Sails
Smash Ace
Matchup Ratio: EVEN
Summary:
When fighting Falco on the ground, expect him to use short hop lasers to space and camp. Another option he has is to run off the stage and jump back on while shooting extremely low lasers. When he cancels a laser in to the ground, he has the capability to instantly react out of it letting him get easy follow-ups from grounded laser hits. When you approach Falco, he will often SideB through you, so be aware that this is punishable by shielding it and throwing a banana at him afterwards. Falco has a DThrow chain-grab that he will use on you from 0% that ends at 43%, and he will be aiming for this at the beginning, so try to stay in the air. If you do get in to the grab, the general follow-up is to be spiked off the stage by his DAir, which you can SDI in to the stage to attempt staying on the stage. If you are pushed off the stage, recovery becomes much harder and you'll have to rely on mixups to recover. Remember that Falco has his DownB, his Reflector, which will send your Bananas back at you as well as hit you if you are close enough. His Reflector on its way back does no damage and can be crouched under leaving you capable to SideB through it or dash in, so make use of that if he fails a read Banana throw. Falco's Jab hits out on frame 2 making it an incredible interrupting move, and will also be used often.
Approaching Falco is dangerous from a far distance, but when you need to do it you'll have to play around reading him and dodging lasers. Try to bait the Reflector, attempt to throw Bananas where you think he's moving to, or bait his SideB and shield punish it. There's not a whole lot you can do especially without platforms, but it's not unbeatable. Try not to get frustrated and get the opening when it comes to you.
Be sure to keep Falco off-stage whenever possible, and be prepared for his SideB recovery which can be punished as said before. If Falco decides to or is forced to use his UpB for recovery, you can interrupt it during the initial charge-up animation with an attack, and even stage-spike him out of it if you hit him near the stage.
Falco will try and kill you with moves such as USmash/DACUS, UTilt, BAir, DAir for the spike, and even FSmash. Be on the look-out for these common kills, and the setups that follow them such as the short hop laser cancel to USmash/DACUS. Beyond the afformentioned setup, Falco has a hard time securing a kill, so be sure to play it safe when you are at higher perecentages and are ready to be killed.
This Matchup is Even, as both sides have the capability of shutting the other down equally. While Falco has a great camping and damage-wracking game, his approach is lackluster when shielded and he is highly readable when recovering. Diddy Kong can work his way around the camping with a solid approaching via Bananas, and has the tools to punish Falco when read, especially off-stage. The biggest disadvantage that Diddy Kong has is that securing the victory is very reliant on reads, and this means that learning the Matchup to its fullest is what keeps it out of Falco's advantage and in to the Even territory.
Stages to Utilize Against Falco:
Neutrals - Smashville, Battlefield
Counterpicks - Pokémon Stadium 1, Rainbow Cruise, Castle Siege
Bans - Final Destination, Halberd, Delfino
For more intricate help with this Matchup, please be sure to read the thread, and feel free to ask any questions not answered in it.
Neutrals - Smashville, Battlefield
Counterpicks - Pokémon Stadium 1, Rainbow Cruise, Castle Siege
Bans - Final Destination, Halberd, Delfino
For more intricate help with this Matchup, please be sure to read the thread, and feel free to ask any questions not answered in it.
[Collapse="Original Post for Posterity"]
We're starting the first week a little early, which should give everyone plenty of time to recognize the new Matchup Thread efforts, and rev up their debating gears. For the first week, we're discussing Falco. We've all had to deal with him, and many believe we've overcome what used to be one of our worst Matchups!
It is important that you read this! Every first post by a user in a Matchup Thread is encouraged to have at least a couple of sentences of information, alongside a ratio. Posts may not be considered for ratio and summary solidifying without these from the poster at some point in the thread, and keeping them towards the beginning helps keep discussion tidy. You have one week (Until April 2nd in this specific case) to share information that you feel is helpful in the Matchup, as well as debate with others. Compelling arguments are a must people, I expect any joking and trolls to be at a minimum.
Ideas for discussion...
-Both Characters Ground/Air Game Against Each Other-
-Moves To Avoid And How To Avoid Them-
-Diddy's Moves To Utilize In The Matchup-
-Personal Strategies To Help With The Matchup-
-Stage Discussion For Starters, Counterpicks, And Bans-
-Both Characters Ground/Air Game Against Each Other-
-Moves To Avoid And How To Avoid Them-
-Diddy's Moves To Utilize In The Matchup-
-Personal Strategies To Help With The Matchup-
-Stage Discussion For Starters, Counterpicks, And Bans-
Note: This Matchup has been discussed in the past. If you wish to pull content from previous discussions that are still relevant in the current Metagame, then feel free to do so. This includes posts that are both yours and not yours.[/Collapse]