Charizard Videos Thread

[Charey]

Although this isn't necessarily accurate, I learned a few things from it and it could help people beginning to play Charizard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTXR1wx6-oo

I will note that this video is un-patched(Flare-Blitz does %5 on start-up as of the Mewtwo patch) so that makes it a little off with details because of that.

But still writing off flamethrower as just a minor damage/annoyance tool in a tutorial video shows that he doesn't know much about actually playing Charizard, mostly this seems like a video about how to For Glory with Zard.

 

[KingsHaki]

A couple of good vids for Charizard vs Villager:

I know I may seem out of control but that's how I play the Villager matchup. Push the tempo so they don't set up camp!

 

[TrainerCharred]

Charizard (vs) Ditto

Also for funsies: For Glory never fails to dissapoint.

 

[SirJuicius]

Captain Falcon beatdown:

I was slightly embarrassed about the "KO" haha. Luckily I rebounded and returned the favor:

 

[charizardbro]

So I played some pretty good Sheiks on 3DS Smash Ladder recently. I was hoping you all could help me with the MU a little. Keep in mind that the quality of the camera exceeds the quality of the screen but I think these actually turned out pretty damn well considering these were recorded on a phone. Much better than last time. Keep in mind these are 3 stock 8 minute games.

Edit: I swear it looks better than the thumbnails.

We each lost our first stocks at about 130%. I lost my second at 175%. He lost his second at 123%. 60% deficit heading into the last stock which is brought back as close as 22% before I lose my last stock at 166%, losing the game by about 80%. I certainly had my chances to take that last stock though. I just didn't take them. Very low lag match.

I lost first stock at 220%. He lost his as 121%. I lost my second at 79%. He lost his at 118%. I brought it as close as about a 40% deficit before i lost my last stock at 118% (I DI'd vanish wrong too so i probably could have lived longer). I never had the percent lead. Felt like I was on my back foot the whole time. The lag was notable so I got hit by needles and bouncing fishes that I should not have but that's still no excuse.

He lost his first stock at 139%. I lost my first stock at 171%. I have a 55% lead going into my second stock. He lost his second stock at 111%. Pretty close to a full stock lead going into his last stock. He lost his last stock at 151%. Also very low lag.


The first two Sheiks are pretty clearly way better than the last. I have problems dealing with Sheiks that rack up as much damage at low percent as the first two Sheiks do. They don't play a flawless game but I find it hard to overcome the fact that letting one of them get in on you at 0% means they can take 40%-50% from you before you get back stage control. I always feel like I'm chasing that initial lead and then I'm forced to try to bring it back with clutch low percent rock smashes. Any kill that Sheik gets before 150% is a bit of a heart breaker.

How do I approach this MU better?

 

[Knee Smasher]

Aside from some spacing issues (such as not positioning yourself far enough away from the ledge to prevent Sheik from rolling behind you when you try to edgeguard her with Flamethrower), and not using Charizard's best and most defining move, Flamethrower enough, I do not think that you made many outright mistakes in those matches. There is nothing you can do except gain more experience and practice if you wish to defeat an opponent who can outmindgame you more than you can outmindgame them.

Anyway, here are two matches I had against some exceedingly tough opponents:

 

[charizardbro]

Aside from some spacing issues (such as not positioning yourself far enough away from the ledge to prevent Sheik from rolling behind you when you try to edgeguard her with Flamethrower), and not using Charizard's best and most defining move, Flamethrower enough, I do not think that you made many outright mistakes in those matches. There is nothing you can do except gain more experience and practice if you wish to defeat an opponent who can outmindgame you more than you can outmindgame them.

Anyway, here are two matches I had against some exceedingly tough opponents:

I don't really feel like I'm having problems with the mindgames though. Everyone and their mother knows Shiek is going to approach you with SH fair or a dash grab or just toss needles. Neutral is where Charizard (and therefore I) struggle the most. Mindgames out of Dthrow are an issue but I think that our neutral game is a far larger problem in that MU. We don't even have good options to use in neutral and Sheik has 3.

Am I supposed to throw out jabs at the aerial approaches? Do use jabs after I shield Fair? How often am I supposed to use Dtilt? Should I be using Ftilt as an anti-air on Sheiks short hops? Is SH Fair even worth using as an approach considering how easy it is for Shiek to punish on whiff? Did I misuse or neglect to use any good options, essentially.

Also Flamethrower is kind of ass in that MU. If Shiek reads it and hops the flames, you get carried away by Fairs. If Shiek mashes bouncing fish, you lose the trade. If Shiek shields, she straight up picked the wrong option. Best case scenario is you cut the flames early and you bait+punish a bad bouncing fish. What if she doesn't bouncing fish though? What if she just tosses/charges needels during your lag or resets to neutral? You've only succeeded in annoying her and you don't get a fresh Flamethrower for potential edge guards. Not worth.

Anywho, thoughts about your games:

Dtilt is really good in the Luigi MU; you should use that a ton more. It's way safer on whiff than jabs (he got a dash grab after some missed jabs) because you can usually jab Luigi before he gets to punish. Just don't do it when Luigi charges an Fsmash because he can hit you on the way back. I'm pretty sure it clanks with a ton of stuff too. It also covers rolls way better than jabs imo. Especially after that buff. It's also safe in shield because Luigi's traction is awful.

Also consider using Utilt after people shield your Nair while on a platform. It covers OoS jump really well but sacrafices some of the horizontal coverage that Usmash provides. Luigi didn't seem to be jumping away from Usmash though so you were using the right option. It's just something to remember.

You should also probably consider stopping your jabs after Jab 2 when they whiff. Maybe not all the time, but if you want that last jab for its range, youre usually better off just using F/Dtilt anyway. It's also harder to punish on shield/whiff if Luigi doesn't know when you are going to stop jabbing. Faster characters sometimes get to you either way but they at least run the risk of dashing into your third jab if they try to punish jab 2. This keeps a lot of people at bay in my experience.

Also definitely shield Link/Tink's projectiles. They aren't like DHD and Dedede who can actually move and damage you a lot while they have strong hitboxes floating around on the stage (in which case, you're very often better off avoiding rather than shielding so that you can avoid the opponents normals easier). They have some bomb setups but that's about it. Tink also has a hitbox on the return part of his boomerang but if you just shield the first part, you have nothing to worry about. These characters really can't act independently of their projectiles so just shield them and move on. No need to jump and stuff for those MUs, generally speaking. Certainly don't jump over projectiles shot from a distance.

Exciting matches for sure. You might want to mount that camera next time though.

 

[RadianB]

How do I approach this MU better?

I'm not really good at explaining how to deal with match ups so I uploaded some videos of me versus Sheik to show how I play the match up. These guys are pretty good however it's on For Glory so only omega stages. I used to have more before the update but never got a chance to upload them.

 

[charizardbro]

I'm not really good at explaining how to deal with match ups so I uploaded some videos of me versus Sheik to show how I play the match up. These guys are pretty good however it's on For Glory so only omega stages. I used to have more before the update but never got a chance to upload them.

Thanks for these videos. I like your Zard. Seems like low percent is a struggle no matter what. We are combo food, after all. The way you handled neutral was great though. Not to take anything away from your great replays but I don't think those Sheiks were quite as willing to needle camp or pressure you at the ledge. Either way, fewer empty hops and Fairs, more Nairs seems to be the trick to me. Have you ever had a Sheik mash bouncing fish while you were flame thrower-ing them though? I wish I could use that move more in the MU but it always seems to bite me in the ass. I'll try taking them to FD and report back. If they don't needle camp, I think this might just be exactly what I needed. Thanks again.

 

[RadianB]

Thanks for these videos. I like your Zard. Seems like low percent is a struggle no matter what. We are combo food, after all. The way you handled neutral was great though. Not to take anything away from your great replays but I don't think those Sheiks were quite as willing to needle camp or pressure you at the ledge. Either way, fewer empty hops and Fairs, more Nairs seems to be the trick to me. Have you ever had a Sheik mash bouncing fish while you were flame thrower-ing them though? I wish I could use that move more in the MU but it always seems to bite me in the ***. I'll try taking them to FD and report back. If they don't needle camp, I think this might just be exactly what I needed. Thanks again.

Yeah I don't really use prolonged Flamethrowers often in this match up, I just use it to interrupt some of her moves. I literally just tap the B button once when using Flamethrower.
These matches are just random video's of a 10+ set I played against those Sheiks so they've tried to adapt to my playstyle which is why they weren't going off the ledge very often against me because they'd thought I'd recover high with Flare Blitz. Initially they were very aggressive off the stage. Rock Smash is also a great move when you're falling back towards the ledge, if I see a Sheik jumping towards me whilst I'm off stage above the ledge I'll Rock Smash. She really can't do anything against it except maybe Bouncing Fish but the Rock Shards tend to neutralise it or go through it.
If I ever play a needle camp Sheik I'll upload the video.

 

[charizardbro]

Yeah I don't really use prolonged Flamethrowers often in this match up, I just use it to interrupt some of her moves. I literally just tap the B button once when using Flamethrower.
These matches are just random video's of a 10+ set I played against those Sheiks so they've tried to adapt to my playstyle which is why they weren't going off the ledge very often against me because they'd thought I'd recover high with Flare Blitz. Initially they were very aggressive off the stage. Rock Smash is also a great move when you're falling back towards the ledge, if I see a Sheik jumping towards me whilst I'm off stage above the ledge I'll Rock Smash. She really can't do anything against it except maybe Bouncing Fish but the Rock Shards tend to neutralise it or go through it.
If I ever play a needle camp Sheik I'll upload the video.

Ill havw to try that.

Yea but if they see you recovering low, they should either throw out an aerial offstage or cover your ledge options (both of which Sheik does extremely well). They seemed to be going for more reads instead of just reacting to what option you used. They also didnt try to ledge trump you and we get kinda rekt off of trumps.

High recoveries with Flare Blitz should get punished unless you are going over their bouncing fish or they've already used their seocnd jump offstage. Rock smash sounds good though ty.

 

[RadianB]

Ill havw to try that.

Yea but if they see you recovering low, they should either throw out an aerial offstage or cover your ledge options (both of which Sheik does extremely well). They seemed to be going for more reads instead of just reacting to what option you used. They also didnt try to ledge trump you and we get kinda rekt off of trumps.

High recoveries with Flare Blitz should get punished unless you are going over their bouncing fish or they've already used their seocnd jump offstage. Rock smash sounds good though ty.

Ledge trumps aren't guaranteed if you input your get up option fast enough. The Sheik in the second video was trying to go for them in prior matches but I wouldn't allow it.

 

[charizardbro]

Ledge trumps aren't guaranteed if you input your get up option fast enough. The Sheik in the second video was trying to go for them in prior matches but I wouldn't allow it.

Sure, but that's only part of the larger point. All I'm saying is that those Sheiks could have bullied you way harder at the ledge and they didn't needle very much either. These are two pretty big things that make our experiences with the MU different. Might mashing a get up option help me? Absolutely. It doesn't solve the bigger problem though.

I dunno man maybe I just need to git gud at fighting at the ledge.

 

[KuroganeHammer]

I played some Charizard a month or so ago after the buffs and forgot to post it.

https://youtu.be/6lbOY-bZSDM?t=1h10m34s

Games 1 & 3; binary option the character is definitely fun to play as!

 

[Knee Smasher]

Here is an epic match I had with Charizard. The following video is a response to this video:

 

[SkyboundTerror]

Ganon vs. 'Zard matches are so fun. The matchup is always a spitting match and the winner is determined by the amount of disrespect they can show. I spat the most this time.

Same can be said for Captain Falcon matches, at times.

And here's a match I had against a Samus where I'm proud of the ending!

I don't have many replays out of a few FG matches, sadly. They're often the most dull. I was never one to save replays, though I am trying to get into the habit. I'll have to upload Delphino and Battlefield shenanigans.

 

[Charey]

Here is a match vs Luigi from my weekly, my play was a bit sloppy at times but I think it's good overall, any advice to improve would be appreciated.

 

[Knee Smasher]

Here are two great battles I had last night against the best Rosalina player I know, with him 3-stocking me in one match and me doing the same to him in another. We have both fought each other countless times in the past, so we both pretty much know each other's playstyles and character matchups off by heart, leaving the outcome of any match we play entirely up to mindgames, which results in funny things like this happening:

 

[ksizl4life]

Hey all, ksizzle of VitaminZK here. We have a video series detailing a breakdown on the latest patch and we recently released a video for various characters including Charizard. Hope you enjoy!

 

[DanishButrCookies]

 

[_gold_]

Apparently, Charizard's Flare Blitz got nerf'd.

Nah, I probably just hit him with a sour spot. I still found it funny though.

 

[Appdude]

A really intense match I had against a Fox player in a Online EU Tourney held yesterday. It started off badly for me, but then amazing things happen once in a while. Critique are welcome

This is why "the charizard". Nuff said.

 

[EvilPinkamina]

Apparently, Charizard's Flare Blitz got nerf'd.

Nah, I probably just hit him with a sour spot. I still found it funny though.

Looks like you only hit him with the first hit of flareblitz.

 

[Knee Smasher]

Here are four replays of me fighting against by far the best Link I've ever faced in my life:

 

[Virum]

I'm working on a series to give high level UK players more exposure. Here's episode 4 of my series vs the best Ness in the UK with me playing as Zard for 4 out of 5 matches. Zard isn't my main mind you, but I've put a decent amount of time into him and have a pretty solid, if a little sub-optimal, grasp on his moveset as a whole. Enjoy!

 

[Knee Smasher]

The number of times you missed the follow-up for Dthrow there, especially in the final match, is exactly why I think Dthrow combos are generally inferior to using Fthrow/Bthrow to get someone off the stage and then edgeguarding with Flamethrower. I mean, dealing only 6% damage off of a grab is quite a waste if you ask me. You should do Fthrow/Bthrow to Flamethrower edgeguard more, by the way, and I also don't think going for the Dair spike against Ness as often as you did is a good idea, as you probably saw.

Otherwise, awesome matches. I won't deny you are very good.

 

[Virum]

Tbh with DThrow I was opting for a bad option. Going for full hop FAir in all those instances would've guaranteed it but I was greedy and wanted more damage vs a relatively floaty character with pretty fast aerials. With DAir it's just a case of spacing and timing it right. In theory if Ness is stuck to going for PKT offstage he should always die. I've landed that DAir many a time vs Ness' recovery because it's typically pretty free though punishing if you mess up badly. In this set it was just a case of not making as good use of it as I should have.

I enjoy this character quite a lot, probably going to commit more time to him as I think he's pretty capable.

 

[RadianB]

I'm working on a series to give high level UK players more exposure. Here's episode 4 of my series vs the best Ness in the UK with me playing as Zard for 4 out of 5 matches. Zard isn't my main mind you, but I've put a decent amount of time into him and have a pretty solid, if a little sub-optimal, grasp on his moveset as a whole. Enjoy!

Nice video.
Isn't the Smash 4 scene here in the UK extremely tiny? I hardly ever hear anything about Smash in the UK.

 

[Virum]

Nice video.
Isn't the Smash 4 scene here in the UK extremely tiny? I hardly ever hear anything about Smash in the UK.

On the contrary it's decently large and growing readily. It's centred in London and for the past half a year we've been having 90+ person monthlies and have recently been having 40+ person weeklies. The scene is fairly big but it's lacking solid exposure.

 

[RadianB]

On the contrary it's decently large and growing readily. It's centred in London and for the past half a year we've been having 90+ person monthlies and have recently been having 40+ person weeklies. The scene is fairly big but it's lacking solid exposure.

Alright, maybe that's why I never heard of it. I live in the North in Yorkshire and Smash is non existent here. T_T

 

[charizardbro]

Here is a match vs Luigi from my weekly, my play was a bit sloppy at times but I think it's good overall, any advice to improve would be appreciated.

You always DI'd Luigi's Dthrow away. The only way you are going to avoid getting combo'd really hard in this MU is if he messes up. Even ok Luigis won't drop any Dthrow combos if you only DI away. Mix up your DI and it might save you a lot of trouble. (edit: Luigi could have gotten a regrab after the low percent dthrow -> fair -> uair combos so this isn't even as bad as it gets.)

Fireball isn't safe on powershield (and they're easy to powershield) if you do it when you're in jab range. You should be rushing down Luigi, powershielding, and then jabbing him when he zones you with fireballs. It's really not safe on characters with long range but also relatively quick normals.

Don't roll out when you get hit by a fireballs either. Luigi didn't punish much but it gets super predictable. You also have to stay close to him if you don't want to take more needless percent from fireballs so it bodes you well to just chill and react instead of run in the future. Also don't jump over the fireballs unless it's a mixup. Also those fireball for fthrower trades weren't worth. Clanking them with Nair is good since the hitlag is low but it's not a great idea to do it with tilts or jabs because Zard flinches for so long. Don't roll on platforms either. OoS jump is almost always a better option when they're right below you.

You Uthrow like a champ and autocancel/space well when you get close but there's some matchup specific stuff you should work on. It's a pretty hard MU but I think you got the chops to 2-0 that guy.

 

[charizardbro]

accidentally clicked reply instead of edit. please ignore/delete this double post.

 

[miniada]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ZlbJXqKPtHEBFgA&sig2=S6h_5fXqPjLt5WNSvbfizgwe are discussing the zard and friends and would love your input.

 

[TrainerCharred]

Here are some For Glory matches I did that had some pretty nice combos and setups. Keep in mind these are from For Glory. Don't expect much from my opponents...

Spoiler: Charizard vs Captain Falcon

Spoiler: Charizard vs Ryu

(Does Ryu always say "what" when he dies?)

Spoiler: Charizard vs Kirby

Spoiler: Charizard vs Zelda

Spoiler: Charizard vs Ganondorf

Spoiler: Charizard vs Toon Link

Hey remember that video I posted where I joked Charizard vs Ike was a 10-0 matchup?

Spoiler: memories

well...

Spoiler: Charizard vs Ike

that's what I get for trying to style.

 

[A-money2121]

Greetings, Charizard mains!

So lately I've been playing a lot of Charizard: a character who I thought was pretty bad in the past, but turned out to be a character I really enjoy. I'm still learning the ropes of Charizard, so I figured that this is the best place to get some good Charizard information. Below is a video of me going against a Samus, which is probably the best Charizard replay I have at the moment. What do you think about my Charizard? Do you have any tips for me? Thanks, and hopefully this could teach you something about him, too!

(Keep in mind that this was a For Glory match. My opponent probably wasn't very good..)

 

[TrainerCharred]

Greetings, Charizard mains!

So lately I've been playing a lot of Charizard: a character who I thought was pretty bad in the past, but turned out to be a character I really enjoy. I'm still learning the ropes of Charizard, so I figured that this is the best place to get some good Charizard information. Below is a video of me going against a Samus, which is probably the best Charizard replay I have at the moment. What do you think about my Charizard? Do you have any tips for me? Thanks, and hopefully this could teach you something about him, too!

(Keep in mind that this was a For Glory match. My opponent probably wasn't very good..)

A bit hard to say anything about your neutral game considering your opponent hardly lifted a finger, so here's a couple situational tips.

0:23 - At 0% an uair from a down throw won't get you much. I suggest going for a nair instead. This could lead to a regrab afterwards amongst other possible followups. Alternatively you could go for a dash canceled upsmash both for damage and to put your opponent into a bad situation above you.

0:41 - If you see your opponent up-b past your flamethrower like that I've found that there's really no point in holding it. A better player would have waited a second so they could snap back to the ledge. If your opponent does up-b above your flamethrower immediately let go of the flamethrower and go for a down smash, faster than Charizard's F-smash and will catch opponents trying to drift to the ledge. Side note: if your opponent freaks out and you know they're gonna try to up-b back to the ledge before they've regained their ledge snap you could go for a disrespectful dair (not recommended against better players).

Last thing, throughout the video you pretty much only went for dash attacks, jabs, and grabs. Charizard has plenty of other tools to approach with. If you play against a better opponent you'll need to mix it up a bit more. Short-hop nairs and fairs are great approach and spacing options. D-tilt and f-tilt are also great pokes. I'd suggest using d-tilt more often than f-tilt as it's easier to connect with and safer. But f-tilt is also great at times and has the potential to kill with the sweetspot at the flame of the tail. I like to angle my f-tilts upwards to catch people approaching with short hops.

 

[A-money2121]

A bit hard to say anything about your neutral game considering your opponent hardly lifted a finger, so here's a couple situational tips.

0:23 - At 0% an uair from a down throw won't get you much. I suggest going for a nair instead. This could lead to a regrab afterwards amongst other possible followups. Alternatively you could go for a dash canceled upsmash both for damage and to put your opponent into a bad situation above you.

0:41 - If you see your opponent up-b past your flamethrower like that I've found that there's really no point in holding it. A better player would have waited a second so they could snap back to the ledge. If your opponent does up-b above your flamethrower immediately let go of the flamethrower and go for a down smash, faster than Charizard's F-smash and will catch opponents trying to drift to the ledge. Side note: if your opponent freaks out and you know they're gonna try to up-b back to the ledge before they've regained their ledge snap you could go for a disrespectful dair (not recommended against better players).

Last thing, throughout the video you pretty much only went for dash attacks, jabs, and grabs. Charizard has plenty of other tools to approach with. If you play against a better opponent you'll need to mix it up a bit more. Short-hop nairs and fairs are great approach and spacing options. D-tilt and f-tilt are also great pokes. I'd suggest using d-tilt more often than f-tilt as it's easier to connect with and safer. But f-tilt is also great at times and has the potential to kill with the sweetspot at the flame of the tail. I like to angle my f-tilts upwards to catch people approaching with short hops.

Thanks, this really helps! I'm not too familiar with Charizard's approach options, so reading this gave more insight to what moves I could use besides dash attack and grab. As a side note, I saw your videos above my post. Must I say, you are a clear example of a GREAT Charizard player. It's a privilege to get advice from you!

Also a side note: Perhaps I should've found a better video. Yeah, my opponent hardly got to hit me, so I understand why it may have been hard to give your insight. Perhaps I'll upload one with a little bit more action in the future.

 

[TrainerCharred]

Thanks, this really helps! I'm not too familiar with Charizard's approach options, so reading this gave more insight to what moves I could use besides dash attack and grab. As a side note, I saw your videos above my post. Must I say, you are a clear example of a GREAT Charizard player. It's a privilege to get advice from you!

Also a side note: Perhaps I should've found a better video. Yeah, my opponent hardly got to hit me, so I understand why it may have been hard to give your insight. Perhaps I'll upload one with a little bit more action in the future.

Thanks for the compliment. You'll notice in those videos I really like to approach with short-hop/fade-away nairs. Probably Charizard's most consistent approach option.

I found a simple setup that I want to share with the rest of the Charizards out there. If you manage to secure a grab near the ledge at low percents, and if your opponent happens to be a bit air-dodge happy, you can d-throw them, bait out an air-dodge, and dair them into oblivion. This is easily escapable as they can either jump or attack to get out of it. But if you have that air-dodge read it can net you an early KO. These three videos all contain what can happen if your opponent makes a bad call. (I was lucky enough on the Mario one where his nair just barely missed me)

Spoiler: Dair bait

 

[Thatsa]

 

[Saltyman]

Oh, there is a Charizard board =)

Zards my secondary actually.. I have a few short guides and a hype montage if anyone wants to check them out. I make smash videos..

Charizard Size & Weight Analysis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImgS8ab1MKE

Charizard Down Throw String:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-5N9WM31Z8

I don't even know:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WppcwGPP3vw

Working on some more guides at the moment, been in the lab a lot recently with Charizard