Whoa in no way is default Thunder better for edge guarding than lasting thunder. The potential to gimp with default thunder is almost non existent. If you land lasting Pk thinder on them while they're recovering, they're probably dead if they can't reach the ledge with only their upB. Default thunder props them up, lasting thunder pushes them away.
Learning how to use lasting thunder effectively is quite difficult. Even learning what the optimal timing and stage position for using default thunder is hard enough, and it's far harder to use lasting thunder optimally. This makes it hard to switch between the two. But even though lasting thunder has a steeper learning curve, it's definitelty worth it.
Lasting Pk thunder is also an incredible tool in neutral. Against characters who have low mobility, it's very potent. You send pk thunder after them, and because they have low mobility they can't manuver around it easily. They're projectiles get eaten up and destroyed by the thunder while it's on its way. And if they shield the thunder, you can continue encircling their shield to get a free shield poke.
Mmm I think I have to disagree with you there (for now), but I don't mind debating it.
PKT is larger than Lucas' thunder. If your opponents vary their recovery patterns (for example, Fox prematurely using his Fire Fox when you expect an Illusion), PKT is more likely to catch both options due to its size. PKT might not be able to get kills as easily on its own, but it darn well sets them up for it. PKT pulling them onto the stage just to eat an uair is pretty amazing, or tailwhipping them to the point that they're forced to use an incredibly linear vertical recovery move that you can easily hit with an aerial.
There's another little mechanic I need to experiment with for edgeguarding too. Apparently if you take hitstun too close to a ledge, your UpB won't auto sweetspot. PKT does that REALLY often to opponents. I'm thinking there's potential to land something really nasty there.
On top of just PKT alone, PKT's fast and large hitbox forces people to recover high sometimes, allowing you to PKT2 them to the heavens. You can
sorta emulate that with Lucas thunder, but it's just not as easy OR rewarding.
PKT is just such free damage off stage too. It's really hard to get around it. You could argue that Lucas' thunder is better for that since it will actually gimp and KO, but from my experiences, it's not like it's a 100% gimp chance there. There are plenty of ways around it if your opponent recovers carefully.
I haven't tried it in neutral yet, but it's so small and slow that I feel like people can get around it just by jumping and air dodging. I don't even feel brave enough to toss out PKT in neutral, and it's faster and larger.
