Remove Metaknight's ability to counterpick non-starter stages

[Vyse]

Oh lawd @ this thread.

 

[UncleSam]

What is this Sasuke…

 

[Skadorski]

Taunt Parties: The Guide​

What is a Taunt Party?​

Do you ever go into Basic Brawl, and find a game with 3 players who don't attack each other, and gang up on you if you try to fight? This is called a taunt party, and they are very common in Basic Brawl. In fact, when you join Basic Brawl there is a very good chance you will find a taunt party.

Taunt parties usually consist of 3 or 4 players who just hang out, taunt, and maybe show off some cool tricks they know. They usually only pick Temple, FD, or any fun stages like Big Blue or Summit. Some taunt parties also have fun items on High, like bumpers or golden hammers.

Starting/joining a Taunt Party​

Joining taunt parties is easy as long as you can recognize taunt parties. The first sign of a taunt party is if a player starts ducking repeatedly. This usually means "I want a taunt party!", and is called the Taunt Party signal. Taunting can obviously mean the same thing, but there are some players who always taunt at the beginning of a match before they start fighting. If you see a player doing the Taunt Party signal, you should run up to them and duck with them. This means that you are friendly and want to taunt.

Starting a taunt party out of a fight is harder. It usually consists of you finding one friendly player, and then fighting the other players until they leave and new Taunters come. The best stage to pick for this is Temple, since it's big and has a lot of places people can run away to and taunt. There are also certain characters you can use to signal that you want to taunt. Pink Captain Falcon and Yellow Kirby are good for signaling a Taunt Party, but remember that there will occasionally be people with these characters that want to fight, so don't immediately assume they're friendly. Look for the Taunt Party Taunt signal(different than the regular Taunt Party signal): "Show me ya moves" and "Hiii!". One of those characters plus one of those taunts equals a friendly taunter.

Taunt Party Crashers​

2-person or 3-person Taunt Parties are more common than 4-person taunt parties. There is often a player who will not taunt and will attack instead. These people are called Taunt Party Crashers, and they are common. This is because a lot of people don't know what a taunt party is, and will just attack you, not knowing they're crashing a Taunt Party. They are usually unaware of the fact that the other 3 people are not attacking each other and are taunting. They are also usually pretty bad. The best way to deal with this kind of crasher is to send the most skilled taunter(or the taunter who wants to fight them the most) out to fight them, while the other two continue the taunt party.

That is not the only type of crasher, however. There are crashers who are fully aware of the Taunt Party, and just try to crash it for fun, or for practice at 3v1. These players are usually much more skilled, and may require all 3 taunters to help kill them. They will also usually only use higher tier characters, and will try their hardest to win. There are even guides on how to crash taunt parties, with the best stages and strategies and everything…*shudders*. If someone like that comes, and is owning your taunt party, DON'T leave because of it. That's exactly what the crasher wants. Instead, use a bunch of cheap items, go to banned stages, and try to do stupid cheap things like using smash attacks on them while another taunter has them grabbed. Also, don't get frustrated. Fighting a skilled crasher is, IMO, one of the most fun things to do in a taunt party.

What to do in a Taunt Party​

There are many things you can do while in a Taunt Party. The most common thing to do is just hang around and taunt. This gets boring fast, though, and you should mix it up with more exciting things. Showing other taunters tricks you know, or watching other taunters do tricks, is the best way to have fun in a taunt party.

There are a lot of tricks you can show off in a Taunt Party. Falco's sticky lasers, Shiek's infinite chain noise, Yoshi's infinite Yoshi Bomb, or just some Hyrule Jumps are cool and easy things you can do on Temple, which is the official Taunt Party stage. There are plenty of more advanced things you can show off as well, like Spark Jumping, Infinite Dimensional Cape, and the Luigi Ladder(which I guess isn’t really that advanced). My personal favorite thing to do however is show off hacks. You can take players to Target Smash, play as Wario-man, make Waluigi Pinball play on every stage, and put Poke-balls on high and have only Manaphy come out. Not very many people have hacks, though, so I won't really get into them right now.

Attacking and Killing another Taunter​

In Taunt Parties, it's very common for a taunter to accidentally attack another taunter, whether it's from someone walking right into a Falcon Punch, or someone just accidentally doing an attack. If this happens, the attacker should duck once to say "Sorry". Whatever you do, DON'T start attacking someone if they attack you, as this is a very easy way for taunt parties to break up. Instead, just forgive them and keep taunting.

Now let's say that the same thing happens, but the player dies. If you're the killer, duck up and down as fast as you can to say "Sorry sorry sorry!". If you're the one who got killed, just walk up to them and do a quick jab, or any move that damages them only a little. They should then walk of the stage and suicide to even the score (This is because taunt parties should always go to Sudden Death). If their damage is high, you can also charge up a smash attack and kill them in a more flashy way. Just make sure they know what you're doing, or they may get the wrong message.

NOW let's say that another taunter kills you, but instead of just accidentally throwing a bomb at you or something like that, they Ganon Stomp you while you're offstage. Odds are that they just did it for a cool KO, and they are still friendly. Just jab them and see if they suicide. If they just keep attacking you instead, then they've obviously gone bad and should be killed.

Attacking can sometimes be a misunderstanding, instead of just an accident. These misunderstandings are very common, and usually occur like this:
1. Player 1 is trying to attack a Crasher, and Player 2 gets in the way
2. Player 2 is hit by Player 1, and thinks it was on purpose
3. Player 2 starts attacking Player 1

If you are Player 1 in this situation and Player 2 starts attacking you, don't attack back. Just run away and duck up and down. This means that you don't really know what happened and you don't want to fight. If they continue to attack you, it's alright to attack back. If you kill them, suicide. This might make them understand you don't want to fight. If they kill you, they might stop attacking. If they do, it usually means they're trying to say "Don't mess with me or I'll own you". If they keep attacking, then they've gone bad. Note that if they're still being friendly with another taunter, it usually means they want to be friendly with you again.

Being Player 2 in this situation is easier to deal with. If you think Player 1 is attacking you, just simply don’t attack back at all, until you figure out if they're still friendly or not. This will end the whole conflict before it even starts.

It's also possible to be Player 3 in this situation: a taunter who isn't part of the conflict but is observing it. If you ever see two other taunters suddenly turn on each other, then you are Player 3. The best thing to do in this situation is to not take a side. Just remain friendly with them both, since they probably both think that the other one turned on them. You can also try to stop the conflict by grabbing one of them , and just letting them break free. This means "Stop". If one of them starts to attack you, then they've most likely gone bad.

Sudden Death​

Good taunt parties will always go into Sudden Death. This is why people suicide after accidentally KOing another taunter. A lot of people don't know what to do when a taunt party goes into SD, though, so I will tell you 2 things that a taunt party can do to have the most fun out of Sudden Death.

The most common thing to do in Sudden Death is to try to stay alive as long as possible. This usually means either planking, or hiding in a "safe spot." The most common safe spot is the little cave in the middle of Temple. On walkoff stages, the area off camera is almost always a safe spot. If the stage has no safe spots, and you don't want to/can't plank, then you can try to time spotdodges when bombs appear over your head. Kirby, DDD, and Wario can use B to eat the bombs, instead of dodging.

When surviving in Sudden Death, a lot of people will keep going when a taunter gets KOed. You shouldn't do this, because it keeps the taunter waiting and it can be very annoying. Instead, everyone should suicide if not all taunters are alive. This also applies when a taunter doesn't make it to Sudden Death at all.

The second most common thing is for everyone to immediately suicide, in the coolest-looking way possible. There are several different ways to suicide, with some characters having better methods than others. Characters like Kirby, DDD, and Wario can suicide with another taunter using B, Jigglypuff can shieldbreak, the Links can use bombs to blow themselves up, and Snake can use C4, Dmash, or grenades to kill himself. A common thing for Snake to do is to set a C4, have everyone stand on it, and then blow it up. Link can do the same thing by throwing a bomb in the air.

If you're on the right stage, you can also have the stage hazards kill you. This is most common on B.O.E, Mario Kart, 75m, and Jungle Japes. If it's a moving stage, the party can all stay in one spot and taunt until they hit the blast line.

Hacking Taunt Parties​

One way to make taunt parties a lot more fun is to use hacks(for those of you who don’t know what I'm talking about, try looking in the Smash Workshop). Unfortunately there just aren't very many people who use hacks on Wifi, so don't expect to find hackers very often. I strongly recommend that anyone who likes taunt parties should start using hacks with them. There are several codes that work online, like the Wifi Music Modifier, Assist Trophy Modifier, or an organized SSS code that includes hacked stages.

The most common hack seen in taunt parties is the hacked stages SSS. These usually have 7 extra stages on them that you can select on Wifi. There is still only a 1/4 chance it will be the stage you pick. I will go over each stage and explain how good it is for Taunt Parties. I'll also rate it out of 10.

1. Wifi Waiting Room: This is the white stage with the sandbag that you play on while you wait for a Wifi game to start. This is a good stage to pick, as it lets the other taunters beat up the sandbag, or maybe show off and go underneath the stage. 9/10

2. Target Smash: You can only play on the first level, unfortunately, but it's still a very fun stage. You can break the targets, and then try to squeeze into the little holes in the pillar at the top-left, or try to climb up to the top. Also, the bombs just spawn in a big pile in Sudden Death, so you can run into them and watch yourself go flying off all the walls and still survive. 10/10

3. Results Stage: This is basically just a totally black walk-off stage, since the actual background is not loaded. It's a pretty boring stage, since nothing really goes on. However, the fact that it's all black is kind of cool, so it's not totally lame. Also, it's possible to go around the side and come up through the bottom, but it's hard, since the boundaries are very close. 5/10

4. Custom Stage: This is supposed to be the Custom Stage you last played on, but everyone in the game has to have played on it last, and since this is Basic Brawl, that can’t happen. So instead, it's just a totally black screen with absolutely nothing. It can actually be really fun though, since everyone tries to stay in the air as long as possible. Also, there's a small chance the group will disconnect when the stage is chosen, so be careful about when to pick this stage. 9/10

5. Control Test Stage: This one's weird. It's the stage that you play on when you're testing a control setup. What makes in unique is that the camera always zooms in. But since there's usually 4 players, the camera gets really weird, and zooms to the spot right in the middle of where everyone is (kinda hard to explain). It looks pretty cool. Also, you can only die off the top. 7/10

6. Home-run Contest: The stage from Home-run Contest. It would be an awesome stage to pick if it weren't for one thing: You can't die. Each side goes on past the camera for a long time, and eventually there is a wall. If you get knocked over the wall, you will fall forever. Because of this, the game can't end, and the only way to get out of the game is to leave. It can still be an awesome stage, though, if you want to end the taunt party with, IMO, the funnest hacked stage. It's also good if you have to leave, and want to show everyone one last stage(or if you're just bored of the Taunt Party). Unfortunately, the game often ends with everyone freefalling below the stage... 7/10

7. All-Star Rest Area: This is the stage you go to in between fights in All-Star and Boss Battles. Like Home-run Contest, you can’t die here, as the stage is boxed in. Also, if Player 1 or Player 2 walks over the portal, the whole stage turns black for the rest of the game(including the characters). Not recommended for Taunt Parties, since the game can't end, the black screen is annoying, and Home-run Contest is a much better stage if you want to end the Taunt Party. However, there is 1 good thing about this stage. If you join a game and come upon a FFA with a bunch of noobs, you should try taking them to the Rest Area and ditch them. It will be a fun and new experience for them, and they won't be able to bother anyone else until they all leave. 4/10

As for other hacks, anything like Music or AT modifiers is great, but it only works if you're the host. Turning everyone into Giga Bowser isn't really as fun as it sounds, so if you want to play as hacked characters, use a code that turns only Bowser into Giga Bowser or something like that. That way you and everyone else can play as other characters if they want.

The 2 Golden Rules​

1. NEVER ATTACK SOMEONE UNLESS THEY ATTACKED YOU FIRST. This means that if P2 decides to attack P3, you should NOT attack P2, and if P2 and P3 start ganging up on P4, you should not join in. The reason so many misunderstandings happen in Taunt Parties is because people do not follow this rule.

2. BE FORGIVING. If P2 starts attacking you, but stops next game, you should stop attacking him. P2 probably just wanted a quick friendly fight, or there may have been a misunderstanding. Either way, you should always forgive people if they stop fighting and start ducking/taunting. The only time you shouldn't be forgiving is if someone is a fake taunter, and pretends to be "sorry" for attacking you, but then attacks you again soon
after. These people should be attacked whether they're fighting or taunting.

Stuff from John12346​

First off, you have to remember that, no matter how many times you defeat a crasher(s), all they need is one win in order to leave and feel like they won. In other words, if you do get negatively affected by such a thing, you absolutely must win every match. Keeping this in mind, you should try these handy-dandy tips.

One: Stay separated!
I cannot stress this one enough; when a partyist is confronting a crasher, you HAVE to give them room. Do not attempt to double team with him, and do not jump in there like an idiot. At most, stand two Bowser distances away from the conflict so you can bounce the crasher back to your fellow partyist. When more than one partyist jumps a crasher, all players are exposed to serious unnecessary damage, and you have to remember that it makes it much easier for the crasher to KO you.

In a 3v1 situation, allow ONE partyist to confront the crasher, and make the other two stand off to the side. If the partyist gets knocked a small or moderate distance, DO NOT jump in the fray; the initial partyist is going to be back in a matter of seconds, and more than likely, one or more partyist will get nailed in the face. If the crasher decides to roll away from the conflict at this moment, it usually means a free smash of his choice while the partyists are recovering from the attacks.

That said, if the partyist gets knocked an extremely large distance away, then take over for him or her.

In a 2v2 situation, just separate the match into two 1v1s, and KEEP IT LIKE THAT. Do not try to help your partner out in any way, shape, or form. If you get knocked toward the other 1v1, just get out of there as fast as you can; do not attempt to enter that battle. If the other crasher leaves the other partyist and tries to join your conflict, just get out of there as fast as you can and join the other partyist, who is now alone.

What people don't understand is that, if a partyist joins an already existing conflict, the partyist already in the conflict has to STOP ATTACKING, because they risk hitting you, and it actually usually leads to the crasher landing a free whatever on that partyist.

So stay away from each other. It's the best you can do.

Two: Double KOs!
People are already aware of the, "If you KO someone, let them KO you," addendum of taunt partying, but this can be used in an extremely useful fashion. If you and another partyist are alone, and you both have high damage, KO him or make him KO you somehow(just use the first hit of your jab), then let your fellow partyist KO you, or get KO'd by you(whichever is the opposite of the first action). Viola! The KO counts have not changed, and your damage meters are back to zero.

Three: KO Charity
This is an extremely effective way to ensure a partyist's victory, but it's kinda hard to relay what you're doing. If you've been playing passively throughout the entire match, you can perform this technique. Simply put, get hit by stray attacks from your fellow partyists(Ray Gun shots, Final Smashes, etc etc etc), and kill yourself. The KO will be awarded to the last person who hit you; in other words, your fellow partyist. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Four: Buckets and Magnets!
If you use Ness, Lucas, or GaW, get someone to feed your magnet/bucket. Just stand all the way at the edge of the stage and hold out your magnet/bucket, to relay to everyone else that you need someone to fill you up. Everyone who's ever played Smash knows what magnet and bucket do, so a partyist WILL come and help you out. Just wait.

Five: Remote Controlled Projectiles
Attacks that you decide the trajectory of are helpful during a battle against a crasher, because they allow you to help from a distance.

HOWEVER! Some of the projectiles should be used, and some should not. As of right now, only two are safe to use, and they are Snake's C4(try sticking it to fellow partyists; they can re-stick it to a crasher later on) and Zelda's Din's Fire. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT HIT YOUR FELLOW PARTYISTS WITH THEM. IT'S MORE THAN POSSIBLE TO DO SO.

The other projectiles should not be used for the following reasons:
- Ness' PK Thunder: This projectile would be relatively helpful when fighting a crasher, but the long tail of the attack usually spells interruptions in your fellow partyist's attacks. I've seen people get owned in the face because a stray Thunder broke a partyist's movements right as a crasher Ike nailed him with an Fsmash.
- Lucas' PK Thunder: Same reasons as Ness PK Thunder.
- Snake's Nikita Missile: This thing cannot make sharp turns; therefore it serves as a dangerous hazard to your fellow partyists if you need to turn your missile.
- Pit's Arrows: These are really hard to aim on Wifi, and the risk of hitting a partyist, followed by said partyist getting hit by a crasher definitely outweighs the 4% damage you might give to the crasher.

Six: Windboxes to the rescue!
Moves with wind effects stop all knockback from enemy attacks. If you see someone about to get hit by a killing blow, such as a final smash, or an Ike Fsmash, jump into action! Nail them with a windbox to save their butts!

The following moves have windboxes on them:
GaW's Uair
Ganon's Utilt
Ness' Magnet(happens when you turn the magnet off)
Pit's Wings of Icarus
Shiek's Vanish(when Shiek reappears, only)
Kirby's Inhale
King Dedede's Inhale
Link's Boomerang

Note: Footstooling stops knockback too, but it's hard to land it. Your best shot is to just press the jump button as fast as you can to intercept the blow.

Spikes and grabs stop all knockback too, but those are even harder to land then footstools are, so yeah.

Seven: LEAVE THE ROOM
This is simple; if you're in a room containing a crasher and an AFK, LEAVE, even if you have a partyist on your side. The source of free KOs increases the crasher's chance to win by an extremely significant amount. Just get out of there ASAP. Midmatch if you have to.