Any Tips on my Secondary??

[underpowered]

So I main Ike, now, after switching from Charizard a while back.

I want (don't need) a secondary.

I played Yoshi in Melee, but... he's too good in this game (haha, I like underdogs and non-top tier characters) and his moveset is mostly the same so... whatever, I'm good with him but I don't think I want him as secondary.

I want kind of a "brawler with projectiles" for my secondary, I think. My main practice partner plays Pikachu, now, and also Ryu.

... BUT (and this is where you come in) I might as well pick someone that covers some bad matchups for Ike.

In the running, in order of me liking them are:

Toon Link
Kirby
Pit
Falco
Lucas

I like Kirby's play the most, regular attack wise, but he's got no projectiles. Falco I want to like, but felt "wonky" to me. Pit I really want to like, but I can't seem to string together anything combo wise with him and I find his hitboxes weird.

I tried playing Link for a long time, but he just wasn't... fast enough for me. I *instantly* felt better picking TL instead of him.

Anyhow, from these characters (or any you really recommend that aren't super tier), are there any clear like "oh this will cover X, Y and Z matchups" that I should consider or just go with what is feeling best, currently (Toon Link).

 

[Nidtendofreak]

Ike's only undoubtably bad MUs are Sheik and maybe ZSS. Beyond that is player preference.

Don't think any of those guys do particularly well against Sheik and ZSS.

 

[goose32]

Agreed with Nid, Sheik can give Ike serious problems, ZSS not as bad but she's still troublesome. I would personally recommend using Ryu, since he's a fantastic (but difficult to play) character. Shoryuken is arguably the best kill move in the entire game, and he has a bunch of different tools to deal with various situations. He has good enough frame data to compete with Sheik, so that matchup isn't a rough for him.

Link fits your description of "brawler with projectiles", but his frame data is pretty poor and he won't typically have more success against Sheik than Ike will.

Also, consider honestly why you don't want to play a character who's fully tournament viable. Often, that stems from pride; the desire to win with someone who is perceived as weak and show how good you truly are at the game. This can lead to resentment towards people who play good characters, which isn't fun for anybody (you're cranky that you lose to people you feel you're better than simply because they play a stronger character, and they're cranky that you're complaining while you intentionally choose to play a weaker character).
It can also be a result of fear; if you lose while you're playing a strong character, then the fault will lie with you, not your character. Playing a strong character means no excuses if you lose, and that can be off-putting to people.
I'm not saying to only play top tier characters, I'm an Ike main myself (but I think he's high tier). Just be completely honest with yourself as to why you're doing so.

 

[Finnhat]

Kirby has decent MUs against Sheik and ZSS since hes small/light enough to avoid a lot of their combos. He can also crouch under Sheik's needles and a lot of ZSS' moves which is huge in the neutral especially if he copies either of them. (The hard part is actually getting the inhale)
That along with the fact a lot of ppl dont have Kirby experience can work to your advantage in the MU, but the Kirby boards go into more detail

 

[underpowered]

Also, consider honestly why you don't want to play a character who's fully tournament viable. Often, that stems from pride; the desire to win with someone who is perceived as weak and show how good you truly are at the game.

Or the desire to have fun, Dr. Phil.

Honestly, I'm gonna mostly just get good with Ike and bust out whatever secondary I feel like when I'm goofing around, which seems to be Toon Link, currently.

Though... yeah, I do love Kirby, but I'm not sure he's the best vs Pikachu, which is a lot of who I end up playing.

 

[yo-yo_guy]

Quite honestly I don't find the Sheik match-up to be that bad, it's obviously in Sheiks favor but it's not anywhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Same deal with ZSS.

I find Ike's main problem to be is that he can be camped out pretty well. I have Game and Watch as a secondary and he covers most of the match-ups I find difficult such as Link and ROB since G&W can either bucket, duck or down-tilt to negate projectiles. He also has a great combo game, insanely good recovery and a very strong character, just underused. So maybe try out Game and Watch, he's crazy fun to play too, no feeling can compare to getting a 9, gimping with chef or a really powerful bucket! Also hardly anybody knows the match-up so that's fun too. Also if you play against Pikachu a lot he can bucket both thunder and thunder jolt, both of which are very powerful buckets.

Out of all your picks I almost want to say go Pit, he has a reflector (since Ike struggles with projectiles) and he has some good combos too, just a matter of learning them. (down-throw to up smash for example)

 

[Finnhat]

Though... yeah, I do love Kirby, but I'm not sure he's the best vs Pikachu, which is a lot of who I end up playing.

Yeah the Pika is pretty rough MU for Kirby even with the inhale.
Pit however doesn't have such a hard time against Pika from what I understand but don't quote me on that. Toon Link could be a good choice too. Maybe mix and match?

 

[goose32]

Playing to have fun is the way to go. It just didn't follow that playing a non-tier champ directly equates to fun. Play who you like, and screw tiers.

For me, I only play characters I enjoy and who look cool. It's shallow, I know, and I don't care; I'm that way in every video game I play. I mained Ike in Brawl, and he was low tier in that game, but I didn't main him because he was low tier.

 

[underpowered]

I think you guys are right on Pit, it makes a LOT of sense on paper as a secondary for Ike.

I just... am NOT good with him, haha. I can't make his hitboxes connect properly, particularly his ftilt and usmash.

I feel like a secondary should "feel natural" so you don't have to spend too much effort learning them and... as much as I WANT Pit to be my secondary... he just feels... a bit odd, to me. Maybe I'll revisit him when I'm better, fundamentally.