Fighting other projectile characters?

[PlinyTheElder]

I'm not sure if there's a "right" way to play Duck Hunt or if there's a frowned upon way, but I sort of set up cans/gunmen/discs and punish. I run away often, keep the pressure on with the projectiles, and approach when they have high percents. The thing is, how should I play against someone like Samus or Link who can attack with projectiles of their own? I got demolished by a Samus the other day...

 

[Spirst]

Your own projectiles can be used to tank the other ones but overall, you're going to play more physical if they can outcamp you. Throwing out untelegraphed clay pigeons to grab follow-ups works well. Get used to spacing the fair and bair too. Duck Hunt can camp, but he's not bad as a physical fighter.

 

[Funkermonster]

If your opponent doesn't have any piercing projectiles (like Robin's Thoron, or maybe Pacman's Key), The 8-bit Gunmen are your friends.

 

[Spirst]

If your opponent doesn't have any piercing projectiles (like Robin's Thoron, or maybe Pacman's Key), The 8-bit Gunmen are your friends.

While I generally agree, it depends on the matchup. Samus, for example, will be able to OHKO the gunmen with missiles and still have the others go through before you can pull another gunman out (which is generally about 3 seconds). I STRONGLY suggest using the Mega Gunmen as they can tank a number of hits (have 25% HP) and give you time to set your own projectiles up or take a breather to see how you can approach the matchup. Also, having a mega gunman generally discourages the opponent from using projectiles as heavily.

 

[IsmaR]

Samus has other options like Z-air (hits through and deactivates Gunmen), bombs (which flip cans the opposite way), and obviously uncharged shots.

Generally you want to be the one who stays in control of your projectiles. Meaning if anyone even comes close to outgunning you (can be with as little as a single good projectile, like Greninja's Water Shuriken), it's better to use them conservatively rather than make a wall/hide behind them (Don't even get me started on reflectors/item pull moves). Keeping them consistent for stage control rather than damage (ie throwing out gunmen as barriers, throwing cans high in the air/over and behind them to encourage them to not jump/fall back, etc.) as well as mixing in a fair amount of up-close moves (tilts/normals and grabs particularly as Spirst said) work really well for me.

Funny enough I find in Dog dittos, the more aggressive/less campy one tends to have the edge more often than not.