Doomgaze
Smash Apprentice
I've been browsing IC boards briefly and noticed that there aren't many devoted IC players in Brawl so I thought I'd post some random impressions. Feel free to ask anything if you want.
I've been playing ICs quite a bit now and from what I can tell it's all about getting in grabs. Grabs with ICs are beastly. Their air attacks are pretty good when intercepting especially recovering opponent in the air. Up-air has nice priority and is a good juggler, Bair is the typical "get-out-of-the-stage"-move. Nair is a move I don't use so much but it feels better than in melee.
Generally, though, I find ICs to be lacking. They have a hard time dealing with projectiles (Pit ***** ice climbers) and swords (young link and marth especially) and without their former wavedash their approach game is not good anymore unfortunately.
Let me just adress an important buff. Nana's AI is improved. She will try to recover now instead of just falling down and die. She will also shoot ice blocks if you're separated and she's above the stage. Also when you're out of the stage she will jump down to you so you can use UP+B.. Nana is essential in Brawl which is why I recommend to drop down and save her (with UP+B) often. Without her you lose all grab possibilities and your recovery will suck. No, you cant grab the edge by squalling towards it. Yes, both climbers can hang on the edge after up+b.
A good grab combo that works at low percent is grab->down throw->jump fair with nana and downsmash with popo. If you get a grab near the edge, he will be meteor spiked if the fair hits. Sometimes he can DI out though.
I also managed to chain grab Marths on low percents by downthrow and chasing. Dunno if their DI just sucks though
Or if at high percent you can just mash c-stick during a grab. Nana will smash continously while popo just jabs.. eventually and hopefully any climber will get in that smash attack when the grab ends resulting in a horizontal KO.
I've been playing mainly against marths and let me tell you, that matchup is a *****. You get outprioritized, outranged and outpowered in all aspects except for grabs (which he can't counter). A good approach is to shield dash cancel a grab. If he grabs either popo or nana, all you do is smash him with the other climber and break free. Also I suggest you spam the ice blocks whenever he's on a platform diagonally below you (just watch out for that fair), or if he's far away from you on a plain level. Ice blocks travel all the way through smashville so abuse that. When you get into a pinch, use the Squall because it grants invincibility frames shortly after the startup and it can carry you quite a distance, delivering just enough knockback on he final hit to ensure your safety. Just remember that if you lose Nana you will also lose your grab approach.
Another popular but equally annoying character is Pit. He will most likely spam his projectile on you and there's little you can do about it. Try to zone in on him, because ice blocks are worthless to his down/side+b, and if possible try to get behind him. Most of Pit's ground attacks come with some after lag which is when you can punish him. Keep close and get those grabs in. When he recovers you can intercept him midair which will usually be the time to finish him.
I will probably edit as I remember more.
I've been playing ICs quite a bit now and from what I can tell it's all about getting in grabs. Grabs with ICs are beastly. Their air attacks are pretty good when intercepting especially recovering opponent in the air. Up-air has nice priority and is a good juggler, Bair is the typical "get-out-of-the-stage"-move. Nair is a move I don't use so much but it feels better than in melee.
Generally, though, I find ICs to be lacking. They have a hard time dealing with projectiles (Pit ***** ice climbers) and swords (young link and marth especially) and without their former wavedash their approach game is not good anymore unfortunately.
Let me just adress an important buff. Nana's AI is improved. She will try to recover now instead of just falling down and die. She will also shoot ice blocks if you're separated and she's above the stage. Also when you're out of the stage she will jump down to you so you can use UP+B.. Nana is essential in Brawl which is why I recommend to drop down and save her (with UP+B) often. Without her you lose all grab possibilities and your recovery will suck. No, you cant grab the edge by squalling towards it. Yes, both climbers can hang on the edge after up+b.
A good grab combo that works at low percent is grab->down throw->jump fair with nana and downsmash with popo. If you get a grab near the edge, he will be meteor spiked if the fair hits. Sometimes he can DI out though.
I also managed to chain grab Marths on low percents by downthrow and chasing. Dunno if their DI just sucks though
Or if at high percent you can just mash c-stick during a grab. Nana will smash continously while popo just jabs.. eventually and hopefully any climber will get in that smash attack when the grab ends resulting in a horizontal KO.
I've been playing mainly against marths and let me tell you, that matchup is a *****. You get outprioritized, outranged and outpowered in all aspects except for grabs (which he can't counter). A good approach is to shield dash cancel a grab. If he grabs either popo or nana, all you do is smash him with the other climber and break free. Also I suggest you spam the ice blocks whenever he's on a platform diagonally below you (just watch out for that fair), or if he's far away from you on a plain level. Ice blocks travel all the way through smashville so abuse that. When you get into a pinch, use the Squall because it grants invincibility frames shortly after the startup and it can carry you quite a distance, delivering just enough knockback on he final hit to ensure your safety. Just remember that if you lose Nana you will also lose your grab approach.
Another popular but equally annoying character is Pit. He will most likely spam his projectile on you and there's little you can do about it. Try to zone in on him, because ice blocks are worthless to his down/side+b, and if possible try to get behind him. Most of Pit's ground attacks come with some after lag which is when you can punish him. Keep close and get those grabs in. When he recovers you can intercept him midair which will usually be the time to finish him.
I will probably edit as I remember more.