- Game Versions
- Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
Come!
The general consensus of the Smash 4 community is that Meta Knight is near unplayable after his transition from Brawl to Smash 4... AND I HAVE NO CLUE WHY. Seriously, did people just not bother spending time in the lab with this guy? The beautiful people over at the Meta Knight boards (all 7 of us) have come together to show you what you've been missing out on. My name is Bonk! and while Smash 4 is my first real experience with competitive Smash Bros., I have been a long time dedicated player as well as a competitive Team Fortress 2 player under the alias "Diggersby". My favorite Nintendo franchise without a doubt is Kirby. I love the happy atmosphere along with the superb music that the series has given me.
If you'd like a place to watch content about Meta Knight then I suggest checking out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY2_qYDr4jp63SJvQAEKhgg
If you like what you see then I'd really appreciate it if you subscribed!
That's enough about me. In this guide I will be explaining the applications of Meta Knight's moveset, combos, tactics and advanced techniques. Over time I will be adding video examples of combos and techniques.
Without further ado... let's get started with this Meta Knight guide!
You've much yet to learn.
Pros:
- Kill setups at absurdly early percents
- Excellent recovery
- Dominance offstage
- Fast on the ground and in the air
- A LOT of grab combos
- Awesome dash attack
- Disjointed hitboxes
- Great at juggling
- Disadvantage in the neutral against most of the cast
- Most of aerials do not auto-cancel out of a short hop
- Really light weight
Some hitboxes don't match their animations (ex. being able to poke opponents with D-tilt and not doing any damage)
CHANGES AS OF RYU, LUCAS, ROY UPDATE: All affected moves have updated descriptions.
Jab
Damage increased 1% → 1.2%
Ending lag reduced (approx 12 frames)
F-tiltEnding lag reduced (approx 12 frames)
Final hit angle altered 65° → ~40° (Kills earlier)
Ending lag reduced (approx 10 frames)
Damage on final hit 3% → 4%
N-airEnding lag reduced (approx 10 frames)
Damage on final hit 3% → 4%
Landing lag reduced (approx 6 frames)
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CHANGES AS OF PATCH 1.10: All attacks with graphics that don't properly display their hitboxes have been changed to match with each other (U-Smash, D-Smash, etc.).
CHANGES AS OF PATCH 1.1.1:
CHANGES AS OF PATCH 1.1.1:
- Shield damage on tech get up attack decreased across the cast 10 → 8
- Shield stun mechanics altered: formula assumed: [(damage / 1.75)+2] instead of (damage/2.56) [?]
- Please refer to here for shield changes: http://smashboards.com/threads/419235/
- Invincibility on back roll and air dodges FORWARD ROLL reduced by 1 [?]
PLAY STYLE
Meta Knight has a very reactive play style. During the neutral game you're not going to have many options to approach outside of Dash Attack or Grab. Frequently WALKING (not dashing!) around is important because you have the ability to use tilts while you move.
You have to play defensively and safe in order to get in. Meta Knight has some moves with few frames of end lag that help to bait a reaction out of your opponent for a free punish. Sometimes running and cancelling your dash with a shield is another solid way to force a reaction from your opponent. Meta Knight has a very quick roll so running and then rolling back is another solid option.
Pursue your opponent very aggressively offstage. Your multiple jumps and solid recovery specials give you the ability to carry an opponent very far from the edge and still be able to recover.
Basically you'll be applying some form of pressure as long as you keep moving and being unpredictable.
You have to play defensively and safe in order to get in. Meta Knight has some moves with few frames of end lag that help to bait a reaction out of your opponent for a free punish. Sometimes running and cancelling your dash with a shield is another solid way to force a reaction from your opponent. Meta Knight has a very quick roll so running and then rolling back is another solid option.
Pursue your opponent very aggressively offstage. Your multiple jumps and solid recovery specials give you the ability to carry an opponent very far from the edge and still be able to recover.
Basically you'll be applying some form of pressure as long as you keep moving and being unpredictable.
MOVESET
Jab - 1.2% per hit, 2% finisher, 8% from one tap
Ughhhhhhh... So Jab isn't the WORST move ever, but it's probably the worst jab in the game. The one buff it got is its new finisher. It's decently fast and creates space if you hit it, but if you whiff it you're absolutely gonna get punished. There's just lots of better options compared to this move.
So the last time I talked about Jab I said that you should avoid it at all costs and you still should... unless at early percents. The ending lag on Jab has been reduced (along with a slight damage buff) to make it a much more viable option for tech chases. The finisher sends forces your opponent to tech, but if they don't then you are now able to follow up with a Dash Attack or even see where they roll to for a harder punish like a grab. So Jab is better now, but it's nothing you should be spamming.
So the last time I talked about Jab I said that you should avoid it at all costs and you still should... unless at early percents. The ending lag on Jab has been reduced (along with a slight damage buff) to make it a much more viable option for tech chases. The finisher sends forces your opponent to tech, but if they don't then you are now able to follow up with a Dash Attack or even see where they roll to for a harder punish like a grab. So Jab is better now, but it's nothing you should be spamming.
Dash Attack > Jab > Tech Chase (15%+)
You've always been able to do this against fast fallers at early percents, but I think it's appropriate to mention now that Jab can lead into a tech chase.
Dash Attack - 5% sourspot, 6% sweetspot
This is Meta Knight's most important attack by far. It comes out pretty fast and also has low ending lag, which is complemented by its propety of going through shields. It's difficult to punish, but it should only be thrown out as a punish, like any dash attack. Equivalent to a throw, Dash Attack combos into just about anything you want. The bread 'n' butter combo you're gonna wanna do is as follows...
Dash Attack > U-air > U-air > U-air > U-air > U-air > Up-B (42%)
This is going to kill more often than not.. It works on most of the cast starting 25-30%, but on big, floaty, light characters (Samus, Rosa, Mewtwo) it starts working around 15% (or immediately if you go for footstool combos, but we'll get to that later). You may have to fastfall some of the U-airs when your opponent is too low.
Dash Attack > Up-B (18%)
Your other b 'n' b combo that works for a long range of percents, it's an easy kill setup that is hard to DI due to the quick nature of Dash Attack.
Dash Attack > F-air > Up-B (26%)
Alternate combo if they DI too far away.
Dash Attack > Neutral B (~28%)
Only works at super early percents on big heavy characters (Bowser, DK...) or fastfallers (Fox, ZSS...).
Dash Attack > N-air (16%)
This something you can do at super early percents when you can't combo multiple U-airs together. N-air in general is just a good option if you aren't quick enough to keep a combo going.
Dash Attack > U-smash (15%) > (Sometimes) Up-B (27%)
Does good damage and sometimes can extend into Up-B. You can bait out an airdodge after the U-smash to get a free tornado for much more damage.
Dash Attack > U-tilt (11%)
Another nice combo at early percents that may open opportunities for an airdodge read. If they airdodge, punish it with a tornado for an easy 30% string. Using this over Dash Attack > U-smash is purely up to personal preference.
This is your real jab... No really, both of these moves come out on Frame 6, but F-tilt is just better in every single way. It's still a multi-hitter so your opponent could possibly let go of their shield early. It has much less ending lag compared to Jab's finisher which means that you have a better chance to land follow-ups on your airborne opponent. F-tilt is overall just a much more solid "get off me option" than Jab.
As of the new update F-tilt has less ending lag on all three slashes (along with a cute damage buff and notably better kill power). You can now buffer a shield and it will come out as soon as Meta Knight starts putting his blade away. This is a pretty big deal because now Meta Knight has access to his own special "Jab Cancel". A Jab Cancel is a technique in which a character cancels a multihit move (usually a Jab) in order to follow up with another option. Think of characters like Fox or Falcon who can cancel their Jabs into a grab or something.
F-tilt 1 or 2 > Grab (2%+)
Like any other Jab Cancel it isn't guaranteed, but it's a solid mixup to have in the back of your head since we get lots of damage off of grabs.
F-tilt 1 or 2 > Up-B (17%)
At ~120%+ I believe this is basically guaranteed. Your opponent's only way of escaping is jumping with a buffered airdodge. Any other option is gonna have them die to this cute little trap.
U-tilt - 5%
Its kill power has been reduced since Brawl, but U-tilt is a nice follow-up after Dash Attack at early percents since U-air doesn't start comboing into itselt until slightly higher percents. It can condition your opponent to start airdodging so it can set up more powerful strings if you read correctly.
D-tilt - 5%
Meta Knight's fastest move coming out at Frame 3, D-tilt is a very solid option for starting combos as it has a pretty decent chance to trip which allows for a free follow-up (usually a grab or Dash Attack into more follow-ups). This, like F-tilt is another awesome replacement for jab. The only drawback compared to F-tilt is that you're exchanging range for speed. The range on D-tilt is so bad now that it can literally poke into your opponent's feet and do nothing. It also has very low end lag so you can pressure your opponent's shield very quickly and punish a roll with tornado.
It's tied for the fastest D-tilt in the game with R.O.B. and Little Mac.
N-air - 7% sourspot, 10% sweetspot
This is your highest damaging move outside of your specials and smashes and therefore one of the safest. N-air is an alright option for closing out a combo when you can't get as many U-airs. It's also an okay Oos option, but where N-air really shines is when you're edgeguarding. See, the back of N-air has a much larger hitbox than the front which means it's very disjointed. This means you can safely hit a recovering opponent without trading with their hitboxes. Running straight off the ledge and using N-air is a quick option if you can't chase offstage quick enough. This doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop.
N-air has recieved a major buff with the new update. It now has only ~14 frames of landing lag. To put it into perspective, that's the same amount of landing lag on Luigi's N-air which is awesome. Because of this N-air > Dash Attack is now a true combo!
F-air - 2%, 2%, 3% (7% total)
Honestly F-air is just not as good as it was in Brawl, but it's not useless. It's a multi-hitter which can catch people who airdodge. It combos into Up-B at low-mid percents. It doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop so don't use this in neutral, only as a follow-up from Dash Attack or a throw.
B-air - 2%, 1%, 4% (7% total)
B-air is awesome. It doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop, but it does some important things. For one, the last hit has VERY strong knockback which makes this an amazing edgeguarding tool, especially since it can punish airdodges easily with its three hits. The second hit has a small spike to it which can gimp opponents when trading with other recovery moves. The spike can also set up a "Jab Lock" with D-tilt, but we'll get to that later.
U-air - 5%
U-air is your main combo tool in the air. It combos into itself for a very wide range of percents... That's about it really. It's not much, but the combos you can do with this are insane (such as footstool combos that we'll cover later). The only other use is really just sharking on Halberd, Delfino, or under platforms, but all of this makes for just a really solid aerial.
At higher percents U-air > Up-B is a true combo that can kill easily.
D-air - 6%
D-air is also good. It's really good for pressuring shields while you're trying to land safely. Just jump, D-air, Fast fall, rinse and repeat. It sends the opponent straight in the direction of the side you hit them with (ex. they will fly to the left if you hit them with the left side). Because of this it's very good for gimping. You can go really deep and just hit them with D-air and they get sent far enough for the ledge to be just out of reach. You can run off the ledge and immediately D-air so that the disjointed hitbox will just beat some recoveries. It also sets up tech chases starting at about 45%.
F-smash - 16%
Awesome smash. While it has slow start up, F-smash not only kills very early but it also has little to no ending lag. You can literally just throw out an F-smash and watch as your opponent lets go of their shield, expecting an easy punish, but you can intercept their punish with a Dash Attack, Dash Grab, or even another F-smash for an easy bait! It also hits an enemy on the ledge with no invincibility.
U-smash - 3%, 2%, 4% (9% total)
This move also has decent kill power for how quick it comes out. Because it comes out so fast U-smash is a really nice anti-air with its long-lasting disjointed hitbox.
D-smash - 7% (front), 10% (back)
This smash comes out so fast. The first hit of D-smash comes out at Frame 4 (2 frames faster than Jab and F-tilt!), making it an amazing Oos option. The back hit does much more knockback than the front hit which is great for punishing rolls. Like F-smash, this also can hit an opponent on the ledge who lost their invincibility so definitely punish them with the back hit here.
Get-Up-Attack and Ledge Attack - 7%
You've always been able to do this against fast fallers at early percents, but I think it's appropriate to mention now that Jab can lead into a tech chase.
Dash Attack - 5% sourspot, 6% sweetspot
This is Meta Knight's most important attack by far. It comes out pretty fast and also has low ending lag, which is complemented by its propety of going through shields. It's difficult to punish, but it should only be thrown out as a punish, like any dash attack. Equivalent to a throw, Dash Attack combos into just about anything you want. The bread 'n' butter combo you're gonna wanna do is as follows...
Dash Attack > U-air > U-air > U-air > U-air > U-air > Up-B (42%)
This is going to kill more often than not.. It works on most of the cast starting 25-30%, but on big, floaty, light characters (Samus, Rosa, Mewtwo) it starts working around 15% (or immediately if you go for footstool combos, but we'll get to that later). You may have to fastfall some of the U-airs when your opponent is too low.
Dash Attack > Up-B (18%)
Your other b 'n' b combo that works for a long range of percents, it's an easy kill setup that is hard to DI due to the quick nature of Dash Attack.
Dash Attack > F-air > Up-B (26%)
Alternate combo if they DI too far away.
Dash Attack > Neutral B (~28%)
Only works at super early percents on big heavy characters (Bowser, DK...) or fastfallers (Fox, ZSS...).
Dash Attack > N-air (16%)
This something you can do at super early percents when you can't combo multiple U-airs together. N-air in general is just a good option if you aren't quick enough to keep a combo going.
Dash Attack > U-smash (15%) > (Sometimes) Up-B (27%)
Does good damage and sometimes can extend into Up-B. You can bait out an airdodge after the U-smash to get a free tornado for much more damage.
Dash Attack > U-tilt (11%)
Another nice combo at early percents that may open opportunities for an airdodge read. If they airdodge, punish it with a tornado for an easy 30% string. Using this over Dash Attack > U-smash is purely up to personal preference.
(Dash Attack Combo Example Video Here)
F-tilt - 2%, 2%, 4% (8% total)
This is your real jab... No really, both of these moves come out on Frame 6, but F-tilt is just better in every single way. It's still a multi-hitter so your opponent could possibly let go of their shield early. It has much less ending lag compared to Jab's finisher which means that you have a better chance to land follow-ups on your airborne opponent. F-tilt is overall just a much more solid "get off me option" than Jab.
As of the new update F-tilt has less ending lag on all three slashes (along with a cute damage buff and notably better kill power). You can now buffer a shield and it will come out as soon as Meta Knight starts putting his blade away. This is a pretty big deal because now Meta Knight has access to his own special "Jab Cancel". A Jab Cancel is a technique in which a character cancels a multihit move (usually a Jab) in order to follow up with another option. Think of characters like Fox or Falcon who can cancel their Jabs into a grab or something.
F-tilt 1 or 2 > Grab (2%+)
Like any other Jab Cancel it isn't guaranteed, but it's a solid mixup to have in the back of your head since we get lots of damage off of grabs.
F-tilt 1 or 2 > Up-B (17%)
At ~120%+ I believe this is basically guaranteed. Your opponent's only way of escaping is jumping with a buffered airdodge. Any other option is gonna have them die to this cute little trap.
U-tilt - 5%
Its kill power has been reduced since Brawl, but U-tilt is a nice follow-up after Dash Attack at early percents since U-air doesn't start comboing into itselt until slightly higher percents. It can condition your opponent to start airdodging so it can set up more powerful strings if you read correctly.
D-tilt - 5%
Meta Knight's fastest move coming out at Frame 3, D-tilt is a very solid option for starting combos as it has a pretty decent chance to trip which allows for a free follow-up (usually a grab or Dash Attack into more follow-ups). This, like F-tilt is another awesome replacement for jab. The only drawback compared to F-tilt is that you're exchanging range for speed. The range on D-tilt is so bad now that it can literally poke into your opponent's feet and do nothing. It also has very low end lag so you can pressure your opponent's shield very quickly and punish a roll with tornado.
It's tied for the fastest D-tilt in the game with R.O.B. and Little Mac.
N-air - 7% sourspot, 10% sweetspot
This is your highest damaging move outside of your specials and smashes and therefore one of the safest. N-air is an alright option for closing out a combo when you can't get as many U-airs. It's also an okay Oos option, but where N-air really shines is when you're edgeguarding. See, the back of N-air has a much larger hitbox than the front which means it's very disjointed. This means you can safely hit a recovering opponent without trading with their hitboxes. Running straight off the ledge and using N-air is a quick option if you can't chase offstage quick enough. This doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop.
N-air has recieved a major buff with the new update. It now has only ~14 frames of landing lag. To put it into perspective, that's the same amount of landing lag on Luigi's N-air which is awesome. Because of this N-air > Dash Attack is now a true combo!
F-air - 2%, 2%, 3% (7% total)
Honestly F-air is just not as good as it was in Brawl, but it's not useless. It's a multi-hitter which can catch people who airdodge. It combos into Up-B at low-mid percents. It doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop so don't use this in neutral, only as a follow-up from Dash Attack or a throw.
B-air - 2%, 1%, 4% (7% total)
B-air is awesome. It doesn't auto-cancel off of a short hop, but it does some important things. For one, the last hit has VERY strong knockback which makes this an amazing edgeguarding tool, especially since it can punish airdodges easily with its three hits. The second hit has a small spike to it which can gimp opponents when trading with other recovery moves. The spike can also set up a "Jab Lock" with D-tilt, but we'll get to that later.
U-air - 5%
U-air is your main combo tool in the air. It combos into itself for a very wide range of percents... That's about it really. It's not much, but the combos you can do with this are insane (such as footstool combos that we'll cover later). The only other use is really just sharking on Halberd, Delfino, or under platforms, but all of this makes for just a really solid aerial.
At higher percents U-air > Up-B is a true combo that can kill easily.
D-air - 6%
D-air is also good. It's really good for pressuring shields while you're trying to land safely. Just jump, D-air, Fast fall, rinse and repeat. It sends the opponent straight in the direction of the side you hit them with (ex. they will fly to the left if you hit them with the left side). Because of this it's very good for gimping. You can go really deep and just hit them with D-air and they get sent far enough for the ledge to be just out of reach. You can run off the ledge and immediately D-air so that the disjointed hitbox will just beat some recoveries. It also sets up tech chases starting at about 45%.
F-smash - 16%
Awesome smash. While it has slow start up, F-smash not only kills very early but it also has little to no ending lag. You can literally just throw out an F-smash and watch as your opponent lets go of their shield, expecting an easy punish, but you can intercept their punish with a Dash Attack, Dash Grab, or even another F-smash for an easy bait! It also hits an enemy on the ledge with no invincibility.
U-smash - 3%, 2%, 4% (9% total)
This move also has decent kill power for how quick it comes out. Because it comes out so fast U-smash is a really nice anti-air with its long-lasting disjointed hitbox.
D-smash - 7% (front), 10% (back)
This smash comes out so fast. The first hit of D-smash comes out at Frame 4 (2 frames faster than Jab and F-tilt!), making it an amazing Oos option. The back hit does much more knockback than the front hit which is great for punishing rolls. Like F-smash, this also can hit an opponent on the ledge who lost their invincibility so definitely punish them with the back hit here.
Get-Up-Attack and Ledge Attack - 7%
Neutral-B (Mach Tornado) - ~23% (maximum)
Tornado is still awesome and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That max percent is super easy to get. To put it in perspective it's way easier to mash for the max percent than mash for max height with Luigi's Down-B. Use it as a punish when your opponent airdodges after a U-tilt or U-smash. Tornado will almost always shield-poke as long as you hit the opponent with some other move which makes this amazing for pressuring a shield under a platform. Just apply some U-airs and then mix it up with a Tornado that will either make your opponent let go of their shield or just poke through it anyway. It's also a really good option when your opponent is hanging from the ledge. Tornado covers literally every option from the ledge.
Tornado is still awesome and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That max percent is super easy to get. To put it in perspective it's way easier to mash for the max percent than mash for max height with Luigi's Down-B. Use it as a punish when your opponent airdodges after a U-tilt or U-smash. Tornado will almost always shield-poke as long as you hit the opponent with some other move which makes this amazing for pressuring a shield under a platform. Just apply some U-airs and then mix it up with a Tornado that will either make your opponent let go of their shield or just poke through it anyway. It's also a really good option when your opponent is hanging from the ledge. Tornado covers literally every option from the ledge.
You CANNOT edge-cancel the Tornado. If you try you will slide off the edge and still be in the helpless state. You CAN however auto-cancel it (see Advanced Techniques).
Side-B (Drill Rush) - 1% (x8), 3% (11% total)
Side-B is great too. It's a safe recovery option due to it having an active hitbox as it travels and it's because of this hitbox you can easily stage spike any foe trying to edgeguard you. The final hit has a good amount of knock back to it so it is a kill option, but not the safest. When Meta Knight collides with a surface or enemy he pops up into the air. This can allow you to avoid a punish from an uninformed opponent. It's mostly gonna be used as a recovery option.
Up-B (Shuttle Loop) - 15% (ground) / 12% (air)
Ohhhhhh boy here we go. I've been waiting through this whole guide to write about this move. Where do I start? Well, Up-B of course is the main finisher to most of Meta Knight's combos. It's a kill move on the ground and in the air, but it deals more damage and much more knockback from the ground, making it an amazing Oos option. In fact, Up-B comes out so fast Oos that you can interrupt those annoying jabs from characters like Fox or Yoshi. You don't even have to use it Oos on a grounded opponent. You can just catch them in the air when they least expect it. There's so many strings that lead into Shuttle Loop. It almost seems cruel how easy it is to kill with this move. And of course it's a very good vertical recovery.
Down-B (Dimensional Cape) - 14% (hold away)/ 15% (hold no direction)/ 16% (hold forward)
Dimensional Cape doesn't get enough respect. (INCOMING SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION) If you've seen any of my combo videos, you would know I love to use this as one of my primary kill moves. It's great for reading airdodges or some kind of pseudo-counter. The three different slashes have different knockback. Long story short, the higher percent it does, the more knockback it has. So the slash that does 16% when you hold forward is the strongest. Like Tornado, Dimensional Cape can also be auto-cancelled (see Advanced Tecniques).
Side-B (Drill Rush) - 1% (x8), 3% (11% total)
Side-B is great too. It's a safe recovery option due to it having an active hitbox as it travels and it's because of this hitbox you can easily stage spike any foe trying to edgeguard you. The final hit has a good amount of knock back to it so it is a kill option, but not the safest. When Meta Knight collides with a surface or enemy he pops up into the air. This can allow you to avoid a punish from an uninformed opponent. It's mostly gonna be used as a recovery option.
Up-B (Shuttle Loop) - 15% (ground) / 12% (air)
Ohhhhhh boy here we go. I've been waiting through this whole guide to write about this move. Where do I start? Well, Up-B of course is the main finisher to most of Meta Knight's combos. It's a kill move on the ground and in the air, but it deals more damage and much more knockback from the ground, making it an amazing Oos option. In fact, Up-B comes out so fast Oos that you can interrupt those annoying jabs from characters like Fox or Yoshi. You don't even have to use it Oos on a grounded opponent. You can just catch them in the air when they least expect it. There's so many strings that lead into Shuttle Loop. It almost seems cruel how easy it is to kill with this move. And of course it's a very good vertical recovery.
Down-B (Dimensional Cape) - 14% (hold away)/ 15% (hold no direction)/ 16% (hold forward)
Dimensional Cape doesn't get enough respect. (INCOMING SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION) If you've seen any of my combo videos, you would know I love to use this as one of my primary kill moves. It's great for reading airdodges or some kind of pseudo-counter. The three different slashes have different knockback. Long story short, the higher percent it does, the more knockback it has. So the slash that does 16% when you hold forward is the strongest. Like Tornado, Dimensional Cape can also be auto-cancelled (see Advanced Tecniques).
Thank you, @Itoi6 for making a throw guide. Makes things easier to remember.
F-throw - 6%, 3% (9% total)
All combos with F-throw only work off of a Dash Throw, unless your opponent has bad DI. A Dash Throw is when you dash grab somebody and throw them while you're still sliding from the dash.
F-throw > Up-B (21%)
Start doing this around 80-100%. It's a very good kill setup and it's also difficult to DI because F-throw comes out so quickly.
F-throw > Dash Attack (15%+)
The Dash Attack will lead into typical follow-ups.
B-throw - 7%, 3% (10% total)
B-throw is an okay kill throw if you're at the edge. It's really nice damage that you should take advantage of if you don't have other throw options.
B-throw > Dash Attack (16%+)
Only works at super early percents. I put the plus there because the dash attack obviously leads into more follow ups.
U-throw - 10%
U-throw is tied for kill power with B-throw. It's just a nice 10% throw. Not really much more to it.
D-throw - 0.5% (x10), 2% (7% total)
Like I said earlier, Dash Attack and D-throw are basically the same thing. This is your main throw to combo with and it's one of your only other approach options so use it a lot.
D-throw > Dash Attack (13%+)
Works at early percents and the Dash Attack of course leads into more stuff.
D-throw > U-smash (16%)
Really solid early percent combo. May force an airdodge so it's possible to get a free tornado or maybe even a re-grab.
D-throw > Tornado (~30%)
Works only if they DI up instead of away.
D-throw > U-air (x5) > Up-B (44%)
Only works against bad DI, but it kills so keep it in mind.
D-throw > Up-B (19%)
This is a thing, but I'd say F-throw leads into this much more easily. Kills if you get it though.
D-throw > F-air > Up-B (26%)
Really nice early percent combo. It can even 0-death on stages like Delfino and Halberd.
All combos with F-throw only work off of a Dash Throw, unless your opponent has bad DI. A Dash Throw is when you dash grab somebody and throw them while you're still sliding from the dash.
F-throw > Up-B (21%)
Start doing this around 80-100%. It's a very good kill setup and it's also difficult to DI because F-throw comes out so quickly.
F-throw > Dash Attack (15%+)
The Dash Attack will lead into typical follow-ups.
B-throw - 7%, 3% (10% total)
B-throw is an okay kill throw if you're at the edge. It's really nice damage that you should take advantage of if you don't have other throw options.
B-throw > Dash Attack (16%+)
Only works at super early percents. I put the plus there because the dash attack obviously leads into more follow ups.
U-throw - 10%
U-throw is tied for kill power with B-throw. It's just a nice 10% throw. Not really much more to it.
D-throw - 0.5% (x10), 2% (7% total)
Like I said earlier, Dash Attack and D-throw are basically the same thing. This is your main throw to combo with and it's one of your only other approach options so use it a lot.
D-throw > Dash Attack (13%+)
Works at early percents and the Dash Attack of course leads into more stuff.
D-throw > U-smash (16%)
Really solid early percent combo. May force an airdodge so it's possible to get a free tornado or maybe even a re-grab.
D-throw > Tornado (~30%)
Works only if they DI up instead of away.
D-throw > U-air (x5) > Up-B (44%)
Only works against bad DI, but it kills so keep it in mind.
D-throw > Up-B (19%)
This is a thing, but I'd say F-throw leads into this much more easily. Kills if you get it though.
D-throw > F-air > Up-B (26%)
Really nice early percent combo. It can even 0-death on stages like Delfino and Halberd.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
If you full hop and mash Tornado, you will land with no lag.
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Dimensional Cape will auto-cancel at about full hop height. This is similar to how Shiek can cancel her Vanish.
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Let's get this out of the way before anyone asks. NO, you cannot tech a footstool and NO, you cannot avoid a forced neutral get up after being jab locked.
Okay. Now that that's out of the way we can talk about footstools, one of Meta Knight's greatest combo tools. You can Dash Attack, D-throw, or F-throw into a full hop U-air into a footstool. There is actually enough hitstun on U-air for you to be able to footstool your opponent after hitting them. After the footstool you must fast fall as soon as possible to reach them before they can get up.
Okay. Now that that's out of the way we can talk about footstools, one of Meta Knight's greatest combo tools. You can Dash Attack, D-throw, or F-throw into a full hop U-air into a footstool. There is actually enough hitstun on U-air for you to be able to footstool your opponent after hitting them. After the footstool you must fast fall as soon as possible to reach them before they can get up.
Dash Attack/F-throw/D-throw > U-air > Footstool > D-tilt (x3) > Dash attack > U-air (x5) > Up-B
Works on floaty characters (Ness, Yoshi, Rosa, etc.) and is basically a guaranteed 0-death. As long as you hit the ground as soon as possible after the footstool this will be a true combo.
D-Throw > Dash Attack > U-air > Footstool > FIRST HIT of falling B-air > D-throw > F-air > Up-B (46%)
The first hit of B-air has just enough hitstun for you to get a dash grab as quick as you can, allowing this to combo.
Footstool > Falling N-air > Dash Attack or something
N-air can sometimes combo into a Dash attack or something depending on how your opponent reacts. Thought it was worth mentioning.
Footstools can also just lead into nice tech chase opportunities so take advantage of them when you can. Get creative with them because they give you such an amazing advantage!
Works on floaty characters (Ness, Yoshi, Rosa, etc.) and is basically a guaranteed 0-death. As long as you hit the ground as soon as possible after the footstool this will be a true combo.
D-Throw > Dash Attack > U-air > Footstool > FIRST HIT of falling B-air > D-throw > F-air > Up-B (46%)
The first hit of B-air has just enough hitstun for you to get a dash grab as quick as you can, allowing this to combo.
Footstool > Falling N-air > Dash Attack or something
N-air can sometimes combo into a Dash attack or something depending on how your opponent reacts. Thought it was worth mentioning.
Footstools can also just lead into nice tech chase opportunities so take advantage of them when you can. Get creative with them because they give you such an amazing advantage!
Characters that have rapid jab combos have a special property that pushes them backwards as they connect more and more hits. If this is done when the character's back is to the edge of the stage or a platform, they will be pushed off the edge with no lag because they never connected the finishing blow of the rapid jab. One popular use of this technique is Little Mac's ability to cancel his rapid jab into the KO Punch, but in Meta Knight's case the best follow-up is gonna be Shuttle Loop (Up-B).
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MORE IS ON THE WAY
I'm not quite sure why the spoilers are acting weird, but I'm trying to fix it.
I'm not quite sure why the spoilers are acting weird, but I'm trying to fix it.
