The release of the Corrin and Bayonetta DLC brought about a frenzy of activity within the Smash community. Players eager to talk about their experiences with the new characters flocked to the Smashboards forums, while others refreshed their browsers rapidly to check if the patch notes had been updated. The level of activity was so high that Smashboards actually shut down for a period of time. Looking through Twitter, hundreds of opinions on the DLC were available from just about everyone in the community. Videos have already been made, and the meta is beginning to take shape. Now that the dust has settled, what is the verdict on Corrin and Bayonetta?
We’ve assembled 5 of our writers to give their opinions on the new characters and where they might fit into the Super Smash Brothers competitive landscape. Our goal is to provide some instant analysis for our readers, but also to be a springboard for discussion within the Smashboards community.
NOTE: Keep in mind these are very early opinions (as of writing this, the DLC is less than 24 hours old), and new techniques and discoveries are being made at this very moment that may negate what we have written here.
With low landing lag and great hitboxes on most aerials, Corrin excels in the air. Bair is probably my favorite of these moves because it appears to be safe on shield, but uair’s kill potential is definitely noteworthy. Corrin’s ground game seems to be significantly weaker. While his tilts combo decently well, his smashes aren’t great. They’re slow, laggy, and don’t kill easily unless sweetspotted. Corrin’s recovery also isn’t stellar, but his up special’s hitboxes still make it difficult to edgeguard and a great out-of-shield option. The main staple of Corrin’s gameplay will probably be his side B, providing players with fakeouts, multiple kill methods, and even a recovery mixup. With so many interesting tools and a great disjoint, Corrin definitely looks like he’ll be viable. Prediction: top 20.
However, the more threatening of the new characters appears to be Bayonetta. Within hours of her release, players figured out 0-to-death combos using her aerials and specials, leading people to immediately suggest counterpicking low ceiling stages when using Bayonetta in tournament. While many of these combos have not been replicated outside of training mode, the fact that they were discovered so quickly tells me that players will soon learn how to create similar situations in high level matches. Bayonetta’s counter, Witch Time, also appears to be an incredible move, practically guaranteeing skilled players with a kill at any percent. Bayonetta still appears to have some flaws though. Her recovery is mediocre and her damage output is low, making it difficult to find immediate success with her. In spite of these flaws, she still seems to me like one of the best characters in the game. Prediction: top 10.
STOB
Corrin began as my overwhelming favorite of the two DLC characters. Down-tilt to up-air quickly became my go-to kill set-up, and her side-b was an easy-to-execute mixup that always seemed to take my opponents by surprise. However the longer I played, the more limitations I began to see in her moveset. The charge neutral-b shot is a powerful spacing tool, but I was surprised to find that combos were not always easy to follow up on due to her slow running speed and below average up-smash. Her smash attacks in general were not as useful as I thought they would be. The exception being her down-smash, which throws hit-boxes simultaneously to either side of Corrin for quick punishes. I haven’t lost hope for Corrin, I can see quite a few interesting meta strategies developing from her moveset. In particular, I could see Corrin mains using her side-b on platforms in a very powerful way. As of now I see Corrin as a mid-tier character, but it would not surprise me at all to see her climb the tier list after the meta shakes out.
I had the exact opposite experience with Bayonetta. In my first handful of matches with her I couldn’t understand where the strength in her moveset would come from. She seemed to roll at a glacial pace, and the shooting mechanic seemed very gimmicky. After getting a couple matches in, I began to see how ludicrously powerful of a tool Witch Time was. Witch Time is emphatically the most powerful counter move in the game, especially when used around the ledge. It’s almost too easy to nudge your opponent over the ledge and end their stock with a down-smash. Her side and up specials are also quite powerful, and can lead to some very impressive looking early kills. In the right hands, Bayonetta will be an infuriating character to play against. As the meta develops we will begin to see even more ridiculous 0-death combos and Witch Time shenanigans, and I think it will put Bayonetta firmly in the high-tier category.
I am most impressed by Corrin's up-air, which has phenomenal kill power. I've also been able to get down-tilt into up-air with decent amounts of success as a juggle starter. Her counter, like Bayonetta's, is very strong and virtually guarantees a kill at high percents. More generally, I think her kill power overall is good but her recovery seems predictable. I'm especially excited to see her in teams, where I think her side-special and paralyzing projectile will be very useful. If I had to take a guess, she doesn't seem unreasonable for mid-tier at least (if not higher), though she could be hindered greatly by her recovery.
Bayonetta: With the proliferation of zero-to-death videos posted on Twitter and YouTube, Bayonetta looks incredibly dangerous, provided she can start a combo. She appears very reliant on her combos though - her normals by themselves don't do incredible amounts of damage, and she seems like she won't be easy to pick up and play in the same way Cloud is. One potential hindrance to her performance may be her lackluster projectile. Regardless, at the moment, she looks like she could climb to near the top, if not the very top, of the tier list.
Bayonetta seems like a rushdown character in all aspects. She has combos with practically every A and B attack, and her back aerial has kill potential. The zero-to-deaths we have been seeing by other players are by no means easy, and you need at least some experience with the character. Also, her smashes are incredibly laggy, and can be punished accordingly. The same can be said about whiffing aerial combos. Witch Time is interesting, because the slowdown mechanic can allow for some crazy combos, but should not be spammed because it gets weaker with every use. Overall, I think she will be a good character that, while difficult to master, can get some very early kills.
Now, Corrin may not be as flashy as Bayonetta, but she is by no means bad. She has nice spacing options in down tilt and a grab release combo into tipper side b. Her f-smash angled down is great for edguarding because it covers the ledge ad it's super safe. Also you can use f-smash to poke shields from a great distance, quickly wearing them down. Neutral b is great for doubles for the long stun time, but you can't do much with it in singles. Counter is extremely powerful and hits both sides of Corrin, and can even be used to edgeguard recoveries with a hitbox that goes through the stage . Up b has kill power but is very laggy and otherwise unsafe. Also, the long startup makes it a bad choice OoS. Finally, Side B has kill power when tippered, and when doing it into the ground makes Corrin stay still and then attack when letting go of the button. It can be used for mindgames. Corrin should be played as a spacing character, similar to the other fire emblem characters, making full use of her long range fsmash and her projectile to bait defensive options.
Seems to me like Bayonetta is going to be top tier, if not top 3; she has a lot of tools in spacing and edgeguarding. It is no secret that she is a combo character, even Sakurai stated it himself and her combo tools may be to good in the air but it is balanced with having more landing lag the more moves she uses. Up-Tilt is a great combo set-up and so is her side special. Her recovery is medium, nothing to say about it. It looks like she will be able to change styles very fluidly with tools in defense, and rush-down skills. It may be easy to change styles mid-battle and have areally good 50-50 game or even add some other minor styles of play I think she is going to place high in the tiers even comparing to ZSS and Rosalina.
Corrin is all about spacing, similar to Melee Marth. It looks like he relies on spacing and well placed attacks with a medium risk-high reward game as well as a good close-quarters game. His tools are pretty good in recovery and setting up situations or getting away from your opponent. I think he is going to be placed in the middle of the tier list as it seems it is going to struggle against more combo or projectile based characters, despite having medium sized hitboxes and good agility. A move like Dragon Lunge gives him/her good and reliable approach options but with the down side of having to be first pinned to the ground and can be too predictable, yet still good at covering ground options over a wide distance. His counter move is very good since it can attack both sides; this is great because some counter moves may fail if the opponent is in the air or in a very weird position. Instead, his counter makes a good option covering those possibilities.
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Thanks to all of our writers for contributing! Let us know your thoughts on the new DLC characters in the comments below, and be sure to check out our Corrin and Bayonetta forums here on Smashboards!
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