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Custom moves provide a great way freshen up your gameplay and change up your strategy depending on what kind of character/player you're up against, and with a total of 12 unique moves to choose from for every single character in Smash 4, it can be easy to lose track of what exactly each one does. While I am by no means a competitive player, I've experimented a whole ton with custom moves since the game's release and feel confident enough in my knowledge to write up what I've learned about our favorite dino's many options.

This is a guide that will go over the function of each of Yoshi's custom moves, and then proceed to go into varying amounts of detail about what kinds of situations each one is useful in. I'm always open to feedback and comments, so let me know if there's anything else about the customs that I may have left out or if you feel that something I said was simply inaccurate.

Anyway, on to the guide! All of the writeups are finally complete, but are subject to change as I experiment more and hear what uses others are finding for them. Note that all KO percents are tested on Mario on Wooly World omega form. I rounded them to the nearest 10% as they are all approximate.

Neutral 1: Egg Lay

Damage: 7%

Yoshi's trademark move - eating up his opponent and promptly pooping them out as an egg! Decently fast start-up and good range makes this a solid option to throw in as a mix-up every once in a while. I find this incredibly useful on shield/counter-happy opponents since in my experience it tends to fluster people and cause them to second-guess their defensive options.

Unlike in Brawl, your opponent can't mash out of this nearly as quickly as they used to, plus mashing doesn't allow them to rocket upwards anymore. Landing this gives you some free followup damage depending on percent, though you have to be careful, since an escaping opponent has some frames of invincibility. This move also has some serious potential to gimp unaware opponents at medium-high percentages. B-reversing it also helps for mindgames and returning to the stage - I've found that jumping backwards into an opponent and then b-reversing this is a very safe yet effective baiting tactic.
Neutral 2: Lick

Damage: 10%
KO: 120-150% (depending on location)

Probably the oddest version of Neutral B which sacrifices the ability to eat people in exchange for doing a leap forward (about 1/5 the length of final destination), and having a damaging hitbox at the end of the tongue. It still comes out at the same speed as your regular egg lay, but since it is now a damaging hitbox and not a grabbing one, it can actually be shielded and countered, which is unfortunate. It should be noted that it KO's pretty effectively though - it has practically as much knockback as Yoshi's Fsmash.

While taking this option gives up your command grab, the tongue does not have a hurtbox which means you can use it beat out characters with shorter range. It can also be used to effectively cancel out projectiles with good timing - this is especially effective on explosives like Link's bombs, which can be safely detonated without hurting yourself. The leap in midair provides you with quite a bit of horizontal momentum - which mixed with the B-reverse allows for more mix-ups when returning to stage both horizontally and vertically.

Neutral 3: Egg Launch


Damage: 10%

An interesting change to egg lay that sacrifices the amount of time that opponents are trapped in the egg in exchange for the ability to launch them quite a long distance behind Yoshi. The amount that your victim can control their flight depends largely on their percentage: they break out more quickly than with the standard egg lay, but above 100% they fly practically 3/4 the length of FD before being able to break out.

While this custom effectively negates any chance you may have had for actually doing any follow-up damage, it makes up for this by dealing slightly more damage than the default in addition to the guarantee that your opponent will almost definitely be sent off-stage if you catch them at a high percentage. An egg launch at the edge puts your foe in a very bad position, and just having a tool like that in your move-set should definitely be enough to dissuade your opponents from trying anything risky when you're recovering. You can even try following a launched foe off-stage yourself and b-reversing it for a flashy and pretty much guaranteed KO.

I think the start-up on the attack is slightly more than that of the regular egg lay, but it's nothing crippling. I usually have a hard time choosing between this one and the default, but a lot of times I like to go with this one for the high gimping potential.
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Side 1: Egg Roll

Damage: 4-9% (speed dependent)

Though in the past this move has been infamous for being Yoshi's least useful special due to its predictability, it's had a few changes in this game that makes it slightly less worthless than it used to be. The egg revs up and turns around much faster compared to previous games, making it useful for the occasional surprise attack. Unfortunately, knockback has been nerfed, so it doesn't KO until around 240%.

Also notable is that you now have the ability to jump once to the height in the second picture while maintaining your momentum and hitbox. The move also doesn't roll off the edge unless you're pressing towards it, which means you can just kind of roll in place and... intimidate your opponent? If you jump in this state you fly forward as if you had been rolling the whole time, allowing you to get off stage really fast if you want to go for a flashy KO. The move is still 100% useless when starting up in the air though as you have no control over the egg and it does no damage until you touch down. Fortunately, it no longer leaves you helpless if you accidentally roll off the edge - which is amazing because screwing up your B-reverse egg lay no longer means that you're dead.

Side 2: Heavy Egg Roll

Damage: 1-15% (speed dependent)
KO: 120%

An incredibly slow, yet powerful version of egg roll that provides true super armor at maximum speed (unlike Yoshi's double jump), but it doesn't have very much if any armor at all at lower speeds. It kills at around 120% when you're fully revved up, which makes it a solid kill move from the ground (about as powerful as Up-Smash). Just like the default, you can roll in place on the edge if you don't input any directions, which is actually kind of useful in this case since you have enough armor to absorb and counter any attempts of your opponent trying to recover on the ledge. You can jump once just like the default egg roll, but you don't get very much height at all.

Unfortunately, the sheer amount of time it takes to start, end, and even just get around with this attack makes it very predictable and easy to dodge. You rev up very slowly, only reaching your full speed about 2 seconds after inputting Side+B. Though you can alleviate this issue by starting it up in the opposite direction and pivoting around, which maintains any momentum you've already gained, your maximum speed is still so slow that most characters can often avoid it by simply walking away.

To make matters worse, making contact with an opponent slows you down practically to a standstill, meaning that if they shield your very predictable approach, you're pretty much guaranteed to get punished with a grab. Opponents with a tether grab have even less trouble, since they literally just grab you out of the egg while you're trying to roll towards them.

Side 3: Light Egg Roll
Damage: 4% (startup) ; 10-11% (bouncing)
KO: 170-180% (grounded) ; 150% (jumping opponent)

Where the previous custom turned you into a cannonball, this one basically turns you into a more bouncy version of Dedede's gordos. This is a very unique egg roll whose trajectory depends on starting height and inputs during the bounce. I would recommend watching the video to get a better idea of how this one works, but I'll do my best to explain it here.

Starting on the ground will cause you to do a short hop upwards which deals 4% on the way down, before rapidly bouncing forwards an excessive distance. You can't actually exit the egg until you've already gone about 1/2 the distance of FD, at which point you slide about another 1/4 before you can act. Holding in any direction does nothing to influence your trajectory, but if you are holding left or right on the second bounce it will halt all horizontal momentum on the second bounce and cause you to go straight up before you're forced out of the egg.

How far you are off of the ground when you start up the attack affects the path you fly on before breaking out but not the distance you fly: no matter your starting height you will always end up at the opposite end of FD before you can use any other move as long as you don't intentionally break out early. Starting the move from the air causes your arc to curve much higher, allowing you to hit an aerial target with proper timing.

One final note on egg paths: landing on top of opponents with the first hit (before you've even started moving horizontally) will cause you to just fly straight back upwards, with no horizontal movement being possible.

So now that I've gone over all of the mechanics of this move, how is it useful? It is still good for dealing surprise damage, but more for aerial opponents than grounded ones. You fly through the air very quickly as well, making it effective for closing the distance on projectile-heavy characters if used carefully. It is especially useful for hitting an unwary descending opponent who thinks you are too far away to punish them, because with this move you are really never too far away.

As for the disadvantages, you have pretty much no control of the trajectory after you set the arcs with your starting height at the beginning. There's also a decent amount of lag after you exit the egg before you can act, meaning you can't really do any followups out of this attack, but it sends you so far that you're unlikely to get punished for it unless you horribly misjudge your distance or are being too predictable with it.

Overall, this is a really neat and quirky move that I think blends nicely with the rest of Yoshi's moveset - if you know how to control it properly. It's good for the occassional approach especially against a projectile/aerial-oriented character, though the default is probably the better choice against a more grounded opponent for obvious reasons.
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Up 1: Egg Throw

Damage: 1, 5%

You read that right, Yoshi's trusty egg is now technically a multi-hitting move - go to training and see for yourself! It seems like the egg itself has a hitbox that deals 1% now, and when it bursts it produces another hitbox that deals 5%. Not that it will make much of a difference, but still interesting to note.

While his Up+B provides even less recovery than it did in Brawl, giving only about the length of a short hop on the first use and barely anything after that, It has become much more versatile in this game. Unlike in Brawl, the egg no longer breaks when it reaches the same horizontal height as yourself, meaning that jumping into the air and throwing your egg forward provides a huge amount of range, travelling up to about 2/3 the length of Final Destination on a full-hop. The egg still breaks after a certain amount of time even if it doesn't make contact with anything, but it still provides enough range for most situations.

Even better, Yoshi now has incredible aerial horizontal momentum control while using this attack, being able to change directions and glide forwards or backwards much more easily throughout the duration of the move. This in conjunction with the range buff makes this move probably the safest option in Yoshi's arsenal, being able to cover your approach or retreat well in addition to dealing out quick followup damage or applying pressure to a recovering opponent. This is definitely my favorite of the three options for Up+B, though we'll still go into detail about the others as well.


Up 2: High Jump

Damage: 0% ()

What do you get when you take the eggs out of egg throw? That's right, a very awkward looking custom. It's made solely for recovery, and in that regard, it does wonderfully. You get 4 hops grounded and 3 in the air before it no longer has any effect on your momentum, and considering the first two hops are about the size of Yoshi's full hop and the second one/two are about half of that, you have no excuse to not be getting back to the stage using this custom. It allows you to go off-stage ridiculously deep to try and finish off an opponent if that's your style.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much the extent of high jump's benefits. This move completely removes Up+B's ability to do any damage whatsoever - you don't even get a hitbox or any sort of armor on the ascent. If you're really having a lot of trouble getting gimped/footstooled by your opponent, I suppose this is the one to take, but I just don't think it's worth giving up the sheer amount of versatility to your approach and followups that Yoshi's eggs provide.

Up 3: Timed Egg Throw

Damage: 9%

An explosive and slightly slower version of egg throw that exchanges speed for more power and and larger blast radius. As the name suggests, timing and proper aim is very important with this custom, since the egg itself does not actually have a hitbox. All the damage comes from the explosion, meaning that if you overshoot it will literally fly right through your opponents.

Since this custom gives you quite a large AoE projectile, it is especially useful for throwing out against an airborne opponent (assuming you aim and time it properly), since throwing it in their general direction will almost always guarantee an air-dodge or some free percent. While there is quite a bit of endlag preventing you from actually punishing the dodge, you still have the same amount of aerial control as with the default move which means weaving in and out of their attacks is still very possible.

This move is unfortunately pretty much useless if you or your opponent are on the ground though, since the time it takes to start and recover is plenty for them to shield/roll and most likely punish you for it. That, plus the fact that it only actually deals damage when it explodes, are pretty crippling weaknesses for only an additional 3% unless you're really careful when timing your eggs. But if you feel that you can do without the stage control that the default eggs provide and would rather have more juggling ability, this may be the custom for you.
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Down 1: Yoshi Bomb

Damage: 4, 15% (grounded) - 12% (aerial) - 4% (stars)
KO: 110% (grounded) 150% (aerial)

The trademark ground pound is much faster this time around - especially when used in the air - and has plenty of KO potential. While you can't jab-combo into it anymore, it's still a great move to punish someone's laggy attack, or to use as a dodge & hit if you can correctly predict someone's approach - spot-dodging into this move is generally pretty effective. I also find it useful for catching an unaware opponent who tries to follow me into the air for a juggle/edgeguarding attempt - I've managed to sneak in kills around 90% in this way. The stars on the side also give you a bit of coverage just in case you whiff.

It's also a great tool for returning to the stage as long as you aren't predictable and don't overuse it. Down+Bing near the ledge is the safest option, since your hitbox covers you on the way down and you can snap to the ledge for a quick return.

Down 2: Star Bomb

Damage: 3, 4% (grounded) - 4% (aerial) - 4-8% (stars!)

An interesting version of Down+B that actually deals less damage when you hit with Yoshi's body. While the main attack does minimal damage and knockback, it is still just as fast as the original, and the stars are enormous. Though you sacrifice the ability to use it as a KO move, you gain a fair amount of spacing and edge-guarding ability in return. Plus, it's a great option if you're one to throw out this move way too much and whiff a lot, since whiffing is actually better in this case.

It should be noted that the stars have 3 "phases" of damage: 8%, 6%, and 4%, with the damage they deal reducing the longer the stars have been out. They are a pretty useful projectile, considering that for most of their flight they deal more damage than Yoshi's eggs and are capable of flying about 1/3 the length of final destination in both directions before vanishing. They also continue to travel even after contacting an opponent, making it pretty useful in free-for-alls. It's also possible to hit your opponent with both the bomb and the stars if you land it near the front of their model to deal maximum damage, but honestly if you have the time to set that up then you're probably better off using a more reliable attack.

As useful as this form of the attack is, I still use this the least of the the three just because I rely on Down+B too much as a KO move. This one is still a great option though and is probably less situational than the original, so if you rely more on your smashes to kill, then this is probably the option for you.

Down 3: Crushing Bomb

Damage: 5, 18% (grounded) - 18% (aerial)
KO: 90% (1 hit) 70% (Both hits)

The power-form of Yoshi Bomb that has a lot of lag before and after hitting, but believe me when I say that it hits hard. If you manage to get in the first hit to launch them into the air properly, the second hit is not only inescapable, but it also kills very early. I'm fairly certain that makes crushing bomb Yoshi's strongest attack in terms of knockback and damage. It also has the same power whether you start on the ground or in the air, so it's something your opponent has to respect regardless of where you are.

There are, of course, drawbacks to using this move over the default though. it takes about half a second for Yoshi to start the first hit after pressing Down+B (and there's no super armor), meaning that against someone who knows what they're doing, you're only going to get in a hit out of a good read or through punishing a fairly laggy attack. It should also be noted that while the second hit cannot be escaped even with good DI to my knowledge, if you are too close to the opponent on the first hit they will just fly behind you and be in position for an easy punish. It also doesn't produce any stars to cover you in case you miss, so it's an all-or-nothing attack.

Using crushing bomb eliminates pretty much any chance of a surprise kill you would have had with the default Down+B, but the sheer power you get from using it may outweigh this loss depending on the matchup.
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Thanks for reading! Now that you're familiar with all of Yoshi's custom moves, which set do you think you'll end up using primarily? I personally go with 3-3-1-1 in most situations, occasionally swapping out a 1 for a 3 and vice versa, but a lot of the 2s (and even some 3s) are very situational moves that are only helpful in certain matchups in my opinion. Think I overlooked or exaggerated the potential of any of the moves? I'm open to any feedback you guys have to improve this guide, so just let me know! Happy Yoshi-ing!