- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Little Mac: A character hated by many, loved by many, and yet still after over a year still has a completely divided base of players on whether or not Mac is OP or he is completely garbage tier, with his great ground ability but pitiful aerial and grab game making him play an entirely different game than every Smash fighter out there. While others rely on comboing and aerials, Mac relies on his amazing punish game and speed to get in, get hits while he can, then forcing pressure onto opponents into playing his game. And he plays like he does in his games: with avoidance, playing to his strengths in dealing damage quickly and retreating to dodge enemy hits with his speed.
And yet, we still have players who run around in For Glory thinking Side Special is the most gifted tool to exist in the universe and Side Smash spammers until they get gimped hardcore by a Mario, when they ragequit and never come back.
This here is a short guide on everything I know about the McDonalds' biggest public enemy and the way to knock out all your opponent, whether they be a Family Man or not.
Ok maybe I regret typing that last sentence out but whatever.
Jabs, Rapid and Gentlemanly
One of the coolest things about Mac is his Jab - very much so a ridiculous move, it comes out Frame 1 as the fastest Jab in the game tied with ZSS, but much better in his moveset than hers. It is extremely fast, especially the Gentleman, and works well as a get the **** off me tool due to it shutting down many projectiles due to its high priority clashing with pretty much everything, and has a very fast FAF frame at 22 for the first hit, allowing you to shield should an opponent attempt anything ultimately dangerous.
The best thing about it, though, is the fact that for some reason it works REALLY well against every opponent. Gentleman gets off quick damage early on against all opponents, a free 11 percent if all three connect, and fast fallers cannot DI downwards to shield it. Rapid Jab works well around 40% in order to nail some extra damage in with the finishing hit, and Gentleman resumes being great later on around 90-100% when your opponent becomes able to DI out of your Rapid Jab.
There really isn't much reason NOT to use his Jab, but you must be careful when hitting shielding opponents. Your Gentleman can be punished on shield easily and Rapid Jab is even more so. Time the Final hit of Rapid Jab for when their shield drops, and change your speed every time. Your opponent will try reading you, and getting that final hit means that you will not get punished to hell and back.
Oh yeah, and the first hit of his Jab can kill. At like 700% for Mario. Why this is a thing, heck if I know.
Forward Tilt
And now the move I consistently always manage to forget about these days when playing as Little Mac, Forward Tilt. Forward Tilt, coming out frames 4 and 12 and lasting 2 frames, is one of Mac's deadliest tools, even if I forget it exists 99% of the time. It has great range, good KO power, deals 12% if both hits connect, and is amazing when pivoted. What's that, newbie Smash player? What's a Pivot? Well, there's this cool thing called Youtube that exists for this reason. But either way, Mac's Forward Tilt in general is a very powerful move that can't be overlooked.
My favorite way of using this is as a surprise kill tool and to rack damage up early on in Down Tilt combos: Down Tilt twice, then Forward Tilt for an easy 28% early in a match if you shield their first hit. Forward Tilt has enough knockback to kill around 120-140% near the ledge against the entire cast no matter the circumstances.
Another thing that's fun doing is pissing the opponent off by spamming it and shielding constantly. Because its range is dumb, a LOT of characters without disjoints have issues dealing with it. Especially Ganondorf, I've learned when ******* around.
The issue with it is that while its great and all, it has enough lag that if an opponent shields it, you are most definitely getting Back Throw off the ledge. It also can get stale REALLY quick if you aren't careful with its usage, and considering it being one of his most reliable and faster finishers you don't want that happening.
Downward Tilt
Hands down Mac's best move. This move allows Mac to keep his neutral game going strong, opens up massive combo potential for a character who desperately needed a comboing move, and is fast enough and powerful enough to keep opponents on their toes. Coming out on Frame 3 as one of the fastest Down Tilts out there, it deals 8% and has significantly low knockback, linking into itself up to four times at 0% against fastfallers and twice against some of the lighter, balloony characters.
It also has so many combo options that I've been forced to scroll down while I've been typing this in order to make sure all of them fit. Two down tilts into a forward tilt, two Down tilts into a Side Special for maximum damage, three down tilts into a Side Special against Sheik, Fox, and Dedede at very low percents, Down Tilt into Up B, Down Tilt into Forward Smash, the possibilities are endless.
There is next to no risk for going for a Down Tilt, with the exception of a VERY few characters who can punish you OOS for attempting this move. Due to its insane speed and FAF frame of 22, it is very difficult for anything to punish. A few things I've noted are some characters such as Mega Man and Olimar being able to act fast enough out of it and Sheik being able to simply walk away then Needle camp for some reason. Be careful when using it and screwing up your combos, and do some labbing (going to training or getting a friend to do some testing with you) to make sure that the percentage you are at when doing a combo against ANY character, even ones like Duck Hunt or Pac-Man, will connect. You do NOT want to get punished for missing a move such as FSmash or Up B.
Upward Tilt
Up Tilt is another great move within Little Mac's arsenal, very much so similar to his Down Tilt in terms of usage. Coming out Frame 5 and ending Frame 10, it is an arcing... uh... 'sweep' over Mac's body with low knockback and dealing 9%, linking into itself at low percents as well as other moves such as Side B, Up B, and Forward Smash with an upwards tilt. While a great move overall, it is a tiny bit slower than Down Tilt and has rather bad range from the front, forcing you into facing backwards in order to get the maximum range on this move.
Similarly to Down Tilt, this move is a great pressure tool in the neutral and is better for protecting Mac. It also is one of his main combo tools alongside said Down Tilt, due to its fast nature, quick FAF frame of 30, and rather good damage for a linking move. UTilt twice into Up B if your opponent has bad DI can do around 24%, or UTilt into Side B doing 23%.
Problems with this move? It ain't safe. Ever. Down Tilt is safe on shield due to its faster FAF frame and naturally being looking at the opponent. Uptilt is not. It has pitiful range from the front, making blocking frontal approaches impossible. The fist also isn't a disjoint, so characters WITH disjoints such as Marth, Lucina, King Dedede, and Cloud will gladly punish you if they realize you are using this too much.
Dash Attack
Now, now, I know some of you will begin to start rant-typing down a review with 1 star for me saying this, but Mac's Dash Attack actually is one of his more useful moves. Yes, as Alpharad contunually demonstrates through his How to Play 101 videos, Dash Attack on Shield is not safe. But, then again, if you watch Alpharad and think his opinion beats out someone who has put 80% of their playtime into Little Mac, then you shouldn't be reading this anyways.
Coming out on Frame 7 and dealing 10%, Dash Attack is relatively fast for the move that it is and deals quite good damage, while it has rather low knockback at early percents letting you follow up if an opponent misses a tech when they hit the ground. As such, it is also a great tech chase move.
DO NOT USE THIS ON SHIELD. It is a great whiffed move punish if you are not interested in staling Up Smash or you believe they might be able to dodge it for some reason. Dash Attack also can catch back rolls like nobody's buisness due to its great speed, while it does lack very much so in the KO potential department, which was a big letdown for me at the start. That, and Alpharad also does make it clear that Dash Attack on shield is like a curse or something.
Forward Smash
I won't make too many paragraphs for this one, so I'll put the basic info here this time. Mac's FSmash is known for being his most spammable move out there, and rightfully so: with three variations all having their different uses, being mostly safe on shield due to the increase in shield stun, and all of them having Super Armor frames on 9-15 (9-14 for Downwards tilt for some reason), they all are great. But don't just spam these - they are his main killing options and are awful when staled, and can be shielded for a grab if not using the Downward tilt version.
Standard forwards tilt after inputting the Forward Smash does a quick forwards punch with very high knockback, dealing 19% uncharged and an amazing 26% fully charged for a move of its type and a dumb amount of knockback. Great when used with care and as a combo finisher, especially early percentage Down Tilt combos for massive damage. also, **** windboxes. seriously.
Upwards tilt does a step forwards and an uppercut, launching at a nearly 90 degre angle and dealing the same damage as the Forwards tilt, even coming out at the same frame. This move SEEMS to be better on block and has way more range due to it taking a step forwards, but has less kill power at the ledge than the standard tilt. Also, has issues hitting opponents right next to you.faking windboxes.
Downwards tilt is the damaging finisher, coming out frame 15, having 1 less frame of armor, and doing 22% uncharged and 30% at maximum charge, but SIGNIFICANTLY less knockback. It is a great tech chase tool due to its low launch angle and low knockback and great damage. It also is Mac's safest tool on shield and a great shield breaker. still fak windboxes.
Downward Smash
Down Smash is a cool option for Mac, being one of his only edgeguarding tools and being a great roll punisher in general. Coming out Frame 10 and 17 on the back hit with moderate killing power, it is, in my opinion, the greatest roll catcher of all time, and is decent for just throwing out due to its very fast speed of actionability, with the FAF frame being 43. Yes, I did just make up a word to describe something nobody will probably get. It works well catching the ledge since it can reach down below it and can easily gimp characters with moderate to bad recoveries, and just nail recovering players as always.
Issues with this move since I'm becoming sleepy while typing this up... hm... Probably just its low knockback not making it that great of a move and being able to get punished easily for just throwing it out. The window for edgeguarding also is very slim, so you better get good at timing that move or you WILL regret it.
Upward Smash
Little Mac's Up Smash is his greatest punish tool, period. With a very powerful hitbox on its first frame (frame 8), being a very good Anti-air, and catching missed techs like nobody's buisness, along with boasting the second or third best KO potential in his entire moveset, KO Punch included, this move is no joke. While it has a poor FAF frame of 48 compared to most of his other moves, it is rather spammable due to it coming out fast, dealing great damage, and being VERY hard to avoid if caught in a bad spot.
As stated earlier, Up Smash's best usage is in anti-air scenarios and to punish badly spaced or badly used moves such as Missiles with Samus in the air that aren't Homing or Tink/Link pulling bombs out close range. Its first frame deals bonus damage and knockback and boasts one of the most satisfying sounds that Mac makes when he nails an opponent right in the kisser that could ever exist (HARRRUMPH *boom*), and even the late hit still having usable knockback and covering the upper area of Mac's body, making approaching a bad idea.
Also as stated earlier, this move is a bit laggy, and can be punished severely if missed, obviously. The late hit has rather low knockback and damage compared to its first frame, making it vital to always hit with the first frame. It isn't safe on shield as most characters can just pop out and grab you into a Back throw. It also still isn't a disjoint, so everyone stated back in the Up Tilt section can easily beat this out at range.
Grabs and Throws. and the pummel obviously
Not gonna lie, while many say his Aerial game is the worst aspect about Little Mac, in my opinion its his grabs and throws. Standard grab comes out at frame 9, Dash grabs at 10, and Pivot grabs at frame 11, being one of the slowest grabs out there and having VERY slow FAF frames making them very punishable if whiffed, along with their pitiful range. This makes them REALLY awful moves to just throw out there, and require hard reads in order to work properly.
His throws aren't even good, either, with Back Throw being his only truly notable one for being his 'kill throw' at 180% near the ledge. Down Throw looks like it would have follow-up potential if its base knockback wasn't as high and sent opponents at a more vertical angle, and Forward Throw/Up Throw are really lackluster ones in general.
His Pummel, though, is the main reason why you EVER grab with Mac. It is fast and can rack up damage very quickly against opponents who can't mash buttons fast, and in said scenario can get 10-15% on opponents before they escape, where you have 2 options: 1, read their back roll and punish, or 2, read their attack and punish. Or they jump away like a pansy and live for another few seconds before you get a first frame Up Smash and instant kill them lololololololololoo
But no, seriously, don't throw out grabs. If you notice your opponent, especially For Glory noobs who watch Alpharad and worship him as their god, run up and grab them then pummel, and Down Smash for the easy edgeguard kill. If your opponent spotdodges alot, run up to them, wait for the spotdodge, then grab. If you are lucky, they won't have time to grab you before you grab them.
Aerials in General
I assure you, I'm NOT shortening this up as I go along since I'm getting tired and it is New Years' Eve, but his Aerials are absolutely nothing noteworthy. Forward Air and Back Air are sort of fast and can gimp if you time it extremely well, but due to his recovery game going for gimps is probably a really bad idea. His Neutral Air is very fast but does nothing for knockback and damage and just lets your opponent make you be a bit lower to continue combos. Up Air sort of works for linking into some attacks when fast falled, but has poor range. Down Air just sucks in general, but is a spike against characters with very low recovery in terms of vertical distance.
Neutral Special: Straight Lunge, Flaming Straight Lunge, Stunning Straight Lunge
One of Mac's lesser used tools is his Straight Lunge: a charging move with significant knockback when fully charged and Hyper Armor eating up ANY attach with damage less than 8%, such as Sheik's FAir, many weak charged projectiles, jabs, and some tilts. While a good move when fully charged, its endlag and large punish window, even larger if whiffed when fully charged, make it a very poor move to just throw it. You also can just shield lower charged hits, but fully charged instantly breaks shields. The more charge you get, the farther you go. Best when released nearly at maximum charge, but not at maximum.
While I have not used Flaming Straight Lunge, from what I can tell its multi-hit nature makes it a bit safer on shield, deals flame damage, and goes to full charge faster, but has less knockback than the standard.
Stunning Straight Lunge, on the other hand, is my favorite custom for Mac hands-down. It is significantly faster, charges to maximum faster, causes electrical damage, and launches at this really weird angle that nobody expects to DI since it launches behind him. It deals a bit less damage than the standard, but that is made up for by the extra hitstun and extra safeness on shield due to the electrical stun and it travelling MUCH faster.
Personally I like Stunning Straight Lunge much more than the other options, but you should really get a feel for the customs yourself before deciding that my opinion or some other guy's are better/worse than what you feel.
Side Special: Jolt Haymaker, Grounding Blow, Guard Breaker
Most infamously known as Side B Suicide, this move is the reason that most Little Macs on For Glory are put down so much. It is a very quick attack, coming out as early as Frame 9, and deals 14% and great knockback, being a potent kill move at later percents. It is a great punish tool due to its speed and unpredictability, but puts you into special free fall after usage, making it absurdly dangerous for use near the ledge for said reasoning. Its a great recovery tool though for horizontal recovery, being Mac's only way of returning when just a bit away since Up Special sucks horizontally, but be careful of edgeguarders. You can combo into it from Down Tilt and Up Tilt, but only at specific percents before they can DI out of it.
Grounding Blow replaces the knockback with a meteoring effect, very quick downwards... direction when using the attack, and can bury opponents who are on the ground. Worse for recovery, significantly, but can help when right next to the ledge since it rises upwards and can meteor edgeguarding opponents. It also allows for free followups due to the burying nature of the move.
Guard Breaker adds more damage and the ability to completely ignore shields, but gives a lot slower movement, less movement, and cannot activate it early. Great move if you think you can actually recover, or you are playing on Duck Hunt.
Down Special: Slip Counter, Compact Counter, Dash Counter
Ah, Counters, the moves absolutely everyone loves spaming in FG and the moves that I forget ever exist. Mac's isn't truly notable for any reason, outside of it helping his recovery. Which actually is a pretty damn good reason to use it. If your opponent plans on using any gimp tool that does damage, IMMEDIATELY use Slip Counter to gain a boost forwards to assist in your recovery and possibly damage your opponent. Otherwise, just don't whiff it unless you love getting punished.
Compact Counter is another custom that I myself don't personally use, but it causes significantly less knockback, allowing follow-ups against opponents. However, it also deals less damage, so if you get a KO Punch and can follow up into it, this is the custom for you.
Dash Counter reduces the available counter window frames, but gives Mac extremely good distance covered when he strikes, making it good at countering ranged hit such as Megaman's Pellets (why would you counter those), Link/Tink's Bombs and Boomerangs, among other things. Great for recover as well since it sends you farther.
Up Special: Rising Uppercut, Tornado Uppercut, Rising Smash
Rising Uppercut is a great move in Mac's arsenal, OOS, Recovery move, and a kill move. It covers a low amount of vertical and a very pitiful amount of horizontal distance when used, but is a multi-hit move with a powerful hit at the end, killing from center stage around 120-150% against most of the viable cast. It is very punishable, though, but combos out of Down Tilt, Up Tilt, and occasionally Down Throw. It also happens to have no ledge snap frames pretty much, so edgeguarding is your worst nightmare, especially against semi-spikers. It does work well as an anti-air, though, since it pops Mac up extremely quickly and its multi-hit nature and quick killing give it great utility.
Tornado Uppercut replaces everything, making it have more vertical reach, have only one ultra weak hit killing past 500% on the entire cast, and in general being much better only for recovery. Great move, it just has issues considering it has to live up to the killing potential of its brothers.
And then Rising Smash. Rising Smash reduces its recovery even lower than before and only has two hits, the first being a stunning hit upwards linking into the second, which is one of Mac's most powerful killing tools, killing below 100% against even the heaviest characters in the roster, around 80% against a Level 9 Bowser in Training. This move is perfect in all sense of the word, but is very high risk for an extremely high reward- the first hit can be shielded to screw over the whole combo. However, the second hit pops above the ledge when recovering and still kills dumbly early, which is perfect for getting back ontostage - if you can with its low recovery distance.
KO.... PAAAAAAAAWNCH.
I don't really need to explain much here since EVERYONE that plays Mac knows about this move: It is literally the best move in his entire moveset, killing the entire cast below 50%, hell, below 40% minus Shield, Decisive Shield, and Hyper Shield Shulk. It is very fast at Frame 9, and has amazing killing potential, but very much so reduced when used in the air.
Of course, you need to LAND a KO Punch, and there are several ways to do it. Down Throw into Aerial KO Punch, Down Tilt into KO Punch, B-Reverse OOS (Press B, quickly drop shield, immediately press other direction than you are facing), Up Tilt into KO Punch, Down Tilt into FAir into Down Air Jab Lock into KO Punch, Falling Up Air into KO Punch, Down Throw into KO Punch, FSmash Downwards Tilt into Down Air Jab Lock into KO Punch... I could go on, but I won't.
Just don't whiff it and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, and it has a fdsuyfgisaygifsy-ing annoying Windbox that goes about half the time you use this. Its annoying as hell.
Hope this helped out any aspiring Little Macs or gave some tips to veteran players, and I'd love critiques and other things since this is the first guide I have every made. Like, ever.
And yet, we still have players who run around in For Glory thinking Side Special is the most gifted tool to exist in the universe and Side Smash spammers until they get gimped hardcore by a Mario, when they ragequit and never come back.
This here is a short guide on everything I know about the McDonalds' biggest public enemy and the way to knock out all your opponent, whether they be a Family Man or not.
Ok maybe I regret typing that last sentence out but whatever.
Jabs, Rapid and Gentlemanly
One of the coolest things about Mac is his Jab - very much so a ridiculous move, it comes out Frame 1 as the fastest Jab in the game tied with ZSS, but much better in his moveset than hers. It is extremely fast, especially the Gentleman, and works well as a get the **** off me tool due to it shutting down many projectiles due to its high priority clashing with pretty much everything, and has a very fast FAF frame at 22 for the first hit, allowing you to shield should an opponent attempt anything ultimately dangerous.
The best thing about it, though, is the fact that for some reason it works REALLY well against every opponent. Gentleman gets off quick damage early on against all opponents, a free 11 percent if all three connect, and fast fallers cannot DI downwards to shield it. Rapid Jab works well around 40% in order to nail some extra damage in with the finishing hit, and Gentleman resumes being great later on around 90-100% when your opponent becomes able to DI out of your Rapid Jab.
There really isn't much reason NOT to use his Jab, but you must be careful when hitting shielding opponents. Your Gentleman can be punished on shield easily and Rapid Jab is even more so. Time the Final hit of Rapid Jab for when their shield drops, and change your speed every time. Your opponent will try reading you, and getting that final hit means that you will not get punished to hell and back.
Oh yeah, and the first hit of his Jab can kill. At like 700% for Mario. Why this is a thing, heck if I know.
Forward Tilt
And now the move I consistently always manage to forget about these days when playing as Little Mac, Forward Tilt. Forward Tilt, coming out frames 4 and 12 and lasting 2 frames, is one of Mac's deadliest tools, even if I forget it exists 99% of the time. It has great range, good KO power, deals 12% if both hits connect, and is amazing when pivoted. What's that, newbie Smash player? What's a Pivot? Well, there's this cool thing called Youtube that exists for this reason. But either way, Mac's Forward Tilt in general is a very powerful move that can't be overlooked.
My favorite way of using this is as a surprise kill tool and to rack damage up early on in Down Tilt combos: Down Tilt twice, then Forward Tilt for an easy 28% early in a match if you shield their first hit. Forward Tilt has enough knockback to kill around 120-140% near the ledge against the entire cast no matter the circumstances.
Another thing that's fun doing is pissing the opponent off by spamming it and shielding constantly. Because its range is dumb, a LOT of characters without disjoints have issues dealing with it. Especially Ganondorf, I've learned when ******* around.
The issue with it is that while its great and all, it has enough lag that if an opponent shields it, you are most definitely getting Back Throw off the ledge. It also can get stale REALLY quick if you aren't careful with its usage, and considering it being one of his most reliable and faster finishers you don't want that happening.
Downward Tilt
Hands down Mac's best move. This move allows Mac to keep his neutral game going strong, opens up massive combo potential for a character who desperately needed a comboing move, and is fast enough and powerful enough to keep opponents on their toes. Coming out on Frame 3 as one of the fastest Down Tilts out there, it deals 8% and has significantly low knockback, linking into itself up to four times at 0% against fastfallers and twice against some of the lighter, balloony characters.
It also has so many combo options that I've been forced to scroll down while I've been typing this in order to make sure all of them fit. Two down tilts into a forward tilt, two Down tilts into a Side Special for maximum damage, three down tilts into a Side Special against Sheik, Fox, and Dedede at very low percents, Down Tilt into Up B, Down Tilt into Forward Smash, the possibilities are endless.
There is next to no risk for going for a Down Tilt, with the exception of a VERY few characters who can punish you OOS for attempting this move. Due to its insane speed and FAF frame of 22, it is very difficult for anything to punish. A few things I've noted are some characters such as Mega Man and Olimar being able to act fast enough out of it and Sheik being able to simply walk away then Needle camp for some reason. Be careful when using it and screwing up your combos, and do some labbing (going to training or getting a friend to do some testing with you) to make sure that the percentage you are at when doing a combo against ANY character, even ones like Duck Hunt or Pac-Man, will connect. You do NOT want to get punished for missing a move such as FSmash or Up B.
Upward Tilt
Up Tilt is another great move within Little Mac's arsenal, very much so similar to his Down Tilt in terms of usage. Coming out Frame 5 and ending Frame 10, it is an arcing... uh... 'sweep' over Mac's body with low knockback and dealing 9%, linking into itself at low percents as well as other moves such as Side B, Up B, and Forward Smash with an upwards tilt. While a great move overall, it is a tiny bit slower than Down Tilt and has rather bad range from the front, forcing you into facing backwards in order to get the maximum range on this move.
Similarly to Down Tilt, this move is a great pressure tool in the neutral and is better for protecting Mac. It also is one of his main combo tools alongside said Down Tilt, due to its fast nature, quick FAF frame of 30, and rather good damage for a linking move. UTilt twice into Up B if your opponent has bad DI can do around 24%, or UTilt into Side B doing 23%.
Problems with this move? It ain't safe. Ever. Down Tilt is safe on shield due to its faster FAF frame and naturally being looking at the opponent. Uptilt is not. It has pitiful range from the front, making blocking frontal approaches impossible. The fist also isn't a disjoint, so characters WITH disjoints such as Marth, Lucina, King Dedede, and Cloud will gladly punish you if they realize you are using this too much.
Dash Attack
Now, now, I know some of you will begin to start rant-typing down a review with 1 star for me saying this, but Mac's Dash Attack actually is one of his more useful moves. Yes, as Alpharad contunually demonstrates through his How to Play 101 videos, Dash Attack on Shield is not safe. But, then again, if you watch Alpharad and think his opinion beats out someone who has put 80% of their playtime into Little Mac, then you shouldn't be reading this anyways.
Coming out on Frame 7 and dealing 10%, Dash Attack is relatively fast for the move that it is and deals quite good damage, while it has rather low knockback at early percents letting you follow up if an opponent misses a tech when they hit the ground. As such, it is also a great tech chase move.
DO NOT USE THIS ON SHIELD. It is a great whiffed move punish if you are not interested in staling Up Smash or you believe they might be able to dodge it for some reason. Dash Attack also can catch back rolls like nobody's buisness due to its great speed, while it does lack very much so in the KO potential department, which was a big letdown for me at the start. That, and Alpharad also does make it clear that Dash Attack on shield is like a curse or something.
Forward Smash
I won't make too many paragraphs for this one, so I'll put the basic info here this time. Mac's FSmash is known for being his most spammable move out there, and rightfully so: with three variations all having their different uses, being mostly safe on shield due to the increase in shield stun, and all of them having Super Armor frames on 9-15 (9-14 for Downwards tilt for some reason), they all are great. But don't just spam these - they are his main killing options and are awful when staled, and can be shielded for a grab if not using the Downward tilt version.
Standard forwards tilt after inputting the Forward Smash does a quick forwards punch with very high knockback, dealing 19% uncharged and an amazing 26% fully charged for a move of its type and a dumb amount of knockback. Great when used with care and as a combo finisher, especially early percentage Down Tilt combos for massive damage. also, **** windboxes. seriously.
Upwards tilt does a step forwards and an uppercut, launching at a nearly 90 degre angle and dealing the same damage as the Forwards tilt, even coming out at the same frame. This move SEEMS to be better on block and has way more range due to it taking a step forwards, but has less kill power at the ledge than the standard tilt. Also, has issues hitting opponents right next to you.faking windboxes.
Downwards tilt is the damaging finisher, coming out frame 15, having 1 less frame of armor, and doing 22% uncharged and 30% at maximum charge, but SIGNIFICANTLY less knockback. It is a great tech chase tool due to its low launch angle and low knockback and great damage. It also is Mac's safest tool on shield and a great shield breaker. still fak windboxes.
Downward Smash
Down Smash is a cool option for Mac, being one of his only edgeguarding tools and being a great roll punisher in general. Coming out Frame 10 and 17 on the back hit with moderate killing power, it is, in my opinion, the greatest roll catcher of all time, and is decent for just throwing out due to its very fast speed of actionability, with the FAF frame being 43. Yes, I did just make up a word to describe something nobody will probably get. It works well catching the ledge since it can reach down below it and can easily gimp characters with moderate to bad recoveries, and just nail recovering players as always.
Issues with this move since I'm becoming sleepy while typing this up... hm... Probably just its low knockback not making it that great of a move and being able to get punished easily for just throwing it out. The window for edgeguarding also is very slim, so you better get good at timing that move or you WILL regret it.
Upward Smash
Little Mac's Up Smash is his greatest punish tool, period. With a very powerful hitbox on its first frame (frame 8), being a very good Anti-air, and catching missed techs like nobody's buisness, along with boasting the second or third best KO potential in his entire moveset, KO Punch included, this move is no joke. While it has a poor FAF frame of 48 compared to most of his other moves, it is rather spammable due to it coming out fast, dealing great damage, and being VERY hard to avoid if caught in a bad spot.
As stated earlier, Up Smash's best usage is in anti-air scenarios and to punish badly spaced or badly used moves such as Missiles with Samus in the air that aren't Homing or Tink/Link pulling bombs out close range. Its first frame deals bonus damage and knockback and boasts one of the most satisfying sounds that Mac makes when he nails an opponent right in the kisser that could ever exist (HARRRUMPH *boom*), and even the late hit still having usable knockback and covering the upper area of Mac's body, making approaching a bad idea.
Also as stated earlier, this move is a bit laggy, and can be punished severely if missed, obviously. The late hit has rather low knockback and damage compared to its first frame, making it vital to always hit with the first frame. It isn't safe on shield as most characters can just pop out and grab you into a Back throw. It also still isn't a disjoint, so everyone stated back in the Up Tilt section can easily beat this out at range.
Grabs and Throws. and the pummel obviously
Not gonna lie, while many say his Aerial game is the worst aspect about Little Mac, in my opinion its his grabs and throws. Standard grab comes out at frame 9, Dash grabs at 10, and Pivot grabs at frame 11, being one of the slowest grabs out there and having VERY slow FAF frames making them very punishable if whiffed, along with their pitiful range. This makes them REALLY awful moves to just throw out there, and require hard reads in order to work properly.
His throws aren't even good, either, with Back Throw being his only truly notable one for being his 'kill throw' at 180% near the ledge. Down Throw looks like it would have follow-up potential if its base knockback wasn't as high and sent opponents at a more vertical angle, and Forward Throw/Up Throw are really lackluster ones in general.
His Pummel, though, is the main reason why you EVER grab with Mac. It is fast and can rack up damage very quickly against opponents who can't mash buttons fast, and in said scenario can get 10-15% on opponents before they escape, where you have 2 options: 1, read their back roll and punish, or 2, read their attack and punish. Or they jump away like a pansy and live for another few seconds before you get a first frame Up Smash and instant kill them lololololololololoo
But no, seriously, don't throw out grabs. If you notice your opponent, especially For Glory noobs who watch Alpharad and worship him as their god, run up and grab them then pummel, and Down Smash for the easy edgeguard kill. If your opponent spotdodges alot, run up to them, wait for the spotdodge, then grab. If you are lucky, they won't have time to grab you before you grab them.
Aerials in General
I assure you, I'm NOT shortening this up as I go along since I'm getting tired and it is New Years' Eve, but his Aerials are absolutely nothing noteworthy. Forward Air and Back Air are sort of fast and can gimp if you time it extremely well, but due to his recovery game going for gimps is probably a really bad idea. His Neutral Air is very fast but does nothing for knockback and damage and just lets your opponent make you be a bit lower to continue combos. Up Air sort of works for linking into some attacks when fast falled, but has poor range. Down Air just sucks in general, but is a spike against characters with very low recovery in terms of vertical distance.
Neutral Special: Straight Lunge, Flaming Straight Lunge, Stunning Straight Lunge
One of Mac's lesser used tools is his Straight Lunge: a charging move with significant knockback when fully charged and Hyper Armor eating up ANY attach with damage less than 8%, such as Sheik's FAir, many weak charged projectiles, jabs, and some tilts. While a good move when fully charged, its endlag and large punish window, even larger if whiffed when fully charged, make it a very poor move to just throw it. You also can just shield lower charged hits, but fully charged instantly breaks shields. The more charge you get, the farther you go. Best when released nearly at maximum charge, but not at maximum.
While I have not used Flaming Straight Lunge, from what I can tell its multi-hit nature makes it a bit safer on shield, deals flame damage, and goes to full charge faster, but has less knockback than the standard.
Stunning Straight Lunge, on the other hand, is my favorite custom for Mac hands-down. It is significantly faster, charges to maximum faster, causes electrical damage, and launches at this really weird angle that nobody expects to DI since it launches behind him. It deals a bit less damage than the standard, but that is made up for by the extra hitstun and extra safeness on shield due to the electrical stun and it travelling MUCH faster.
Personally I like Stunning Straight Lunge much more than the other options, but you should really get a feel for the customs yourself before deciding that my opinion or some other guy's are better/worse than what you feel.
Side Special: Jolt Haymaker, Grounding Blow, Guard Breaker
Most infamously known as Side B Suicide, this move is the reason that most Little Macs on For Glory are put down so much. It is a very quick attack, coming out as early as Frame 9, and deals 14% and great knockback, being a potent kill move at later percents. It is a great punish tool due to its speed and unpredictability, but puts you into special free fall after usage, making it absurdly dangerous for use near the ledge for said reasoning. Its a great recovery tool though for horizontal recovery, being Mac's only way of returning when just a bit away since Up Special sucks horizontally, but be careful of edgeguarders. You can combo into it from Down Tilt and Up Tilt, but only at specific percents before they can DI out of it.
Grounding Blow replaces the knockback with a meteoring effect, very quick downwards... direction when using the attack, and can bury opponents who are on the ground. Worse for recovery, significantly, but can help when right next to the ledge since it rises upwards and can meteor edgeguarding opponents. It also allows for free followups due to the burying nature of the move.
Guard Breaker adds more damage and the ability to completely ignore shields, but gives a lot slower movement, less movement, and cannot activate it early. Great move if you think you can actually recover, or you are playing on Duck Hunt.
Down Special: Slip Counter, Compact Counter, Dash Counter
Ah, Counters, the moves absolutely everyone loves spaming in FG and the moves that I forget ever exist. Mac's isn't truly notable for any reason, outside of it helping his recovery. Which actually is a pretty damn good reason to use it. If your opponent plans on using any gimp tool that does damage, IMMEDIATELY use Slip Counter to gain a boost forwards to assist in your recovery and possibly damage your opponent. Otherwise, just don't whiff it unless you love getting punished.
Compact Counter is another custom that I myself don't personally use, but it causes significantly less knockback, allowing follow-ups against opponents. However, it also deals less damage, so if you get a KO Punch and can follow up into it, this is the custom for you.
Dash Counter reduces the available counter window frames, but gives Mac extremely good distance covered when he strikes, making it good at countering ranged hit such as Megaman's Pellets (why would you counter those), Link/Tink's Bombs and Boomerangs, among other things. Great for recover as well since it sends you farther.
Up Special: Rising Uppercut, Tornado Uppercut, Rising Smash
Rising Uppercut is a great move in Mac's arsenal, OOS, Recovery move, and a kill move. It covers a low amount of vertical and a very pitiful amount of horizontal distance when used, but is a multi-hit move with a powerful hit at the end, killing from center stage around 120-150% against most of the viable cast. It is very punishable, though, but combos out of Down Tilt, Up Tilt, and occasionally Down Throw. It also happens to have no ledge snap frames pretty much, so edgeguarding is your worst nightmare, especially against semi-spikers. It does work well as an anti-air, though, since it pops Mac up extremely quickly and its multi-hit nature and quick killing give it great utility.
Tornado Uppercut replaces everything, making it have more vertical reach, have only one ultra weak hit killing past 500% on the entire cast, and in general being much better only for recovery. Great move, it just has issues considering it has to live up to the killing potential of its brothers.
And then Rising Smash. Rising Smash reduces its recovery even lower than before and only has two hits, the first being a stunning hit upwards linking into the second, which is one of Mac's most powerful killing tools, killing below 100% against even the heaviest characters in the roster, around 80% against a Level 9 Bowser in Training. This move is perfect in all sense of the word, but is very high risk for an extremely high reward- the first hit can be shielded to screw over the whole combo. However, the second hit pops above the ledge when recovering and still kills dumbly early, which is perfect for getting back ontostage - if you can with its low recovery distance.
KO.... PAAAAAAAAWNCH.
I don't really need to explain much here since EVERYONE that plays Mac knows about this move: It is literally the best move in his entire moveset, killing the entire cast below 50%, hell, below 40% minus Shield, Decisive Shield, and Hyper Shield Shulk. It is very fast at Frame 9, and has amazing killing potential, but very much so reduced when used in the air.
Of course, you need to LAND a KO Punch, and there are several ways to do it. Down Throw into Aerial KO Punch, Down Tilt into KO Punch, B-Reverse OOS (Press B, quickly drop shield, immediately press other direction than you are facing), Up Tilt into KO Punch, Down Tilt into FAir into Down Air Jab Lock into KO Punch, Falling Up Air into KO Punch, Down Throw into KO Punch, FSmash Downwards Tilt into Down Air Jab Lock into KO Punch... I could go on, but I won't.
Just don't whiff it and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, and it has a fdsuyfgisaygifsy-ing annoying Windbox that goes about half the time you use this. Its annoying as hell.
Hope this helped out any aspiring Little Macs or gave some tips to veteran players, and I'd love critiques and other things since this is the first guide I have every made. Like, ever.
But yeah, thanks for the review and five stars. I was doing this at 11 PM on New Year's if memory serves and I kinda started going to sleep at the ending portion, but I think it turned out well enough!