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Silvera

Silvera

Jammin' Jammies
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Silver's Era
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28

I got clucked.

Smooth Cucco
​
 
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Jason the Yoshi

Jason the Yoshi

Watching Me, Wanting Me
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
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18,791
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Waiting for Jesus
Fluttershy said:
You could try and root for the team you want to lose lol

45
Click to expand...
That's not the kind of person I am.

Of course, it IS to be expected because the NBA team in Minnesota can't do ANYTHING right, but I think it's just that I'm not born for basketball.

Carly's much better at it than I am, but that's because she's always been taller than me.
 
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Hat N' Clogs

Hat N' Clogs

John Tavares is a Leaf
Joined
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Southern tier NY state
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Jason the Yoshi said:
That's not the kind of person I am.

Of course, it IS to be expected because the NBA team in Minnesota can't do ANYTHING right, but I think it's just that I'm not born for basketball.

Carly's much better at it than I am, but that's because she's always been taller than me.
Click to expand...
That's ok lol. I don't like NBA basketball as well...now college basketball can be pretty fun, but professional bores me to tears...
I'll still root for the Phoenix Suns, and hate on the LA Lakers...but other than that, it isn't for me.

btw, out of curiosity, how tall are you? I'm 5'9"
 
Jason the Yoshi

Jason the Yoshi

Watching Me, Wanting Me
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
18,791
Location
Waiting for Jesus
Hat N' Clogs said:
That's ok lol. I don't like NBA basketball as well...now college basketball can be pretty fun, but professional bores me to tears...
I'll still root for the Phoenix Suns, and hate on the LA Lakers...but other than that, it isn't for me.

btw, out of curiosity, how tall are you? I'm 5'9"
Click to expand...
I'm 6 feet and 4 inches tall. That's three inches shorter than Carly.
 
Hat N' Clogs

Hat N' Clogs

John Tavares is a Leaf
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
7,858
Location
Southern tier NY state
3DS FC
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Switch FC
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58 stressful things

Kneutronic Kneutronic Since you were interested in reading my complete thoughts on Mario's placement within the Smash 4 meta, I have an essay for you. Other's here are welcome to read if they like. This essay took me a few hours to write:

Mario Analysis- The red plumber’s place in the meta in Smash 4

I have heard the joke many times of how “Mario isn’t even top 10/5, fam! Lol” It originated from Cloud 9’s Elliot “Ally” Carroza-Oayrce being pessimistic about his character, and not believing that he is a top tier for a while. Even so, Ally has won many nationals over the past many months, and he is one of the reason why Mario has risen to new levels, and is 5th place out of 58 on the current Smash 4 tier list, which gives him a middling position in the highest tier of S rank. However, even with this claim Ally made many months back, it has become an opinion of some of the Smash 4 community that Mario doesn’t deserve top 5, and would be better fit for 6th-10th or so. With the chance that the 3rd official tier list will be released very soon, along with the new tournament ruleset dropping this weekend, I figured it would be a better time than ever to analyze not only one of my mains, but also my favorite video game character of all time. Is he really top 5 like the backroom says? Or, is he “not even top 5” like the nay-sayers claim? I personally side with the backroom in agreement and that he is top 5, and I will explain why, right now.

Before we get into Mario’s hardcore stats and tournament results, the first point I would like to cover is my own personal philosophy of Smash 4 gameplay and meta growth. Unlike the past official Smash Bros. games, Smash 4 is pretty well balanced. Aside from the bottom 4 or so (out of 58 characters), it feels like every character, whether they’re the best in the game or a low tier, has the tools to at least be better than a useless, trash character. Famous examples of even low tiers being half-decent includes Prince Ramen and Palutena knocking the best smash 4 player in the world; ZeRo, and his Diddy Kong into losers bracket at CEO 2016, and at Genesis 4, a Duck Hunt main named Brood was able to knock ZeRo into losers with Duck Hunt. A third notable example is when Dath, the best Robin main in the world, was able to get 3rd place at Shine 2016 with his affirmed character, only losing out to ESAM and his Pikachu in 2nd, and ZeRo and his Diddy Kong in 1st. There are plenty of other upsets that occur within Smash 4, and those are three of the most memorable examples. With observing all of these upsets in our meta, the biggest and most important factor is that a main and his or her character absolutely NEED to adapt. Unlike most Smash games, the majority of the cast can pose a serious threat, and adapting is more important than ever before. With that in mind, I think Mario is one of those characters who is the best at adapting because of how well-rounded he is. My personal philosophy about Smash 4 is that adapting is more important than any special tech game or hype combo, because adapting is so central to Smash 4’s engine and meta.

Mario is a character who does fulfill this adaptation role. One of his main strengths is being very well-balanced, and aside from having a mediocre attack range, he has the tools to adapt to any matchup. Mario has an amazingly strong combo game, one of the best frame data stat averages on normals in the roster, a quick and safe recovery, overall good movement speed, solid neutral, and a slew of KO moves. Not only can Mario get in with his amazingly fast moves, but he can also combo you very well in most circumstances. Thirdly, his KO moves. Mario has a ton of KO moves, most notably his up smash. While it does have a bit of end lag on the end, as long as you time it correctly, it becomes a very scary move. It can KO a Diddy Kong at a solid 125% and much earlier with rage. The pivot jump cancel up smash tech also helps the smash’s mind game potential, along with KOing very consistently. Mario also has f-smash, down smash, back throw, super jump punch, down air, and up air near the ceiling, and back air and the f-air spike near the ledge. Granted, the aerial KO moves and SJP are situational KO moves as they only KO near the ceiling. However, even if you are on a flat stage like FD, Mario still has many tools he can use to finish the job.

Concerning weaknesses, one of Mario’s only weaknesses is his attack range. He seems to lose to characters with great sword play, like Corrin and Marth. However, Mario can still adapt in this situation due to his solid frame data and neutral game. I was watching the grand finals of Genesis 4, and even though Marth is one of the matchups that Mario loses, Ally was able to win 2 games against MKLeo, who happens to be the best Marth main in the world. Ally still lost 3-2, but it shows that even during an uphill battle, Mario can seriously put up an amazing fight, and even still have a good chance of winning. I think the Mario-Marth MU would be seen as significantly harder if a less experienced Mario main like ANTi or Zenyou was playing Leo in GF. However, Ally proved that when two players of nearly equal skill compete with each other, within the context of the Mario-Marth MU, Ally proved that Mario can still definitely win the MU, even if it is an uphill battle. To finish this point, even with Mario’s biggest weakness, it is clear to me that Mario can adapt, especially when your name is Ally.

Overall, Mario is certainly able to adapt in such an adaptation-heavy meta that is Smash 4. Now that I have explained why adaptation is so crucial in Smash 4, along with benefiting Mario, the second major point I would like to make is how his matchups work, along with his overall usage in tournament.

With matchups, there is only MU in which Mario mains commonly agree that Mario definitely loses, and that MU is Sonic. Optimal Sonic play normally revolves around the Sonic main camping out Mario, since that is what Sonic does best. Even so, this is far from an unwinnable matchup. Even before Ally became super dominant in the scene, he was able to take sets off the best Sonic main in the early meta; 6WX (the best Sonic now is probably Komorikiri). Every other MU is either a slight loss but still winnable, even, or winning for Mario. Mario is notable for being a counterpick to Diddy (who is considered to be the number 1 best character in the game), as Ally has become known as the “demon of ZeRo” within the 1.1.6 patch meta, coined by commentator D1 at Genesis 4. Ever since Get on my Level 2016, Ally has been able to win most of the sets he plays against ZeRo. He goes even with many of the top tiers, and even has a mostly even matchup with Cloud, despite Cloud’s sword range. This is due to Mario having amazing combo ability and edge guarding ability, which directly attacks Cloud’s two glaring weaknesses of being a big target and having a terrible recovery. Mario’s ability to take on Cloud at an even level has been proven by Ally being able to counter ZeRo’s Cloud at G4, along with having a positive record against his old Brawl doubles partner, Mew2King. Ally’s record against M2K is at least 2-1 in sets, in Ally’s favor.

Aside from having amazing matchups across the board, Mario is also an excellent character to counterpick as. This sub-point loops back around to how Smash 4 is very much about adapting, even more-so than the past Smash games due to solid game balance. Since Mario is extremely malleable and well-rounded, he is a great character to counterpick as. He may not be as popular as Cloud is concerning counterpicks, but I find Mario to be a better pick across the board for tough matchups due to how Mario is much better balanced, while Cloud’s weaknesses are easier to exploit. Mario has some counterpick representation as well, with NAKAT picking up Mario (alongside Lucina) as counterpick characters in order to complement Fox and Ness. Mario is also regarded as an easy character to counter others in doubles matches, due to how he is malleable and can adapt to any team. Overall, his usage in tournaments is phenomenal, with top Mario mains consistently placing in the top 16 or better, being a great doubles partner, and having strong popularity and use in general.

The third major point I have as to why I believe Mario is top 5 is the amount of nationals that he and his users have won during the 1.1.6 patch life. On May 17th, the 1.1.6 meta was born, with Bayonetta being harshly nerfed and thus causing no more issues of having overpowered characters. Here are the list of nationals that have occurred since that patch has dropped, along with the finalists and their mains in each:

· Get on my Level:

o Winner: Ally (Mario)

o Runner-up: ZeRo (Diddy)

· MomoCon

o Winner: Nairo (Zero Suit Samus)

o Runner-up: Ally (Mario, Cloud/Marth alternates)

· 2GGT Mexico Saga

o Winner: Larry Lurr (Fox, DK/Mario alternates)

o Runner-up: ZeRo (Diddy Kong, Cloud alternate)

· KTAR XVIII

o Winner: Nairo (ZSS, Cloud alt)

o Runner-up: Dabuz (Rosalina)

· Smash n’ Splash 2

o Winner: Ally (Mario)

o 2nd: ZeRo (Diddy, Cloud alt)

· Apex 2016

o Winner: Dabuz (Rosalina)

o 2nd: VoiD (Sheik, Fox alt)

· Low Tier City 4

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: Nairo (ZSS)

· CEO 2016

o Winner: ANTi (Mario, Cloud/ZSS/MK alt)

o 2nd: Zinoto (Diddy)

· WTFox 2

o Winner: Dabuz (Rosalina, Olimar alt)

o 2nd: Mr. R (Sheik)

· EVO 2016 (Biggest Smash 4 tournament ever)

o Winner: Ally (Mario)

o 2nd: Kamemushi (Megaman)

· 2GGT KTAR Saga

o Winner: Pink Fresh (Bayonetta)

o 2nd: Marss (ZSS)

· Smash Factor 5

o Winner: MKLeo (Meta Knight, Marth/Cloud alt)

o 2nd: Mr. R (Sheik)

· Clutch City Clash

o Winner: Abadango (Mewtwo, MK/Pacman alt)

o 2nd: Samsora (Peach)

· Smash Con 2016

o Winner: Nairo (ZSS)

o 2nd: Dabuz (Rosa, Olimar alt)

· Umebura SAT

o Winner: KEN (Sonic)

o 2nd: Dabuz (Rosa, Olimar alt)

· Shine 2016

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: ESAM (Pikachu)

· Syndicate 2016

o Winner: Mr. R (Sheik, Bayo alt)

o 2nd: Rich Brown (Mewtwo)

· 2GGT Abadango saga

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: Larry Lurr (Fox)

· Big House 6

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: ANTI (Mario, ZSS/Cloud alt)

· KTAR XIX

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: Salem (Bayo)

· Smashdown World

o Winner: Komorikiri (Cloud/Sonic)

o 2nd: ANTi (Mario, Cloud/ZSS alt)

· UGC Smash Open

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy)

o 2nd: Abadango (Mewtwo)

· 2GGT ZeRo Saga

o Winner: MKLeo (Marth, Cloud alt)

o 2nd: Larry Lurr (Fox)

· Umebura X Single Chu

o Winner: KEN (Sonic)

o 2nd: 9B (Bayo)

· 2GGC Genesis Saga

o Winner: ZeRo (Diddy, Sheik alt)

o 2nd: Komorikiri (Cloud/Sonic)

· Genesis 4

o Winner: MKLeo (Marth, Cloud alt)

o 2nd: Ally (Mario)

This means Mario mains have placed in the Grand Finals in top nationals 8 times since 1.1.6 was dropped, with Mario mains winning 4 of those 8. With the other meta central characters, here’s the number of times they have been the main (NOT an alternate. We are not counting those) of a user in GF:

Diddy: 11

Sheik: 4

Rosa: 5

Fox: 3

Bayo: 3

Cloud: 1 (.5 plus .5, since Komo uses Cloud and Sonic evenly)

ZSS: 4

Mewtwo: 3

Marth: 2

Sonic: 3 (would be higher, but see Komo point in Cloud section)

When looking at this, only Diddy Kong beats Mario in times that a top tier has appeared in Grand Finals of a national as a main character, rather than an alternate character. This not only shows that Mario is definitely a character who is viable for national wins, but compared to the other characters, Mario stands out above almost all the rest with appearances in Grand Finals as a main character.

With all that has happened in this meta’s life, I certainly agree that Mario is worthy of being placed within the top 5 of Smash 4’s roster. He is the poster child of adaptability in this game, his stats are very well-balanced and threatening, his matchup spread is overall strong, his popularity in tournaments is very high within both the singles and doubles circuit, and his appearances in Grand Finals so many times during 1.1.6, I certainly do think that Mario deserves to be in the top 5 of the roster for Super Smash Bros. 4. Not only is he good on his own, but he proves himself as being set apart from many of the other top tiers as well.

Sources:

· National tournament streams (Twitch and Youtube)

· Smashboards Tournament Rankings system and project

· The Smash 4 Mario official discord channel

· SSBwiki

Note: For now, this essay could easily be just a first draft. As I learn more about Mario, I will revise this essay when necessary. It would also be good to revise later because at time of writing, I am ill along with battling personal struggles. That way, my mind can learn while also feeling healthy enough to learn more about the Smash 4 meta and revise.


Edition 1: 1/29/17 1:44PM EST
 
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