You play patiently, observantly, and most importantly, carefully as Cloud or you die because your fool ass got gimped at 10%. You can't just rush in and be aggressive carelessly. That goes with any character, but more-so Cloud because that's a great way to put yourself a stock behind and throw away any kind of advantage you somehow managed to get.
You have a Limit to charge to make them approach you. You have no idea how good this is against characters like Villager and Toon Link, who want to bombard you with projectiles most of the game but don't have a great approach themselves. And when you do have Limit charged and ready to go, you have the 5th fastest ground speed and the fastest air speed in the game, which makes it harder for them to keep you out. Also your n-air is god-like for spacing, especially when you're in Limit status. Use it to your advantage and force the opponent to overextend. You have a sword that's the size of most of the cast. Use it's massive reach to your advantage and space carefully.
It pays a lot to know all about your aerials and how to use them, with normal Cloud and Limit Cloud. (because Cloud falls slightly faster when he has Limit, which changes up auto-cancel windows) because Cloud doesn't get quite as much mileage with his grounded options, with the exception of u-tilt. Know what you can get off late d-air, u-air, and n-air, at what percents, and pay careful attention to how they respond to your aerials. Did they try to punish it? If so, how, and were they successful? Did they opt to not punish it at all? Did they hold shield or did they attempt to retreat? How can you prepare for those options the next time you approach with that aerial? Ask this question each time for each aerial. Cloud's aerials when spaced well are hard to punish, and easy for Cloud to mix-up his follow-up options from a blocked one while remaining safe. Just try not to overextend and space to the best of your ability. Cloud can be aggressive, but you don't want to be very aggressive. At the start of the round, you should be playing defensively, or at least passive-aggressively.
Oh, and a word of advice that will go a long way in life in general, not just Smash.
Beggar's can't be choosers. Don't ask for help and then reject it because it's not what you want to hear.