Down smash isn't as bad as people make it seem imo

[Liwi808]

Hello board! I'm a relatively new Gdub player, and I really enjoy playing him a lot, and like his quirky tool set (customs are even more fun). Not to mention his really good combo game, and fully utilizing his edge-guarding game can be truly scary for your opponent; even more so for characters with linear recoveries, or recoveries that lack a hitbox. I find I actually get a fair amount of kills - compared to other characters I play - from going offstage and edge-guarding.

Speaking of getting the kill, I find that D-smash is actually fairly powerful, and can be a reliable alternate option for him. It's even his fastest smash attack, beating out F-smash by 2 frames and U-smash by 9 frames. I've been able to kill surprisingly early with it on stages with low ceilings (since the sweet-spot sends them vertically), and even earlier if I can bait it out on a platform. It's great for catching people if you can read the roll, and actually has pretty decent range. Even the sour spot can be useful, since it sends them flying extremely to the side (usually off stage), which lets you set up for an edge-guard with B-air.

People always seem to complain about his lack of kill options, yet I hardly see anyone trying to use it seriously. What are your thoughts board?

 

[TheUndeadReturns]

D-smash is good, but people believe it's bad because the sourspot is way larger than in Brawl, as well as the sweetspot being smaller. They're also both weaker in terms of knock back. The only real buff G&W got was more range for the cost of kill power (since all the smash attacks are notably larger).

I find it useful, but just as useful as something like u-air. It's situational.

 

[SeanS]

You already understand this character more than most of the people using him right now.

Welcome to these boards, I strongly recommend you join the Skype group.

 

[dahuterschuter]

I get kills with it.

I find it useful.

 

[pepi1197]

It's definitely an excellent edgeguarding tool. For characters like DK and Mac, the sourspot with its pretty substantial horizontal motion component when landed near the edge is lethal and it gives you the ability to get reset on the stage.

 

[NouveauRétro]

I think it's one of his best punishing options, especially at the ledge. landing that awesome angle at the ledge put him in prime position for edgeguarding.

If I floor an opponent with a sourspotted dsmash at about 20-90%, it forces a tech/getup option so I run after them and shield stop. The only option they have you can't punish with either another dsmash or OOS dash attack is tech roll away, and that is the least common choice because the opponent is flying towards the ledge and doesn't want to corner themselves. Try it out!

Edit: Hey I just realized it's like the spiritual successor to old dthrow :O

Edit #2: Don't forget nair to down smash! The only way to not get hit is hold shield and NOT accidentally airdodge, which is difficult to say the least depending on where you hit them.