I was going to ask about sheik also, but you have the same sentiments as I do. Sheik is my most common opponent, and I'm usually quite frustrated at the lack of balance in that match-up. I only counterpick in tournaments, because I get a headache from all the thought that goes into beating a decent sheik. The only thing that has worked so far for me is getting her to leave herself open using a couple of approach mindgames. I've almost always beaten other sheik's that I have faced except my opponent Namo.
He just needle camps ( I powershield, but the rebound is too short to hit her back), and when i'm close enough he somehow manages to grab me. He ducks under all my jabs, pummels me with tilts, and it all just sucks. Instead of shield grabbing, he just does a dash attack under my SHFFL-ed attacks (other than Bair and Uair) and proceeds to combo
. It seems as I get exponentially better with Ganon, he gets slightly better and continues to wreck me. That's why sheik is a w****
MY SOLUTION:
Using Ganon helps you to develop superior mindgames, because you NEED them against Sheik, and then I pick Sheik and just smash their pride. Fox is my secondary, but Sheik dittos just seem to work out so much more effectively for me, especially since it is their own character and it makes them cry to lose >:D
Ok, now Chaddd, what do you suggest regarding Ganon dittos? Stiltzskin doesn't even main Ganon and he still repeatedly owns me with him. One thing I noticed, is that instead of jabbing after I shield one of his attacks, he does Side-B and throws me off. Because C.Falcon is one of his mains, he uses Ganon in a C.Falcon style, if that makes any sense.
TGM's Marth owns me with that godly TGM combo, lol. What do you have to say about Marth? He spams dash cancelled backwards side-B alot.
Sheik has too much of an advantage on Ganon simply because her chain grab on him is cake compared to his chain grab on her. Basically it requires a lot less precision that Ganon's chain grab, so for the sake of becoming better at this game and attempting to master new strategies, I would recommend a counter pick. I have found that now I'm comfortable with several characters, a simple counter pick can make a normally difficult matchup a breeze. However, keep in mind that Sheik is the only character I feel you should counter pick, because Ganon can pretty much manhandle any other character if you play it correctly.
For Ganon dittos, I can tell you I learned a lot by practicing with Tipman in Florida in July. The matchup is very much dependent on the grabs, the jabs, the up airs, and the back airs. Use your range and your ability to maneuver to make attempts to bait them into throwing out those back airs and forward airs, then simply move away and then towards them to punish it. I was actually able to 3 stock Tipman(nobody really ever talks about me playing him because it happened in Florida and he's said to be retired, so when I started winning it was said he was "rusty", despite how he still managed to own me back occasionally) in a Ganon ditto the first time we played using just a basic combination of these tactics.
For Marth it's very simple. Spacing and timing. Tipman spike the up-b, because if done correctly the Marth can't even sweet spot it. The back air also out ranges just about all of Marth's aerials if placed correctly. Don't attempt the forward air too much unless you're pretty sure about it connecting, because it can just wind you up in an up-tilt to Ken Combo. Remain calm against double forward air pressuring Marths, simply shield the first forward air, and then short hop out of the shield and up aerial with A as quickly as you can. I only say use the A button because it's simply much much faster of an attack out of the shield when you don't have to reach all the way down to the c-stick. This form of up-airing can be used as a sort of "anti-air" type attack. If you've ever played street fighter(i've been in the tournament comunity for about 8 years now), then just think about it like the shoryuken(ryu and ken's uppercut). It's an especially useful move against characters like Fox, Falco, and Peach because their down aerials become useless upon the application of this technique. Falco can no longer normal jump into a fast fall down aerial, because he can't out range the up air with it, ever. The Marth fight is all about speed and spacing.
i know marth is all about being patient, same with peach
sheik is about sheild game...but i gotta use ICs on them
falco, what to do about those laserz?
please chadd...help me out
Since I already talked about Marth everyone can just read the paragraph above.
As for Peach, I have a LOT of peach practice. I recently 3 stocked XIF's Peach in tournament, and go pretty much even with Mike G (although you'll find I have a hard time ever admitting that I can beat Mike G, because not only is he forever beast, but he's my good friend as well as my hero, so shhhhhhhh). The Peach game is all about keeping her in the air. Once peach is in the air, you want to keep her there and follow her around the stage while tapping her with the strongest attack you can get off, and it helps to be efficient at edge guarding. Playing XIF I have noticed that an attempt to simply be patient and wait can get you destroyed by an onslaught of float canceled attacks to down smashes. Just space yourself well, sneak in those jabs, and anytime you get her in the air, go for a forward air (I was able to land 3 in a row consecutively against XIF on two separate occasions for a comeback. lol.).
As for Falco, the most insane lasers I've ever seen is by far Lambchops. I am under the belief that the laser tactics are like the incredible speed tactic, it may be overwhelming at first, but once you get a hold of it, it becomes a trivial defense tactic for you. If you hate lasers, learn to power shield them. I know it sounds difficult, but really, if you just practice power shielding them, maybe even in slow motion in training mode, then it becomes easier and easier. Falco's lasers are by far the easiest thing to power shield in the game. They CAN be power shielded consistently multiple times. So what I would suggest is a combination of unexpected power shields(if you land one of their own lasers on them, go for the grab, and since it's Falco, try down throw to chain grab), and simply dodging the lasers to make the Falco feel they have to approach. I say dodge the lasers because few people realize the vulnerabilities of those lasers. He HAS to pull out his gun, he HAS to have it out until he hits the ground. If you see a laser coming, you can jump and fast fall over it for a free forward air. Sure, it won't happen every time, but this is just to illustrate the concept. Also, if you've ever played a really good Ganon with a Falco, you will know that there are very few approaches that you can take that don't involve lasers, and being able to power shield lasers would pretty much shut down an confidence in approach you might have. Also, when playing with Falco, having Ganondorf stay close to you is the most frightening thing in all of Smash. So stay on top of that crazy blue chicken.
