Sonic - Meta Knight MU: How to beat MK

+++ Meta Knight +++



Meta Knight is a character that struggles in Neutral because of his few approach tools, but that is compensated with one of the most broken Punish Games in the game, which consists in large combos that deal tons of damage, if they don't kill. He's light-weighted, has a great recovery and very good ground speed.




---- Meta Knight's Neutral ----




Before going into what his objective in neutral is, let’s talk about his poking and baiting tools.




- Down Tilt: Meta Knight can use it in Neutral with almost no commitment, since it's hardly punisheable given it's fast execution and big range. Even if Power Shielded, MK's DTilt is fast enough to strike you again before you get to punish him. But, poking with it is not it's main objetive: DTilt has tripping potential, which can lead to Dash Grabs or Dash Attacks and iniciate a big combo.

The only way to punish it is to prevent it attacking from the air, or to shield it when you're so close to MK that you can actually Shield Grab him.



- Forward Smash: His FSmash has a really long range, inflicts a lot of damage, and, in exchange for being slow in it's start, has almost no End Lag. This lack of Ending Lag is used to bait in Neutral since he can throw FSmash and rapidly respond with anything, making it's next move unpredictable. You can't punish a FSmash if it lands on your shield because of the large amount of Shield Stun it inflicts, so approaching it is very unsafe, and also because he can respond with any attack, even Dash Attack, right after the Smash.

Therefore, the only way to deal with it is try to attack from above, which I do not recommend, or to stay right outside of his Dash Grab and, especially, his Dash Attack range, since they are the only options which could hit you after a far-away FSmash.



- Jumps: Meta Knights usually jump a lot in Neutral to bait the opponent. The reason for that is because, right after they hit the ground again, they can buffer a Dash Attack or a Dash Grab, which can surprise you if you're not used or prepared for it's astonishing speed. Also, if they want to play more defensively and campy, they can start jumping a lot while they throw out DAirs, so you can't approach from below.

To counter this, you may want to throw a risky FAir to anticipate a jump and hit MK in it's Jumpsquat. If the MK camps with it's jumps, follow it from below using your shield and wait for it's jumps to consume, and then punish the landing (MK can use various mixups to land, including using a surprise-DownB).



Now, we may focus on his primary objetives in neutral: connecting Dash Attack and Dash Grab.



- Dash Attack: Probably his best Neutral tool, Dash Attack has a very long range and short startup, which are used to catch opponents offguard and iniciate a combo. Due to it's very long range, he can throw it out from very far away, or throw it from a close range and mixup, ending up behind you if you shield. Once it hits you, until 80%, it can lead to numerous follow ups, from UTilt to it's famous UAir Ladder combo. From 30-60, the Ladder combo can actually kill you, depending on hight, weight and rage, so be careful not to get hit by the Dash Attack. Also, thanks to it's big hitbox, which is active for a decent amount of time, it punishes really well landings, which are one of Sonic's biggest weakness.

The weakness that this attack has is that, since it's one of the two neutral tools in MK's arsenal, it's very predictable. The way to play around it is to stay outside it's range, but not too far, just enough for MK to end up right in front of you so you can Shield Grab him. If the MK is good, he/she will not throw unsafe Dash Attacks, so you will have to bait him to commit and then punish the mispaceing. You can also wait for the attack and then Pivot Grab.



- Dash Grab: Alongside with Dash Attack, Dash Grab is MK's best neutral tool. It's as fast as Dash Attack, but not as safe, since you can't mixup nor it has low Ending Lag. Instead, failing a Dash Grab results on a punish from the opponent. But, once MK get's the grab, he can DThrow the oponent and combo: at low percentages (0-10%), it will combo into USmash, Neutral B or even Dash Attack. At higher percentages (40-60%) it can lead to an UAir, which can start a ladder combo, and at 100% (moreless) it can combo, if not DIed correctly, to an UpB which can kill depending on hight and rage.

Sonic should stay far enough for MK's Dash Grab to be reactionable. If you estimate that he's going for the grab, try using Spindash to punish it. Also, if dodged correctly, you can punish it with Jab, FTilt or grab. If you get grabbed, DI away so he can't combo.



---- Meta Knight's movement ----



Meta Knight's dash has a short startup, meaning that he can go from standing position to a complete dash in an instant, which can be useful to surprise the opponent with a quick and unreationable attack. MKs use this a lot, using their baiting tools to distract (short hops, FSmash, DTilt...) and, when least expected, throw a Dash Attack or Dash Grab.

He also has 6 jumps, which he can use to camp on the air, to recover from basically anywhere, or to chase his opponent through the air. Counting the amount of jumps a particular MK player uses in his tactis and movement is very useful to predict when they are going to recover, when they are going to land, or when they are going to attack. Example: you notice a particular MK uses 3 jumps before throwing the UpB to recover, and knowing that you can try to punish it.





He has notable ground movement, with incredible run speed and decent walk speed. On the other hand, he has average air movement, which doesn't bother him at the task of hunting down his opponents on the air, but is a detriment when he's the one being chased down, so landing can be hard for him sometimes.

His recovery is one of the best in the game, having 6 jumps in total and a very fast and hard to punish UpB that is used to recover from below. He also has a Side B that is used to recover from the side; it's more punisheable and reactionable, but still a good way to recover. He can also just jump until he gets to the ledge.





+++ Strategy as a Sonic +++



Sonic has one of the best Neutral Games in the entire game, but short-ranged approach options and he struggles landing against fast characters. On the other hand, Meta Knight has one of the best Punish Games, but lacks variety on approaching tools. He relies heavily in just two options, meaning that, if both are negated because of the opponents strategy, he has no way of getting to you. With all that being said, it seems rather obvious what strategy a Sonic should use: camping.

The same way you should try to take Little Mac offstage because it's his obvious weakness, you should stay away from MK and avoid contact as much as possible, since approaching in Neutral is his biggest weakness, and, when doing that, you also negate his biggest strength: big-combo punishes.

So, your plan as a Sonic should be getting the percentage/stock lead as soon as possible, and then run away. You should go for time-out if necessary: don't fear been judged for been boring; do whatever is necessary to win the MU, even if it means to bore the audience, your opponent and even yourself.

Once you get the lead, run as fast as you can to the ledge, and stay there: if MK lands a Dash Grab or Dash Attack on you near the ledge, he won't be able to finish his big combo since, UAir after UAir, he gets more and more far away from the stage, until he's so far away that if he threw out the UpB, he wouldn't be able to get back to the stage.

You must stay in the ledge, but you can't stay there for too loong, because the MK will eventually come to you and hit you with a fast and unreactionable approach. That's why, mixing up the options, you must change ledges when it's least expected, using Sonic's fast movement to run away. You MUST mix it up, or the MK will eventually read when you try to flee and hit you, which will start a ladder combo that will almost-surely kill you. Alternate between fleeing and attacking: that way, your opponent won't be able to know when to shield your attack, or when to stop your retreat.

You should always stay a bit out of the range of MK's Dash Attack so, if you are camping on the ledge and his Dash Attack can actually reach you, your alarms should be ringing, and you must find a way to get out of there. If he throws you a mispaced Dash Attack on your shield, you can jab him or, more optimally, Shield Grab him.

In this MU, Shield Grab is your best friend. Try to bait your opponent to throw a risky/unsafe attack and punish it with a grab. Most combos will work on MK, if not all, so, at low percentages, go for UThrow->Bair /Nair; and at higher for UThrow->UpB->UAir /Bair (read) /Fair. Be careful and watch the percentages: if you UpB and end up above MK, you are surely going to be punished with a stock loss.

You can also use FTilt in this MU to punish rolls and Spotdodges. Some mispaced attacks can also be punished with FTilt.



---- Oh no: HE has the lead ----





If the MK has the lead and wisely decides to camp you out, then it's when the battle is really uphill for you. Don't throw Spindashes or Spincharges without a reason, since they will leave you in a bad spot (landing) which your opponent can easily use against you. Instead, try a patient-agressive style, pressuring him with your constant presence near him, always just outside of his Dash Attack range, baiting with Spindash Cancel and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Here, your best ally is the grab.

Eventually, even if he's playing defensively, he will throw out an attack, which you have to shield /Spotdodge and punish with a grab. Since Sonic's throw combos work really well on MK, you will have no trouble racking up damage quickly if you get a grab.

If you manage to read a roll, punish it with Spincharge and Spindash. They can rack up a lot of percentage and get you on the lead pretty quickly, meaning that you can finally start to play campy.

NEVER get greedy and go full aggro against a Meta Knight, because you are the one who will end up losing: always, if you want to go aggro, stay calm and wait for the perfect moment. Patience and Shield Grabbing are your best friends in this situation.




---- Advantage ----




- The corner: As said earlier, camping on the ledge should be your strategy at all cost, meaning that if you're going aggro is to get the lead and eventually start camping. The reason for that, as explained before, is because when you camp, MK is obligated to approach in the Neutral, in which he doesn't shine, and also because he gets his big combos negated. That means that, when Sonic camps in the corner, Meta Knight is made to play in his worst scenario and also can't use his strenghts: it's a double win for Sonic. But, you must always change ledges, or you'll be punished.



- MK lands: Because he doesn't have great tools for landing if his opponent is fast and chasing him from below, he needs to find mixups to touch the ground. For this, he can use the platforms around him, confuse his opponent below him jumping from one direction to another, or try to fall attacking with an aerial.

Sonic does well punishing landings with his Side B: chase him down until he tries to land, then punish with Spindash. Try to recognize patterns: how many jumps he/she does before landing; with what frequency does he/she fall attacking; if Down B is used as a mixup to land... then, punish his/her personal patterns.

You can also hit MK when he's on the air, even though it's way harder and even kind of risky but, if you read a patter when he's airborne, you can punish it. Example: he always jumps two times when he's trying to land; you can punish him with Instant Spindash Jump / Spindash Jump / BAir...



- MK is offstage: Even though MK has one of the best recoveries in the game, he is still in danger when he's offstage, especially when he's fighting a good Gimper like Sonic. Because of that, the MK will try to mixup his/her recovery so you can't punish it but, at the end, everyone uses one option more than others, especially under stressful situations. Try to detect their patterns: how many times they usually jump before recovering; if they use Side B a lot...

If you read her/him well, you can actually Stage Spike your opponent with a Fast-Falled BAir or hitting with the spring. Notice that both of these options are risky, since one of them leaves you offstage, and the other one in freefall, so choose wisely when to use them.



- Edgeguarding: There's not much to say about Edguarding him, since it's basically like you'd do with any other character, but there's one special thing to be careful about: MK can drop the ledge and hit you with a surprise Down B that can actually kill; be careful.

You can use your FTilt to punish Regular Getups and Roll Getups. To punish Jump Getup, throw a preventive BAir. For Attack Getup, just shield and punish.

You can trade a FSmash with his UpB, but it's really hard to get and there's a rare combo that MK can iniciate which is, if you don't DI, UpB->ledge grab->UpB. Trading with your FSmash is really hard to get, and risky: it's better just to let him grab the ledge.






---- Disadvantage ----




- Landing: One of Sonic's biggest weaknesses is landing. He has poor fall speed and fast fall speed, meaning that once he's on the air, it takes him more time to get back to the ground. That, combined with the lack of long-ranged aerials for walling out the opponent while landing, makes this situation a bad time for Sonic, especially against fast characters with good Dash Attacks, like Fox or Meta Knight.

Because of this, you must be very careful when landing in this MU: MK will hunt you from below waiting for the moment to strike a Dash Attack and iniciate a combo. To avoid a punish, you have to mixup your landings, and always land far away from MK, meaning that Spinshot is your best friend here. Change directions mid-air and don't make clear where and when you're going to land; when it's time, use your Spinshot or your Spindash to reach the ground far away from your opponent. Always land using an Auto-cancelled UAir.

Sometimes, landing trying to hit your opponent can be a good mixup, but just sometimes: Sonic will usually lose against MK if he tries to land attacking since, if shielded (which is easy and probable), he'll get punished hard.

It's a good idea to go offstage and grab the ledge from below using UpB. This way, the MK can't punish your landing, but you get yourself into an Edgeguard situation. The thing is, Sonic may be weaker landing against MK than getting to the stage from the ledge, so this tactic is actually recommendable.




- Above MK: This is the worst spot you can be in: Meta Knight is right under you looking for an UAir. When this situation comes in, the MK will use the information he has recollected from you throughout the game: if you Airdodge, if you jump, if you try trading, if you use this, or that... and from that, he will try to read your next move and connect an UAir. That's why you need to mixup your options here: if you get read, you die.

Usually, MKs try to go for the Airdodge read, so you might want to keep your Airdodges under the line and try jumping out. And, once you are out of his UAir range, you might proceed to the landing process, which we explained before.



- In a combo: This is what most people want to know: what do I do once I'm in his UAir combo? The way to get out is SDIing + DIing away and down, so you get more and more away from MK until his UAir doesn't connect anymore. He can also chase your DI, but mixing up the DI isn't going to work unless you try it in the last hit of the UpB, which is extremely risky.

If you get UAired until the end, you can exit the second hit of the UpB SDIing + DIing in. It's very risky, but, if done correctly, you can escape the second hit and survive, like with Zero Suit Samus' UpB. But be careful not to die because of it: if you are too close to the Blastzone, you might kill yourself if you try this tactic.

If you are really close to the ledge when the combo starts, always DI offstage to get him so far away from the stage that he can't come back if he ends the combo.



Another famous combo MK has is the Reset Combo. It's iniciated using a Fast-falled BAir that generates a Tech Situation that, if failed, can be used to Jab Lock you to start a full Ladder Combo afterwards. The only way to avoid this is to be careful with his BAirs when you are close to the ground, and prepare yourself to Tech when the time comes.



- Offstage: MK is a very good Gimper. Thanks to his jumps, fast aerials with good knockback, and his Side B and UpB, he can go outside and gimp easily any character, including Sonic. Be ready to tech, because your opponent can fast-fall or punish a 2-frame with NAir thanks to it's long-lasting hitbox. He can also try to BAir you or use his Up and Side Specials to Stage Spike you. MK's UpB is very fast and is impossible to react to, meaning that the only way to avoid it is to predict when he/she is going to throw it. If it hits you, you'll have to Tech or you'll lose a Stock.



- Edgeguard: MK is a good Edgeguarder thanks to his speed and fast Dash Attack. Be careful when using Regular Getup because MK can throw out a Dash Attack and hit you. He also can hit you with a FSmash to punish your Regular Getup, or even Two-frame you or punish your re-grab thanks to it's big hitbox that even reaches below.

The thing you must worry about the most is, at higher percentages (90+%) is Ledgetrumping. He can Trump really good and True Combo into a BAir that kills. Be ready to get out of the ledge quickly at those percentages or you'll get killed.




+++ Stages +++



---- To ban ----



- Battlefield/Dreamland: In these stages, if Meta Knight decides to camp, he'll probably win through a time out. He can use the platforms to have more landing options and to avoid contact and keep jumping away from conflict.

If he/she wants to go aggro, the platforms will help MK with his combos, bringing you closer the blast zones and resulting in earlier KOs, especially in Dreamland. You should always ban them.



- Town and City: The low ceiling in this stage helps MK get very early kills from his Ladder Combo. Also, the platforms help him like in Battlefield.

On the other hand, the stage turns into an "Omega", which is benefitial for Sonic. But still, it's not recommended to come here because of the low ceiling Blastzone.



---- To go to ----



- Final Destination: This is the best stage you could go to when fighting Meta Knight: there are not platforms to help MK, you have plenty of room to work with... The only problem is that the MK will probably ban this stage, if he doesn't want to use it's lack of platforms against you to punish your landings.



- Smashville: In this stage, the ceiling Blastzone is higher than in Town and City, and the platform isn't as useful for MK as in other stages. The only problem is the reduced size of the stage, which will make it harder to land as the MK will have less land to travel to get to you.















+++ Summary +++




Sonic’s neutral is focused on camping out on the ledge once he get's the lead. Approaching is usually not a good idea against Meta Knight, since your approaches against him are risky and he has one of the best Punish Games. Change ledges so he doesn't punish you when camping.

Always stay out of his Dash Attack range, and try to avoid contact. If you need to approach him because he has the lead, use a patient-agressive style in which you always stay close but just out of reach of his Dash Attack and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Spindash and Shield Grab are your best friends in this MU, and FTilt is also a good option. Never get greedy: be satisfied with one or two hits follow-ups; rack up damage slowly and waiting for the moment. Punish his landings reading his patterns with Side B.

Always land far away from MK and as safe as possible. For this, use Spindash and, especially, Spinshot.

If you get into a Ladder Combo, SDI + DI down and away. If, when inside a ladder combo, you are close to the ledge, go offstage. Careful with his Fast-falled BAir and train hard your Tech skill, because you'll need it when MK tries to Gimp or Stage Spike you. At higher percentages, wach out for his Trump.




Sonic wins this MU 55-45 with a slight advantage.




+++ Sets to watch +++




Guerao vs KAME | IvándeSevilla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygw9lzYv__s&t=627s



KEN vs FOX MVG | MKLeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAp6qBDumWI




Jasku vs KAME | IvándeSevilla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmAQvy4vpEo



Komorikiri vs Ito

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23oXosKdy2I




---- Thanks ----




I want to thank the following people:




IvándeSevilla

My rival and friend, top 10 in my country and best Meta Knight in Spain. I learned from every beating he's given me, and thanks to him, I now know very well how to fight his character.




Asancu, Guerao, ML2, Pefo, Andriu, and the rest of the Spanish Sonic Crew

Thanks for giving me advice on how to fight IvándeSevilla and how to improve myself as a player in general.



Camalange

He was the first one to help me out when I felt I wasn't progressing as I should in this MU. He gave me some advice that made me improve a lot as a player, and that made me look the MU from another perspective.




You!

Thanks for reading this! I wrote this to help Rucent on his Sonic and the Book of Matchups thread in SmashBoards. I hope it was helpul for him and for everyone who is reading this. We can beat those Meta Knights!