V. Character Matchups
These are my own personal opinion after many battles among all these characters mixed with the character matchup chart. These have also been looked over by other quality players with experience against all these characters. The stage section in here essentially gives you your worst stage against the character, and it also tells you your best two, in order of how good they are. You need two because your opponent will likely ban 1 of the two.
For a few select character, I am going to give you two sets of counterpick stages, one set for those tournaments where ledge stalling is allowed, and those tournaments where it is not. If 1 of the first two stages I recommend you counterpick is SBR recommended as Counterpick/Banned, I will pick a third stage for you to counterpick in case that stage is not allowed in a tournament.
Bowser
Chance: 55-45
Description: An decent matchup because he is really easy to drill rest and bair or fair combo, but he also has insanely strong moves. He can be off-stage WoPed, but you must hit him during the startup of his B-Up otherwise you will be hit. Try many and frequent fake approaches, he is easy to punish if he screws up, but if her reads your approach, he can hit you out consistently. Edgehogging works well once you have knocked him far (use invincibility frames if he would hit you, if you did it properly he should not hit you or hit you only once). Use pound and avoid his aerials and smashes, they are a death sentence. His aerials have much higher priority but they are also much slower and so you can punish him for this. Watch out for his B-Down, its easy to stop if anticipated but if very spontaneously used, its a death sentence. If he uses his B-Up to recover and will land on the stage, use rollout. Try to hit him right when he is landing. If you can footstool him, great, but be careful of him using B-Up, for it will hurt. Do not get too close to him and abuse the Wall of Pain to force him to try to attack. If he fails using his bair, hit him and fast. He is great to throw bair chains on so have fun with that. If you have an annoying B-side infinite second jump spamming Bowser, try to wait for him to come to you. Its really pretty easy to punish him as long as you don't go rushing into him, and if you see him about to hit the ground (he won't) dash attack him. Watch out for his shield and punish it, force him to play out. Its hard to get hit if you play well and you will not get normal kills because of his fire and insane weight and strength. Also, he has a guaranteed jump grab release to uair and it kills at 60% on most stages, so Jigglypuff cannot be grabbed past early percentages. This is very dangerous for Jigglypuff and requires her to be somewhat cautious. He is however the easiest character in the game to hit with rest and it is very easy to setup a nice rest kill. Bowser requires good spacing otherwise he can punish you with some of his good grab release, his D-Smash or his B-Up, all which hurt.
Stage To Ban: Battlefield
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungles Japes, Frigate Orpheon
Captain Falcon
Chance: 70-30
Description: Really an easy matchup, he cannot punish almost all of your moves and you can gimp his recovery so easily. Once he's off-stage, just keep on using nairs whenever he tries to B-up. Once he's too low to make it straight onto the stage, egdehog him and he's dead. There are three things you have to worry about in this matchup and almost nothing else. Uair, D-smash, and his knee. All his other moves shouldn't pose a threat to you and you shouldn't be hit with anyway. For his Uair, dair cancels with it with you taking a fair amount of damage and him taking 2% unless you perfectly space it. Essentially, whenever you are in the air above Captain Falcon, get out of the way so you can beat him out horizontally. His uair is really one of the few moves to worry about, it has great horizontal distance as well. For his knee, its much harder for a Falcon to sweetspot than melee it so it doesn't pose any real threat unless you are caught vulnerable. However, since Jigglypuff has a fairly infinite recovery, you never really have to worry about it being used to kill you off-stage. As for his other moves, his dair is only semi-worrisome but easily punished with a good DI and bair. His aerials are punished easily with good bair approaches and pound, and the same is true of his ground game. Good kill options are fair and gimping, as well as a smart dash attack. He really has no answer for you. On the ground, bair and fair pretty much kill every approach or camping option he has. In the air, watch out for nair but thats mainly it. In the air, he loses every time to pound, so use it well.
Stage To Ban: Battlefield
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Final Destination, Jungle Japes
Charizard
Chance: 40-60
Description: Can be fairly hard if you do not know what you are doing, or fairly easy if the Charizard does not know what he is doing. Jigglypuff has the advantage over Charizard in all but Rock Smash which can be a killer for Jigglypuff. Few players know how to beat a smashing rock smash Charizard, and it kills many players. The trick is to use pound, it causes twice as much damage for Charizard and you get very limited knockback. His is slightly difficult to off-stage Wall of Pain, so you should try kicking him back till he is forced to use his B-up and edgehog him. Drill resting is another good option and so is fairing if you have not used it in a while. A good option to rack up damage is to get him into the air. Be careful in doing do, but if you are in the middle of the stage and grab him, a F-throw to aerials can work wonders. Mind games are great, use empty shorthopping to get him to use a higher lag move, hopefully rock smash or a grab. Then use pound to get him in the air and start racking up damage.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Diddy Kong
Chance: 55-45
Description: His aerials have about an even chance with you, but his smashes are fast so avoid that. However, he is easy to gimp since his B-Up takes a while to load, so abuse that. His bananas don’t do much since you are in the air so much, just try not to get trapped in his double banana glide. Watch out for his bair and his dair though, the bair is tough to hit through and his dair is a viscous spike that you will not recover from off-stage. If you avoid the banana trip to F-smash trick by teching out of it, he does not pose the biggest threat to Jigglypuff. With a proper DI, Jigglypuff can also rest through his F-smash, so it really hurts his KO options. Try to approach him wisely, and use his bananas against him but stay mainly in the air to avoid his insane banana gliding abilities. Diddy is tough to off-stage Wall of Pain, mainly because he can fairly effectively B-side back to the stage. If he, however, is ever forced to use his B-up, abuse him. Bairs work well here but not amazingly, his aerials work fairly well through them. Just be careful and be campy enough not to get beaten by his aerials, which pound can really help you beat.
Stage To Ban: Final Destination
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Frigate Orpheon, Smashville
Donkey Kong
Chance: 45-55
Description: Many consider Donkey Kong hard but he is a punching bag for multiple bairs or fairs and can be killed easily using drill resting. The trick is to avoid his smashes and his U-tilt combo at early damages. Watch out for his giant punch (specifically the 9 punch) and he will have a hard time killing you. He is difficult to successfully off-stage WoP, but do it anyway since you will rack up damage on him anyway. If he is above stage, he will get back, but if he is under, time your attacks well and you will win. His B-Up is very gimpable, it just requires you to have good timing. Your uair beats out his dair and moderately well timed aerials pretty much beat out all of his aerials except for bair. He can kill you very spontaneously, so this matchup can turn on you in a matter of seconds. If he's on the ground, try to punish him above his F-tilt but away from his U-tilt, it leaves him with little options there. In the air, just hit him as long as you can as long as he can't hit you with a bair. If he turns his back to you, leave immediately. Try not to hold your shield at all, his B-side kills.
Stage To Ban: Jungle Japes
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Smashville, Final Destination
Falco
Chance: 40-60
Description: His laser is a killer so you must duck when the game starts. If the Falco is a good one, you must duck (i.e., he SH double laser so he gets no ending lag on the second laser) and wait until he comes within B-side range (if not, then jump toward him and try a normal approach). Then you must immediately jump and neutral air, because he will almost certainly B-side. Nair has higher priority and length than B-side, so you will be safe using it. Do this once in a while and the rest of the time jump and go towards him. If he illusions away, duck and wait for him to approach again. If not, then try to fair him and get close to him, while staying much of the time in the air. Finally, he is difficult to off-stage Wall of Pain, but if you do get him below the stage without his second jump, he under no circumstances should survive. Any good player will make it so he does not have a life (since he has to firefox, and you can fair through it to his death). If not, anticipate his illusion back to the stage and if he will land on-stage using it, charge rollout or an F-smash and punish him for it. If not, edgehog him and make sure he does not get the ledge (i.e., jab diagonally when leaning on the ledge at the last second). These two work together if he will barely make it back, but you must choose the first option if he is barely too far to grab the ledge (he will try to land on-stage, in case of an accident so he doesn't die). If he is so far his illusion will cause him to have to go for the ledge either way, then edgehog immediately if he does it above the stage or even with it, just pummel diagonal and go for the kill. Early on, he will try to chain-grab you with down-throws to a a dair to a grab again to a dair and then to a dash attack U-smash (gattling combo). This racks up huge amounts of damage but can be avoided with proper DI's. Watch out for his bair, its really the best out of his other aerials, his others are fairly dangerous because once Falco is stuck airborne, Jigglypuff has a huge advantage. Because of this, he will stay near the ground and mainly use laser, smashes, and bairs and punish you badly with them.
Stage To Ban: Jungle Japes
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking: Frigate Orpheon, Smashville
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking: Frigate Orpheon, Smashville
Fox
Chance: 45-55
Description: His laser forces you to approach and makes it difficult to fight him. Since his illusion goes so far, he cannot really be cornered or approach a normal way. Also, you must avoid his dair to U-tilt because it racks up a lot of damage and if he chooses to U-Smash, it will kill you early. The trick is to perfect shield if you get hit by the dair. Also, try to stay in the air more often and then use your aerials into ground attacks. He is difficult to WoP if he is above the stage because his illusion is almost impossible to beat. Your nair sex-kick will beat it, but he can illusion right back again above you. Ducking his laser is another good option, and use pound a lot in this match. It’s a lifesaver. Never air-dodge right after his down throw, he is trying to get you to do that and it sets him up with a free nair. However, if you jump immediately, you should be safe.
Stage To Ban: Corneria
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungle Japes, Smashville
Mr. Game and Watch
Chance: 15-85
Description: Whether he is a pro or a complete amateur, all a Game and Watch has to do is bair you and you will lose. It has insane priority and range, and even beats pound in terms of range and priority. Your only chance is to do an insane amount of mindgames and dash dance into dash attacks and the like. You can win against a much worse Game and Watch, but you really have to punish his bair early on by rolling around it and using grabs. This is one of a few characters where if you have the option, use another main. Impossible to be off-stage Wall of Pained, his B-Up essentially kills whatever you did when used. Your best option to kill him early and essentially only option is drill resting. You can also try using smashes after a bad-spotted fair. Make sure you tech out of his Down-throw, otherwise he will d-smash you and kill you. Rollout is very easily punishable by Game and Watch, and the only time to use it is when you are lifted by his B-Up, release it while he is in his parachute and he will die often. If he holds a smash, charge rollout and time the release. His F-smash has fire linger, so you will have to release it slightly later. His aerials beat out pound so you really have to mindgame the entire match just to beat him.
Stage To Ban: Corneria
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Green Greens, Jungle Japes, Final Destination
Ganondorf
Chance: 65-35
Description: Don't underestimate this matchup even if it appears to be a great advantage for Jigglypuff. Thats assuming you have proper DI's, good spacing and anticipation of the Ganondorf. If you let your guard down, around any of his moves can kill. His dash attack kills even before 100%. You really should never be on the ground near a Ganondorf in this matchup, his lightning storm of dairs will just rip you apart. So why is this a good matchup for Jigglypuff? Because if she keeps proper spacing in the air and doesn't try to trade hit with Ganondorf, she really has much more material to beat out him. Edgeguarding is pretty awesome for Jigglypuff here, it essentially helps Jigglypuff a huge amount, just screw with his recovery and edgehog and you'll be fine. Pound rules here so use it to dominate. Try not to combo out of pound, just get away. The risks aren't worth the rewards, his dair is too vicious. And also, never expose yourself for a dair spike. Jigglypuff can stay far enough away with her insane recovery not to let herself get spiked. Be careful of his fair, its pretty deadly if it hits but it has insane lag on it. Can be punished if its missed or if you attack early during the animation (should have already started the attack though).
Stage To Ban: Delfino Plaza
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungle Japes, Frigate Orpheon
Ice Climbers
Chance: 50-50
Description: The summary of the matchup: do not get grabbed. And Jigglypuff is one of the few characters that can essentially ensure this, as long as she spaces well using bair and rising dair spacing. Try to approach with a retreating bair, then rise over them with a dair and then mix up variations of this. However, they still have a few tools to deal with you. Blizzard, U-smash, and desyncs, especially with squall, can really wreck Jigglypuff. This is where dair becomes crucial, and so does bair. A well spaced bair beats out the Ice Climber's U-smash, and a dair can punish a desynced squall by allowing you to start racking up damage on Nana. Jigglypuff is probably one of the best at punishing a separated Ice Climbers. Once Nana is separated from Popo, go attack Nana. Do not go for Popo under almost any circumstance unless he really cannot do anything to avoid you. Remember Popo has an actual players skill and will air dodge and avoid you and be able to get to Nana much better than Nana can get to him. There are three ways really to hit the Ice Climbers. 1 is a hit that does not leave you vulnerable for a grab because you outspace their relatively poor grab range. These are mainly rising pound, dair, and bair. 2 is a move that attacks them while they are in motion and slightly desynced, so you will definitely hit one, meaning they cannot start a chain on you until very high percentages. Moves like this are pound, falling pound, fair, F-smash, and boost smash. However, be very careful doing these because if you underestimate the situation doing this, you will lose a life. The final move is one that gives enough shield knockback so they can't punish you. Unfortunately, Jigglypuff is relatively poor in moves here but next to the edge, F-smash and dash attack are both very viable. try to use a mixture of these attacks so you do not become predictable, which is one of the major reasons why people get grabbed. As for gimping the Ice Climbers, you really have to worry about their B-up. Because of this, always be ready to grab the ledge. Their normal recovery, which has very high priority, separates them if they don't auto cancel on the ledge. Use this to your advantage. Also, many will recover using a squall type recovery, where it takes longer and so if you try to edgehug, you will be stage spiked. However, their squall recovery can be stopped fairly easily with a dair or other aerial. So they will almost certainly mix up the two and try to punish you for one assumption. However, if they are below the ledge, you have one way of getting a fairly reliable gimp on them or at least separation. Just grab the ledge when you expect them to recover. If they use their B-up right then, roll onto the stage and try to punish them accordingly. However, if they use their squall, push away a bair and try to get separation like that. As far as stages go, the Ice Climbers need room to chain grab. They also don't like small platforms because it allows people to wait for the opportune moment to approach and avoid almost anything they can throw at you. Therefore, ban Final Destination on them. Its one huge area where you are forced to approach them and because of desynced ice blocks, no one can plank them here. Instead, go to Smashville and Jungle Japes and Norfair. Most Ice Climbers for some reason enjoy going to Smashville, so if you can make it your first stage do so. On Smashville, stand on the platform and wait until you get close to them before working in and out avoiding a grab. Then, when you are far from them, go back onto the platform and repeat. Its hard for them to approach you up there and even if they do, the ability to chain grab is greatly reduced. The same is true for Norfair, where the small platforms screw with their chain-grabs and overall approaches badly. Just stay on a top platform and you should be fine. On Japes, the edges are above and very small making it almost impossible for them to chain grab well, so go here and also try to gimp them into the water. Overall, these 3 stages are great counterpicks for you.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Ike
Chance: 55-45
Description: Ike is an insanely powerful large character who is surprisingly nimble due to his crazy IASA (Interruptible As Soon As) frames. He really is the definition of gimp, amazingly easy to kill and neither player in this battle should go above 80 damage. Be really careful of his smashes, they will kill you early. This is one character who you do not want to even think about trading hits with, most of he moves can kill Jigglypuff early. Even though pound beats all of his smashes, DO NOT pound through his smashes. Its not worth the risk and reward. Be wary of his eruption (Neutral B), because it has super armour (cannot be hit through if he is releasing the attack). If he is charging it, hold rollout and wait until he has to release it and then attack (shielding it to a grab does wonders), be careful of his spontaneous usage of this in the air. Once he’s off stage, hit him far from the stage. Its really easy because he generally has to charge B-side or go under the stage. Either way you can attack through it and if he releases it, fair and it won’t do any damage to you but he will be permanently stunned and die. His jab is the definition of ****, it does 16% damage and has an insane disjointed hitbox that comes out fast. Near the ground, abuse fake approaches and pound far enough away so Ike has to dash to get hit with it but if he decides to smash, you are completely safe. It really hurts his SHed fairs and nair game, just you have to time it well before the fair animation starts (or nair). Try to get in on Ike and combo him with bairs and fairs, essentially never let him get away. Drill resting does wonders starting at mid-70's, just be smart cause his U-smash hurts. Watch out for his bair, if he's RARing towards you, just back up and try to approach later. Be careful with his back turned to you, it really kills. Space well enough with bairs and don't try to pound through him on the ground (a decent ways in front of him is fine, on him is dumb), he will grab you and do considerable damage, like Jigglypuff.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Ivysaur
Chance: 50-50
Description: For Ivysaur, you have a real advantage over him in killing him early. Use a variety of attacks (fair, bair, dash attack, grabs, pound) and try to get a back throw or fair to get Ivysaur off-stage. Then simply do one more hit to get rid of Ivysaur's second jump and then edgehog. Renew your invincibility frames but Ivysaur will die. Watch out for neutral air and his u-smash though, as well as try to moderately close to avoid the B-side but still stay away from the U-smash. If he knocks you above him, air-dodge his uari because it is fairly powerful and is one of his better KO options. However, he is much weaker than Jigglypuff in the air, like Charizard, so you can really damage him if you use F-throws when you are in the middle of a stage (B-throw whenever it could lead to an off-stage WoP). Try to avoid staying in the air diagonal (more upwards than horizontal) because he will try to use his vine whip, and if he sweetspots it, you will die even if you are under 70 damage.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking:
Jigglypuff
Chance: 50-50
Description: This is a very weird matchup because you have a much larger threat from ground attacks than you would expect, but the trick is knowing how to counter her style. Pound neutralizes rollout, so its a very safe attack to do on a rollout spammer. Also, using bairs and pound well once again do wonders, but fair is much more important in this battle. It will be an aerial fight so worrying about shield grabbing is almost useless, and fair really does wonders. Be careful not to get conceited to think that Jigglypuff cannot get edgeguarded, she can be surprisingly easily comboed if you just try to attack through or expect to get back. Since you can anticipate all your strategies and they can yours fairly easily, just try to out space the opposing Jigglypuff. Great KO options are resting at 57% and F-smash as well as dash attack.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
King Dedede
Chance: 45-55
Description: You want to jump up immediately at the start of this battle, since he will be throwing Waddle Dees and you do not want to get hit with a spikey thing. However, a Pound approach leaves you fairly vulnerable against his F-smash and you do not want to start it if you see it charging, just wait until it is finished and fair him the second afterward (time it and come in right before the attack). His U-tilt (it can kill you in your 70’s) is his best KO option, it comes out straight after a shield and is very fast with little ending lag and low damage is needed on Jigglypuff to die. Therefore, you want to use the Wall of Pain to go in and out and punish his shield without going over him. Therefore, you should stay not too close to him but not too far. Also, try off-stage Wall of Paining him if he does not go above you immediately. If he is at or above 93 damage and he uses his B-up, rest him when he comes down, it will hit if you do it right (this is if he does not cancel it or cancels it right before hitting the ground). Rollout works great on this, because once he successfully starts the B-up, it cannot be hit through, so rollout and rest are your best options (release rollout so you will not be hit by the shockwaves, but still will hit him when he is immobile). Pound goes through his Neutral B amazingly, just remember you will go through him. Use grabs and dash attacks sparingly, use your f-tilt moderately. Avoid his bair and dair and uair, his fair can be hit through before he starts it, since it takes a while to use. Drill resting is your best KO option, but do not use an open rest (for his B-up) before 93% and drill resting with all the hits (it does 16%, do no rest if it does not say 93% when you are about to rest) before 77%. This is because otherwise he will F-smash and kill you while you are immobile.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Kirby
Chance: 45-55
Description: He's essentially a stronger better ground game Jigglypuff with slightly less air control. Abuse this. His ground game is like yours only much better, you won't win any battles fighting there. Watch out for bair and dair off-stage, and rollout is a fools move in this matchup. He will either F-smash you, inhale you, or bair you until you wish you were already dead, which will soon be granted. His grabs aren't great on Jigglypuff, but don't fall into them. His D-throw U-tilt grab combo can be avoided with good DI's and air-dodges, just be smart.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Link
Chance: 60-40
Description: This an annoying matchup but a good one for Jigglypuff. You have to approach him and his zair is a pain to deal with, he will be a camper. Learn to catch his bombs by air-dodging at the proper time or more dangerously pressing A. Once you have one, throw it and approach well. Try to approach him above his aerials and use them well. His up moves can be very annoying but are manageable. 1 hit off-stage should be enough to kill him if well placed, its so easy to gimp him. Watch out for his dair and uair, they will kill you. Other than that, you should kill him once he's off the stage. Rollout going underneath his arrow can work really well, because its essentially a free kill, just don't count on it.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Lucario
Chance: 40-60
Description: He is really annoying because he has a powerful aerial game that you have to be smart to beat. His aerials generally have more priority but with pound, you can counteract that. Watch out for his aura sphere, its so annoying. Off-stage you have a huge advantage, disrupt his easily messed up recovery and punish him, kill him early. Watch out for his vicious F-smash, you really gotta watch out for this.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Lucas
Chance: 45-55
Description: You have to play him in the air and you should win there. He's annoying to approach because of PK Fire and PK Thunder and his defensive style. His U-smash beats out pound and kills really early, be careful but it can be punished very easily. Hit his Pk thunder with sourspotted fairs if you have the option, if you do he's pretty much dead. Otherwise, if he gets you with PK Thunder, you're pretty much dead. Never use rollout except for tech chases because Lucas has a good projectile, the best smashes, another decent projectile, and good enough grabs to stop it completely. One major trick Lucas has is a full-hopped dair to F-smash, be careful to avoid his aerials and if he hits you with this, tech immediately, although it is fairly hard to. Be insanely careful about approaching Lucas, all his smashes have high amounts of ending lag but kill very early, so spacing is crucial. That and the fact that most of his aerials outbeat yours but have longer startups, so try to pound through him in the air. If you start hitting him with aerials, he generally has to retreat a bit but its hard to successfully start this.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Luigi
Chance: 35-65
Description: Really annoying to play on all accounts, his powershield absolutely kills you. His F-smash essentially kills anything that moves and his nair absolutely *****. He is annoying to play both in the air and on the ground, you will really have to play his air game however. To approach, get above his fireballs and get out of striking distance of his before bair spamming his shield. Try to find a place where he doesn't shield. Its easy to gimp him but if you fail, his recovery is insane. Try to ledgestall him when you are brawling Luigi, its your best option and isn't very punishable. Also, watch out for his B-side, don't try to fair through it, both hits happen and its a lot worse for Jigglypuff than it is for Luigi. If he jabs you, DI backward immediately, he is going to try to B-Up kill you which essentially kills you in your 30's.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking:
Mario
Chance: 45-55
Description: A fun matchup because Jigglypuff has the tools to beat Mario fairly well, but he has the same for Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff is fairly easy to gimp and is punished greatly by a well-timed dair above him if all other gimp attempts fail. He is a great character to shield-grab if he tries to aerial on you, but he will fireball camp you, so approach will double jumps or with constant powershielding. Mario has a fairly good defensive game, so keeping good shield pressure is very important. Be careful not to get to close to his shield because besides shield-grabbing, he can also B-Up for large amounts of damage. His bair is really his aerial against you. He will use it for spacing and comboing you, so be careful with that, trying to shield-grab him or the like. Be careful for Fludd Induced Hit Lag, where when a Mario uses his flood and you contest it with a move, most notably rollout, you have large amounts of hitlag and it allows him to setup a nice kill move. Also, his cape is somewhat dangerous. He can use it to cape glide and setup a nice gimp, but other than that its use on Jigglypuff is limited. If he capes you on the ground (godforbid), shield immediately because he might to try an F-smash to kill you with it.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Marth
Chance: 35-65
Description: Gimp him to death whenever you have the chance, but avoid his B-up, especially near the stage because it is an insanely strong stage spike if tipped (kills at 0% on Final Destination if perfectly done). Edgehogging is amazing, once again slam a diagonal DI for a quick edgehog when he is about to use dolphin slash, and watch out for B-side stalls. Have many mindgames and hope he uses counter during a fake approach (jump and press forward, air dodge back). Grab him, rack up some damage and back-throw him. Pound has longer range than his attacks (most of the time), and bair works wonder when in closer range than his fair. Use grabs and dash attacks, as well as sourspotted fairs to F-smashes. Never charge smashes or consistently fair him above the ledge when he is recovering, he will counter. If you are using rollout when he is charging something, time the release well and **** him. However, watch out for dancing blade and F-tilt, they really hurt Jigglypuff's SHed approach. Switching up FH's and SH's really works wonder. Learn his tip range and learn to stay outside of it or inside of it. F-smash tip kills very early. Be careful near the ledge against a Marth, he generally two options that are instant death: dair spike and dolphin slash. Bair and dair approaches are your best idea here, he has no projectiles or extremely long range, so pressure shield him with bairs before pounding through (only do if his shield is low and only do it so it will hit him unless he retreats so you aren't punished by ending lag). For dairs, you want to use them while traveling backwards above him and then jump to a dair so the dair barely touches his shield, and when you get behind him bair. Make sure you know how to punish a double fair approach, shield-grabbing does wonders with a Marth in the air. Well timed bairs can punish an aerial Marth, essentially weave your bairs and pounds well. Watch out landing near him, his ground game ***** yours. His U-tilt kills between 90's and 100's and comes out quick. Marth's grab release shouldn't be a major issue as long as you roll away. His dash attack is sign for you to punish him with a fair, and make sure to spam nair out of shield.
Stage To Ban: Battlefield
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungle Japes, Frigate Orpheon
Metaknight
Chance: 40-60
Description: Insane aerial priority, your pound is the only stronger move. Use rollout in this matchup, Metaknight can barely abuse it as well as pound. Try to give yourself space from Metaknight due to his insanely fast smashes and 1-2 punch. Use dash attacks and grabs and try to use your back throw to setup an off-stage Wall of Pain, it works a fair amount of the time. Be careful edgehogging his B-up, it is really hard to do successfully since there are two points where he can grab the ledge and you really have to have invincibility frames while he does the spin and push away from the ledge when he attacks out of it, so he is far enough from the ledge so he cannot grab it (if you know he will not attack, then stay on the ledge because otherwise he gets the ledge but you still have your 5 jumps). Never use U-smash in this match, same with down-smash. Try using a f-smash once in a while after bad-spotted fairs, but be careful. Drill resting is a great option for a kill. Watch out for his mach tornado, it beats rollout and a lot else. However, if you nair it, you punish it so aim at the Metaknight with nair whenever possible in his tornado. If you get caught inside, DI to the top of the tornado and use rest. Pretty epic when done. If he misses you with his drill rush, use rollout. It really just makes him wish he had never used it. If a Metaknight tries to use his glide attack when you are on the ground, jump and dair him. Its predictable so he pretty much has to diversify his game. His dimensional cape is essentially another reason to pound spam, its ******** hitbox owns him in every way shape or form. Watch out for an F-tilt, its got the highest priority so don't tempt him to use it. His D-smash is so annoying and you should never be on the ground near Metaknight, try to pound him if he uses D-smash.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Ness
Chance: 40-60
Description: His aerials are pretty tough to get through. He will oftentimes do retreating fairs, just avoid them, try to attack through and you will regret it. Try not to get grabbed against him, so pounding a shield is about the worst decision ever, mainly because his back throw kills you so early. His bat is pretty vicious but his recovery is absolutely terrible. One of the easiest guys to edgeguard, try to use sourspotted fairs to just slowly lower him. However, watch out if he gets his PK Thunder to hit him before you can hit him, because it does insane damage and is an early KO. His dair is absolutely deadly though so try not to get spiked with it. Like Zelda, try to stay out of the sweetspot of his moves, if he can't sweetspot, he can't win very easily. Use good forward and back DI's while in the air, this helps overcome the fact that Ness has superior aerials. You are forced to approach and be careful of his PK Thunder because he can both use it as an attack and a method to bait you so you get hit by his launched body after he hits himself just by circling it around his head wisely. Shielding well is crucial in this matchup, so play wisely.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Olimar
Chance: 30-70
Description: Insane range, great projectiles, kills rollout and any of your approaches with side-smash, up-smash, and B-up. Olimar forces you to approach him instead of the other way around because of his B-side, where he throws Pikmin all over you. Try to just jump fairly high and approach him diagonally, using dair as a fairly safe method of approach. Make sure to be rising in the meantime because if you land next to him, you are screwed over. This is one of Jigglypuff's worst matchups. You do not want to hit the ground very often in close range of Olimar or cross directly over him unless if you are using pound (it neutralizes the Pikmin in the attack, so you get no damage and kill a Pikmin). Still, anything on the ground is fairly bad and he is only slightly weak behind him, in which case grab him.If you land near him, OoS nair and retreat immediately. Once he is off-stage and cannot recover with just a jump and an air-dodge, you MUST NOT LET HIM RECOVER. Off-stage Wall of Pain, edgehog, and renew invincibility frames to the max, and make sure to press a right when he uses B-up so he doesn't get the ledge but you don't get hurt (practice the timing). Your only chance and the way you will not need to get a new main for Olimar is to abuse his recovery to the max, literally do not let him recover when he cannot do so without his B-up ever. Watch out for his Pikmin throw if he has a purple pikmin, as it will knock you off the ledge so he can grab it. If you do so, you will have a small chance in winning, and if he does get his tether, try stage-spiking him (fairing him into the base of the stage for a spike before he can retract it and grab the ledge). You will lose against a decent Olimar if you do not capitalize on his mediocre recovery. While onstage, DI back and forth viciously, it is a crucial advantage Jigglypuff has. Try to get hits on him and once you get the lead, go below the stage and essentially ledge-stall while staying below the ledge the entire time, so you grab the ledge below it and under the stage. This was Olimar has no way to punish you and at the very least, you can win due to a 7 minute stall out. This works best on Smashville and Battlefield, both stages where if you so much as touch the diagonal part under the stage, you grab the ledge, but it does not leave you vulnerable whatsoever to someone with such a mediocre recovery. Be very careful not to land whatsoever near Olimar, and if you do, jump and nair quickly and try to get back. You essentially want to force him into the air where she can easily beat him out. But if is on the ground, watch out. Rising pounds can work fairly well in this matchup, but you have to DI away so your not in the range of his U-smash. When you are in the air, you dominate if you are below him but are in trouble if he is above you. Use your amazing DI so you never get uaired, cause otherwise it is very painful. Overall in the air, Jigglypuff has a fairly strong advantage. For stages, Jigglypuff really is going to have difficulty. Battlefield and Corneria both completely dominate us without planking, but you are essentially forced to ban Corneria. Make sure you do not start out on Battlefield or Cruise and you might have a chance to win this matchup. Olimar does terrible compared to Jigglypuff on Rainbow Cruise and Frigate Orpheon, so Olimar will ban 1. This makes it so if you win the first match, you can actually win the overall set but thats the real difficulty. Try to start out on Yoshi's Island or Smashville, however, be warned that the ghost can benefit Olimar more than you by saving him when he shouldn't have lived. On Smashville, plank if you are allowed to and use the platform and the stage layout to try to force him off-stage. Smaller stages help Jigglypuff here because once Olimar is off-stage, she actually has a chance in the matchup. And since Olimar will camp in the middle, its fairly hard to do so.
Stage To Ban: Corneria
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking: Frigate Orpheon, Smashville
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking: Frigate Orpheon, Rainbow Cruise
Peach
Chance: 60-40
Description: A pretty different matchup from most for Peach, most of her "combos" don't work too well here and her D-smash is fairly worthless. However, she has some great tricks with her fairs, her tilts and her oh so annoying jab. Really watch out for her U-smash, its deadly and her F-smash will be used to create spacing. Try to be careful on the approach to avoid these two. Stealing vegetables from her by air-dodging or pressing A at the right time is an amazing skill to get, do this and punish her for it. She can be edgeguarded but not that easily, her umbrella is like a godsend to hurt Jigglypuff.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Pikachu
Chance: 45-55
Description: A tough matchup, but it can really be neutralized by good decisions. You have to approach Pikachu because of his standard B, but do so without going too close. You really have to force him out of his shield by using the WoP, but be careful of his D-smash, F-smash, and thunder. All of these will beat you, but can be punished with dash attacks (during a D-smash, do a well-timed dash attack during the animation). When Pikachu uses his Up-B as a method to cross the stage and do damage, go into the attacks range and use an nair sex-kick. He can be gimped mainly by nairing him lower and lower so he can’t recover, and stage-spikes work wonders. You have the advantage in killing him off-stage because he can be attacked through the startup animation of his B-Up. Make sure you count your jumps if your going to nair him lower. You generally want to have 3 jumps with rising pounds, but 4 is preferable (use jump, rising pound, jump….). If Pikachu thunders you in the air, immediately air-dodge because otherwise he will thunder you again when you are high in the air. This is a very unusual matchup for Jigglypuff, one where I would actually recommend Yoshi's Island due to the ability to avoid B-spamming but also giving protection from thunder. If you see him charging a skull-bash (B-side), jump and start to go behind him (on-stage, if off-stage, try fairing him at the right time) so he releases it, it can be stopped but at high risk (fair is best if you know when he will release it). Finally, there are two types of thunder, 1 where it lands on Pikachu and one where he DI’s in the air so it lands on the base of the stage The first one is a better KO move (if this form of thunder hits you were it meets Pikachu, you will die at around 60 damage) but can also be punished using a nicely timed rollout, dash attack, or grab. In this case, you come in right after the aftershock but before the ending lag ends.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Pit
Chance: 45-55
Description: This match is just **** for Jigglypuff in the air, so its fun in that way. However, his arrows pretty much put you at a disadvantage. Uair is worthless here and besides that, keep your spacing and you can essentially chain him pretty well. His smashes are really annoying and will be spammed, so unless he's been arrowing a lot recently, he doesn't have very many valid kill moves. Make sure your spacing is good is crucial in this matchup. Oh yeah and pound *****. He can also be edgeguarded off-stage very effectively and gimped, just try to constantly hit him to force his Up-B, in which case just go for an nair and smash DI toward him. His nair is the only aerial you need to worry about but if you have good spacing, thats a small factor.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
R.O.B.
Chance: 45-55
Description: N/A
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Samus
Chance: 40-60
Description: This matchup is really annoying because Jigglypuff has almost no kill moves. To damage Samus, she requires sex-kicks, so her fair is wasted early and she has to spam pound almost to no end. The entire goal of this matchup is to play Samus in close aerial combat, where you will dominate. However, approaching well is crucial. Jigglypuff generally has to approach from the air and suffer a bombardment of missiles, her laser gun, and plasma whips. Try to air-dodge the whip but it is more important to get close than to avoid a few damage. Watch out for ground combos, her laser and missle combos to other moves generally kill any ground approach you might have. Learn to shield-grab well in this matchup, its a saving grace. Anticipating the rolling and air-dodging of your opponent is also great, use it wisely to get in close aerial combat. Try to stay above Samus when approaching, her plasma whip really forces you back constantly and when used with a barrage of missiles, creates a very formidable wall. Watch out for her nair, thats her only option when are in close combat, but if you play smart, its a small factor. Unfortunately, Samus can combo you very well here. Do not stay near the edge for any reason whatsoever, her dair is a monster off-stage. I've had more issues with it counter gimping me than succesful gimps. If you get far enough from the stage and can keep them from correctly attacking you, go for the gimp, but try to stay on stage while they are near the ledge. If they are on the ledge, Samus generally has three ledgehop methods: missile and grab ledge, fair, or attack or roll on. In any of these three situations, you do not want to be straight next to the ledge. Generally, you want to be right outside of their range but within the range of an F-smash hit. Wait until they commit before starting the attack, or shielding if they choose to missile. Spacing is crucial.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Sheik
Chance: N/A
Description: N/A
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Snake
Chance: 35-65
Description: Watch out for Snake's tilts, they are really viscous and can kill, but abuse his aerials except for his uair (watch out for that). His explosives are more dangerous for him in this game, so try to get him to plant them. Remember if you grab his cypher that he dies, with only you taking 6 damage. Grab his grenades and abuse fair and bair, with f-smashes following. Do a lot of backwards rolling and avoid his u-smash, since he can punish you if you spot-dodge it on the way back down. Attack him while he is in his cypher, and drill resting is an amazing option. He can be rested in his cypher, but generally you will die since it is off-stage. I prefer pummeling him with fair. Learn to perfect shield in this match, since you will often want to dair on the way down and then have to perfect shield his next attack. Not impossible and definitely better than other matchups. However, since U-tilt dominates your bair spacing, this really can't be an advantage. However, you can juggle this guy so well and really rack up damage on his recovery (although it is really hard to fully gimp him). His game plan is gonna be around making you eat grenades, mortars, F-tilts and U-tilts. However, since Jigglypuff spends so much time in the air, his grenades are much less effective than normal and can actually hurt the Snake more than you if you play very smart. Punish Snake with grabs and your superior aerial speed, but watch out for his explosives traps. Once you start to juggle him continue like there is no tomorrow. Off-stage his cypher dies compared to your gimping ability, but remember that he can recover anywhere so go for damage above all else. Memorize where he plants all of his explosives and be careful to avoid those areas. Snake can't force Jigglypuff to eat any explosives so you are fairly safe from his C4 and D-Smash. Spacing here relies on great bairs and dairs, use rising pounds as well if he is for some reason in the air. Once again he is pretty much a fortress, you cannot hit him without eating a U-tilt through aerial approaches. For this reason, abuse grabs to force him to shield more so you can space your aerials.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Sonic
Chance: 60-40
Description: This is a very annoying matchup for Jigglypuff, but then again, completely possible and very even. Essentially, his speed makes it much more difficult for Jigglypuff to correctly space Sonic, but if she does, she has better possibilities than him. But his speed can be so spontaneous and with his crazy momentum changing moves, her advantage is only theoretical. In practice, it is much more even and is a battle on who can correctly space better. On the ground, Sonic's U-smash dominates. But with good spacing, she can overcome this and punish it with pounds very easily. His other smashes has very limited use as long and they are much easier to space. Sonic's B-Side gets dominated by pound, so be careful but you can punish him like that. In the air, his main danger is his bair and dair. Essentially, be careful never to be in range of his dair and be careful if he has his back to you. Other than this, he has very little options on Jigglypuff. When he tries to uair, you, dair anticipate it and he has no options. For his neutral B, just air-dodge or try to attack him while he is charging it. Other than all this, its a matchup where you really just have to play to get a feel of it.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Squirtle
Chance: 50-50
Description: Squirtle is another who can be killed early. Just avoid his B-side, there is little you can do to beat it. Charge rollout whenever you see Squritle charge Neutral B when you are returning to the stage, you will go through it most of the time and damage Squirtle. Keep good spacing on your aerials and be careful of his U-smash. Off-stage Wall of Pain him and you won't need a good edgehog but if he tries to use his B-side to recover, fair him and grab the ledge and he is dead (I'll try to get a video of some of this stuff). Watch out for his U-smash, especially a dashed U-smash (hydro-planing). Watch out for his jabs and his dangerous throws, but also be wary of his f-tilt. Its not the worst matchup, but it requires good spacing.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Toon Link
Chance: N/A
Description: N/A
Stage To Ban: Corneria
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungle Japes, Luigi's Mansion
Wario
Chance: 45-55
Description: Wario has generally high priority aerial moves and a better ground games, added with his fart attack. However, he can be gimped as long as he is below or at the level of the stage easily (so he cannot ride his motorbike onto to stage). Rollout is fairly useless, due to his bike. However, pound kills his aerials and fair and bair still work wonders, just watch out for his uair and dair. Watch out for his F-smash, it has super armor (you will do damage to him but he will still do that attack, so no knockback) and can kill you. Be really careful once he has his fart and try nairing to footstool spiking him, it works wonders. The same is true for edgehogging because his B-Up leaves is so bad. Just takes getting used to, you will soon be able to fight off most Wario’s.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick:
Wolf
Chance: 30-70
Description: This is a very hard matchup because Wolf can KO earlier, can KO easier, and can put damage on Jigglypuff easier because he is faster and has much better range. Also, using a move with 5 frames of lag essentially sets you up for an F-smash. Right here, it sounds like playing G&W. However, there is hope. First of all, never under any circumstances land near a Wolf. He is a space animal, he will kill you. However, in the air, Jigglypuff can have the advantage. Although his aerials beat yours, you can outspace him by using retreating aerials and then punishing him. Essentially, never stay in the same place in the air and never land near him. Bait him and then see if he bites and then punish him. If not, land far away. Camping does almost nothing in this matchup, her grab range is too small to be useful. Be careful about approaching him, since Jigglypuff does not have disjointed hotboxes, he will be able to use the reflector fairly well. Try to bait him on this as well, and then attack through (pound works well). This is a really annoying matchup to play, since he will camp you with F-tilts, bairs and the rest. Edgeguarding works well with sourspotted fairs, either facing towards or away from the Wolf (both go through his B-side). Once he is forced to use his B-Up, nair him repeatedly and edgehog. Its your only chance to edgeguard him and it works fairly effectively if you can get him to be under the ledge with no jumps left (very hard to do). Unfortunately, one of the best ways to set up a gimp is a B-Throw on Wolf, but because its insanely hard to grab him, especially near the ledge, its not any real advantage. Be really careful.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking:
Yoshi
Chance: 45-55
Description: This is a very different matchup for Jigglypuff but it is manageable, because Yoshi is the only character in the game that surpasses her aerial speed. This really makes her spacing a lot more difficult than most matchups, but if she gets accustomed, it can almost become even but Yoshi still has more options than her. The good news is that pound is a beast in this game, Yoshi's barely shield so it is hard to punish, screws with spot dodgers, and really beats out his aerials unless he has super armor from his second jump (just watch out for anything he does from his second jump, your best bet is to air dodge and try to punish him once the super armor is gone). Rising pound when Yoshi is on the ground really screws with his options as well, its much harder for him to grab you (even pivot grabs or the dragonic reverse which helps). This is also counters very easily the really bad egg roll, which can also be punished very well by a perfect rest, and rising pound if spaced well nullifies Yoshi's U-smash, which really kills her in this matchup. However, Yoshi's bair is a monster and can really hurt her, and Jigglypuff is forced to approach here. Although eggs are not very good, they can get preliminary damage and hurt her fairly badly. Yoshi's uair is a real danger to Jigglypuff with its super armor on a second jump, so just air dodge if a Yoshi does that, other you are fairly safe. Be careful on the ground here because he can grab you fairly easily. As far as gimping him, he is fairly hard to gimp because of his super armor on his second jump and the fact that he can recover while air-dodging. Your best option is to get a sweet spotted fair (mid 40's) or an nair or sour spotted fair (mid 60's) on him and then footstool him to successfully gimp him. However, this will be very rare and shouldn't be counted upon. Rollout almost never works because of his eggs and his egg roll, so try not to use it. And never recovery with it because it gives him a free option to uair kill you.
Stage To Ban: Final Destination
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick With Planking: Castle Seige, Jungle Japes
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick Without Planking: Jungle Japes, Norfair
Zelda
Chance: 35-65
Description: This is a tough matchup for Jigglypuff, and it has very basic rules. If you get and keep Zelda in the air, you will win. If she stays on the ground, you lose. Zelda is a fortress in many sense of the word, and she can really stop almost all of Jigglypuff's approaches. She can jab and trade hits with pound, her U-smash and F-smash are essentially killers and get huge damage upon you. However, in the air she is vulnerable. You have a much better aerial game and since she is floaty, she is much more vulnerable to staying in the air if you juggle her well. Unfortunately, you are forced to approach in this matchup. Her Din's Fire is insanely good, and so you should get into mid range combat or close range combat immediately, since Jigglypuff can punish a Din's Fire very well at these distances (fair or pound, both protect you from the attack and punish her for using it). Try to mindgame at mid range, air dodge and DI viciously back and forth. Try to get her to commit with a move, because if she does, then Jigglypuff can punish her. Try to punish with a pound or a grab, because both can help you send Zelda into the air (use U-throw). In the air, try to juggle her with bairs and uairs, but watch out for her sweetspots. You can avoid them fairly well if careful, but she can also kill you quickly if one hits. If you are launched by Zelda, she will do one of a few things. She will either try to uair you (so DI away from her if you get launched above her), or she will try to use Din's Fire and rack up damage or kill you with it (air dodge at the appropriate time and DI inwards so to get closer to her so it becomes less effective). Be careful while trying to juggle her because her neutral B (Nayru's Love) has invincibility frames, so it can be used as an effective combo breaker. However, it also can be punished at the end so if she gets caught using it, its a free hit. However, on the ground, watch out for her U-tilt or F-tilt. Both can really do quick and big damage and Jigglypuff really has no options for them. Just mindgame and punish. Gimping Zelda is rather hard to do all the way, but getting a lot of damage on her isn't. Her recovery is fairly easily interruptible with any aerial of your choice, and so if you catch her before the end of the attack, she is in trouble. The best option is to knock her far and then edgehog her, and if she is in a position to land directly on the stage, get out of her way (unless she falls from above, then punish her accordingly), it hurts. When gimping Zelda, watch out for a counter gimp dair, it has surprising range and really can be quite spontaneous.
Stage To Ban: Luigi's Mansion
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: Jungle Japes, Frigate Orpheon
Zero Suit Samus
Chance: 40-60
Description: A difficult but medium matchup for Jigglypuff, Zero Suit Samus is fairly formidable in the air. Jigglypuff has difficulties approaching Zero Suit Samus, but in close range combat, Jigglypuff dominates. Jigglypuff's range with aerials makes it very hard for her to bair pressure Zero Suit Samus's shield, but you can compensate by smartly landing a dair or never landing near Zero Suit Samus. Jigglypuff is one of the best to gimp Zero Suit Samus, just try to force her to use her B-Down by bair or sourspot fairing her and then ledge-hug her.
Stage To Ban:
Top 2 Stages To Counterpick: