[MU] Donkey Kong

[Strong-Arm]

So whats everyones thoughts on this match up? I personally believe they go in Link's favor.

 

[SafCar]

We can play it safe at neutral with Bow and Bombs to rack up damage, but depending on how much he outprioritizes our specials, we may have to go in mid-range for damage and go for the tilts. The jabx2 -> Fsmash combo I use seems to hit larger characters, like DK, more consistently than the regular characters, which also helps. We each can harass each other if we go off stage seeing as DK has 4 Meteor Smashes (Fair, Dair, DownB, SideB) and we have projectiles and Dair.

Anyone know if our Uair can outreach his Dair? Might be a good way to punish his high recovery with a FF Uair and land the kill.

 

[Lawz.]

This matchup is pretty dependent on the legalization of customs. Custom DK easily trucks through Link for numerous reasons.

Even still, unless you're sitting at max zair range and peppering with projectiles in an unpredictable rhythm, DK is hard for Link.

Not only does he hit hard and deal a lot of damage, the range on his tilts rival Link, his uair sets up good juggle opportunities, rage bthroqw kills, his down b punishes rolls so easily, and his bair can give Link hell offstage.

Hell, if DK grabs you at mid to high percent, he can just fthrow setup and chuck you offstage at awkward angles to make you think hard on how to recover.

Lots of bombs and zair should be seen here. You just want to pepper his approach with projectiles and pester his shield. Definitely throw in some spaced jabs as well for damage and breathing room. If you do get a grab on DK, I recommend either uthrow for possible juggle situations, or bthrow for pure spacing purposes. Fthrow is useless unless done at the edge, dthrow is just not what I would do as it really has no benefit that uthrow cant give you.

A good DK is not easy for Link to deal with when he gets in. And the matchup is stupid with customs on.

 

[Huggles828]

Mobile camping. Space him hard. There's no need to approach unless you have projectile cover. Lawz has the right idea. Give him as much of a headache trying to approach as you can. You don't want DK getting in because he will punish you hard. I wouldn't try many laggy moves against DK; stay uncommitted and be ready to jab and just reset spacing if nothing comes of it. I like mixing in boomerangs and b reversed arrows (on levels with platforms) while retreating in addition to the bombs and zair. Dunno if I like FD against DK because I feel like he can push me to the edge then trap me there, so I like a level with a few platforms.

I don't think this MU is too bad for Link but you don't have a lot of margin for error; if you let DK get in, with only 2 stocks in the current format, he can quickly turn the match. I played a couple matches against a pretty good DK, but I'd wanna play some more before I went any more in depth. Haven't done anything with customs.

 

[8MAN]

Dunno if I like FD against DK because I feel like he can push me to the edge then trap me there, so I like a level with a few platforms.

FD should be your stage of choice for 2 reasons:
>It's flat, meaning projectiles will be able to zone out DK more effectively in general
>Dong Cyclone auto cancels on platforms, meaning Battlefield will probably lead to a constant Up-B spam by DK

 

[micahismyname]

I think the meta has advanced to the point that this conversation deserves serious revisiting. I got KOed at ~79% at a tournament this weekend thanks to cargo upthrow. I had an easy time racking up damage, but the stubborn ape lives forever. I feel like I'm racing to get him to 160-180% before he gets me to 80%.

What's your best method for avoiding getting grabbed?

What's your best method for taking DK's stocks?