Approach options for Mario

[VekelTheMan]

Hey guys, I've been having a hard time approaching fast/projectile based characters lately with Mario and I was wondering how do you guys approach your enemy? I know that b-air is good and has little lag. Also, fireballs are good at forcing the enemy to approach but other than that I'm kind of lost. What do you guys think?

 

[HeroMystic]

My main approach tools are D-air and Running Shield.

Mostly Running Shield.

 

[A2ZOMG]

Try charging FLUDD against projectile campers and then pushing them off the ledge. @ BSP has found that extremely useful.

 

[BoTastic!]

IDK about you guys but I find Fludd to be a much better keep away than Mario's fireballs.The smarter players I fight just punish my fireball post lag while fludd stops opponents in their tracks unless they're shielding. Sometimes they might get a little impatient and frustrated with fludd pushing them away all the time leading up to some opportunities to punish.

 

[BSP]

My main approach tools are D-air and Running Shield.

Mostly Running Shield.

Try charging FLUDD against projectile campers and then pushing them off the ledge. @ BSP has found that extremely useful.

IDK about you guys but I find Fludd to be a much better keep away than Mario's fireballs.The smarter players I fight just punish my fireball post lag while fludd stops opponents in their tracks unless they're shielding. Sometimes they might get a little impatient and frustrated with fludd pushing them away all the time leading up to some opportunities to punish.

Second all of this.

You can try Reverse Aerial Rush (abbreviated RAR) Bair too. Just in case you don't know what it is, it's a fancy way to describe running in a direction, turning around, and jumping during the turnaround so that you can do Bairs on enemies right in front of you.

If you're not playing offline, having fast fireball will help Mario's midrange game a bit, and HPFLUDD will make everything FLUDD related work even better.

Like A2Z said, push extreme projectile campers off of the stage with FLUDD, free approach for you. The only way they can avoid being pushed is shield, like BoTastic said, which means they're not throwing things at you.

 

[-Se7en-]

You shouldn't really approach unless you absolutely have to. Fireballs work wonders and will force an approach on impatient players.
If you have to, go with what BSP said and RAR Bair however you need to space it.

 

[Maruigi]

D-Air, RAR Bair, Shield rush, short hop nairs depending on projectiles. Sometimes depending on the character I try to fast fall in close proximity after dropping a fireball from the air. But these are idealistic, it's hard to approach on Mario when the other player plays correctly,

 

[Coolwhip]

http://smashboards.com/threads/learning-to-use-marios-fludd-101.335876/#post-15466237

All of Mario's fludd options. (from brawl, but may help in smash 4)

@ BoTastic! How about retreating fireballs (wavebouncing) against the smarter players?

 

[BoTastic!]

I don't think fireball is very good in this game. Probably with laggy matches but Mario has too much end lag from them.

 

[HeroMystic]

I don't think fireball is very good in this game. Probably with laggy matches but Mario has too much end lag from them.

It's nice to use vs grounded opponents, in combination with D-air. Otherwise, I prefer shield rushing.

 

[BoTastic!]

If customs ever become accepted in the Unity rule set I'd rather use the fast fireball.

 

[Hacky]

Fast Fireball does do wonders, but seeing as though customs wont be legal for a while on WiiU, if ever, that's not really possible. Anticamping with FLUDD has been tricky for me in the past, but if you're going against campers, the first thing you need to think about is the stage selections. The more platforms, the better for you, in my opinion and experience. Battlefield and new Smashville are fantastic. I also like to fast fall follow my fireballs with nair. Nair cancels incredibly well and can lead to grab, dsmash, tilts, etc. I only alt Mario, so my opinion isn't to be taken too seriously, but this is just what Ive found.

 

[UpBforVictory]

Hey guys, I've been having a hard time approaching fast/projectile based characters lately with Mario and I was wondering how do you guys approach your enemy? I know that b-air is good and has little lag. Also, fireballs are good at forcing the enemy to approach but other than that I'm kind of lost. What do you guys think?

Try baiting them into an up-tilt chain or pivot your fireballs to mind-game them.

 

[Coolwhip]

Using custom moves could benefit Mario in certain match-ups.....

 

[Underhill]

SH fireballs, SH Nair, Fox Trot and Dance Trot for a dash attack or a grab, and pivot fireballs.

 

[Ha Sarcasm]

Depends who im playing character wise. If im playing someone who puts on alot of pressure. I set up my wall of SH back airs. Other characters like ganon i use fireballs wait for him to approach then punish.
I also find my self using dair to dtilt or dsmash or SH nair!

 

[FrankTheStud]

Mario actually has quite a lot of approaching options, it just depends on the character and their playstyle. Approaching with cape/fireballs against characters such as Link works very well, while it doesn't work well with characters like Pac-Man. Cape/fireball may work well for Megaman as well. The challenge with approaching with Cape is that it requires quite a bit of reading, but it definitely pays off to turn a Megaman's forward smash or a Link's arrow back at him and comboing with upairs afterwards. Switching it up with FLUDD to gain stage control is good in almost any scenario, especially against rushdown/fast characters like Mac or Falcon. Campy characters will allow you to recharge FLUDD fairly often, as they play "keep away" very well, but if they have nobody chasing them, it's just a game of "run away."
Shield play is important, but very risky. Falcon and Sonic specifically are notorious for having great dash-grabs and pivot grabs, so hanging around too long in shield isn't a very good option against those characters. However, using fireballs while airborne/shorthopped to break momentum isn't a bad idea, and using Mario's dash if they're trying to rush you isn't a bad idea either. Mario's movement speed increases slightly when he goes down into his dash animation, and can lead to some jukes against characters like Falcon who may be expecting to do his (somewhat) clunky dash attack against you, or expecting to dash-grab you. Luckily, Mario's dash actually combos pretty decently, as long as you jump and react quickly enough. It's hitbox also stays out forever. Don't do it too often, though, as it will become predictable and succumb to shield/grab play.

My hardest characters to approach, honestly, are spacie characters. Rosalina, Marth, Lucina, Shulk, Dedede, and Rob are all incredibly difficult for Mario to get in on. I'm sure there are more, but these just come off the top of my head.

 

[FrankTheStud]

I don't think fireball is very good in this game. Probably with laggy matches but Mario has too much end lag from them.

What? Mario's fireballs are great. Using them on grounded opponents when approaching the stage is magnificent, and using them to break pressure is good, too. Mario's fireballs cause a good bit of hitstun should they hit, and force shields up and down should your opponent shield it. Yes, Mario's fireballs are laggy, but shorthopping and using them is a very good momentum-breaking/approaching method for Mario.

 

[A2ZOMG]

What? Mario's fireballs are great. Using them on grounded opponents when approaching the stage is magnificent, and using them to break pressure is good, too. Mario's fireballs cause a good bit of hitstun should they hit, and force shields up and down should your opponent shield it. Yes, Mario's fireballs are laggy, but shorthopping and using them is a very good momentum-breaking/approaching method for Mario.

The best use of Fireballs is B reversing them to change your landing or to fake approach. They're not very good for camping or actually approaching against anyone that isn't committing to anything.

 

[FrankTheStud]

The best use of Fireballs is B reversing them to change your landing or to fake approach. They're not very good for camping or actually approaching against anyone that isn't committing to anything.

No, you don't camp with them...You short hop harass, edgeguard from below, or approach ledges with them to get people off of them. Mario's fireballs are very good, you just have to be creative when you use them. His fireballs are also good for reflecting projectiles the cape cannot, such as Dedede's gordos.

 

[iboogiealex]

to me, spacing away from them and then approaching with a fireball will sometimes force them to shield, which you can then go for a good grab and start up any trick you know

 

[SprayPaint]

IDK about you guys but I find Fludd to be a much better keep away than Mario's fireballs.The smarter players I fight just punish my fireball post lag while fludd stops opponents in their tracks unless they're shielding. Sometimes they might get a little impatient and frustrated with fludd pushing them away all the time leading up to some opportunities to punish.

I find fireballs more useful because I use them in air. A good starting move is Jump and use Fireball then if they shield run toward them and grab them. That's how I approach.