Dair discussion

[MookieRah]

The more I experiment with this move the better it gets. Huge damage and knockback, and it's range is nice; however, as of late I have been using it quite differently than it's average use. The range of Link's dair seems to start at his upper body, and fan out to the tip of his sword.

I made an illustration to make my point clearer:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/mookierah/LinkDair.jpg

This isn't anything new, but I figured it was worth pointing out. I think I saw it in a Germ vid when he played a Fox or something.

Something I have been doing lately is air intercepts. Link can jump and immediately dair and hit an enemy above me. As long as Link's neck area hits them, then the opponent is hit, and since the dair's priority is high enough to cancel out a full charged Samus shot, it's a lot safter than I originally thought.

Anyways, what are some other ways to incorporate the dair? I want some discussion!

(I would post more, but I have to go to lunch.)

[the sideburns]

When I'm playing younglink, i often use dair as an edgeguarding move against characters with predictable recoveries. Now you may think this to be incredibly dumb, and tell me that his sex kick is much safer and much more effective. you'd be correct. but still, some characters have good horizontal recovery that either trades blows with the sex kick, or goes right through it. (dk's upB comes to mind.) At lower %s, DK's recovery isn't really going to be hampered by a sex kick (even if it does connect). A dair stab, however, adds significantly more %, and puts DK up in the air, which isn't the best angle for him, especially when (y)link can uair him.

I'll also use dair to try to edgeguard against c.falc/g.dorf, because it has less of a chance of getting grabbed by their upB's than a sex kick. I'll jump out over the edge with it and try to make it connect.

Just make sure you do a full hop into the dair and never fastfall, or else you risk plummetting to your doom. The reason I use this at all is (a) its priority/damage and (b) the move stays out there forever, and ylink is very maneuverable side-to-side after the sword comes out, so you can often track your opponent's movement while he recovers.

Feel free to tell me this use of dair is dumb... i'll probably agree with you. I'm just throwin' it out there.

[MookieRah]

Depending on the situation, I too have used dair as a means of edgeguard, but I try not to make a habbit of it.

Also, something I wanted to mention earlier is that I am pretty sure that the dair will combo with Link's downthrow. I am not certain, cause I haven't had a chance to try this on high level players yet, but when your opponent's percentage is too high for a down throw to spin attack you can (at some percentages) down throw to dair.

[Creature_85]

My style of play mainly involves lots of arial tactics, so I use Dair a lot. Mainly to counter attacks like Peach or Fox/Falco's up B. Then, after I knock them to the ground, I'll either hammer them with a bomb and take off, or smash them depending on the character.

[Lord HDL]

I try to set this move up as best as possible. An incredibly effective tactic if you have good precision is to bomb drop someone and follow up with a down aerial after. Since Link can attack immediately after a bomb drop, they cannot escape this combo if they’re hit with the bomb, even if they try to DI away. Of course if your precision isn’t that keen you’d probably wind up hitting the bomb and making yourself vulnerable. And you need to make sure you hit them with the bomb or they’ll probably evade it or shield. If that’s the case, land behind them to prevent shield grabbing. You can also jump out of your shield followed by a down aerial, and land behind them if they dodge or shield it.

Platforms also help set down aerials. If you can force them to either land or tech on the platform after hitting them, you’ll have an easy down aerial in your pocket, especially if you’re below the platform.

[B-Run]

however youve got to make sure the bomb drop hits before starting the dair otherwise they may avoid it and smash you. but yes, most non link/ylink players dont give it enough credit for its power, effectiveness and efficientcy. when l canceled this move really doesnt have uber lag.

[Lord HDL]

The bomb doesn’t stun them long enough for you to make that decision, and if you were to wait that long it’s possible for them to escape, of course it’s also possible you’d still catch them. That’s why you have to use other tactics to set up the bomb drop so you’ll be sure they can’t avoid it, then you’d got yourself an inevitable follow-up move.

[Garde]

I d-air with Link as an edge guarding move... I haven't SDed from using it yet. There are times and places to use each move. Using the d-air against opponents who are under the stage and going for predictable recoveries that you know you can hit through with the d-air (but not the sex kick) are good times to use it. I tend to edge guard Marths, Roys, Captain Falcon's, and Ganondorf's that are under the stage and go for up+B's. Sure, you can hit most of them safely with a well placed sex kick, but why do that when you can hit them REALLY hard with a d-air? I'm not saying to just use this move, but it's really useful in a bunch of cases. It pops the opponent up while still off the stage (of course most are going to DI towards the stage) which allows you to go for an up-air or another d-air. Also, you don't need to land on the stage if you hit with the d-air because after one hit, you'll be able to get out of the move and up+B onto the ledge (or onto the stage), unless you used the d-air WAY below a stage (which you shouldn't do with any aerial move of Link's, ever). I usually land on the stage from using a d-air and proceed with either an f-air, up-air, d-air, or sex kick (usually one of the first 3) to finish an opponent off. If the opponent is at low %, you're not going to want to use this move, because they're not going to pop up very high, and they're going to regain control pretty fast. Plus, using a sex kick at lower % is much better for keeping someone off the edge for an easy edge guard KO, but d-airing someone off the top of the screen when they think they've made it back is always good.

And to talk about the range of the d-air, you can actually hit with Link's head, and it's a very useful attack against people that are high up on the screen, so long as you're using it against someone with a laggy d-air (ganon, falcon, ness, etc.) who's having trouble regaining control of their character. Doing it against people with drill kicks is generally not a good idea, unless you know they'll be stunned by the time you make it to them with the attack (Falco comes to mind).

[Blind]

D-air does have deceptive range, and I like to use that to my advantage... nevertheless, I prefer to avoid this move. If you ask why, citing that it has great damage, great priority, and is one of his best KO moves... then that's why. Anybody who has played against Link fears his d-air and his spin-attack, and those are the moves they watch out for. They forget about Link's ability to shffl his f-air, b-air, n-air, and u-air, focusing on his d-air... His f-air has very nice knockback and excellent damage as well, and also you can space it out more than the d-air.

My personal preference for the d-air is a rolling opponent; you've probably had the experience where you've knocked an opponent onto a platform and they miss a tech, and they have to get up _somehow_, so all you do is wait until they attack or roll and simply attack them in their moment of vulnerability. You've probably also been in this situation, and know how it feels. That's where I find the d-air to be most effective. You also probably know that at the moment he pulls out the sword, the d-air is at its strongest. Jumping up to most platforms, and landing on them as you impale them leads to a near inevitable attack at maximum power. It also forces them to the sky, and in a level with platforms you can take advantage of Link's u-air and bombs to keep them vulnerable.

I am very fond of that bomb drop to d-air combo, by the way... it's remarkably easy to turn the tables on a pursuing opponent with it, and makes them more likely to fear you when you have a bomb in your hands.

[Garde]

Who forgets about the sex kick, b-air, f-air, and up-air? I use all of those at least 10x more than the d-air. The only time I use the d-air is if I know I'm going to land a hit, and if I know there's a good chance I'll get a KO with it. People playing against me don't expect the d-air, because it's one of the least used moves in my arsenal. The only 2 moves I can think of that are used less are the rapid-A and 2nd f-smash, seeing as opportunities that allow me to use these (as the best option) rarely occur.

[Blind]

Well, I was being more than just a little hyperbolic about the other aerials... Link's air game is strong, anybody in their right mind should be able to see why... but d-air is a move many fear, and rightly so :P That's why I keep it under wraps... let your opponent think you won't use it... then use it. Bamf, KO.

...Well, again with the exaggeration, but it's not a move you should let your opponent get used to seeing. It's far more effective when you can surprise with it.

[Zarelid]

this move is great! like I think it's the most damaging move(unless you hit with both forward smashes) so like when a Jiggs miss with a rest or Link misses with upB or other moves that people get stuned over, then get that move in. as for edge guarding I just **** around with it =/, like if they are off the stage I jump at em with a down air, cause their are many other better edge guarding moves -=cough=- up B -=cough=-. but since this move is does so much damage like 22% it's a pretty good START off move, well to me it is.

[Eramor]

been a while since I updated. remember me?
As ever, Garde makes a lot of sense. listen to him. My personal favorite use of the d-air is to finish off a nice combo with a bang. For example, if conditions allow, you can d-throw to uptilt, up-air, b-air, etc, then when they start DI'ing away, you can often still catch them with a d-air.