Theftz22
Smash Lord
As the extender stays out for the same amount of time as the regular grab, there seems to be no theoretical disadvantage of the extender vs the regular grab. The only disadvantage is the practical possibility of mistiming A or Z and missing the grab. The timing however, is well within the bounds of reasonable tech skill.
The extender offers several concrete advantages over the regular grab including:
1. Extended horizontal and vertical grab range
2. Increased speed in reaching any given distance (that is, since the extender takes only as long as the regular grab, it reaches comparable distances quicker than the regular grab would have)
One objection to the extender is that a charge shot is preferable to the extender given the choice between the two between stocks. I have two things to say about this. First of all, it's a false dilemma. One can easily practice getting the extender out of a grapple recovery or a regular grab. Secondly, there may be some matchups where the extender is more valuable than the charge shot. Obviously take a match up like puff, where grab is extremely risky, puff is always in the air, and charge shot is really valuable, yes charge shot is more important. But I think there might be some matchups where the extender can be really useful. Heavily ground-based zoning characters are very susceptible I think. Marth's that like to play a ground-based, DD campy style for example could easily be caught with the extender. Some sheiks and falcons play the MU the same way. I also think that platform campers can probably be caught off guard by the threat of a grab from below. For example consider a sheik camping DL platforms, it might be a good idea to try to catch them with extender when they try to charge needles. I think in general the extender could be a good mix-up in combating campy gameplay.
In the end, finding a balanced role for uses of the extender (in addition to, that is, regular uses of grab with the extender) is something that can only come with trial and experience, but I think it's a very underexplored area of samus's metagame. Furthermore, the extender is strictly superior to the regular grab in the theoretical sense (that is, ignoring mistakes with mistiming pressing A or Z), and samus can use any slight advantage she can eke out her game. For these reasons, I'm going to be exploring the extender further for a while. But I want to know what you guys think of the extender. Is it underexplored? Do its advantages outweigh the possibility of mistiming?
The extender offers several concrete advantages over the regular grab including:
1. Extended horizontal and vertical grab range
2. Increased speed in reaching any given distance (that is, since the extender takes only as long as the regular grab, it reaches comparable distances quicker than the regular grab would have)
One objection to the extender is that a charge shot is preferable to the extender given the choice between the two between stocks. I have two things to say about this. First of all, it's a false dilemma. One can easily practice getting the extender out of a grapple recovery or a regular grab. Secondly, there may be some matchups where the extender is more valuable than the charge shot. Obviously take a match up like puff, where grab is extremely risky, puff is always in the air, and charge shot is really valuable, yes charge shot is more important. But I think there might be some matchups where the extender can be really useful. Heavily ground-based zoning characters are very susceptible I think. Marth's that like to play a ground-based, DD campy style for example could easily be caught with the extender. Some sheiks and falcons play the MU the same way. I also think that platform campers can probably be caught off guard by the threat of a grab from below. For example consider a sheik camping DL platforms, it might be a good idea to try to catch them with extender when they try to charge needles. I think in general the extender could be a good mix-up in combating campy gameplay.
In the end, finding a balanced role for uses of the extender (in addition to, that is, regular uses of grab with the extender) is something that can only come with trial and experience, but I think it's a very underexplored area of samus's metagame. Furthermore, the extender is strictly superior to the regular grab in the theoretical sense (that is, ignoring mistakes with mistiming pressing A or Z), and samus can use any slight advantage she can eke out her game. For these reasons, I'm going to be exploring the extender further for a while. But I want to know what you guys think of the extender. Is it underexplored? Do its advantages outweigh the possibility of mistiming?