KarmaCastle
Smash Journeyman
Hey guys, I've been just a general lurker of Zelda's smash board and was waiting for a MU guide for Captain Falcon. As he still hasn't appeared on the MU discussion, I decided to venture out and ask for tips and share what I do to see where I may be going wrong. I feel I'm an above average Zelda, able to maintain an 80-85% FG average. I know FG isn't much and I'd totally get bodied in a tournament, but I do know my tech and MU playstyles.
I find Falcon the hardest matchup, period. Even against a Sheik that bodies me I can usually get a JC UpB OOS ko for my pride since their approaches are still predictable and fairly limited with air zoning. However when it comes to Falcon I find his approach options overwhelming. Should I jab to stop a grab? Or is he just going to dash attack? What if it's a falcon kick? Or if he jumps at the last second to contest the air space.
Even when I go into the matchup and mentally think to myself "okay, you know 90% of falcons are going to go for a dash or grab" they have so many viable mixups I still end up struggling. If I focus on denying grabs I end up getting dashed or vice versa, or hit by a falcon kick.
Speaking of, I also find it hard to punish him as a Zelda. His kick goes so far that unless it ends on my actual shield he's able to react before I get the punish in. Most of his aerials are safe going into a shield because of the knockback and little end lag, making it hard to get anything in as Zelda.
What I have found success with, surprisingly enough, is phantom spam. It forces them to be more predictable by going into the air, or causes a small knock back as they try to run by the phantom allowing a jab/tilt/grab. The phantom also tanks a majority of his attacks, opening another small window. It can also gimp his recoveries, which I also hear is his weakness... But alas, Zelda's trump game is limited outside of a re-grab Dair.
He even gets out of most early % grab 'combos' Zelda has.
Aside from that though, any practiced Falcon main mixes things up to the point of guessing which move to predict feels impossible. Any advice/tips?
I find Falcon the hardest matchup, period. Even against a Sheik that bodies me I can usually get a JC UpB OOS ko for my pride since their approaches are still predictable and fairly limited with air zoning. However when it comes to Falcon I find his approach options overwhelming. Should I jab to stop a grab? Or is he just going to dash attack? What if it's a falcon kick? Or if he jumps at the last second to contest the air space.
Even when I go into the matchup and mentally think to myself "okay, you know 90% of falcons are going to go for a dash or grab" they have so many viable mixups I still end up struggling. If I focus on denying grabs I end up getting dashed or vice versa, or hit by a falcon kick.
Speaking of, I also find it hard to punish him as a Zelda. His kick goes so far that unless it ends on my actual shield he's able to react before I get the punish in. Most of his aerials are safe going into a shield because of the knockback and little end lag, making it hard to get anything in as Zelda.
What I have found success with, surprisingly enough, is phantom spam. It forces them to be more predictable by going into the air, or causes a small knock back as they try to run by the phantom allowing a jab/tilt/grab. The phantom also tanks a majority of his attacks, opening another small window. It can also gimp his recoveries, which I also hear is his weakness... But alas, Zelda's trump game is limited outside of a re-grab Dair.
He even gets out of most early % grab 'combos' Zelda has.
Aside from that though, any practiced Falcon main mixes things up to the point of guessing which move to predict feels impossible. Any advice/tips?