No matter how good you are at long range pressuring, eventually your opponent will get to you...But don't worry, Toon Link has a ton of ways to battle up close. To begin with, like very other character, he has out of shield options. Basically, you let your opponent attack your shield, and then drop it and immediately use a move to punish your opponent while they are in the lag from their attack. Generally, you want to use the most damaging moves with the most knockback to punish your opponents out of shield. Toon Link happens to have 2 semi strong attacks to punish with, his Forward Air, doing 13%, and his Usmash, doing around 15%. Both deal around the same damage, so you can use either really. However, if your opponent is in killing range, choose your attack based on the stage/position on the stage. If you are on Green Greens and you are in the middle, it doesn't make sense to Fair since the stage is pretty wide, and there are blocks blocking the middle section off from the other two sections. You're going to want to Usmash, since the ceiling is very low. Toon Link's grab can do around 10% damage if you feel like shield grabbing or you want to grab your opponent when their shield is up. Make sure to always press A to smack them once while you hold them before throwing them to achieve maximum damage. Utilt is amazing for beginning combos, however after the first few your opponent is likely to airdodge the next...Use this to your advantage by pressuring them when they land. If they airdodge into shield, you have 3 frames in between to hit them. Use this to your advantage, and attack during those 3 frames. Uair isn't really the greatest of killing moves, but definitely should be taken into consideration for juggling. The duration of this attack is what makes it so great. It stays out for awhile, making it a prime candidate to punish airdodges with. Follow their DI with your own, and you can probably hit them when as their airdodge ends, if you timed it right. Dsmash works very well for punishing rolls and spotdodges, since it hits behind and in front of you, so keep that in mind.
Toon Link is a combo machine. Mainly his Utilts and Bairs. Utilts, as stated before, can really get the damage going. You can do 2 Bairs in one shorthop, and then you have more jumps to do a few more. Again, airdodging ruins this, so play a good mixup game by predicting the airdodges, using your Uair to punishes airdodges, if you're close to the ground, land and pivot grab if they land into shield. Just remember to mix it up and keep it fresh, haha.
If you want to regain your space, there are many ways to do this. Rolling and running works if their shield is up, most of the time. If their shield is not up, you can use the jab series to quickly knock your opponent away, as it's Toon Link's fastest move and faster than a lot of moves your opponent will be using against you. Jab series also counts as 3 hits toward attack deterioration, so it will regenerate your moves quickly, and furthermore regenerates itself. You can attack their shield with an aerial, and then DI away to retreat and gain your space back...Even better, you can attack with an aerial, DI back, and before you hit the ground, shoot an arrow to prevent them from chasing you. Hot ****. Also, you can attack their shield with an aerial, DI back, and then airdodge into shield...They have literally 3 frames to punish you between your airdodge and shield. It's a very safe option.
To kill them, normally you're going to want either Usmash, Fair, or Fsmash, however the 2nd hit of Fsmash can be DI'd out of, if they DI away and jump. This makes the move much less useful, as the higher percent your opponent gets, the easier it will be for them to avoid the second hit, since the first hit will knock you farther away the higher your damage is. Basic gameplay strategies apply to getting off your killing moves. Wait for a spotdodge, Usmash when your close. If you space your Fairs in the air, you should be able to outrange a bunch of characters, so opponents may end up dying to random aerial battles. Toon Link's ground game isn't really all that stellar. He can use jab series for a quick attack with enough knockback to regain his spacing. His Hookshot outranges a lot of your opponent's attack, but shouldn't be spammed due to it's riskiness. As stated before, his Fsmash is good, but at higher percents, it's killing ability becomes more and more useless, however it's still a good attack for it's range and unpredictability. Sometimes if you hit an opponent's shield with the first attack, they let go of their shield and get hit by the second. If they shield the first attack and you know they will shield the second attack, you can simply not attack, which is a safe option. His Dsmash, while not the greatest killing move, has range. It hits in front and behind of Toon Link, making it a good option for punishing rolls.
