos such as a fastfalled flubbed knee off stage (the ending frames of it) -> Up-b. Also, fastfall a little before you touch the ground and it'll still autocancel if done correctly. Somewhat useful since it helps with ac flubbed knee combos.

Bair:
....B-air is Falcon's best move and it gets a 3 for usage? You can actual approach with B-air. B-air approaching > U-air approaching by far.

Uair:
Ending frames of U-air is good for gimping.

Falcon Punch:
You have the manly stuff for F-air but nothing with Falcon Punch?

Raptor Boost:
Recovering. Ganon's side-b gives less RCO lag when it snaps the ledge. No research of this sort has been done for Falcon's side-b though as far as I know.

Falcon Kick:
Falcon kick in the air doesn't really help with recovery at all. AC ledge Falcon kick has it's uses. It also can make a mini-super jump but there aren't very many stages you can do it on and it's 99% useless with all the lag.

Falcon Dive:
OoS up-b is useful.

Also, I find it terribly hard to believe that you have Marth for 65.35. It's nigh impossible/extremely difficult to approach Marth at all... I also disagree with Ice Climbers since there's really no way not to get grabbed.

Darky-Sama said:

Correction, Lord. You're supposed to do a 360 Falcon Punch while recovering, like I do. It adds a tad bit more horizontal momentum to your recovery.

Click to expand...

So you mean 180 if you're facing away from the stage and 360 if you're facing towards the stage, I'll put that in in a sec, I gotta add something Teluoborg said as well.

Edit: Kishin, I'll fix a few things that you mentioned.

No, when you're recovering toward the stage while facing it; tap backward on the control stick and press the special button, Falcon will instantly do the Falcon Punch in the other direction-- just apply that with a Reverse Falcon Punch. People dubbed it as a 360 Falcon Punch, but it's basically just doing a Reverse-Reverse Falcon Punch. More damage and knock back than a normal Falcon Punch, and in this case, it adds direly to his momentum factor.

It takes a bit of practice to get it down though, because if you time it wrong, Falcon will just do a Raptor Boost away from the stage, resulting in a suicide. But I can promise you, it's extremely worth it.


EDIT: Read what you said wrong, so yeah, basically. But my post here is more in depth for other people to understand it.

Wow, this is really Jacked up Where captain falcon got moved on the tier list since melee, well, i guess its all from being nerfed badly, lowered priority, decreased attack power, and less power in the knee of justice.

Darky-Sama said:

No, when you're recovering toward the stage while facing it; tap backward on the control stick and press the special button, Falcon will instantly do the Falcon Punch in the other direction-- just apply that with a Reverse Falcon Punch. People dubbed it as a 360 Falcon Punch, but it's basically just doing a Reverse-Reverse Falcon Punch. More damage and knock back than a normal Falcon Punch, and in this case, it adds direly to his momentum factor.

It takes a bit of practice to get it down though, because if you time it wrong, Falcon will just do a Raptor Boost away from the stage, resulting in a suicide. But I can promise you, it's extremely worth it.


EDIT: Read what you said wrong, so yeah, basically. But my post here is more in depth for other people to understand it.

Click to expand...

Yes, I know that. That's what I said in my previous post minus the explanation.

c.falcon is the best in Brawl why are people only just figuring this out

Too true, My Little Willz, too true.

Darky-Sama, thanks for explaining the 360 Falcon punch for me. I'm trying to get it done right, but it's impossible for me with my current controller (its control stick locks to one side, sometimes/most of the time).

Also, fellow lord (and Darky-Sama, me thinks), THANKS A GAZILLION for this thread. This shall be VERY important for my metagame.

im glad to see this is exactly how i play falcon

you guys are doing it wrong

need more uair less everything else

You don't DI up and away for sheiks ftilt lock. That's probably the worst thing you could do.

-Mars- said:

You don't DI up and away for sheiks ftilt lock. That's probably the worst thing you could do.

Click to expand...

Mars is right. I'm glad that was mentioned because I overlooked it. You don't want to go up into the attack because there's basically no where to go once you reach the outer rim of the Ftilt, you just fall right back down into it since the kick is somewhat of an arc.

Thank you, fixed.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but a good Captain Falcon should practice his quick edgehog: run to the edge and press down->back. Or something like that. I'm in the middle of training in order to do it perfectly.

(it's of great value against characters like Ivysaur or even Falco)

and diddy/marth

BigLord said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but a good Captain Falcon should practice his quick edgehog: run to the edge and press down->back. Or something like that. I'm in the middle of training in order to do it perfectly.

(it's of great value against characters like Ivysaur or even Falco)

Click to expand...

I consider that common knowledge. Plus Falcon's is like the hardest one in the game lol.

I just thought that if you've got dash dancing in there, the quick edgehog could be worth mentioning.

Player-3, and tons of others too, lol

Lord Helmet's right; It is somewhat common knowledge. Underrated though, people should use it more often. Falcon's ledge-hugging (I believe that's the official term for a quick drop down edgehog) is one of the more difficult to perform though, since Falcon's ability so pull back from his aerial momentum is strict.

With Falcon, I would rather go for a drop-zone Knee of Justice to **** recoveries, or a short hop, fastfall Dair off the stage; just for manliness. They actually work much better than edgehogs too if you know how to time them properly.

BigLord said:

I just thought that if you've got dash dancing in there, the quick edgehog could be worth mentioning.

Player-3, and tons of others too, lol

Click to expand...

Well, quick edgehogging is more universal than dash dancing. Falcon's ledge hug is harder to do so it's actually less useful. Where as Falcon has one of the best dash dances so dash dancing is useful.

Ledge-hugging, kk got it *writes down in the Big Glossary Book*.

And you're right, after lots of testing I noticed I can now do ledge-hugging A LOT MORE with other characters, Falcon's ledge-hugging is very hard indeed.

It's still useful for some characters though (gimp -> more gimp -> MOAR gimp -> ledge-hugging -> trollface.jpg).

To OP


Diddy: "Zdrop any bananas you catch (best to drop over the opponent and start whacking him)"

??? The only way to counter Diddy and his banannas is to use them against him. You expect us to just drop them and give them back?? It's not always best to drop them. Falcon has a bananna game of his own and it should be used. Example: Wait for Diddy's bananna through>shield/powershield>jump>z-catch>throw back. From this point you have a few options. if Diddy attempts the same shield z-grab, attack him as he goes for the bananna, or snatch it first. If he gets hit with the bananna, you have so many options: dash grab, dash attack, d-smash, knee, throw second bananna ( if you managed to get it).

Knowing how to play as Diddy is crucial for this matchup! Falcon really does have a decent bananna game of his own, and knowledge of bananna use is crucial, both for predicting what Diddy will do, and for capitalizing on errors.

Good thread. Always glad to see activity in these boards. I had completely forgotten about the grab release>hyphen smash against MK. Will be using it agaisnt my friend's MK today

dont use his bananas agaisnt him

just don't let him get it back

Player-3 said:

dont use his bananas agaisnt him

just don't let him get it back

Click to expand...

...really? This is what the consensus is on the Falcon/Diddy matchup: not using bananas? Both me and one of my freinds are pretty proficient Diddy users and we have ferocious banana battles in our Falcon vs. Diddy matches.

I don't think I can bring myself to not use his bananas against him. I main Diddy as well as Falcon, so maybe I just think differently about this, but I don't think neglecting bananas is the way to go. No wonder the Diddy/Falcon, matchup is considered so bad! 0.o

no

do not

Just trust me, Z-dropping bananas works so much better than throwing them. Plus good Diddys will know how to to catch bananas off a shield.

i should teach you guys all the falcon techs i know but then you might become as good as me the great willz!!!!!!!!!

lordhelmet said:

Just trust me, Z-dropping bananas works so much better than throwing them. Plus good Diddys will know how to to catch bananas off a shield.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, interesting. I'll give it a try tonight.

Player-3 said:

no

do not

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Haha, I'm developing a soft spot for your short succinct responses.