Snake (pages 1-3)
Snake vs. DK is a fairly close matchup, it can be argued either way, and ultimately it comes down to player skill.
Snake's advantages:
-Tilts (Ftilt and Utilt) that rival DK's range.
-Grenades that DK has some trouble avoiding with his large hitbox.
-Grenade counter (dropping a grenade and shielding) against DK's tilt and Bair.
-Utilt can out range DK's Bair approach.
-Dair and Nair is easier to hit on DK than smaller characters.
-Nikita edge guards.
DK's advantages:
-His tilts have about the same range and speed as Snake's, but Snake's hit harder.
-DownB out ranges Snake's tilts and beats out mortar slide.
-Bair cancels the mortar itself.
-Cargo Stage Spike (CSS) works very well on Snake.
-DK can edge guard Snake very well.
Overview
First thing you have to do in this fight is get past Snake's projectiles game. Snake will be most likely tossing grenades and sliding mortars your way. DownB will beat out mortar slide if you can prepare for it, but if not you can jump and Bair the mortar as you approach, or Punch through it with SA. Cooked grenades are somewhat of a problem, if Snake is throwing them so they blow up just as they reach you, short hop air dodge (SHAD) is a reliable way to move through them. If you try to catch grenades, be aware that Snake can force you to drop them with grenade strip, so they drop before you can throw them.
If Snake gets close, he will try his Ftilt and Utilt. Both can be out spaced by DownB, or you can use Punch to SA through. You can always try to beat him to the punch with your own tilts, but Snake will win in this exchange a lot because of his disjointed hit boxes. Be careful approaching with Bair, as Snake can beat Bair approach with disjointed Utilt. If you're right up in Snake's face, expect the jab combo, which is slightly faster than your own. You can shield the last hit and punish at lower % even if the first two hit. Watch out for Snake's grab game, if you roll into him you can eat a Fsmash, if you roll away he can tech chase with Dair.
Once you get him in the air, Snake is easily juggles. Utilt at low percent works well. He can airdodge out, so be ready with Jab, grab, UpB, or DownB to punish his air dodge. Snake doesn't have a lot of options in the air defensively. if his back is to you, expect a Bair, which has a lot of range and can trade hits with your Bair. Also watch out for Nair as he falls if he is close to level with you. Another trick a Snake may try if he is very high up is to drop C4 and explode it, so watch out for this as well and get out of the way. DK has somewhat of the same problem once he gets airborne, as he has no real defense from below. Snake will usually try to get at you with Usmash, Utilt, and Uair. All can be air dodged, mortar can be Baired. Just be careful not to air dodge through the attack only to land on a mine/c4 or other trap Snake has set. Don't try to attack on the way down, as Snake can easily beat your attack with Utilt. Also be careful of a Nair into you.
If you get Snake near the edge, CSS works well. With Snake off the stage, the match is highly in DK's favor. All Snake can do is Cypher up, which DK has no problem spiking with Fair or Dair. If they are below the edge, you can always try SideB too. The only real defense Snake has to this is try to get back as quickly as possible, or to let go of Cypher and use C4 to give himself another Cypher, which just resets and gives DK another chance at edge guard.
When DK goes off the edge, Snake has a few tricks to edge guard with. One is the Nikita. He can shoot this and drop it on top of DK's head as he recovers. There isn't really a good way around this. If he hits you far out, just try to DI towards the stage, or if you still have your second jump left, you can try to double jump and air dodge through it, but since DK is so big it still might hit. If Snake drops it near the edge, be ready to tech off the side in case it blows you into the stage. Another common edge guard is mortar. Snake will fire of a few mortars on the edge, and if you get hit with one under the edge it stage spikes. Be ready with the tech here if you get hit. DK can stall a little bit in his UpB before grabbing the edge too if you need to avoid a mortar.
Once DK gets the edge, Snake will continue his assault with Mines, C4, grenades, and Nikita. A common trap is to drop a grenade a roll away from the edge, then roll back and fire nikita. If you stay on the edge, nikita hits you, if you roll, grenade (or a mine) will hit you. The best thing to do his is drop from the ledge and jump and air dodge through nikita.
Overall the fight is fairly even. The toughest part lies in navigating through Snake's projectiles then carefully out spacing him until you get him off the edge, then edge guard him for the win.
Stages to avoid
-FD, Smashville, any flat stage gives Snake an edge as he is ground based and can camp better.
Stages to counterpick
-Any stages that force Snake to move, his approach and movement isn't that good, and once he's in the air he's a much easier target. I find Distant Planet/Hanenbow works well for me, but not all tournaments allow them. Delfino is also decent vs. Snake.
