Body, Heart and Sword of Steel - A Link Guide

Introduction - The Hero We Need!
About Me - "Are you a Boy or are you a Girl?"
Attacks - This is the Master Sword's Power!
Special Attacks - Projectile Hell!
Grabs - Gotcha!
Combos & Follow-Ups - Fear my Blade!
Advanced Techniques - We Must Go Deeper!
How & Why Link? - Neutral Game & Choosing Link!
Match Ups - Know your Enemy!
The End - Until We Meet Again!

Introduction - The Hero We Need!
Link. The Hero of Hyrule. Wielder of the Master Sword. Keeper of the Triforce of Courage and character whom was apart of the original 12 and a staple in the Smash Brothers series.
It's been a long and bumpy road for Link, but it seems that he's finally finding his footing in Smash 4. With all the generous buffs and changes Sakurai and his team has given our Hylian Hero, it's fair to say that Link isn't what he use to be, and I am here to hopefully teach everyone just what Link is capable of in Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.

About Me - "Are you a Boy or are you a Girl?"
Hello! My name is Valty Keaton and I shall be your host today! This is my first time making a guide and I'd appreciate any and all feedback! If I make an error, please let me know so I can fix it. But please, allow me to briefly talk about myself before we jump straight into the guide.

I was first introduced to Smash Bros at the fairly early age of 12. My sister and uncle chipped in to get me a GameCube, with Melee, Wind Waker and the Zelda Collectors Edition. It was from here that I discovered my love for The Legend of Zelda and Smash Bros series.

While I played Melee casually as a youngster, I gradually became more competitive with the release of Brawl. I explored Project M, went back to Melee for a short while as my competitive...ness... grew until eventually Smash 4 was announced! And it's here, at Smash 4, my competitive level has reached it's peak. I've consistently been a Link mainer through every Smash game I've touched and I've always payed attention to how he functions in order to best myself with him. Without further a due, let us begin!

Attacks - This is the Master Sword's Power!

Before anything, we must first learn and get an understanding on Link's attacks, his damage output, frame data, KO potential and reliability.

Author's Note: For KO Potential, I shall be using numbers. 0 means it'll never KO within a relevant percent range, and 10 meaning it has a chance at KOing from below 100%. 5 would mean around the 150% mark. The same numerical system shall apply to reliability. Don't forget that rage can skew results.

JAB

- Jab Hit 1
- Jab Hit 2
- Jab Hit 3
Link's Jab is a pretty effective tool for starting combos or for simply getting the opponent off you. I like to use Jab out of Shield or if I am anticipating the opponent to throw out a dash grab, as it's one of Link's best answers to dash grabbers. It's also good at catching a standard ledge get-up and ledge roll.
You can cancel his third hit by waiting approximately 6-8 frames before initiating another attack.

DASH ATTACK
->
+
- Dash Attack
Link's Dash Attack got some pretty significant changes from previous installments. What was once a quick slice is now his classic jump attack. Sitting at 20-23 frames, this attack in high level play isn't the most reliable and is very unsafe on shield.

FORWARD TILT
+
- F-tilt
Link's F-tilt is a pretty straight forward move: He swings his sword down in front of himself. Spaced properly, it can be safe on shield. I like to throw out a few F-tilts back to back, for if you whiff the first one, your opponent might try to rush in and punish only to be caught by a second f-tilt.

UP TILT
+
- U-Tilt
In the words of Jerm (Tha Shulk): "That up tilt is broken". I'd go as far as to call it Link's best move. It's a simple, quick, over-head slash. At low percents, it can combo into itself and at higher percents, it can KO (even when staled). I love using this attack after a double jab as it it's a quick way of racking up percent. It can now combo out of a down throw! (Thanks based 1.0.8 patch).

DOWN TILT
+
- D-tilt
Link's D-tilt has a surprising amount of range and was made a little quicker in the 1.0.8 patch. It pops the opponent up in front of Link, setting them up for an aerial follow-up. This is yet another one of Link's attacks that can be used after his double jab.

FORWARD SMASH

- F-smash Hit 1
- F-Smash Hit 2
Ah, Link's classic forward smash. A double swipe with his sword. With max rage on deck, I once net a KO as early as 50% with this baby. However, the reason I put reliability so low is because it has ATROCIOUS ending lag frames and is very unsafe on shield - If this hits a shield, you can expect a hard punish in return. Only use the first swipe if you're unsure about yourself. It's less punishable than if you commit to the full attack.

UP SMASH

- U-Smash Hit 1
- U-Smash Hit 2
- U-Smash Hit 3
A triple upwards slash, Link's Up Smash is pretty amazing! No beating around the bush, it's awesome! With three upwards slices, it's a superb anti-air attack. Not forgetting that it can kill pretty damn early and can combo off of his double jab! Just be wary of the ending lag frames (which fortunately aren't nearly as bad as his F-smash).

DOWN SMASH

- D-Smash Front Hit
- D-Smash Back Hit
A double sword swipe across the ground, the Down Smash shares the same traits as most down smashes. It has a front hit, a back hit and you're probably not going to be KOing with it. This is often my go-to attack out of a double jab, since it racks up some pretty nice damage and is a good alternative if you don't want your up smash to stale.

~AERIALS~

NEUTRAL AIR
->
- N-air
A jumping kick, Link's Nair is a pretty incredible move. Easily both his best out of shield option and aerial attack. It also works well for helping Link land when he's being juggled. Just don't forget about fast fall!

BACK AIR
->+
- B-air Hit 1
- B-air Hit 2
A double backwards kick, Link's Bair is an interesting move. It can work a little similarly to his Nair and can true combo into both F-tilt and itself on some characters. Doing a dash to reverse jump to Bair is a good mix-up approach option and Bair works well as an edge guarding tool. It also works nicely out of shield for getting opponents off, though Nair is genuinely a better option. In any case, don't sleep on this move!

FORWARD AIR
->+
- F-air Hit 1
- F-air Hit 2
A frontal double slash with his sword, Link's Fair packs a pretty solid punch for a forward aerial. You can combo out of down tilt with it as well as his boomerang for solid damage. You can shark off stage with this, but the ending lag frames leaves Link vulnerable for a moment, which could lead to trouble getting back to the stage. It's quite punishable on shield too, so use it wisely.

UP AIR
->+
- U-air
An upwards sword thrust, Link's Uair has some interesting qualities about it. Whether or not you sweet spot it, the knock back on this move is still pretty damn good and it beats out a LOT of moves. Even on the last frames of the lingering hit box the knock back remains high. You cannot challenge this move from above, period.

DOWN AIR
->+
- D-air
A downwards sword thrust, Link's Dair is a bit of a strange move. The 18% damage calculation only comes out on frames 18-20 and it will have a little more knock back on these frames. There is also a meteor effect at the start up of this attack. Unfortunately, the move lost a lot of KO power from Melee and Brawl in exchange for a meteor effect. While some would argue it's a good off-stage tool, I'd say that award goes to his Nair.
It's quite hard to challenge this move from above so it gives Link another option for landing. However, it has horrible landing lag frames and as such should be used sparsely and wisely. Try not to fish for the spike - Let the opportunity present itself to you.

TL;DR - Attacks Overview

Special Attacks - Projectile Hell!

If you've met a single Link on For Glory, you KNOW they love their projectiles - Maybe a little too much. Like with above, I shall briefly cover Link's special moves and their properties.

Author's Note: I shall not be covering Link's customs. However, if you'd like to see a guide to Link's customs and what he can do with them, then let me know and I'll set up a separate guide for them!

NEUTRAL SPECIAL

- N-Special
The Hero's Bow, Link's neutral special has a few of good uses going about it. Charging the bow determines the damage and knock back of the arrow - pretty straight forward.
Most Links, myself included, like starting off the match with a strong arrow shot as some people won't normally anticipate it. General rule of thumb is that whenever there is space made between you and your opponent, that's an opportunity to throw out a quick arrow. If you're not a fan of jumping off stage to gimp the opponent, then dishing out some quick arrows is your next best thing!

SIDE SPECIAL
+
- S-Special
The Gale Boomerang, Link's side special had some notable changes made from the transition of Melee to Brawl and which was passed over into Smash 4. The dreaded wind box. I'm not going to lie to you - I hate the wind box effect on this move. But does that make it a bad move? Not at all! In fact! You can use the gale effect to your advantage!

Out of all of Link's projectiles, this has the most knock back and it comes out reasonably fast! A boomerang toss pops the opponent up into the air, setting up for a potential Fair or Nair follow-up. This is yet another move that Link can throw off stage at opponents trying to recover for a potential gimp.

DOWN SPECIAL
+
- D-Special
The Bombs, Link's down special is... err... are one of his greatest and strongest tools. It's what makes Link, Link! They have a 4 second timer before exploding and they will travel right through almost all projectiles! (Projectiles that do more than 6% damage will stop the bombs in their path, but won't beat out the bombs). They are one of Link's main combo starters and they can be really damn annoying to deal with.
When you get knocked off stage, pluck out a bomb as soon as possible and hold onto it. The 4 second timer could save your life if you plan your recovery carefully. Doing so can throw off the opponent as well, making it harder for them to gimp your recovery. Long story short, you'll want to be using a lot of Link's bombs throughout the entire match!

UP SPECIAL
+
- U-Special Hit 1
- U-Special Hit 2
- U-Special Hit 3
Link's Spin-attack-- Wait, that's not a projectile! Anyway. Link's spin-attack, the up special, is a pretty straight-forward recovery move. But where I feel it shines brightest is on the ground. (Note, the information posted above is based on the grounded spin-attack). This attack not only received a 2% buff in one of the previous patches, but it gained quite a bit of knock back from previous installments. Since it comes out on an impressive frame 4, I find it's a reliable move to use out of shield. In the air, the Spin Attack is now more viable thanks to Patch 1.1.3, as it connects more reliably. Opponents that jump away from your down throw can be chased with an aerial spin. You can also cancel your shield drop with a jump then immediately inputting an up-special command. Jerm describes a similar tech for Shulk in this video here.

TL;DR - Special Attacks Overview

Grabs - Gotcha!

Ah, the tether grab. Perhaps not the best kind of grab in the game, but you can bet Link has the best tether in the game! Yes, in the picture above that is the maximum range of Link's tether - Pretty awesome, huh?

Patch 1.0.8 was very kind to Link. Not only did they improve the range of his grab, but they made it have less ending lag and gave him a combo throw in the form of his down throw. In any case, Link's throw game got made much better in patch 1.0.8. So, you could say, grabs are definitely apart of his game now. But before we cover his throws, I need to quickly address something regarding his tether.

Z AIR
->
- Zair Hit 1
- Zair Hit 2
Let me tell you about Link's Zair, right. This move basically acts like a 4th projectile for Link to utilize and is one of his greatest answers to a number of match ups he would otherwise have problems with (which I shall also be covering further below). If you've seen a good Link go to work, you've probably seen them pop a lot of short hop Zairs. This move is almost impossible to punish if spaced properly and is a good answer to people rushing in boldly. If you want to be a top-level Link, you need to be utilizing this move!

PUMMEL
+
- Pummel
There's really not much to say about a pummel. Link's pummel is fairly quick and it gives you free percent damage. Remember that pummels can un-stale moves, so you should always start pummel at the 25%+ mark.

BACK THROW / FORWARD THROW
&
- B-Throw & F-Throw
I wanted to group these two throws together as they have they basically have the same properties as each other. These two throws aren't going to be your go-to throws since they don't really have any reliable follow-ups. If anything, they're mix-up throws.

UP THROW

- U-Throw
It may not look like it, but Link's up throw functions as a KO move! I have tested and found that, without rage or DI, Up Throw will KO Jigglypuff on Final Destination at 143% and Bowser at 180%+. Remember that rage can skew results, making the Up Throw KO much earlier. Take into account rage and the character's weight so you can accurately determine whether or not the throw will KO.

DOWN THROW

- D-Throw
Bless patch 1.0.8 and Sakurai's team. This is going to be your number one throw after a grab, and it has a plethora of options throughout the percent ranges. Don't forget that rage can skew results. Further more, floaty characters like Jigglypuff can escape these ranges earlier, while heavy and fast fallers like Captain Falcon are more susceptible to these follow ups, extending the length in which you can combo them.
0% to 50%
55% to 95%
100% to 130%
145%+!?

TL;DR - Grabs and Throws Overview

Combos & Follow-Ups - Fear my Blade!

Now that we've (finally) covered the basics behind Link's attacks. It's time to put them to paper and learn of what combos Link is capable of! Without further a due, let's jump straight into Link's Combos!

JAB

- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
- Double Jab
Note: Jab pops the opponent up into the air. Characters with aerials at frame 6 and less can disrupt these combos.

UP TILT
+
- Up Tilt (Can Combo into itself after this but ends at approximately 40%)
- Up Tilt
- Up Tilt
- Up Tilt
Note: Characters with an aerial at frame 6 and less can disrupt these combos.

DOWN TILT
+
- Down Tilt
- Down Tilt
- Down Tilt

BACK AIR
->+
- Short Hop Bair (Can true combo into itself at lower percents if you short hop the second one)
- Short Hop Bair
- Short Hop Back Air (First hit, fast fall)
- Short Hop Back Air (First hit, fast fall)
- Short Hop Back Air (First hit, fast fall)
- Short Hop Back Air

FORWARD AIR
->+
- Short Hop Forward Air
- Short Hop Forward Air (First hit, fast fall)
- Short Hop Forward Air (First hit, fast fall)

SIDE SPECIAL
+
- Side Special (Can combo into itself if you short hop)(Combo can continue into high 100% range if you follow their DI)
- Side Special
- Short Hop Side Special

DOWN SPECIAL
+
- Forward Bomb Throw (Jump Cancel Glide Toss)
- Short & Full Hop Downwards Throw
- Forward Bomb Throw (Jump Cancel Glide Toss)
- Forward Bomb Throw
- Forward Bomb Throw
- Forward Bomb Throw (Jump Cancel Glide Toss)
- Full Hop Downwards Throw (Indirect hit, initiate the throw the moment Link approaches the apex of his full hop, will take some practice)
- Full Hop Downwards Throw (Direct & Indirect)
- Short & Full Hop Downwards Throw (Direct & Indirect)

Z AIR
->
- Short Hop Zair (Can combo into itself)
- Short Hop Zair
- Short Hop Zair
- Short Hop Zair

These are all the combos that I am aware of and have discovered with Link. Jump into training mode and get a good grasp on all of these combos. You're going to need them if you want to become the next Hero of Hyrule!

Advanced Techniques - We Must Go Deeper!

Even in a game with the least amount of advanced techs, Link still has quite a few smooth moves he can bust out. All of which are worth getting a good understanding of. Let's get into it!

HYLIAN SHIELD
While Link is stood still, he holds his Hylian Shield in front of him. Even in his idle animation and walking animation, his shield remains up. The shield allows him to block most projectiles with ease - Including Bowser and Charizard's fire breath! This is often your best answer to projectile-heavy characters and allows Link to respond as if he perfect shielded the move.
It won't block the following Projectiles:
- Star Bits.
- Mecha Koopa (Only when grounded, when thrown it will block it).
- Wario Bike (Both tossed and driven).
- Chef (Sometimes it will block, sometimes it won't).
- Din's Fire (Only when it's right behind Link).
- Banana Toss.
- Auto Reticle (Only when stood right in front of Link).
- Book Toss (Only at a far distance) (Can block all thunder spells, but will be hit by the last hit of Thoron and Arc Thunder. Can block Arc Fire too, but not always).
- Gordo Toss (Can block, but rarely does).
- Shuriken (Can sometimes block the smaller Shurikens. Won't block a charged Shuriken).
- Trick Shot (Can block the Can, but won't if it's right at Link's feet or above his Shield)
- PK Fire, PK Thunder (PK Fire blocks only when crouching).
- Fair & Bair, Loid Rocket (Can block both Fair & Bair but not always. Block Loid Rocket when crouching).
- Pikmin Toss.
- Fire Hydrant, Fruit (Sometimes will block these, sometimes won't).
- Metal Blade (Only blocks when thrown as an Item).
- Bomb Drop, Stealth Burst (Won't block Stealth Burst when it's behind Link).
- Shuriken of Light, Chakram, Tornado Strike (Only blocks the last hit of Tornado Strike).
- PK Thunder, PK Freeze.

JUMP CANCEL GLIDE TOSS
->->//
Even if you main a character like Mario or Sonic who can't spawn items, this tech is a must-know-must-learn. Link has one of the shortest slides from the glide toss, but even I find that the smallest of slide is a great help in higher levels of play.
Naturally, you're going to want to be sliding with Link's bombs. I find that dashing away from the opponent and inputting a Glide Toss in the opposite direction is superb way of creating a little extra space between you and your opponent - After all, Link is a zoner. MySmashCorner made a superb video on this tech which, if you haven't watched already, you should right here.

PERFECT PIVOTING
->
By now, this tech should be pretty familiar. It's quite commonly spoken of in the Smash 4 community. In short, it's a nerfed, harder to pull off wave dash. Just like with Glide Toss, MySmashCorner also made a great video on Perfect Pivoting that you should watch here.
So if Link has a short glide toss, the same applies to his Perfect Pivot, right? Unfortunately, yes. But even the littlest of slide can mean a huge difference in higher levels of play. Up Tilt and Forward Tilt are perhaps one of Link's strongest moves out of a P.P. Grab works superbly as well with P.P's - definitely something worth learning and trying out.

B-REVERSE
->->/
At this point, this is a tech that should also be well known. By jumping, inputting special the immediately inputting the opposite direction that you're facing, it'll cause your character to face the other way while keeping the momentum that they had while performing their neutral special. This is a superb tool for Link as his Arrows are a very solid projectile tool and it gives Link a LOT of millage in various match ups. This is a tech any high-level player should learn and utilize.
WAVEBOUNCE
->->/->/
The Wavebounce is practically a turn-around B-Reverse. I highly recommend you check out MySmashCorner's video on it here. The great part about this technique is that it can even work with a side special, allowing Link to seemingly flow through the air effortlessly with not only arrows, but boomerang throws too!

GRAB CANCEL GLIDE TOSS
->->
This works the same way as a jump cancel toss, the only difference is that the grab input replaces the jump input and the grab input is timed just a few frames later than with a jump glide
Watch this video here for more details on the grab cancel glide toss.

This tech allows Link to slide the distance of his Dash Attack across the stage while throwing a bomb upwards and forwards. There are 8 variations to the slide, each variation requiring a different input on a specific frame. The video linked above will cover this in more detail. The inputs are very precises, and will take some practicing to get use to. In any case, this tech is an absolute must-learn for aspiring Link mains.

LEDGE TRUMP SPIKE
/->->
All characters in Smash 4 can ledge trump. Some characters, such as Pit and Captain Falcon can net a delicious Bair KO with their trump. Link, on the other hand, has a high-risk-high-reward trump and it needs to be executed swiftly. While Bair is a safer option for pushing the opponent away, Link's Dair is not only more potent but heavily satisfying. You should be using the tether grab to set up for the ledge trump spike. Tether grabbing the ledge is genuinely considered a better option as it gives Link a full 16 more frames to work with than if he were to grab the ledge normally. Hyrule Hero demonstrates this tech at 7:30 here.

The reason I say this tech is high-risk-high-reward is because if Link misses the Dair on the opponent, be it the opponent reacted fast enough to the ledge trump, Link ain't comin' back. The small bounce that Link gets from landing the Dair is enough to help him recover back to the ledge. So if he misses that Dair spike, he's going to plummet to his death.

BOMB TECHS
AERIALS WITH A BOMB
+->+///
By pressing the grab button the moment Link leaps into the air, he will release the bomb without pulling out his claw shot. If you're quick enough, you can make Link re-grab the bomb while performing an aerial. This tech works wonders for psyching out the opponent. This tech will make Link perform an aerial close to the ground. Wanna go higher?
->->->+///
By pressing the grab button the moment Link is about to land, he will drop the bomb without causing it to explode. Immediately follow up with a full or short hop aerial. This'll cause Link to perform an aerial while picking up the bomb once more. Press the grab button once more when Link is about to touch down on the ground, and you can repeat what you just did!
FORWARD SMASH WITH A BOMB
++->
If you hold A the moment Link plucks out a bomb and then initiate a forward Smash with your C-stick (Or Smash stick for Pro Controller and Gamepad users), Link will perform an F-smash while holding a bomb. As with the aerial bomb tech above, this is superb for psyching out the opponent and is worth learning.
SOFT THROW / BOWLING
->
->->
->/->
Soft throw, or Bowling as I like to call it, is essentially a pivot f-tilt but while holding a bomb. It's highly recommended that you set your C-stick to tilts than smash if you want to effectively pull this off. This tech causes Link to toss the bomb in the opposite direction of his dash without it exploding and there are a number of ways to pull this off.
This tech allows Link to lay bomb traps across the floor, giving him a lot more stage control.
AERIAL WITH A BOMB EDGE GUARDING
+->->+///
If you toss a bomb at the very lip of the stage, it will bounce off. You can then jump towards the bomb and perform an aerial to re-catch it. This allows Link to edge guard much deeper off the stage without having to worry about not making it back, as the bombs explosion will aid him in getting another jump.
EDGE GUARDING WITH ZAIR + BOMBS
->->
Performing a Zair at the edge will enable Link to grab it with his tether, as stated above. If you use Zair at the ledge while holding a bomb, it will drop. This allows Link to set traps for opponents trying to recover low.

GALE GUARDING
->->+
Jumping off the stage while facing it and then throwing your Boomerang at the lip of the stage will cause it to bounce off and travel in the opposite direction. Doing so will cause the wind box hit box of the move to be active. This can be used to push characters with telegraphed recoveries (Like Marth and Captain Falcon) away from the stage. It's a fancy way of gimping, if Nair, Dair or projectiles isn't cutting it for you.

There is an entire thread full of even more Link techs which can be found here. I also recommend you explore Izaw's "Art of Link" videos here for more tips and tricks. Study these techs well and incorporate them into your play style!

How & Why Link? - Neutral Game & Choosing Link!

It's all fine and dandy knowing the ins and outs of his attacks, but you can't win with just basic attack and combo knowledge alone. You need to know how to get past the neutral game to put Link in an advantageous position (take heed in knowing that this can change slightly depending on Match Up).
Not only that, but it's important to know why you should consider using Link, especially when bigger and better threats exist like the elusive Sheik, Zero Suit Samus and Pikachu. So, let's jump on in!

[Neutral Game - Completely neutral]
At first glance, Link has plenty of projectiles at his disposal so the obvious answer here is: "He's a zoner, use my projectiles to look for an opening". And you'd be absolutely right in thinking so! Look at you, you beautiful thing! Give yourself a pat on the back and a cookie - you deserve it!
Yes, Link's neutral game is centred around zoning out your opponent, using your projectile tools then closing in and striking hard. I feel like his neutral game is strongest on the ground rather than in the air, so try to keep grounded while looking for openings. Bombs and Boomerang are my number one go-to options for pushing into the neutral game.
While dealing with faster grounded opponents, you should hold back on your boomerang and just stick to bombs. Further more, try to push these fast opponent out with jab and SHFF (Short Hop Fast Fall) nair and bair. If jab hits their shield then go for jab 2 > dash grab. Jab is probably the most powerful option in this situation, as it's Link's main combo starter and can lead into many things like stated in the combo section of this guide.
If they approach from the air, shield and bat them away with up tilt and nair/bair out of shield. Also try forward tilt to push them back. If they don't perfect shield the attack and aren't right up against you, it's safe on block so you can continue to push them back with another f-tilt or maybe a down tilt.
So now you've won the neutral game. What do we do now?
[Neutral Game - Advantageous position]
Link has managed to get the grab. Now it's time for your down throw follow ups. Start juggling your opponent with up tilts and be sure to pay close attention to their habits. Do they jump away? Chase them with double jump up air. Do they air dodge? Wait it out and punish with your most reliably option. Keep the pressure on with the occasional boomerang toss and continue to force them back with your fair, tilts and jab.
Hold off on smash attacks since they're laggy and punishable (exception being down smash, but you should only really be using down smash out of shield or after a double jab combo). Always save your smash attacks for when the opponent is wide open and you're sure it'll connect so you can net the kill.
Now you've successfully pushed the opponent back off the stage. How do you respond?
Keep it up with these options until you have removed the opponent's stock, then rinse and repeat!
[Neutral Game - Disadvantaged position]
Uh-oh! Your opponent has managed to break past your defenses and has the upper hand, what should you do now?
Do not try to fight your way back into the advantageous position, it'll be for naught since Link just isn't fast enough and a wise opponent will simply block and respond each time.
Try jumping away and backing up so that you can return things back to the neutral game. Retreat with Zair, quick arrows and your boomerang. Dodge and shield effectively and wisely. Are they grab happy? Opt for a roll (always mix up your rolling options) or spot dodges. Do they prefer to tack on damage through attacks than grabs? Use your shield of course! Basically, you want to deny their advances with your best defensive options (which are shield and dodge).
When you're knocked off stage, using your Zair to grapple the ledge is the safest option Link has (press up as soon as the tether snaps to the ledge so Link reels himself to the ledge quickly to get the ledge invisibility). If you get knocked away into the magnifying glass area, immediately pluck out a bomb and hold onto it so you can use the blast to give you a second chance at recovering. Do NOT take your eyes off your opponent once you're knocked off stage. Pay close attention to how they attempt to edge guard you and do your best to respond so that you're not gimped.

Why choose Link?

So, why should you consider using Link over other characters? Because he's handsome and cool and I said you should! Now go study this guide, practice Link and become a Link main, bye!... Okay, seriously now.

Link is fairly slow with a strong projectile game, decent recovery, strong grab and throw game and phenomenal kill power. In other words, recipe for a solid mid-tier character. He's a sort of middle-ground bait-and-punish zoner who is fairly easy to pick up and play.

Pros:
Link rewards patience. He can control the pace of the match by pushing out the opponent with his projectiles and creating his own space. Waiting for an opportunity to strike is what Link lived and dies by and it's this kind of play style that rewards him the most. That gear of his puts Link into the higher end of the weight spectrum, meaning he can survive for longer. Being able to last for longer and tank rage, in conjunction with his powerful KO moves makes him a walking threat. The looming threat of taking you out within a low percent range forces the opponent to respect Link and not get too hasty, thus allowing you to have a stronger control over the pace of the match, more or less.
Cons:
Due to his sluggish nature, Link is very easily overwhelmed by faster characters once they close the gap on him. His weight and sluggishness makes him combo food for any of the higher tier combo gods such as Mario and Sheik. Being able to push the opponent off can prove to be difficult for Link since he's, well, slow. And it's this slowness that means Link can't really throw the first punch and is forced to wait and react to what the opponent will do. Getting hasty with Link only results in him eating a very heavy punish which can result in a loss of a stock.

In short, imagine you're fighting a boss in a Zelda game. You wait for the boss to leave an opening and then you strike it's weak spot and kick it while it's down, yeah? That's how you should play Link.
If playing patiently, being able to create your own space and having a character with a low learning curve suits you, then Link is right up your ally!

Match Ups - Know your Enemy!

I'm going to be completely honest with you: I don't know all of Link's Match Ups like the back of my hand. And I'm not going to pretend I do know them all, because that would just be cheating you all. However, there are a few Match Ups that I've played extensively and have learned.
I'll share this knowledge with you now. Further more, when I learn more match ups for Link, I will update this guide to accompany them.

Does well against:
- Sluggish characters.
- Characters with large hurt boxes.
- Defensive characters.
- Characters with poor frame data.
- Projectile-heavy characters.
Does not-so-well against:
- Rush down characters with fast attacks and grabs.
- Characters with command grabs.
- Characters with a good air/juggle game.
- Armor frames.
- Characters with over-all good frame data.

Before we go over the match ups that I do know, it's worth taking a note of Link's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to match ups. Above is self explanatory, but I will elaborate further when I begin to cover the various match ups that I know.

MARIO (A similar story can apply to)
Mario, Mario, Mario... This match up is pretty tricky for Link. Mario can reflect Link's projectiles using his cape and Link is practically combo food for Mario. Not forgetting Link is easily cape and FLUDD gimped by Mario. Needless to say, Link struggles kind of badly in this match up - It's a similar story with Doc, though not to such an extent
Mario usually win the neutral through his use of fire ball. You want to play the don't-grab-me game as strongly as possible with these characters. Don't commit to a Smash attack unless you're confident it'll hit. You want to try and hold center stage as much as possible but don't be afraid to try and intercept Mario's recovery as it is pretty exploitable. Grab is pretty strong against Mario, but whiffing will result in a heavy punish so look for confirms into a grab rather than raw grabs. Avoid air dodging excessively and take the hits as they come. It's better to jump away from Mario after a throw than air dodge. You don't want to fall helplessly into a charged smash attack. Also, be wise about landing since his annoyingly powerful up smash has invisibility and all that.
Final note: Zair works pretty well in this match up. Just remember to space it so it's at maximum range. And Link's bombs will beat out Mario's fire ball/Pills! Just don't let the Mario's close the gap on you and keep them zoned out as much a possible and avoid being grabbed.

LUIGI
Luigi is dumb - but fortunately no as dumb as he used to be! Yet I still really don't like this match up. But we're not here to listen to me ramble, are we?
Okay, so you want to play this game a little like with the Mario MU. Keep him zoned out and avoid getting grabbed as much as possible. I really need to emphasize this: AVOID GETTING GRABBED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!
Luigi can't reflect projectiles like Mario can, so utilize your projectiles to the fullest! I would advise that you avoid using raw grabs as much as possible, since Luigi can break free of your down throw combos with Nair and a whiffed grab on your end will mean a heavy punish for Luigi. Focus on damaging him through your projectiles and tilts rather than your grab.
Luigi will often try to look for the grab in the neutral by using fire balls first. You don't have to approach him - remember that. Let him come to you and REMEMBER: F-tilt is your best friend on shield.
Once you knock him off stage, try to intercept his side-B recovery with your boomerang and waste no time in gimping him, as Luigi is fairly easy to gimp. Overall, this is a MU Link loses, but can easily be won if you play your cards right.

ROSALINA & LUMA
Nope, I still don't like this character! She's still dumb. It's made worse by the fact she wins this MU quite strongly. But listen, I know some things, so...!
General rule of thumb against Rosalina is to knock the Luma out ASAP and then start applying pressure on the Rosa. Remember, when you knock Rosa away, rather than following up take care of Luma. Her gravitational pull shuts down all of your projectiles. So don't even waste valuable frames on tossing out arrows and boomerangs. However, it doesn't quite do the same with bombs. Time a bomb toss and it will explode just as she completes her gravitational pull, netting free damage on her Luma or even on Rosa herself!
ZAIR IS PRETTY DAMN GOOD! Let me repeat that: ZAIR IS PRETTY DAMN GOOD! She can't gravitate it and it prevents her from approaching so easily. Don't go spam-happy with Zair, but definitely keep up the pressure with it each time she plans on approaching you. Try to keep it at maximum range so she doesn't punish your landing. Asides from using Zair, you should keep yourself grounded as much as possible.
Look out for her aerials when her Luma is in play. You can challenge Uair with your Dair, but you should really be avoiding it at all cost by timing air dodges at the right time.
Finally, don't forget that she's pretty light and can die quite early to some of Link's more threatening attacks like U-Smash, U-tilt, F-tilt, U-Air and Up-B. But as always, don't go ham with these moves as it'll get you punished (and Rosa punishes HARD). Her recovery is also very telegraphed and doesn't have a hit box, so feel free to intercept it with any suitable aerial. Ledge trumping is also superb against Rosa as, again, she's very light meaning you can kill her pretty easy with an F-tilt on the ledge.

YOSHI
Yoshi is a tricky character. Wise play benefits this character greatly. And despite what the scrubs on Twitch Chat will tell you, he's not completely broken - but he is good and has a good time against Link. But your old friend Valty Keaton has some ideas on how to beat Yoshi!
Whenever Yoshi is the air, he has to commit because of his terrible floatiness. It makes the character both good AND bad in the air. Whenever he makes an aerial approach, use Zair. If he makes a grounded approach, jab, tilts and projectiles. In the air, Yoshi absolutely cannot challenge Link's Uair or Dair, so be prepared to get those hit boxes out once Yoshi juggles you. Angled boomerang tosses remind Yoshi that he's dealing with a defensive character, and may force him to play aggressively so be prepared.
As I have stated before, Yoshi can easily break free of Link's down throw. Grabs against Yoshi in general aren't that powerful because he can break free with ease. It's better to focus on damaging him by other means than grab.
Egg lay is a powerful move, and any smart Yoshi will b-reverse and wavebounce this move the entire match, on top of zoning you out with egg tosses. Spacing is your best friend in this match up. Egg lay is made even more powerful against fast fallers, as an egg gimp will mess them up big time - this goes double for Link so be careful. Mash out by rotating the control stick quickly rather than pressing your other buttons, it's a much safer way of mashing out.
Lastly, watch out for grab release. Yoshi has a terrible throw game but a monstrous grab release. Your best option in this situation is to let him pummel you and wait to be released then shield, roll and spot dodge respectively upon being released. Always mix up these options so that Yoshi doesn't net that kill on you.
Remember that, while Yoshi has high kill power, he has almost no kill confirms besides jab to up smash. This Match Up is basically free rage fuel for Link, so abuse this factor.

DIDDY KONG
Despite the Sakurai nerfs, Diddy Kong is still very much relevant to the Smash 4 meta. Dues to his slippery nature and powerful confirms, he makes for a strong high tier that Link struggles to deal with.
First and foremost, Projectiles should be kept to a minimum, as Diddy Kong can just close the gap easily and seems to have an answer for pretty much all of Link's projectiles. Use your Projectiles primarily when you're at opposite ends of the stage to try and get in chip damage. Remember that Diddy has a powerful grab game so keeping him out as best you can and playing the don't-grab-me game will keep things favourable for you.
Short hop Fair is one of Diddy's most powerful tools and the best way to combat this is through Link's F-tilt, as for the most part, it completely beats out Diddy's fair and in the worst scenario you'll trade - but Link wins the trade regardless. Just remember to space and time it well.
The next biggest tool in Diddy's arsenal is his elusive Banana. He'll hang around waiting for an opportunity to toss it so he can get his grab or charged smash attack. Surprisingly, Link's jab is a fantastic answer to this as it completely beats out a Banana being tossed his way. Further more, if you get a hold of the Banana you can still perform Link's grab toss glide with it but it's usually best to hold onto his Banana for as long as you can to deny him of any easy confirms. However, catching onto this jab denial, Diddy will most likely try to approach with shield while holding onto his Banana, so if your jab hits his shield remember to go for jab 2 > grab.
Lastly, Diddy Kong is kind of tricky to gimp since he usually opts for a side-b recovery - which can be intercepted with Fair. But if he recovers low, be prepared to intercept his up B with a nair. As you should know by now, if Diddy is hit during his Up B he goes into temporary free fall, and that usually means he'll drop a stock.
Massive shout outs to Catana for helping provide information for this Match Up.

LITTLE MAC
This match is 50/50. Either you're going to demolish him, or he is going to demolish you. A Good Little Mac will hold center stage and scrap with you as soon as you get close. With his insane frame data on the ground, you're going to have a seriously hard time when he gets in close. What's worse is that Little Mac is so low-down that Zair is practically useless against him. Arrows and Bombs are your number one answer to this - Force Mac to commit to something and punish. Do NOT challenge his Smash attacks, and when he knocks you off the stage always recover low and with Zair - You don't want to be gimped by that annoying Down Smash.
Little Mac wants you to approach him. Well, I say no! You make that little man approach YOU! Heckle him with Projectiles. When his percent starts racking up, he'll realize he has to approach and that's when you punish!
General rule of thumb with Mac is keep him in the air and off stage. Once he's above you, throw out Up Smashes, Nairs and Uairs - Mac's going to have a hard time getting down with attacks that stay active for so long. The moment he's off stage, prepare your Nair and slow falling Dair hitboxes to gimp him. If going off stage isn't your think, then boomerang and arrows can work too, as well as f-tilt for if Mac goes for side b recovery.. If Mac starts using counter to recover, bait out the counter, grab him and throwing him back off stage. Learning to quick snap to the ledge so you can ledge trump him is HIGHLY recommended for this Match Up so you should definitely learn it.
Once he's back on the ground, he can easily overwhelm Link so try to keep him out as much as possible.

ROBIN
Robin is a defensive character with limited approach options and average frame data, so your typical good Robin will sit back, set up a thunder/fire wall before looking for an opportunity to move in. Your Hylian Shield will block a book toss at mid range, as well as all thunder spells. Just know that you will be hit by the last hits of Arc Thunder and Thoron, so either simply block those attacks or jump over them. You should play calmly and let your shield block anything thrown at you, but you need to be wary of the spell set-ups, as those set ups do MASSIVE damage and Link's weight sets him up for these set-ups pretty badly. So play slowly but methodically. Being wise is the best thing you can do in ANY match up really, but more so in this match up.
Approach Robin with dashing into shield while holding a bomb. Try to get in close and look for opportunities to set up bomb combos. From a distance, you should try harassing him/her with arrows to try and disrupt the thunder charge. Robin doesn't enjoy being overwhelmed at close quarters, so try to get in close and harass them. Just be wary of grab set ups. Their hoo hah combo, the checkmate, is REAL and can kill very early. In general, always look out for those powerful Uair and Fairs, try to jump away from Robin than challenge or air dodge.
When approaching from above, opt for a spaced Zair rather than a Nair, as that'll just get you punished if it hits their shield.

KING DEDEDE
When you see a big-bodied opponent like King Dedede, you know you're going to have a good time! King Dedede lives and dies by his Gordos, and since Link has a bunch of projectiles, Dedede will mostly die by his Gordos than live!
While all of Link's projectiles will reflect a Gordo, I find Zair is his most safest option. King Dedede does NOT like dealing with Link's Zair at all, so this will probably be your main approach option. Just be wary of King Dedede throwing the Gordo right back at you. Sometimes, simply shielding a Gordo is the better option, but that's when King Dedede will rush in a grab you, so be prepared to respond with either a Nair out of Shield or a shield grab. General rule of thumb, but don't get grabbed. Link is combo food for Dedede, so play the don't-grab-me game.
Landing is surprisingly hard with King Dedede. His Uair beats out Link's Dair, and all of his aerials will put Link in unfavourable positions. Don't try to challenge King Dedede from above, just get out of the way and try to land as soon as possible.
Most Dededes I know like to hover above you, then drop down with Nair > D-tilt. Either remain in shield or surprise Dedede by leaping up and throwing out U-air, as it can catch most Dededes off guard.
On a final note, I noticed that Dedede users like to trap opponents on the ledge with a slow-bounce Gordo and a charged D-smash. Annoyingly, this covers basically every option. Your only safe option, is to jump onto the ledge with Zair. Time the Zair just right so that you hit the Gordo. Also, don't hang around on the ledge for too long. Dedede's D-smash and Dash Attack can hit opponents on the ledge, so look for an option to get back on safely, or say good bye to your stock.

FOX
The is easily a match that is not in Link's favour at all. Fox is quick and nimble. He darts around tacking on damage here and there and psyching you out with what he'll do next. Once he's in on Link, there's not much Link can do to push him off.
Zair and Boomerang are your best bets here. Fox can reflect your Boomerang, but all that'll do is push you further away from him with the wind box, which is kind of what you want. Your reads have to be on point when it comes to shielding or dodging when you anticipate an attack or a grab. When you get throwing into the air and juggled, set up your Dair hit box so Fox thinks twice about challenging you and use bombs to aid with your landing. When Fox is above you while you're around the 100% range, he's going to be looking for Dair to Up Smash, so patiently wait in shield but always be wary for tomahawks - Just remember that his throw game isn't particularly powerful.
Fox has an annoyingly good fast fall speed, which means he can power shield an up tilt after your down throw then punish you heavily. Try anticipating this by going for a grab on his block, but be wary of spot dodges as anything you commit to around Fox will get you severely punished.
Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot Link can do against Fox besides trying to keep him out with projectiles. If you allow Fox to overwhelm you, then you can consider that game lost.

JIGGLYPUFF
With the right mind set, this match up is easy. With the wrong mind set, this match up is hard. Jigglypuff doesn't have the most amazing frame data, and her main options are all aerial based. It's simple really; keep yourself grounded and punish any attacks that hit your shield. Be patient in this match up and you will be rewarded. Nair out of shield and Zair are pretty superb options to answering back at a Jigglypuff floating around you. You can easily wall her out with Zair and Fair as well. When you grab and down throw her, either go for a full hop nair or up tilt. Don't bother with up smash, as it can sometimes whiff, leaving you open for a punish.
Jigglypuff hates dealing with projectiles - bombs especially. So play the usual game of harassing the opponent and letting them over commit to something. Since Jigglypuff is super light, she is KO'd easily so keep that in mind when tussling with her. When jabbing her, use your full jab rather than jab 2 since she easily falls out of Link's jab - Each bit of damage counts when it's Puff because she gets KO'd so early. Oh, and while I did said Up Smash can sometimes whiff, doesn't mean you shouldn't use it all together. Jigglypuff likes to fly around you, and since Up Smash is a good anti-air with awesome KO potential... well, put two and two together! Just... don't go wild with Up Smash because that's a free Rest punish for Puff. Use it wisely.
Oh, and it should be obvious by this point but DON'T get carried off stage. In fact, don't even bother trying to gimp her once you throw her off stage. Jigglypuff can literally carry you to the blast zone with the wall of pain, so try to recover back to the stage as quickly and as wisely as possible.

CAPTAIN FALCON
Here's the deal. He's either gonna rush in and attack you, or rush in and grab you - Usually the latter. Unfortunately, he's so damn fast that he can just power shield your projectiles and close the gap before you have a chance to react.
Grab works surprisingly well against Falcon. A good set up I like to use against Falcon at lower percents is:
Down throw > Up tilt > pivot regrab down throw > up tilt/up smash respectively.
Falcon's weight and fall speed just make his set up very smooth. Grab is strong against Falcon, but whiffing leaves you open for a heavy punish. Don't fish for the grab, much like how you should never fish for the kill at death percent. Let the opportunity to land a grab present itself to you. Speaking of grabs, Falcon has a superb down throw juggle game. Much like with Mario, when you're being juggled, don't air dodge excessively since that sets you up for either a dair spike or that insanely powerful Knee of Justice.
Off stage, Falcon is going to take any and all opportunities to take you down under, so try to recover as safely as possible. Keep a close eye on Falcon's movements and choose your recovery option, be it high or low.
Over all, your main answers to Falcon will be Bombs, Zair, Nair, Jab and Grab. Get him off stage as soon as you can and start gimping him with Nair - Falcon's greatest weakness is his recovery, so exploit it at the earliest opportunity! I've been able to flawlessly win many games against Falcon mainers by simply throwing out nair hit boxes once I have them off stage. Nair has the chance of interrupting his up-B, so take that into consideration.

MEGA MAN
Bombs... Bombs... Just, just bombs. Mega Man suffers so greatly to Link's bombs, it will almost make you feel sorry for him (just, almost). Mega Man likes to jump around with his lemons, Crash Bomber and Metal Blade. This match up is pretty straight forward, actually - Let you Hylian shield block his projectiles then start harassing him with bombs and arrows (Hylian shield can even block his forward smash). Remember that Link's bombs will sail right through most projectiles, Mega Man being the most vulnerable to this mechanic. Wait for him to over commit to something, and punish him! (Funfact: Link's Hylian Shield can actually block the crash bomber's explosion when it's stuck to him, so long as it is placed near where his shield is. Just remember Link has to be either stood still or walking).
Nair, Bair and Zair work amazingly well in this match up too. Zair can also break through Mega Man's lemons and Metal Blade. Be willing to take trades for the sake of getting the percent lead. Remember that his lemons, while annoying, don't do THAT much damage, so just wait for an opening in his walls then punish with whatever suits best. I find that challenging Mega Man in the air is often a good answer to his projectile walls.
It's worth mentioning that grabs are almost useless on Mega Man. His jab and f-tilt (the lemons) will disrupt your grab as Link is pulling out his claw shot. You should basically just avoid using raw grabs in general, but you can use grabs to punish any whiffed attacks.
The main things you'll want to be looking out for are Mega Man's Uair and Dair. Link's telegraphed recovery leaves him wide open for Mega Man's hard knuckle, so try to recover as low as possible. Also use the tether trick I mentioned in the Yoshi match up. Finally, a general rule of thumb but DON'T JUMP WHEN YOU'RE HIT BY MEGA MAN'S UP AIR! Just DI downwards and air dodge in. It's better to take the damage than get carried away into the blast zone. Seriously. I see too many people make this mistake.

Unfortunately, that is all the match ups that I know of at the moment. As I get to hopefully play more and more skilled people, I will expand on this Match Up list so that I can provide you all with the best Link guide there is!

The End - Until We Meet Again!
Phew... That just about does it for this guide for now. I hope that this guide was expansive, for filling and helped you get a good understanding of Link in Smash 4. My wish is that this guide inspires others to explore Link and maybe even consider picking him up as their main (or at least a side main).

That's it from me! Valty Keaton signing out!