Even more about Snake:
Snake can grenade strip, meaning if he throws a grenade and you try to throw it back he can shield drop a second nade that will somehow defy physics and cause its brethren to drop on the spot -- its brethren being the ticking bomb in your hand or in front of your face if just thrown. Be wary of this if he has only one grenade out or the second is in the 'cooking' mode before it becomes an item from shield-drop.
Another trick that may be used with a grenade is that Snake may shield a flurry of close range attacks by pulling out a grenade and quickly shielding the attacks: the grenade will fall to the floor and explode 3 seconds after it was pulled out, injuring you in your aggressive assault while his shield protects him. If this happens you have a few options: shield the grenade; grab Snake with a regular grab and let you both take damage from the explosion; roll away; DT the grenade's explosion. Try to mix things up -- if you mix up your defensive options with DT you can attempt to mold your opponent's actions: might you shield the grenade and grab that time? Or DT? Or possibly roll away and BAS/AS? Leave him guessing and try not to be predictable, or try to use predictability as a trap to change your counter nature later.
The mortar dash, mortar slide, slip-n-slide mortar cannon, or whatever else its called is also used by Snake players, though in varying amounts: Snake starts a dash attack and immediately switches into a usmash, providing the momentum of the dash attack to his usmash and allowing quick travel across the ground for the player. Some players use this as a damaging approach, others use it only for an attempt to juggle: either way DT or a dodge/shield solves the problem. The attack is capable of hitting twice if you are on the ground at certain ranges: once for the animation of laying the mortar cannon -- which knocks you into the air -- and once for firing the actual mortar that has been charged up at you. If you attempt to shield make sure you don't forget about the other hit!
Defensively, Snake players can also hold down A to simply cancel any BAS and AS below the power of a charged 0% one. The fact that A simply needs to be held to cause a plethora of jabs also makes it a deadly foe close-range: expect to see everything close range to be met with ftilt or AAA and the occasional utilt if it will KO.
Don't try to stop his Nikita missiles also: all you can do usually is deflect them upward, at which point they will slow down and Snake can simply turn them back on you no problem. The only AS that can clash with the Nikita is one of power equal to or greater than a fully charged AS at 91%, and by this I mean one that deals 20 damage-- this destroys the Nikita and the AS, however, and as such is not that useful unless in a situational dire recovery. It's possible to use an AS charge as a shield to the Nikita and it will be hit by the constant charge damage and be unable to explode on you; just make sure to step over in the direction the missile is coming from once it gets caught in the charge to prevent Snake from redirecting it on you. In most situations it is generally better to just dodge it, though... especially if on the ground: while Snake can hit shield to cancel the missile and drop it, he is left immobile for half-a-second while putting away the guiding system -- hit him with a quick AS, Dair, or Fsmash here while he is defenseless if possible.
Some Snakes also use the Nikitas or C4 as a counter in recovery or to try to escape a juggle: if you see a Snake fly off the top of the visible screen using his cypher, expect to have some kind of difficult to spot explosive coming straight back down.
While rare, the C4 -> Utilt combo can be deadly. Pretty much if you are in very close and shield at an incorrect time Snake can stick you with a C4 and utilt you into the air, then detonate the C4 at the peak of your height for an easy star KO around 40%+.
Always remember that explosives = DT ammo. While situational it isn't too situational with the number of explosives present: just time the explosion and DT right before it goes off to take no damage and have your counter activated. Reverse DT can also be a recovery option if the Snake has the ledge fortified and mortar-spammed: just DT into the mortars if you can't simply kick them and break on through.
Also try not to underestimate Snake's aerial game. While he may be less mobile than a slice of cheesecake falling off a table, all of his aerials are extremely powerful. His Nair is like an aerial Chuck Norris version of his AAA; his uair is like an aerial utilt; his dair is like he wants to be Lucario but just can't float because he's not awesome enough; his bair is a VERY LONG sexkick, both in duration and hitbox size... and its still ridiculously powerful (and can make a very nice kill when suddenly FF'd). Maintain good spacing in the air and attack from odd angles if possible, especially the upper front since Snake's Fair has a decent bit of startup lag. If you want to combat an aerial snake try to mix things up between your Fair-fun combos and charged AS. What I mean is, try not to get close and do something stupid and both predictable AND counter-able when he is in the air -- just because Lucario's aerial game is better doesn't mean you are invincible.
And for the love of all that is blue and firey, don't get in his Fair's sweetspot range if you plan to chase him off of the edge: it might be slow, but you don't want a chance of a high-powered spike coming your way when things are in your favour all because you missed one move.
If you attack aerial normally above a level and he air dodges, Snake just may try to sticky you with some C4 if you remain close by. And being already in the air where he can detonate and kill at low percents off the top, you don't want that happening. Spacing is key always!
When you get around to trying to KO him, try to keep a charged AS ready. If both of you are around the 90+ mark a fully charged AS is enough to KO him off the side when near the edge on Final Destination. While numbers will change based on the level, the fact is that it is fully capable of a KO without the chance you may fall to a AAA, Ftilt, Utilt, Dtilt, Bair, Nair, Grenade, C4, Every-other-attack-in-his-arsenal attack unless you fall for the likely 2 grenades, proximity mine, C4 placed/thrown around... literally.
In conclusion, keep an extremely sharp mind on spacing and defensive aspects of play when fighting this heavy hitter. Try to block and dodge even at the sacrifice of a potential string or combo unless you are sure it will work. Keep an eye on the many explosives utilized, abusing them yourself with DT if given the chance, and try to keep a varying pressure game to reduce your opponent's control of the stage. Snake is a character that plays through power and varying pressure that reduces your options: try to deny him the second at least.
Edit: Some mortar dash just to be thorough. Personally I only use it excessively on people who I can figure out have difficulty dodging/shielding it fully.
