Shai Hulud
Smash Lord
This tech has existed conceptually for some time in that people are aware of the shield drop, but not actually how to do it (at least, I have never seen anyone do it with any consistency, and I have never seen a thread explaining how to do it). Doing a platform shield drop is very difficult because if you press down too quickly, you spot dodge, and if you don't press quickly enough, you just sit there. What follows is a technique I developed for shield-dropping from dashes 100% of the time. It's quite simple, and I present it and an accompanying video as my 1000th post, a small gift to whomever is still playing Melee (may it live forever).
So the way this works is that shielding from a dash allows you to platform drop by pressing the control stick at an angle 45 degrees below the horizontal (that is, one side of the octagon below the horizontal). If you try to do this from a standing shield, you will roll. But since you're dashing, you can't roll, and will instead drop through the platform. If you press past 45 degrees below the horizontal, you will spot dodge, and if you don't tilt the stick all the way to 45 you will just sit there. You must press exactly (within a few degrees anyway) 45 degrees. In practice you can drop on the first frame the shield pops up, and it's not that hard to do once you get the hang of it. Note that shielding from the initial dash cancels your momentum, but shielding from a full run does not, so if you try the shield drop from a full run and aren't quick enough, you may slide off the platform before you drop through it.
Method Summary
1. Dash on a platform
2. Simultaneously shield and rotate the stick to 45 degrees below the horizontal. To drop through as fast as possible, shield close to the end of the -45 degree rotation (the closer, the better).
That's it. You can fast fall or do anything else you normally can do once you start the platform drop.
I made a short video explaining the technique a little more and showing the dash platform drop (or Shai drop) in action.
The Dash Platform Drop
How to fast-fall a Shai Drop
1. Dash
2. Do the Shai drop as usual, but continue the rotation of the control stick from 45 degrees below horizontal to directly down. You must time the shield to coincide with the start of the second part of the rotation (or earlier, but for the fastest drop you should time the shield when the stick is at -45 degrees).
How to "buffer" a Shai Drop
You can drop through your shield by tilting 45 degrees below horizontal in any situation where pressing left/right will not cause you to roll. This includes, shielding from walking, dashing, running, shielding during any landing lag (if you are holding left/right during the landing lag), holding left/right during the lag of a spot dodge, roll, or waveland and shielding, and pressing left/right during any stun on your shield. Note when I say "buffer" I don't mean the drop will be completed automatically, but that you are "buffering" the left/right input during some kind of lag so as not to register a roll. This isn't really buffering but I don't know a better word for it.
Regarding the name, the descriptive terms "Dash Platform Drop" or "Dash Shield Platform Drop" are fine, but for the sake of brevity and my own vanity I suggested "Shai drop" on account of not knowing what else to call it. You can call it whatever you want, though.
FAQ
Q: Isn't this just the Isai drop?
A: No, the Isai drop is used to cancel platform landing lag from a jump by walking and then pressing down.
Q: Isn't this just the shield drop?
A: Well, yes and no. You are dropping through the platform from shield, but if you do the Shai drop properly you will drop through in 1 frame, before the shield animation even comes up. Specifically this is a technique for consistently doing frame perfect shield drops from a dash.
Q: Should I light-shield or full-shield?
A: You can do it either way, but it is easier light-shielding and you are less likely to make mistakes. You can also do it out of Z-shield if you are holding left/right when the shield comes up.
Q: When doing this I will sometimes do a shield drop then immediately airdodge (not intentionally). What am I doing wrong?
A: You're falling through with light-shield (analog trigger function) and completing the trigger depression to the digital function. You don't need to press the trigger all the way down. You can, but if you do you should do it faster so you won't accidentally air dodge. Just light-shield instead.
Q: Sometimes when I try to Shai drop I just sit there in my shield. What am I doing wrong?
A: you are either not rotating the stick all the way to -45 degrees, or the rotation itself is not smooth enough. If difficulty persists, try shielding slightly before -45 degrees instead of AT -45 degrees. This will make the drop a little slower, but if the rotation is quick there will be little difference.
Q: How much does how fast you move the control stick matter? Or is it purely determined by how far you move it?
A: If your technique is correct, you will drop through at the point you hit -45 degrees no matter how fast the rotation. You can still drop through without the shield animation coming up even if the rotation is relatively slow. Where speed comes in is if you want to drop through at a precise location from a fast dash, because if you are slow, your character will continue the dash during the rotation (although not quite at full dash speed). So, yes, speed is important, but not so much because you need to be fast to drop through, just that you need to be fast to drop through from tight dash dances at exactly the point where you want to drop through.
Q: Nana seems to get stuck on the platforms a lot. Does this tech work with ICs?
A: Yes it does. If Nana is synched with Popo she will fall through with Popo if your technique is correct. However, dash-dancing tends to confuse Nana and will desynch the climbers (in a bad way). If this happens Nana may not drop through.
So the way this works is that shielding from a dash allows you to platform drop by pressing the control stick at an angle 45 degrees below the horizontal (that is, one side of the octagon below the horizontal). If you try to do this from a standing shield, you will roll. But since you're dashing, you can't roll, and will instead drop through the platform. If you press past 45 degrees below the horizontal, you will spot dodge, and if you don't tilt the stick all the way to 45 you will just sit there. You must press exactly (within a few degrees anyway) 45 degrees. In practice you can drop on the first frame the shield pops up, and it's not that hard to do once you get the hang of it. Note that shielding from the initial dash cancels your momentum, but shielding from a full run does not, so if you try the shield drop from a full run and aren't quick enough, you may slide off the platform before you drop through it.
Method Summary
1. Dash on a platform
2. Simultaneously shield and rotate the stick to 45 degrees below the horizontal. To drop through as fast as possible, shield close to the end of the -45 degree rotation (the closer, the better).
That's it. You can fast fall or do anything else you normally can do once you start the platform drop.
I made a short video explaining the technique a little more and showing the dash platform drop (or Shai drop) in action.
The Dash Platform Drop
How to fast-fall a Shai Drop
1. Dash
2. Do the Shai drop as usual, but continue the rotation of the control stick from 45 degrees below horizontal to directly down. You must time the shield to coincide with the start of the second part of the rotation (or earlier, but for the fastest drop you should time the shield when the stick is at -45 degrees).
How to "buffer" a Shai Drop
You can drop through your shield by tilting 45 degrees below horizontal in any situation where pressing left/right will not cause you to roll. This includes, shielding from walking, dashing, running, shielding during any landing lag (if you are holding left/right during the landing lag), holding left/right during the lag of a spot dodge, roll, or waveland and shielding, and pressing left/right during any stun on your shield. Note when I say "buffer" I don't mean the drop will be completed automatically, but that you are "buffering" the left/right input during some kind of lag so as not to register a roll. This isn't really buffering but I don't know a better word for it.
Regarding the name, the descriptive terms "Dash Platform Drop" or "Dash Shield Platform Drop" are fine, but for the sake of brevity and my own vanity I suggested "Shai drop" on account of not knowing what else to call it. You can call it whatever you want, though.
FAQ
Q: Isn't this just the Isai drop?
A: No, the Isai drop is used to cancel platform landing lag from a jump by walking and then pressing down.
Q: Isn't this just the shield drop?
A: Well, yes and no. You are dropping through the platform from shield, but if you do the Shai drop properly you will drop through in 1 frame, before the shield animation even comes up. Specifically this is a technique for consistently doing frame perfect shield drops from a dash.
Q: Should I light-shield or full-shield?
A: You can do it either way, but it is easier light-shielding and you are less likely to make mistakes. You can also do it out of Z-shield if you are holding left/right when the shield comes up.
Q: When doing this I will sometimes do a shield drop then immediately airdodge (not intentionally). What am I doing wrong?
A: You're falling through with light-shield (analog trigger function) and completing the trigger depression to the digital function. You don't need to press the trigger all the way down. You can, but if you do you should do it faster so you won't accidentally air dodge. Just light-shield instead.
Q: Sometimes when I try to Shai drop I just sit there in my shield. What am I doing wrong?
A: you are either not rotating the stick all the way to -45 degrees, or the rotation itself is not smooth enough. If difficulty persists, try shielding slightly before -45 degrees instead of AT -45 degrees. This will make the drop a little slower, but if the rotation is quick there will be little difference.
Q: How much does how fast you move the control stick matter? Or is it purely determined by how far you move it?
A: If your technique is correct, you will drop through at the point you hit -45 degrees no matter how fast the rotation. You can still drop through without the shield animation coming up even if the rotation is relatively slow. Where speed comes in is if you want to drop through at a precise location from a fast dash, because if you are slow, your character will continue the dash during the rotation (although not quite at full dash speed). So, yes, speed is important, but not so much because you need to be fast to drop through, just that you need to be fast to drop through from tight dash dances at exactly the point where you want to drop through.
Q: Nana seems to get stuck on the platforms a lot. Does this tech work with ICs?
A: Yes it does. If Nana is synched with Popo she will fall through with Popo if your technique is correct. However, dash-dancing tends to confuse Nana and will desynch the climbers (in a bad way). If this happens Nana may not drop through.