Oh yeah, that one. Yeah that sucked, Shannon. >< Could have gone to Tennessee tourney with Andy back then.
So here's a discussion topic:
Falcos
How does one deal with them?
I have yet to be truly competitive against a Falco in a tourney set, and I'd like to rectify that.
Step 1: Don't get grabbed.
Whenever you are at 0 to around 50% falco will grab you and bring you to around 50-60%. Falco can
-shield grab you
-drop shield, walk, and grab you on certain moves you throw that lag enough(dsmash is one, suprisingly)
-nair to grab
So obviously, you can't just sh fair/dsmash or w/e, and you can't play extra careful since lasers/IAP exist. Even perfect spacing on some moves will still result in you getting grabbed.
What you want to do is mix up your offense and not let the falco player get so comfy. SS fsmashes can punish a grab attempt as do reverse grounded shuttle loops. Get in the habit of dashing away before RGSL to properly space your loop and your possible glide attack.
Now, falco is going to shield. Do not try to dashgrab out of the blue. Falco's spotdodge/roll have more than enough invincibility frames to avoid grab/dash attack/etc. and then grab you. If you want to grab, you need mixup and momentum. An example is poking falco's shield from different angles(ftilt, dair), then going in from above with a fastfall airdodge reverse grab. Another grab mixup is gliding in towards a shielding falco, cancel glide right before you hit the ground and grab. This can be done normally in front, or aimed slightly behind falco for reverse grab. Remember to mix in your actual glide attack when performing this strat.
The rest of the matchup is getting falco offstage, using tornado effectively(for edgeguard and/or onstage followup i.e. after a dthrow) air chasing(your aerials vs. his, catching him on airdodge) and KO'ing. But if you can do step 1 right you've got momentum, the match and the set..
