- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
This is a Little Mac guide that I've been wanting to make for a really long time. While I'm pretty unknown, I've discovered many little tidbits of information and tech Mac can use effectively that I want to share. I'm considered to be pretty good where I am known. Will be updated for proper formatting soon.
Table of contents:
1. Different playstyles
2. Fundamentals
3. Essential tech
4. Punish game
5. Mac specific tech
6. Best matchups/Dealing with matchups
7. Best stages/How to play in different stages
8. Tips and tricks
1. Different Playstyles
Little Mac is a very freeflowing character, able to be played different ways at different times, all being just as effective.
-Offensive
An offensive Mac is one that you should always fear. This playstyle involves using his high speed and his quick moves to effectively punish opponents before and/or after they make a move. Often an offensive Mac will never stop moving and will keep you guessing and will try to bait you into doing something unsafe.
-Defensive
A defensive Mac is a more patient Mac. This playstyle in general involves Mac using his speed not to overwhelm, but to simply punish the opponent after he does something. A defensive Mac will either keep moving away from the opponent or stay still, or alternate between the two to keep a safe distance. Little Mac's super armor and his frame one moves are essential to this type of play.
-Both
Little Mac has a very good ability to switch between both offensive and defensive playstyles during matches. This often involves a Mac playing with one playstyle to condition the opponent and switching to throw them off guard. Little Mac can also use this to adapt to the other player.
-Read Heavy
Little Mac has absolutely no completely safe on shield moves. He can however bait people out of it. This usually involves a Little Mac heavily analyzing the opponent to capitalize on their mistakes, such as airdodging against a ground based character. A Little Mac must always be safe and abuse him low endlag moves and powerful smash attacks and their super armor to play like this effectively. This playstyle is generally not recommended on its own and is advised to be mixed in with his gameplay.
2. Fundamentals
Mac has a lot of tech he can use, but he also can be played by simply using the basics, just not as effectively. It is highly recommended you learn fundamentals with him first.
-Neutral
Little Mac, as a fast character with little to no startup and end lag on his moves, can completely dominate the stage. It is important to remember a few things when in the neutral: 1. He is fast 2. His moves can beat out most other moves 3. Be safe, or you will very quickly end up in a combo or offstage 4. Don't be afraid of platforms 5. You must learn how to deal with being camped out 6. He has no safe on shield moves 7. Keep stage control at all costs.
-Offensive Options
D tilt, up tilt, his smash attacks, and side tilt are arguably his greatest moves. D tilt props people up into a prime position for a combo at nearly every percent and is a good neutral tool. At low percents, up tilt is one of his best followups, next being d tilt, f smash, and side tilt. Up tilt is also one his good combo moves and a perfect pivot up tilt is his best approach option hands down (though I'll cover this later). His smash attacks are great punishers, up angled being able to combo into up b, regular being a great kill move, killing at very low percents, down angled doing the most damage of his moves (besides KO punch) and being a shield break. D smash is great for keeping opponents away and for punishing people for regrabbing a ledge, and it's his best option for getting the 2 frame punish. Up smash can poke through some platforms and kills at percents even lower than f smash. Side tilt is also an amazing punisher, being quicker than f smash and killing at reasonable percents. Mac's frame 1 jab can also be used for some quick and easy damage, as well as a true death combo into up b at high percents.
-Defensive Options
Shield is amazing in this game, use it. Little Mac's perfect shield can let him approach people shooting projectiles and punish them in the end lag due to his speed. Little Mac's roll length is also very good, but remember not to get roll read. His spotdodge is pretty standard, but also decent. Nair and Up B are combo breakers, Up B even being invincible on startup. Little Mac's smash attacks have super armor, allowing him to "parry" other moves short of grabs. Up tilt and d smash also allows Mac to keep opponents away.
Little Mac also has what I like to call an "easy foxtrot" which aids in his foxtrot cancel. I'll cover this in essential tech
-Approach
Little Mac's main approaches usually consists of using a quick move such as d tilt, up tilt, jab, and dash attack. When approaching, it's important to remember that you do not want to be unsafe, use his speed to bait the opponent to do something out of shield while you remain safe. One can also bait or punish an option the opponent has committed to doing, such as a laggy move, or a move with high startup. Not much else to say, use his speed.
Alternatively, watch SSBM Tutorials' video on how to approach with Fox, it's nearly the same exact concept.
-Punishing
Little Mac's smash attacks are good and all, but he can do better. Using a smash attack runs the risk of the opponent's lag running out and you being perfect shielded. Instead, use Little Mac's quick combo moves to convert into powerful finishers. This will be covered more in the main Punish section.
3. Essential Tech
Little Mac, while being a character of fundamentals, requires a lot of tech to be played efficiently. Here are some of the things you need to know.
-Foxtrot Cancelling
A.K.A. Dance trotting, Extended dashdancing, etc. This tech lets Mac do a much longer dashdance (similar to Melee dashdancing), instantly cancel movement into a move, remain mobile, perfect pivot, bait, wait, punish, camp, end world hunger, establish world peace, etc. Basically, this is one of his best movement options in the game. I highly recommend learning how to do it. It's also made better due to his "easy foxtrot" a trait shared by a few characters that lets them buffer a dash out of another dash and have a larger window to foxtrot. Some characters with this are Captain Falcon, the Marth clones, and Peach, though there are others.
-Perfect Pivot
As mentioned before, perfect pivot up tilt is Mac's best approach option. Combine this tech with Foxtrot cancelling to let Mac approach and to keep opponents guessing.
-Forward Pivot
Whereas perfect pivots make Mac face the opposite direction, forward pivots make Mac face the same way. This is done by dashdancing once and then perfect pivoting. Use this out of Foxtrot cancels to let Mac punish with his frame 1 jab or d tilt.
-Jab Cancels
A jab cancel is when a character jabs at the edge of a platform or stage facing away from it so they are pushed off. Using this lets Mac followup with a Side B, Up B, or KO punch if they shield (KO punch does not work on platforms or stages that you can go travel through such as Halberd's transitioning platform). Alternatively, Mac can simply choose to drop down to grab ledge and be safe or drop down from a platform to the main stage.
-Jump Cancels
Little Mac's Up B OoS (out of shield) is one of his greatest options, as is up smash out of shield. A generally uknown option at high percents is nair, which is great as a reverse nair true combos into up b (reverse nair and regular nair are different, regular nair has set knockback and reverse nair has KBG). You generally want to decide between which one depending on which will kill earlier and which is faster, though nair and Up B are the only ones which hit from behind (you have to reverse Up B if the opponent is behind you).
However, his KO Punch OoS is his best option hands down. It comes out on frame 8, but in addition to its kill power, it can also hit people behind Little Mac. The one downside is that the windbox disappears, and it will whiff people standing too close.
4. Punish Game
One of the most important things to remember is that while Little Mac excels at getting hits in, it's what you get out of them that really matters. A simple dash attack at 0% isn't all that much, why not go further? Dash attack has a more horizontal hitbox in front of Little Mac and a more vertical hitbox right next to him, out of the horizontal hitbox, one could go for another dash attack, easy 20%, you could go further, instead of another dash attack, why not try perfect pivoting into an up tilt? It's a true combo and up tilt has a lot of followups. From the vertical hitbox, why not go for an up b? These are just four examples, of the many options Little Mac has for punishing.
Do not go for a smash attack every time, not only would this likely not do as much damage as one of his many punishes, this also stales them. Instead, here are a few other things you can do.
Options out of dash attack:
Low through Low-Mid%s: Dash attack, Up B, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt, Side B
Options out of D tilt:
Low through Mid%s: D Tilt, Up Tilt, Side Tilt, Side B, KO Punch, first hit Up B (generally will only work at low%s except against fastfallers), D Smash
Mid through High%s: Fair, first hit Up B (again, will only work at high percents against fastfallers)
Low-Mid through Mid High%s: Perfect pivot Up Tilt (Mid%s on floaties)
Low through Very High%s: Up B (very high only against fastfallers)
Options out of Up Tilt:
Low through Mid%s: Up Tilt, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt (against non fastfallers, these stop at Low-Mid),
Low through Mid High%s: Up B
Low through Low-Mid%s: KO Punch, Turnaround KO Punch (if the up tilt hits behind Little Mac), Jab
Low%s: D tilt
Little Mac also has an Up B followup from Up Angled F Smash, but it is highly variable based on fall speed and weight. One last thing he has is D throw Up B, which is a great combo, but relies heavily on DI and is weight dependent.
On fastfallers, Little Mac can also D throw KO Punch at kill percents.
These are just his ways to punish, the real hard part is actually applying them. In general, play the neutral until you get one of the moves I've shown, as they are your most likely way of securing more damage, and decide what to do after the hit. You want to optimize your actions, so go through the chart by what works at a lower percent to higher percent to a finisher. Of course, if Smash were that simple, it would become pretty boring after a while, many things such as DI, platforms, your position to the ledge, and what is currently going through the players' minds. For example, at the ledge, you may be just close enough to get a Jab Cancel into KO Punch, but do you have other options that would be better? What if the KO Punch doesn't kill at that percent, but there's a platform above you that you can knock the opponent onto and jab lock them? Would the KO Punch be more useful this stock or the second stock? The sheer amount of options and variables that go on in this game make this a pretty unclear topic, as the most optimal solution can be unclear.
Of course, if they're at kill percent, you can always just go for a smash attack.
Best Punishes on Fastfallers
Little Mac's punish game shines its hardest when against a fastfaller. The chart shown previously works just the same, but there's a lot more variation possible with what works as Mac's combo moves tend to send people vertically. This makes 0-deaths possible on fastfallers with the KO Punch.
Fox: U Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (0-Death)
Without KO Punch: U Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt*, Perfect Pivot Side Tilt (53%, the last D Tilt has an asterisk as it is very DI dependant, use at your own risk, without it, the combo can still be finished with Side Tilt for a 45% damage combo)
Sheik: Perfect Pivot U Tilt (you must cross up Sheik), D Tilt (You must get the backwards hitbox), Turnaround D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (0-death)
Without KO Punch: Replace the KO Punch with a Perfect Pivot Up Tilt to Up B (48-49%)
ZSS: Up Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt, KO Punch
(To be honest, this combo is very inconsistent, the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt rarely true combos and the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt to KO Punch is also pretty hard to true combo, I've found that delaying the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt lets it true combo into KO Punch much more consistently at the cost of making the Up Tilt not true.)
Greninja: Same as Sheik
Roy: D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (Delay the last D Tilt very slightly)
Without Replace the KO Punch with a Perfect Pivot Side Tilt
More coming soon...
5. Mac Specific Tech
-Gazelle Punch
If there's a Mac tech you know, it's probably this. The Gazelle Punch is an advanced tech that lets Mac instantly get up from the ledge and do a grounded KO Punch as if he stood up. This is done by inputting a jump from ledge and pressing B in the first possible frame you can act. You can't spam it or you will fly into the air and do a laggy, very punishable air KO Punch. You can't press it earlier or nothing will happen. It is a one frame window.
-Turnaround Gazelle Punch
A Gazelle Punch, but combined with a B turnaround. This is different from a b reverse in that you press a direction before B. It makes Little Mac KO Punch and face the ledge he was on. Not too useful except to a bait or after ledge trump.
-Side B Autocancel
Not exactly Mac specific. After Mac releases Side B, if he lands between 42-44 frames, the Side B will autocancel and will have no landing lag. Some platforms, such as Battlefield, do this automatically for you if you release Side B as soon as possible and land on the main stage.
-Jump Cancel KO Punch
First, jump. Then input a KO Punch. You will slide further than a regular KO Punch. This also removes the windbox.
-Dash Jump KO Punch
Not a hard tech to do. First dash, and as soon as possible, do a Jump Cancel KO Punch. You will slide incredibly far, almost 1/4th of Battlefield's length.
6. Best Matchups/Dealing with Matchups
Little Mac is a hard counter to absolutely no characters, his best MUs aren't more than 60-40 in his favor in my opinion. This topic is highly debatable and should be taken lightly.
Ganondorf: 65-35
Little Mac speeds out Ganondorf too much. Along with having a recovery that even Little Mac can gimp, Ganondorf is also a heavy weight, making combos last longer on him and putting him easily to kill percent, which is still low for Little Mac. Ganondorf is also forced to approach Little Mac, making this MU even harder considering he has to get around a frame one move that beats his Side B and a Side Tilt that beats and counters his Down B. The one thing Ganondorf has over Little Mac is that he can kill Little Mac early, but he can kill nearly everyone early and nearly everyone can kill Little Mac early.
Marth: 55:45
Once again, Little Mac speeds out Marth way too much. Marth is forced to approach Mac and while he can keep Mac out, his Smash attack Super Armor can extend past his word length. Laggy moves also means that Marth is very Punishable. Overall, not all that bad considering he can edgeguard Mac pretty well.
Roy: 60-40
Almost exactly the same as Marth, except Roy is a little faster and can kill quicker. What makes this 60-40 however, is his predictable recovery, even laggier moves, and his weight and fall speed. All Little Mac needs is two or three good combos and Mac can kill him.
Ike: 55-45
Ike, while being able to get Mac offstage easier due to his combos, suffers even more from end lag on moves. His recovery can also be edgeguarded with a D Smash very easily with proper timing. This matchup is not so bad, considering if Mac makes a mistake, Ike kills earlier.
Fox: 60-40
Fox is pure combo food for Little Mac. Mac has high damage output options at nearly every percent on Fox. Fox relies on his speed and power to win matches, which Little Mac outclasses him in. While Fox has the potential to gimp Mac, he has to resort to a read or commit to guarding one option.
Dealing with Bad Matchups
Mario:
Mario has an amazing combo ability on pretty much every character. His overall trickiness to approach due to his mixups and great offstage and edgeguarding game make it hard for Mac to win. Focus on controlling the stage, be extra careful when approaching as Mario can get so much off of a single grab. Remember that Little Mac does not have to actually approach, Mario's fireballs are beaten by his jab 1 and can be moved under. Try to bait the Mario into doing something so Mac can punish him instead.
Luigi:
Like everyone else, Mac is prone to Luigi's combo game and very unorthodox edgeguards. Retain center stage, Luigi has to approach Mac because his fireballs are once again beaten by jab 1. It is usually a better to recover high against a Luigi as he has options to kill you if you recover medium or low.
Peach:
Little Mac's hardest matchup in the game. Remember that Peach has options to both counter Mac's approaches and can escape some combos due to her floatiness. Her D Smash will also beat Mac's Up B while he's recovering, and she has many, many other options to edgeguard Mac. Stay on the stage at all costs, catch and throw any turnips she throws back at her. Punish what she does by first glide tossing a turnip at her and then following up as a glide tossed turnips sets up so many things. Play safe, any opening you leave is potentially deadly.
Yoshi:
Due to his floatiness, airspeed, and Super Armor on double jump, and projectile, Yoshi can prove to be a tough character to fight against. Combos are not something one wants to focus on, get the best stray hit you can, and if the best option leads to a followup, go for it. Remember that Little Mac still beats Yoshi on the ground.
Wario:
Don't be intimidated by the bike, in fact, having the bike out can actually benefit Mac by extending the duration of his hitboxes. Always respect Wario's command grab, it beats out nearly all of Little Mac's moves and Super Armor is useless against it. Recovery as quickly as possible if knocked offstage as Wario's edgeguard game is especially potent on Mac.
Sheik:
Not as bad of a matchup as one may expect at first. Mac must respect all of Sheik's options or he will be put into a potentially deadly combo. Emphasize your ground game and approach, as Sheik barely has a way to keep Mac out. All Little Mac needs is two good combos and Sheik will be at a potential kill percent off of another good combo. Remember to mixup your recovery well, Sheik can throw her needles both directly in front of her and diagonally downward. DI everything except her Up Smash and Up Air upwards and Mac will not be gimped as easily.
Toon Link:
Toon Link can prove to be a very tough matchup for Little Mac. A mobile Toon Link can zone you out safely and makes approaching nearly impossible. Play patiently and calmly, limit their options by positioning yourself correctly onstage. Take advantage of all openings. Due to Toon Links many styles of play, Mac must adapt to things mid match. Remember that jab 1 beats out Boomerang and sometimes arrow, and also remember Mac can catch Toon Link's bombs.
Meta Knight:
Meta Knight can be a great threat to Little Mac. His air speed and multiple jumps can let him escape some of Mac's combos. his great edgeguarding game means he can gimp Mac very easily as well. His multiple jumps also means he can mixup his landings and camp Mac easily as well. Remember that he is still light and can be killed very early. Punish anything and everything Meta Knight does, his F Smash can still be Super Armored through. His fall speed can also make his true combos effective to a higher percent. Recover to the stage as fast as possible, Meta Knight onstage is not as large of a threat.
Pikachu:
Pikachu's projectile and speed make Pikachu win the neutral. He can combo and gimp Mac with great ease and can get around a lot of Mac's attacks with Up B. Mac, however, does has a few tools to prevent some of this. Mac's Jab is his greatest neutral tool in this MU, and will beat out Pikachu's projectile and can sometimes beat his Up B. Pikachu's somewhat fast fall speed make his combo and punish game on Pikachu almost as good as Pikachu's on him. Pikachu's weight also lets Mac kill him earlier than most other characters. Do not be afraid to approach, your frame data is still better on the ground and Up B CAN be reacted to.
Ness:
Ness' main advantages over Mac show themselves when Mac is offstage. Remember, the ball of PK Thunder is not the main threat, the tail is. The ball will only become a threat if the Ness positions it behind Mac, as it will then launch Mac away from the stage. Recover as soon as possible unless going on the stage is a worse option. PK Fire should not be a problem, Up B, Counter, And Neutral B can be used to escape PK Fire, Up B also puts out a hitbox, making Ness unable to grab you. Mac beats him onstage in almost every regard. If one is especially good at stage teching, Mac can gimp Ness if you let his PK Thunder hit you after Ness uses it as a recovery, as PK Thunder's distance shortens if it hits anything.
Will be updated for Cloud and Bayonetta...
7. Best Stages/How to Play on Stages
Duck Hunt:
Little Mac's best legal stage. Little Mac can use his neutral tools and exert stage control very well due to the stage's relative flatness and can use all platforms to his advantage. Opponents cannot platform camp as Mac can Up Smash characters on the bush and can easily traverse the tree. Mac can also platform camp other characters on the tree. If Mac manages to get an Up B while on the top platform, he is able to kill at very early percents, and this is especially potent when utilizing Jab Cancelled Up Bs. Mac can easily get onto the tree by either using Up B to the lowest platform or by using a Jump From Ledge. Ducks can mess up opponents comboing him in the air as well. The wall lets Mac recover from very low heights when he uses his walljump.
Ducks can mess up his Up B however, though this should not detract from Mac's benefits from this stage much.
Play this stage as if it were FD except if the opponent tries to platform camp or has a better neutral. If the former, approach them and make them stop platform camping. If the latter, utilize Mac's speed to get a percent lead and camp.
Final Destination:
There is not all that much to say about this stage. The flatness lets Mac use his neutral tools and exert stage control especially well due to the lack of platforms. The lack of platforms lets Mac also use his combo game to its full extent. Opponents are forced to land onstage if they are in the air or onto the ledges, and as such, will be careful and use landing mixups. Be patient and punish them.
Unfortunately, Mac is also forced to do this, be careful when landing as anyting can be deadly if you do not have a Double Jump. Little Mac's Up B is also not as safe as on a stage with platforms. Zoning characters with projectiles can also keep Mac out very easily.
Use Mac's speed to overwhelm opponents and get in before they can do anything, or be patient and punish what the opponent does, he has nothing to try and get past.. An aggressive playstyle is usually the best unless the opponent has zoning tools, which makes a patient playstyle the best. You want to use Up B sparingly as it can be easily punished.
Battlefield/Miiverse:
Battlefield and Miiverse's platforms are, in every way that matters, the same.
The overall flatness of the stage lets Mac use neutral tools and exert stage control unless the opponent goes on the platforms. Fortunately, Mac has options to combat this. His Up Tilt can shield poke people on mid platforms and his Up Smash can hit them. An air Up B can hit opponents on the top platform as Mac will not land on the platform and will drop down safely. Mac can autocancel his Side B if used on a mid platform onto the main stage if released as soon as possible. Mac can also run off platforms to land and instantly start dashing to make use of his great Foxtrot Cancel, and since he can use Dair and autocancel it while doing this, he can cover his landing as well. He can also approach projectile characters with relative ease. The platforms also provide him with many opportunities to Jab Cancel Up B or Side B, or if the opponent shields, Mac can just drop off of the platform safely.
However, due to the platforms, Mac's combo game can sometimes get cut off. Mac still has some trouble getting around platform camping and landing from a platform to the main stage despite his options. Some of Mac's bad MUs can also use the platforms to extend combos on him. Miiverse's lack of walls make it hard for Mac to walljump.
Play as if the stage is FD until the opponent lands on a platform, at which point, depending on whether or not they land due to hitstun or decide to platform camp, Mac can still exert pressure by either hitting them if they miss a tech or applying pressure from below until they come down. Note that if they platform camp and Mac has a lead, he DOES NOT have to approach. If they opponent lands in hitstun, remember that Mac can still approach them onto the platform. Mac can either use the top and middle platforms to delay his return to the ground or get back as soon as possible to regain stage control.
Town and City:
Not the best Mac stage, but also not the worst. The low ceiling, coupled with Mac's many vertical kill options and his fall speed, make killing much easier while also making Mac slightly harder to kill. There aren't many things that make Mac any better regarding the platforms, however, Mac still has the ability to platform camp on the platforms on the first transformation nearly as well as any other character. Mac, using a double jump instantly, can also get onto the middle platform safely, while his up smash will hit people on it while it's low. Mac does have trouble applying any pressure to opponents on the side platforms. Aerial up b, except when inputted while falling, will still make him go through the side platforms and his aerials aren't safe as the vertical distance between the side platforms and the stage is too large. As for the second transformation, Mac can't do much about people on either platform, especially when they're offstage. Up Smash can hit a shield, but won't hit the actual character if they aren't shielding. Aerials a somewhat safer as Mac lands much sooner, though they still provide little pressure.
You want to keep a lead no matter what, as losing the lead means the opponent can platform camp easily.Mac does have a way to get onto the side platforms easily, through the middle platform. Having the lead, however, lets Mac platform camp on the first transformation. During the second transformation, don't get any more percent tacked onto you and get any damage you can on them, remember, it's temporary. A patient playstyle will go a long way here.
Dreamland:
While similar in layout to Battlefield, small differences make this stage terrible for Little Mac. One of the only benefits Mac has is being able to hit shield with up smash on characters on the side platforms and his up b having landing mixups. Other than that, much of this stage goes against him. Mac cannot land on the side platforms without using up a double jump, and he can't land safely on the top platform or apply any good pressure, he also can't hit characters on the side platforms without an aerial. While these are only 3 things, they still ruin much of what Mac can do.
You want the percent lead here and you want to keep it as long as possible. If you have it, the opponent is forced to attack or approach, which Mac can stuff out while using the platforms to avoid projectiles. If they have the percent lead and are camping, don't be greedy, any percent counts, if they have a stock lead however, you want to find a way to land on the platforms. Observe any and all habits to be able to get them off or to fight them on the platforms. Use the opposite platform that the opponent is on (if they aren't on the top platform), then jump to the top platform to be able to get to them easier, as landing, while risky, does not carry nearly as much risk as jumping onto platforms.
Smashville:
Little Mac's worst stage in my opinion. The moving platform has the same problems as the side platforms on Battlefield. This, coupled by how it moves from one end offstage to the other, gives Mac an extremely limited window to apply any of his lowered pressure output. The overall flatness of the stage can give Mac somewhat of an advantage if the opponent stays on the ground.
As with T&C and Dreamland, the percent lead is crucial here. If they have the percent lead and are platform camping, mixup trying to get onto the platform as much as possible and get the opponent off. DO NOT approach an opponent on the platform WHILE THE PLATFORM IS AT IT'S LEFTMOST OR RIGHTMOST SIDE, you're asking to be gimped.
8. Tips and Tricks
Mac's side b autocancels if you land 42-44 frames after the hit comes out.
Dair, while risky offstage, can pay off really well as it often true combos into a footstool if fastfalled.
Dair autocancels when used right after falling off of a Battlefield side platform, making it able to cover landings.
Mac's d throw, d tilt, and up tilt all can be used under a platform at a certain range of percents (all 3 cover a different range) to create a missed tech Dair jab lock on the platform you're under. The actual percents these work vary greatly depending on the fallspeed of the opponent, though it usually follows the general pattern of d throw at low, up tilt at low mid to mid, d throw at mid to mid high/high, and d tilt at mid high/high.
In the off chance your local legalizes Halberd, Delfino, or Castle Siege, Mac's side b will travel at a trajectory parallel to the floor.
Any and all items created by characters have the ability to true combo into KO Punch.
Mac has 3 different Perfect Pivot lengths, to tell which one you did, there are audio and visual cues. His shortest produces no sound, his second shortest only produces sound, and his longest will produce and dust cloud and a sound.
Gazelle Punch works with Mac's regular neutral b, and has the same timing as well, meaning you don't need a KO Punch to practice it.
If the opponent crouch cancels, it makes d tilt and up tilt followups not true at low to mid percents.
D tilt, if used too close, will cause Mac to end up behind the opponent.
Mac's reverse Dair hitbox causes characters to slide more often than not, use it for jab locks on platforms to extend the jab lock combo onto the main stage.
Alternating Jab 1 and 2 can be good for approaching people spamming projectiles as Jab 1 will usually beat them out while Jab 2 will move your forward. Should never really be used if you're far away.
At a mid to mid-high percent, if the opponent falls from above into Mac's Jab, Mac's Jab 1 will transition into Jab 2, but Jab 2 won't connect, and the opponent will be continuously juggled by Jab 1 until they reach a high enough percent. Doing this will let Mac Jab Cancel from an edge while facing toward it.
Some characters can SDI out of Mac's up b, so far, I've only found Ness and Lucas capable of this.
The first hit of Mac's up b can sweetspot a ledge.
A properly space d tilt is safe on shield on a number of the cast.
Dair jab locks
He can do this to Shulk
Will be updated constantly...
End of Guide
PS: Wow this took me a long time to finish, I don't even main Mac anymore.
PSS: I main Mac again lol
Table of contents:
1. Different playstyles
2. Fundamentals
3. Essential tech
4. Punish game
5. Mac specific tech
6. Best matchups/Dealing with matchups
7. Best stages/How to play in different stages
8. Tips and tricks
1. Different Playstyles
Little Mac is a very freeflowing character, able to be played different ways at different times, all being just as effective.
-Offensive
An offensive Mac is one that you should always fear. This playstyle involves using his high speed and his quick moves to effectively punish opponents before and/or after they make a move. Often an offensive Mac will never stop moving and will keep you guessing and will try to bait you into doing something unsafe.
-Defensive
A defensive Mac is a more patient Mac. This playstyle in general involves Mac using his speed not to overwhelm, but to simply punish the opponent after he does something. A defensive Mac will either keep moving away from the opponent or stay still, or alternate between the two to keep a safe distance. Little Mac's super armor and his frame one moves are essential to this type of play.
-Both
Little Mac has a very good ability to switch between both offensive and defensive playstyles during matches. This often involves a Mac playing with one playstyle to condition the opponent and switching to throw them off guard. Little Mac can also use this to adapt to the other player.
-Read Heavy
Little Mac has absolutely no completely safe on shield moves. He can however bait people out of it. This usually involves a Little Mac heavily analyzing the opponent to capitalize on their mistakes, such as airdodging against a ground based character. A Little Mac must always be safe and abuse him low endlag moves and powerful smash attacks and their super armor to play like this effectively. This playstyle is generally not recommended on its own and is advised to be mixed in with his gameplay.
2. Fundamentals
Mac has a lot of tech he can use, but he also can be played by simply using the basics, just not as effectively. It is highly recommended you learn fundamentals with him first.
-Neutral
Little Mac, as a fast character with little to no startup and end lag on his moves, can completely dominate the stage. It is important to remember a few things when in the neutral: 1. He is fast 2. His moves can beat out most other moves 3. Be safe, or you will very quickly end up in a combo or offstage 4. Don't be afraid of platforms 5. You must learn how to deal with being camped out 6. He has no safe on shield moves 7. Keep stage control at all costs.
-Offensive Options
D tilt, up tilt, his smash attacks, and side tilt are arguably his greatest moves. D tilt props people up into a prime position for a combo at nearly every percent and is a good neutral tool. At low percents, up tilt is one of his best followups, next being d tilt, f smash, and side tilt. Up tilt is also one his good combo moves and a perfect pivot up tilt is his best approach option hands down (though I'll cover this later). His smash attacks are great punishers, up angled being able to combo into up b, regular being a great kill move, killing at very low percents, down angled doing the most damage of his moves (besides KO punch) and being a shield break. D smash is great for keeping opponents away and for punishing people for regrabbing a ledge, and it's his best option for getting the 2 frame punish. Up smash can poke through some platforms and kills at percents even lower than f smash. Side tilt is also an amazing punisher, being quicker than f smash and killing at reasonable percents. Mac's frame 1 jab can also be used for some quick and easy damage, as well as a true death combo into up b at high percents.
-Defensive Options
Shield is amazing in this game, use it. Little Mac's perfect shield can let him approach people shooting projectiles and punish them in the end lag due to his speed. Little Mac's roll length is also very good, but remember not to get roll read. His spotdodge is pretty standard, but also decent. Nair and Up B are combo breakers, Up B even being invincible on startup. Little Mac's smash attacks have super armor, allowing him to "parry" other moves short of grabs. Up tilt and d smash also allows Mac to keep opponents away.
Little Mac also has what I like to call an "easy foxtrot" which aids in his foxtrot cancel. I'll cover this in essential tech
-Approach
Little Mac's main approaches usually consists of using a quick move such as d tilt, up tilt, jab, and dash attack. When approaching, it's important to remember that you do not want to be unsafe, use his speed to bait the opponent to do something out of shield while you remain safe. One can also bait or punish an option the opponent has committed to doing, such as a laggy move, or a move with high startup. Not much else to say, use his speed.
Alternatively, watch SSBM Tutorials' video on how to approach with Fox, it's nearly the same exact concept.
-Punishing
Little Mac's smash attacks are good and all, but he can do better. Using a smash attack runs the risk of the opponent's lag running out and you being perfect shielded. Instead, use Little Mac's quick combo moves to convert into powerful finishers. This will be covered more in the main Punish section.
3. Essential Tech
Little Mac, while being a character of fundamentals, requires a lot of tech to be played efficiently. Here are some of the things you need to know.
-Foxtrot Cancelling
A.K.A. Dance trotting, Extended dashdancing, etc. This tech lets Mac do a much longer dashdance (similar to Melee dashdancing), instantly cancel movement into a move, remain mobile, perfect pivot, bait, wait, punish, camp, end world hunger, establish world peace, etc. Basically, this is one of his best movement options in the game. I highly recommend learning how to do it. It's also made better due to his "easy foxtrot" a trait shared by a few characters that lets them buffer a dash out of another dash and have a larger window to foxtrot. Some characters with this are Captain Falcon, the Marth clones, and Peach, though there are others.
-Perfect Pivot
As mentioned before, perfect pivot up tilt is Mac's best approach option. Combine this tech with Foxtrot cancelling to let Mac approach and to keep opponents guessing.
-Forward Pivot
Whereas perfect pivots make Mac face the opposite direction, forward pivots make Mac face the same way. This is done by dashdancing once and then perfect pivoting. Use this out of Foxtrot cancels to let Mac punish with his frame 1 jab or d tilt.
-Jab Cancels
A jab cancel is when a character jabs at the edge of a platform or stage facing away from it so they are pushed off. Using this lets Mac followup with a Side B, Up B, or KO punch if they shield (KO punch does not work on platforms or stages that you can go travel through such as Halberd's transitioning platform). Alternatively, Mac can simply choose to drop down to grab ledge and be safe or drop down from a platform to the main stage.
-Jump Cancels
Little Mac's Up B OoS (out of shield) is one of his greatest options, as is up smash out of shield. A generally uknown option at high percents is nair, which is great as a reverse nair true combos into up b (reverse nair and regular nair are different, regular nair has set knockback and reverse nair has KBG). You generally want to decide between which one depending on which will kill earlier and which is faster, though nair and Up B are the only ones which hit from behind (you have to reverse Up B if the opponent is behind you).
However, his KO Punch OoS is his best option hands down. It comes out on frame 8, but in addition to its kill power, it can also hit people behind Little Mac. The one downside is that the windbox disappears, and it will whiff people standing too close.
4. Punish Game
One of the most important things to remember is that while Little Mac excels at getting hits in, it's what you get out of them that really matters. A simple dash attack at 0% isn't all that much, why not go further? Dash attack has a more horizontal hitbox in front of Little Mac and a more vertical hitbox right next to him, out of the horizontal hitbox, one could go for another dash attack, easy 20%, you could go further, instead of another dash attack, why not try perfect pivoting into an up tilt? It's a true combo and up tilt has a lot of followups. From the vertical hitbox, why not go for an up b? These are just four examples, of the many options Little Mac has for punishing.
Do not go for a smash attack every time, not only would this likely not do as much damage as one of his many punishes, this also stales them. Instead, here are a few other things you can do.
Options out of dash attack:
Low through Low-Mid%s: Dash attack, Up B, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt, Side B
Options out of D tilt:
Low through Mid%s: D Tilt, Up Tilt, Side Tilt, Side B, KO Punch, first hit Up B (generally will only work at low%s except against fastfallers), D Smash
Mid through High%s: Fair, first hit Up B (again, will only work at high percents against fastfallers)
Low-Mid through Mid High%s: Perfect pivot Up Tilt (Mid%s on floaties)
Low through Very High%s: Up B (very high only against fastfallers)
Options out of Up Tilt:
Low through Mid%s: Up Tilt, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt (against non fastfallers, these stop at Low-Mid),
Low through Mid High%s: Up B
Low through Low-Mid%s: KO Punch, Turnaround KO Punch (if the up tilt hits behind Little Mac), Jab
Low%s: D tilt
Little Mac also has an Up B followup from Up Angled F Smash, but it is highly variable based on fall speed and weight. One last thing he has is D throw Up B, which is a great combo, but relies heavily on DI and is weight dependent.
On fastfallers, Little Mac can also D throw KO Punch at kill percents.
These are just his ways to punish, the real hard part is actually applying them. In general, play the neutral until you get one of the moves I've shown, as they are your most likely way of securing more damage, and decide what to do after the hit. You want to optimize your actions, so go through the chart by what works at a lower percent to higher percent to a finisher. Of course, if Smash were that simple, it would become pretty boring after a while, many things such as DI, platforms, your position to the ledge, and what is currently going through the players' minds. For example, at the ledge, you may be just close enough to get a Jab Cancel into KO Punch, but do you have other options that would be better? What if the KO Punch doesn't kill at that percent, but there's a platform above you that you can knock the opponent onto and jab lock them? Would the KO Punch be more useful this stock or the second stock? The sheer amount of options and variables that go on in this game make this a pretty unclear topic, as the most optimal solution can be unclear.
Of course, if they're at kill percent, you can always just go for a smash attack.
Best Punishes on Fastfallers
Little Mac's punish game shines its hardest when against a fastfaller. The chart shown previously works just the same, but there's a lot more variation possible with what works as Mac's combo moves tend to send people vertically. This makes 0-deaths possible on fastfallers with the KO Punch.
Fox: U Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (0-Death)
Without KO Punch: U Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt*, Perfect Pivot Side Tilt (53%, the last D Tilt has an asterisk as it is very DI dependant, use at your own risk, without it, the combo can still be finished with Side Tilt for a 45% damage combo)
Sheik: Perfect Pivot U Tilt (you must cross up Sheik), D Tilt (You must get the backwards hitbox), Turnaround D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (0-death)
Without KO Punch: Replace the KO Punch with a Perfect Pivot Up Tilt to Up B (48-49%)
ZSS: Up Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, Perfect Pivot Up Tilt, KO Punch
(To be honest, this combo is very inconsistent, the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt rarely true combos and the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt to KO Punch is also pretty hard to true combo, I've found that delaying the Perfect Pivot Up Tilt lets it true combo into KO Punch much more consistently at the cost of making the Up Tilt not true.)
Greninja: Same as Sheik
Roy: D Tilt, D Tilt, D Tilt, KO Punch (Delay the last D Tilt very slightly)
Without Replace the KO Punch with a Perfect Pivot Side Tilt
More coming soon...
5. Mac Specific Tech
-Gazelle Punch
If there's a Mac tech you know, it's probably this. The Gazelle Punch is an advanced tech that lets Mac instantly get up from the ledge and do a grounded KO Punch as if he stood up. This is done by inputting a jump from ledge and pressing B in the first possible frame you can act. You can't spam it or you will fly into the air and do a laggy, very punishable air KO Punch. You can't press it earlier or nothing will happen. It is a one frame window.
-Turnaround Gazelle Punch
A Gazelle Punch, but combined with a B turnaround. This is different from a b reverse in that you press a direction before B. It makes Little Mac KO Punch and face the ledge he was on. Not too useful except to a bait or after ledge trump.
-Side B Autocancel
Not exactly Mac specific. After Mac releases Side B, if he lands between 42-44 frames, the Side B will autocancel and will have no landing lag. Some platforms, such as Battlefield, do this automatically for you if you release Side B as soon as possible and land on the main stage.
-Jump Cancel KO Punch
First, jump. Then input a KO Punch. You will slide further than a regular KO Punch. This also removes the windbox.
-Dash Jump KO Punch
Not a hard tech to do. First dash, and as soon as possible, do a Jump Cancel KO Punch. You will slide incredibly far, almost 1/4th of Battlefield's length.
6. Best Matchups/Dealing with Matchups
Little Mac is a hard counter to absolutely no characters, his best MUs aren't more than 60-40 in his favor in my opinion. This topic is highly debatable and should be taken lightly.
Ganondorf: 65-35
Little Mac speeds out Ganondorf too much. Along with having a recovery that even Little Mac can gimp, Ganondorf is also a heavy weight, making combos last longer on him and putting him easily to kill percent, which is still low for Little Mac. Ganondorf is also forced to approach Little Mac, making this MU even harder considering he has to get around a frame one move that beats his Side B and a Side Tilt that beats and counters his Down B. The one thing Ganondorf has over Little Mac is that he can kill Little Mac early, but he can kill nearly everyone early and nearly everyone can kill Little Mac early.
Marth: 55:45
Once again, Little Mac speeds out Marth way too much. Marth is forced to approach Mac and while he can keep Mac out, his Smash attack Super Armor can extend past his word length. Laggy moves also means that Marth is very Punishable. Overall, not all that bad considering he can edgeguard Mac pretty well.
Roy: 60-40
Almost exactly the same as Marth, except Roy is a little faster and can kill quicker. What makes this 60-40 however, is his predictable recovery, even laggier moves, and his weight and fall speed. All Little Mac needs is two or three good combos and Mac can kill him.
Ike: 55-45
Ike, while being able to get Mac offstage easier due to his combos, suffers even more from end lag on moves. His recovery can also be edgeguarded with a D Smash very easily with proper timing. This matchup is not so bad, considering if Mac makes a mistake, Ike kills earlier.
Fox: 60-40
Fox is pure combo food for Little Mac. Mac has high damage output options at nearly every percent on Fox. Fox relies on his speed and power to win matches, which Little Mac outclasses him in. While Fox has the potential to gimp Mac, he has to resort to a read or commit to guarding one option.
Dealing with Bad Matchups
Mario:
Mario has an amazing combo ability on pretty much every character. His overall trickiness to approach due to his mixups and great offstage and edgeguarding game make it hard for Mac to win. Focus on controlling the stage, be extra careful when approaching as Mario can get so much off of a single grab. Remember that Little Mac does not have to actually approach, Mario's fireballs are beaten by his jab 1 and can be moved under. Try to bait the Mario into doing something so Mac can punish him instead.
Luigi:
Like everyone else, Mac is prone to Luigi's combo game and very unorthodox edgeguards. Retain center stage, Luigi has to approach Mac because his fireballs are once again beaten by jab 1. It is usually a better to recover high against a Luigi as he has options to kill you if you recover medium or low.
Peach:
Little Mac's hardest matchup in the game. Remember that Peach has options to both counter Mac's approaches and can escape some combos due to her floatiness. Her D Smash will also beat Mac's Up B while he's recovering, and she has many, many other options to edgeguard Mac. Stay on the stage at all costs, catch and throw any turnips she throws back at her. Punish what she does by first glide tossing a turnip at her and then following up as a glide tossed turnips sets up so many things. Play safe, any opening you leave is potentially deadly.
Yoshi:
Due to his floatiness, airspeed, and Super Armor on double jump, and projectile, Yoshi can prove to be a tough character to fight against. Combos are not something one wants to focus on, get the best stray hit you can, and if the best option leads to a followup, go for it. Remember that Little Mac still beats Yoshi on the ground.
Wario:
Don't be intimidated by the bike, in fact, having the bike out can actually benefit Mac by extending the duration of his hitboxes. Always respect Wario's command grab, it beats out nearly all of Little Mac's moves and Super Armor is useless against it. Recovery as quickly as possible if knocked offstage as Wario's edgeguard game is especially potent on Mac.
Sheik:
Not as bad of a matchup as one may expect at first. Mac must respect all of Sheik's options or he will be put into a potentially deadly combo. Emphasize your ground game and approach, as Sheik barely has a way to keep Mac out. All Little Mac needs is two good combos and Sheik will be at a potential kill percent off of another good combo. Remember to mixup your recovery well, Sheik can throw her needles both directly in front of her and diagonally downward. DI everything except her Up Smash and Up Air upwards and Mac will not be gimped as easily.
Toon Link:
Toon Link can prove to be a very tough matchup for Little Mac. A mobile Toon Link can zone you out safely and makes approaching nearly impossible. Play patiently and calmly, limit their options by positioning yourself correctly onstage. Take advantage of all openings. Due to Toon Links many styles of play, Mac must adapt to things mid match. Remember that jab 1 beats out Boomerang and sometimes arrow, and also remember Mac can catch Toon Link's bombs.
Meta Knight:
Meta Knight can be a great threat to Little Mac. His air speed and multiple jumps can let him escape some of Mac's combos. his great edgeguarding game means he can gimp Mac very easily as well. His multiple jumps also means he can mixup his landings and camp Mac easily as well. Remember that he is still light and can be killed very early. Punish anything and everything Meta Knight does, his F Smash can still be Super Armored through. His fall speed can also make his true combos effective to a higher percent. Recover to the stage as fast as possible, Meta Knight onstage is not as large of a threat.
Pikachu:
Pikachu's projectile and speed make Pikachu win the neutral. He can combo and gimp Mac with great ease and can get around a lot of Mac's attacks with Up B. Mac, however, does has a few tools to prevent some of this. Mac's Jab is his greatest neutral tool in this MU, and will beat out Pikachu's projectile and can sometimes beat his Up B. Pikachu's somewhat fast fall speed make his combo and punish game on Pikachu almost as good as Pikachu's on him. Pikachu's weight also lets Mac kill him earlier than most other characters. Do not be afraid to approach, your frame data is still better on the ground and Up B CAN be reacted to.
Ness:
Ness' main advantages over Mac show themselves when Mac is offstage. Remember, the ball of PK Thunder is not the main threat, the tail is. The ball will only become a threat if the Ness positions it behind Mac, as it will then launch Mac away from the stage. Recover as soon as possible unless going on the stage is a worse option. PK Fire should not be a problem, Up B, Counter, And Neutral B can be used to escape PK Fire, Up B also puts out a hitbox, making Ness unable to grab you. Mac beats him onstage in almost every regard. If one is especially good at stage teching, Mac can gimp Ness if you let his PK Thunder hit you after Ness uses it as a recovery, as PK Thunder's distance shortens if it hits anything.
Will be updated for Cloud and Bayonetta...
7. Best Stages/How to Play on Stages
Duck Hunt:
Little Mac's best legal stage. Little Mac can use his neutral tools and exert stage control very well due to the stage's relative flatness and can use all platforms to his advantage. Opponents cannot platform camp as Mac can Up Smash characters on the bush and can easily traverse the tree. Mac can also platform camp other characters on the tree. If Mac manages to get an Up B while on the top platform, he is able to kill at very early percents, and this is especially potent when utilizing Jab Cancelled Up Bs. Mac can easily get onto the tree by either using Up B to the lowest platform or by using a Jump From Ledge. Ducks can mess up opponents comboing him in the air as well. The wall lets Mac recover from very low heights when he uses his walljump.
Ducks can mess up his Up B however, though this should not detract from Mac's benefits from this stage much.
Play this stage as if it were FD except if the opponent tries to platform camp or has a better neutral. If the former, approach them and make them stop platform camping. If the latter, utilize Mac's speed to get a percent lead and camp.
Final Destination:
There is not all that much to say about this stage. The flatness lets Mac use his neutral tools and exert stage control especially well due to the lack of platforms. The lack of platforms lets Mac also use his combo game to its full extent. Opponents are forced to land onstage if they are in the air or onto the ledges, and as such, will be careful and use landing mixups. Be patient and punish them.
Unfortunately, Mac is also forced to do this, be careful when landing as anyting can be deadly if you do not have a Double Jump. Little Mac's Up B is also not as safe as on a stage with platforms. Zoning characters with projectiles can also keep Mac out very easily.
Use Mac's speed to overwhelm opponents and get in before they can do anything, or be patient and punish what the opponent does, he has nothing to try and get past.. An aggressive playstyle is usually the best unless the opponent has zoning tools, which makes a patient playstyle the best. You want to use Up B sparingly as it can be easily punished.
Battlefield/Miiverse:
Battlefield and Miiverse's platforms are, in every way that matters, the same.
The overall flatness of the stage lets Mac use neutral tools and exert stage control unless the opponent goes on the platforms. Fortunately, Mac has options to combat this. His Up Tilt can shield poke people on mid platforms and his Up Smash can hit them. An air Up B can hit opponents on the top platform as Mac will not land on the platform and will drop down safely. Mac can autocancel his Side B if used on a mid platform onto the main stage if released as soon as possible. Mac can also run off platforms to land and instantly start dashing to make use of his great Foxtrot Cancel, and since he can use Dair and autocancel it while doing this, he can cover his landing as well. He can also approach projectile characters with relative ease. The platforms also provide him with many opportunities to Jab Cancel Up B or Side B, or if the opponent shields, Mac can just drop off of the platform safely.
However, due to the platforms, Mac's combo game can sometimes get cut off. Mac still has some trouble getting around platform camping and landing from a platform to the main stage despite his options. Some of Mac's bad MUs can also use the platforms to extend combos on him. Miiverse's lack of walls make it hard for Mac to walljump.
Play as if the stage is FD until the opponent lands on a platform, at which point, depending on whether or not they land due to hitstun or decide to platform camp, Mac can still exert pressure by either hitting them if they miss a tech or applying pressure from below until they come down. Note that if they platform camp and Mac has a lead, he DOES NOT have to approach. If they opponent lands in hitstun, remember that Mac can still approach them onto the platform. Mac can either use the top and middle platforms to delay his return to the ground or get back as soon as possible to regain stage control.
Town and City:
Not the best Mac stage, but also not the worst. The low ceiling, coupled with Mac's many vertical kill options and his fall speed, make killing much easier while also making Mac slightly harder to kill. There aren't many things that make Mac any better regarding the platforms, however, Mac still has the ability to platform camp on the platforms on the first transformation nearly as well as any other character. Mac, using a double jump instantly, can also get onto the middle platform safely, while his up smash will hit people on it while it's low. Mac does have trouble applying any pressure to opponents on the side platforms. Aerial up b, except when inputted while falling, will still make him go through the side platforms and his aerials aren't safe as the vertical distance between the side platforms and the stage is too large. As for the second transformation, Mac can't do much about people on either platform, especially when they're offstage. Up Smash can hit a shield, but won't hit the actual character if they aren't shielding. Aerials a somewhat safer as Mac lands much sooner, though they still provide little pressure.
You want to keep a lead no matter what, as losing the lead means the opponent can platform camp easily.Mac does have a way to get onto the side platforms easily, through the middle platform. Having the lead, however, lets Mac platform camp on the first transformation. During the second transformation, don't get any more percent tacked onto you and get any damage you can on them, remember, it's temporary. A patient playstyle will go a long way here.
Dreamland:
While similar in layout to Battlefield, small differences make this stage terrible for Little Mac. One of the only benefits Mac has is being able to hit shield with up smash on characters on the side platforms and his up b having landing mixups. Other than that, much of this stage goes against him. Mac cannot land on the side platforms without using up a double jump, and he can't land safely on the top platform or apply any good pressure, he also can't hit characters on the side platforms without an aerial. While these are only 3 things, they still ruin much of what Mac can do.
You want the percent lead here and you want to keep it as long as possible. If you have it, the opponent is forced to attack or approach, which Mac can stuff out while using the platforms to avoid projectiles. If they have the percent lead and are camping, don't be greedy, any percent counts, if they have a stock lead however, you want to find a way to land on the platforms. Observe any and all habits to be able to get them off or to fight them on the platforms. Use the opposite platform that the opponent is on (if they aren't on the top platform), then jump to the top platform to be able to get to them easier, as landing, while risky, does not carry nearly as much risk as jumping onto platforms.
Smashville:
Little Mac's worst stage in my opinion. The moving platform has the same problems as the side platforms on Battlefield. This, coupled by how it moves from one end offstage to the other, gives Mac an extremely limited window to apply any of his lowered pressure output. The overall flatness of the stage can give Mac somewhat of an advantage if the opponent stays on the ground.
As with T&C and Dreamland, the percent lead is crucial here. If they have the percent lead and are platform camping, mixup trying to get onto the platform as much as possible and get the opponent off. DO NOT approach an opponent on the platform WHILE THE PLATFORM IS AT IT'S LEFTMOST OR RIGHTMOST SIDE, you're asking to be gimped.
8. Tips and Tricks
Mac's side b autocancels if you land 42-44 frames after the hit comes out.
Dair, while risky offstage, can pay off really well as it often true combos into a footstool if fastfalled.
Dair autocancels when used right after falling off of a Battlefield side platform, making it able to cover landings.
Mac's d throw, d tilt, and up tilt all can be used under a platform at a certain range of percents (all 3 cover a different range) to create a missed tech Dair jab lock on the platform you're under. The actual percents these work vary greatly depending on the fallspeed of the opponent, though it usually follows the general pattern of d throw at low, up tilt at low mid to mid, d throw at mid to mid high/high, and d tilt at mid high/high.
In the off chance your local legalizes Halberd, Delfino, or Castle Siege, Mac's side b will travel at a trajectory parallel to the floor.
Any and all items created by characters have the ability to true combo into KO Punch.
Mac has 3 different Perfect Pivot lengths, to tell which one you did, there are audio and visual cues. His shortest produces no sound, his second shortest only produces sound, and his longest will produce and dust cloud and a sound.
Gazelle Punch works with Mac's regular neutral b, and has the same timing as well, meaning you don't need a KO Punch to practice it.
If the opponent crouch cancels, it makes d tilt and up tilt followups not true at low to mid percents.
D tilt, if used too close, will cause Mac to end up behind the opponent.
Mac's reverse Dair hitbox causes characters to slide more often than not, use it for jab locks on platforms to extend the jab lock combo onto the main stage.
Alternating Jab 1 and 2 can be good for approaching people spamming projectiles as Jab 1 will usually beat them out while Jab 2 will move your forward. Should never really be used if you're far away.
At a mid to mid-high percent, if the opponent falls from above into Mac's Jab, Mac's Jab 1 will transition into Jab 2, but Jab 2 won't connect, and the opponent will be continuously juggled by Jab 1 until they reach a high enough percent. Doing this will let Mac Jab Cancel from an edge while facing toward it.
Some characters can SDI out of Mac's up b, so far, I've only found Ness and Lucas capable of this.
The first hit of Mac's up b can sweetspot a ledge.
A properly space d tilt is safe on shield on a number of the cast.
Dair jab locks
He can do this to Shulk
Will be updated constantly...
End of Guide
PS: Wow this took me a long time to finish, I don't even main Mac anymore.
PSS: I main Mac again lol
I don't exactly consider moves safe if they're perfectly spaced, plus even Sol told me this. I'll be sure to include that once it's finished.