jet56
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2015
- Messages
- 442
So, i have been playing a lot of high level players recently, and am prepping for an upcoming regional in my state pretty soon (https://www.facebook.com/events/1704212316485525/?active_tab=highlights) and i have been really been pushing little macs neutral and found out some pretty interesting things.
Shield pressure
this one in particular i have become very adept with, as my preferred style is a very tech happy, footsies mac, with aggro pressure. from what i have done, i have discovered two very important things.
WHEN YOU ARE IN SHIELD GRAB RANGE BY YOUR OPPONENT:
A. when you are in shield grab range of your opponent, the best way to hit their shield is with a jab. jab has the safest mixups after, and is the best way to pressure a shield if you are in too close ill break it down on how i came to this conclusion and the following mixups:
-Gentleman: the one two three hit of little mac. what makes this so useful is if your opponent is trying to shield grab you after your first 2 jabs, the gentleman will hit them before the grab comes out, even the fastest grabs out of shield cannot beat it out. you can even change the timing of the third hit for a small mindgame tool. it does not however, cover certain options, like rolls or spot dodges.
WEAKNESS: they hold up shield through the whole Gentleman.
-jab jab grab (Roll Boosted Pivot Grab): this mixup is for people who shield until you hit them with something unsafe on shield. for example, if you gentleman them the first time when they try to grab you out of shield, they will shield anticipating the gentleman. that's when you grab mixup. i would also suggest that when you get the grab you pummel, as the pummel will help freshen out your moves that are stale, so you can get earlier kills. then you can go for a grab release dtilt, or if they aren't in range, throw them for extra percent. NOTE: THE ROLL BOOSTED IS A SAFER VERSION OF THE REGULAR GRAB, AS YOU END UP BEHIND THEM AND CAN GET A DI MIXUP OFF OF A DTHROW TO AN UP B.
WEAKNESS: They make an option out of shield after the first two jabs.
-multijab: OK, so they have caught on two your previous two mixup options and start rolling or spotdodging out of shield. if you notice them doing this, multijab. it will catch ANY option they try to make out of shield, offensive or defensive. while gentleman is also meant to catch an opponent shield dropping, multijab covers more options, but is riskier on block.
WEAKNESS: opponent holds shield through the whole multijab.
-DAFsmash: This is more for a harder read on the opponent. if you notice they like to hold shield when you are pressuring it (or you have conditioned them to hold shield). this is a high risk:high reward strategy, as it will usually net a shield break. even if it doesn't, it is pretty safe on shield, and will take away their shield for a little bit.
WEAKNESS: they block it up close or spot dodge on reaction.
-jab jab Perfect pivot shield: i personally like this strategy a lot. jab jab roll away puts you too far out to keep them in range for spaced tilts, but a perfect pivot shield is very good if you don't want to continue your shield pressure, or you are anticipating an out of shield option. in short, its a nice way to safely back away, without having them step out of your range of safe tilts.
WEAKNESS: shield grab after jab 2. safest option of all the above shield pressures.
WHEN YOU ARE IN SPACED TILT RANGE (when your tilts are safe on shield cause they are spaced):
-Dtilt: by far your best tool for shield pressure, it is entirely safe on shield at a good range, and can be mixed up with jab, ftilt, a smash, or a PP or regular utilt.
-PP utilt: another very solid tool, as the backside is safe on shield with the proper spacing. this will also cover you entirely with its large arcing hitbox.
-Ftilt: while this move is not safe on shield entirely, its good to catch your opponent slipping or dropping shield too early, and can net you early kills on the edge of the stage.
-DAFsmash: thought this move was good up close? this smash is DUMB SAFE on shield when spaced. the shieldstun combined with shield pushback make it very useful to use in neutral. just don't start throwing it out all the time, as it can still be punished on whiff.
I didn't include weaknesses for the spaced moves, as your opponent can't punish you when you hit their shield or they spot dodge it, if you are spacing it. preferably, you want to fight at this range.
Shield pressure
this one in particular i have become very adept with, as my preferred style is a very tech happy, footsies mac, with aggro pressure. from what i have done, i have discovered two very important things.
WHEN YOU ARE IN SHIELD GRAB RANGE BY YOUR OPPONENT:
A. when you are in shield grab range of your opponent, the best way to hit their shield is with a jab. jab has the safest mixups after, and is the best way to pressure a shield if you are in too close ill break it down on how i came to this conclusion and the following mixups:
-Gentleman: the one two three hit of little mac. what makes this so useful is if your opponent is trying to shield grab you after your first 2 jabs, the gentleman will hit them before the grab comes out, even the fastest grabs out of shield cannot beat it out. you can even change the timing of the third hit for a small mindgame tool. it does not however, cover certain options, like rolls or spot dodges.
WEAKNESS: they hold up shield through the whole Gentleman.
-jab jab grab (Roll Boosted Pivot Grab): this mixup is for people who shield until you hit them with something unsafe on shield. for example, if you gentleman them the first time when they try to grab you out of shield, they will shield anticipating the gentleman. that's when you grab mixup. i would also suggest that when you get the grab you pummel, as the pummel will help freshen out your moves that are stale, so you can get earlier kills. then you can go for a grab release dtilt, or if they aren't in range, throw them for extra percent. NOTE: THE ROLL BOOSTED IS A SAFER VERSION OF THE REGULAR GRAB, AS YOU END UP BEHIND THEM AND CAN GET A DI MIXUP OFF OF A DTHROW TO AN UP B.
WEAKNESS: They make an option out of shield after the first two jabs.
-multijab: OK, so they have caught on two your previous two mixup options and start rolling or spotdodging out of shield. if you notice them doing this, multijab. it will catch ANY option they try to make out of shield, offensive or defensive. while gentleman is also meant to catch an opponent shield dropping, multijab covers more options, but is riskier on block.
WEAKNESS: opponent holds shield through the whole multijab.
-DAFsmash: This is more for a harder read on the opponent. if you notice they like to hold shield when you are pressuring it (or you have conditioned them to hold shield). this is a high risk:high reward strategy, as it will usually net a shield break. even if it doesn't, it is pretty safe on shield, and will take away their shield for a little bit.
WEAKNESS: they block it up close or spot dodge on reaction.
-jab jab Perfect pivot shield: i personally like this strategy a lot. jab jab roll away puts you too far out to keep them in range for spaced tilts, but a perfect pivot shield is very good if you don't want to continue your shield pressure, or you are anticipating an out of shield option. in short, its a nice way to safely back away, without having them step out of your range of safe tilts.
WEAKNESS: shield grab after jab 2. safest option of all the above shield pressures.
WHEN YOU ARE IN SPACED TILT RANGE (when your tilts are safe on shield cause they are spaced):
-Dtilt: by far your best tool for shield pressure, it is entirely safe on shield at a good range, and can be mixed up with jab, ftilt, a smash, or a PP or regular utilt.
-PP utilt: another very solid tool, as the backside is safe on shield with the proper spacing. this will also cover you entirely with its large arcing hitbox.
-Ftilt: while this move is not safe on shield entirely, its good to catch your opponent slipping or dropping shield too early, and can net you early kills on the edge of the stage.
-DAFsmash: thought this move was good up close? this smash is DUMB SAFE on shield when spaced. the shieldstun combined with shield pushback make it very useful to use in neutral. just don't start throwing it out all the time, as it can still be punished on whiff.
I didn't include weaknesses for the spaced moves, as your opponent can't punish you when you hit their shield or they spot dodge it, if you are spacing it. preferably, you want to fight at this range.
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