Falco is my secondary so I feel I would be doing the board a disservice if I didn't attempt to contribute a few points for discussion. Wall of text incoming.
1) Lasers
Most of us are aware of the nerfs to this tool. This is no longer the spammable offensive and defensive tool but rather a projectile that discourages certain playstyles. Lasers require us to be much more precise with our own projectiles and keep us from mindlessly spamming from further than medium range.
Bombs absorb lasers (2 if they're stale) during the descent of the toss. Hylian Shield also blocks lasers as of 1.0.5 on the 3ds. Lasers are transcendent so no other projectile cancels with them.
I generally use lasers when the opponent is absolutely set on not approaching or when they have a tendency to feint approaches. My other opportunities are to tack on extra percent when I am out of follow-up options and, most dangerously, steal mid-air jumps during a recovery attempt.
-Action Points (tl;dr)
*keep spacing within a couple character lengths of the tip of Link's sword. This is where our projectiles give follow-ups and where Falco's is unsafe.
*Generally avoid using midair jump while even with the stage during recovery attempts. You'll need it desperately in order to avoid Falco's edgegame.
*Many of Falco's attacks (ex. fthrow, jab, nair) lead to a laser lock if unteched.
2) Reflector
This is the other half that makes up Falco's anti-spam core. It's best at countering charged arrow and close range bomb due to it's fast startup (5 frames) and active frames (~28?). Reflected rang is bothersome because it stops momentum in a MU that greatly benefits from it, but is otherwise safe.
The most important thing to note is that Falco's Reflector is not safe. The end lag is just long enough for many characters to punish (Ftilt, Dsmash, Grab, and Jab for us). I like to throw this out every now and then to surprise an opponent but getting to liberal with reflector use should always end with a firm punish.
-Action Notes (tl;dr)
*No charged arrows
*Mix-up bomb toss with rang or ftilt (bomb in hand). This is to bait and punish reflector
3) Spacing
Our ideal spacing is at maximum sword length and a few character lengths beyond. This is important because we are at a natural frame disadvantage when we're within Falco's reach. Link's jab is his fastest attack (7 frames) and is beat out or matched by Falco's jab (2 frames), Ftilt (6), Utilt (5), Dtilt (7), and Dsmash (7).
This recommended spacing gives us our jab and projectiles for pressure while also taking away nearly all of Falco's options (Phantasm deserves special mention due to its low end lag with follow-up potential). This spacing is also difficult to close if we're set on keeping it. Falco's dash is only barely faster than Link's and he has a laggy dash grab. Falco's dash attack is unsafe on shield but has great active frames to catch sidesteps and roll aways.
As a side note: Center stage control is preferred while pushing Falco towards an edge. We should avoid pressing too close against Falco at the edge, or allowing ourselves to get cornered because it will lead to being sent off-stage where Falco has a distinct advantage.
-tl;dr
*Feast your eyes on this potato of an illustration!!
-avoid red and maintain green spacing
4) Edgeguarding
I'm still theory-crafting and testing our options so only a couple concrete things here.
Use Nair to stuff Phantasm. This will hardly stop his recovery due to his incredible midair jump, but it's one of your few options to keep him from getting back for free (Rang + Arrow work)
Fire Bird is the key here for a successful edgeguard. Once you learn the timing of this move, it should translate into a free stock. Trade Dair for Fire Bird...done. The hard part is forcing Fire Bird when Falco has an excellent midair jump and Phantasm (This is what I'm still testing). I've had success baiting reflector by conditioning and always stuffing Phantasm with arrow/rang but there are some reads involved that I don't have ironed out yet.
-Action Points (tl;dr)
*Force Firebird
*Spike Firebird
5) Recovering
Falco has a couple of options to shut down our recovery.
1) Run-off Fair
2) Laser > Run-off Fair
3) Reverse Fair for stage spike
4) Dair (Worst option)
5) Run-off > midair jump > Dair (Seen it done but haven't done it myself. I don't see this as a viable option vs Link in particular)
1-3 are by far the most potent. 1 and 2 are fairly easy to avoid with an air dodge. 3 is a free stock for Falco if we attempt a low recovery (missed tech) due to spin attack's blind spot at the back of Link's head.
Zair is the go-to recovery if Falco is still on the stage. It's too fast for many of Falco's options. Falco has reliable gimps but they all require a read and commitment.
-Action Points (tl;dr)
*avoid recovering at ~45 degree angle when possible because this is the perfect angle for Falco's fair. (Spin attack may have enough priority to get through)
*Only recover low if Falco has committed to an edgeguard option.
*Don't use midair jump when level with stage or it could be stolen by laser which forces a ~45 degree angle.
*Mix-up your recovery and read this by sasook. (Courtesy of Elessar)
Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall. I hope it was thought-provoking. Feel free to contact me anytime to study this MU in-game.
