Young link has an extremely fast and versatile kit, with quick aerials and great zoning. but his best move is probably his down b. Bombs lead into many kill options, they’re a powerful zoning tool, and in smash ultimate they can be used in a lot of ways that we are just starting to learn about
Bombs come out relatively quick, but getting one out on the field at close range can be difficult. Thus, it’s much better to have one or two out on the field, or better yet in hand, before you engage or approach. Luckily, unlike toon links bombs, young links bombs don’t explode easily on contact and there are a lot of ways to use this.
The easiest method to plant a bomb is to just press a or z. A soft tossed bomb stays on the ground while a hard toss explodes on contact.
A faster and more mobile way to plant bombs is to short hop z drop or full hop z drop. The time window is pretty easy once you get the hang of it, but a short hop bomb plant is performed by simultaneously pressing x or y and z on the GameCube controller, and a full hop bomb plant you press jump and then z about four frames or or 1/15 of a second later
Out of shield, a bomb throw down explodes and can lead into a kill confirm, but this has to be perfectly timed
A z drop out of shield comes out around frame 4,, and it can be instantly followed up by an aerial. If the bomb hits you can follow up with various true combos including kill confirms, and if the bomb misses it stays in play covering an area and allowing for faster bomb combos and mix ups. You can use any bomb plant aerial out of shield, but Nair is the most useful at close range.
Now here’s where things get interesting.
If you time your aerial perfectly after a z drop, you can perform what i call a a Z juggled aerial, or z jair
It’s easiest to do this is with Nair, but it can be used with any aerial and with many different characters and items as well. For instance toon links bombs and Diddy Kong’s bananas can utilize this mechanic. Peach and daisy can already aerial with turnips, so it doesn’t help them much. A z jair is performed by pressing z then instantly aerialing to perform the aerial while still holding the bomb. You can essentially juggle the bomb as you run around performing aerials and wait for just the right moment to use them. You can also mix up your timing between a z jair and a jumping bomb plant to cover more options and pressure your opponent. I’ve yet to discover everything you can do with this, but the potential is huge. Some other useful tips are that bombs don’t hurt you if they’ve hit your opponent. Bomb planting and zjairing can be great mixups for edgeguarding, ledge trapping, covering platforms, and tech chasing. Fun fact the links shields are actually really helpful now, as they can deflect bombs and explosions.
In terms of counter play: it should go without saying that attacking a shielded young link is not a great idea, since if he has a bomb he can use all sorts of out of shield shenanigans, and if he doesn’t have a bomb he can punish with his tether grab. Try to switch between aggression and baiting based on his bombs, and be patient against his zoning while looking for a gap. Most players have a sort of rotating pattern of projectiles and evasion that you should try to notice and capitalize on. Rather than throwing the bombs back at young link or trying to hit them away, you should do a quick attack like a well spaced tilt or projectile to interrupt link during his bomb grab, bomb toss, or boomerang throw.
