Doc Stage Discussion

[Comatose]

I saw a similar thread set up here on this topic...
Problem is, it's from '07, so not all of it exactly applies now. Changing metagames as well as the removal of many of the competitively accepted stages (eg. Corneria) makes much of what was said in that discussion relatively unhelpful (I say relatively, because some still applies, but not all by any means)
So, my question is, what is generally an advantageous stage for doc? And his general matchups against the general top/mid crew on the neutrals?

Personally, I find BF/YS to be my go-to stages. Love docs capes there.

 

[Frisbie]

FD. Chain grabs and combos are easier here, plus I think that the large open space really helps him and his ground game.

Yoshi's Story is by far my favorite stage though, I feel comfortable in any match up there.

 

[Max?]

All the neutrals are solid for Doc, tho he's strong on FD vs. pretty much everyone. With Doc it's more important about knowing what stages to avoid vs. his opponent. I try to get rid of DL vs. floaties/sheik/spacies, Yoshis vs Marth, BF vs. Hax, etc etc

 

[Comatose]

Agreed, a lot of it is based on the opponents characters... but usually I say BF, unless I'm up against a faclon. And especially against characters who are tough to edge guard. The BF edge, I find, scares a lot of people, especially if they play Samus, or characters like that.


Also, are there any stages that are particularly good for doc when playing a peach? Always one of my personal worst matchups :/

 

[Max?]

I like Stadium/FD vs. Peach. The other stages all have their pluses and minuses.

Peach controls space really well, and trades are typically good for her. Thus I try to avoid small stages, specifically Fountain because of the huge ceiling and platforms which help her dsmash and combo game. Yoshi's has this problem to a lesser extent, but with normal platforms and a low ceiling she isn't as effective at dsmash whoring and dies at lower %. Dreamland is a weird mix because you can run away from her a lot, but you may have a hard time KOing her. BF seems like w'e, but most game 1's will go here because you want to avoid FoD and Yoshis (Imo)

 

[Comatose]

Yeah Dream Land is a b*tch vs. Peach. The high ceilings make it difficult to kill her, and she can recover from pretty much anywhere off stage. Docs recovery, on the other hand is pretty limited. So yeah that's usually the first stage I strike vs. Peach. I didn't realize I was putting myself at such a disadvantage by going YS or FoD though haha

 

[Max?]

I would avoid FoD more than Dreamland. Dthrow -> fair will still KO Peach at a reasonable % on Dreamland, but I know for sure I don't want to deal with her ccrap on Fountain

 

[Rocketpowerchill]

moral of the story go to your favorite stage with doc, i love dreamland and yoshis and you can gain stage control much easier and i have a much easier time there

 

[Superw0rri0]

This hasn't been discussed yet... Sweet spots. I was playing around with them and if you're interested or looking for kind of a set of rules of where you want to land a sweet spot with doc's upB then I got a little bit of info.

I'm practicing on dolphin due to the lack of an available gamecube/wii so I don't know if the camera angles are exactly the same but I don't think there should be a problem.
Also, This is not trying to sweet spot a diagonal upB, it's sticking to the walls of the stage and using the wall to direct your upB (if you don't understand then watch "The Doctor's Checkup" video and look at how he uses doc's upB when he's showing how to recover with DI.

Final Destination: make sure doc's body is just at the middle corner of the spinning arms.
Field of Dreams: upB when doc's head is Just a little bit under the purple circles in the inner slope under the stage
Yoshi's Story: upB when doc's jeans start to get off of the camera. That will be the most perfect swee tspot but be careful because if you do it just a little off you'll miss the edge
Dream Land: This one is harder to explain. Basically, if you're on the edge just go straight down and a little bit closer to the stage and you don't want to hug the stage but get close to it and once your head is just under the stage's underside then you upB
Battlefield: DON"T!!! Just sweet spot with a normal diagonal upB towards the stage. if you try to upB under the stage you're dead.

I'll try to post pictures tomorrow to make it more clear. I haven't tried the other stages yet. I'm not going to worry about them though because the tournament that I've entered in banned all of the others, I might consider it though if I ever have extra time.

 

[Kidney Thief]

From my personal experience I like to go on the stage the foe doesn't like because doc is good on every stage with the exception of stadium. I like fountain of ***** against fox, Battlefield against peach, Yoshi's story against puff ect

 

[Marilink]

Doc doesn't have any general huge stage disadvantages. You really want to focus on counterpicking your opponent more than anything. Personally, I prefer FD or FoD, so if I don't have a counterpicking agenda, I go for one of those.