Lucas's forward tilt is one of my favorite ground moves. It has deceptively good range and priority, does decent knockback, has a chance of tripping, and is fast. I would suggest using it more if you don't currently. In conjunction with Lucas's AAA combo, it can vastly improve your ground game. It is a very important spacing tool for when opponents make it inside your PK Fire range.
IASA frames on ftilt:
Lucas's forward tilt has IASA frames just after Lucas's hand stops moving. With proper timing you can make repeated forward tilts come out very fast. It's pretty cool looking. You won't get it by just mashing A so you actually need to watch the timing. Keep in mind that when you actually hit with ftilt as with any other move, it slows down so the timing for the IASA frames will be slightly different.
At low percentages it can be very helpful to utilize the IASA frames to follow up with another move. Because ftilt has pretty good hitstun you can sometimes even ftilt other characters across the stage at very low percentages.
Sweet and Sour spots:
Ftilt has a slight sweetspot just as the very first spark comes out. However, the difference in knockback is a matter of a few percent so it's not something to worry about excesively. In most cases you're better off hitting at full range for spacing reasons.
The sourspot on ftilt is where Lucas hits the opponent with his hand rather than the sparks. This has severely reduced knockback and damage. To avoid this, don't use ftilt while you're too close to the opponent.
Direction Control
You can control the direction of ftilt to go up or down slightly by angling the control stick. The angle that you hit from does not affect the kill percentage. Using an upward angled forward tilt can be very useful for approaching aerial opponents. Downward angled forward tilt can be useful for opponents below you while you are on a platform or something.
The direction that you angle your forward tilt can have some influence over whether you get a sourspot or not when very close to opponents. As a general rule, heavy or fast falling characters you want to angle it downward while very close while lighter characters you want to angle upward at very close range. This minimizes but does not eliminate the possibility of getting a sourspot at close range. In most cases you're better off doing a tap A rather than forward tilt at this range however unless the opponent is at high percent and you do not have time to adjust spacing or use forward smash.
IASA frames on ftilt:
Lucas's forward tilt has IASA frames just after Lucas's hand stops moving. With proper timing you can make repeated forward tilts come out very fast. It's pretty cool looking. You won't get it by just mashing A so you actually need to watch the timing. Keep in mind that when you actually hit with ftilt as with any other move, it slows down so the timing for the IASA frames will be slightly different.
At low percentages it can be very helpful to utilize the IASA frames to follow up with another move. Because ftilt has pretty good hitstun you can sometimes even ftilt other characters across the stage at very low percentages.
Sweet and Sour spots:
Ftilt has a slight sweetspot just as the very first spark comes out. However, the difference in knockback is a matter of a few percent so it's not something to worry about excesively. In most cases you're better off hitting at full range for spacing reasons.
The sourspot on ftilt is where Lucas hits the opponent with his hand rather than the sparks. This has severely reduced knockback and damage. To avoid this, don't use ftilt while you're too close to the opponent.
Direction Control
You can control the direction of ftilt to go up or down slightly by angling the control stick. The angle that you hit from does not affect the kill percentage. Using an upward angled forward tilt can be very useful for approaching aerial opponents. Downward angled forward tilt can be useful for opponents below you while you are on a platform or something.
The direction that you angle your forward tilt can have some influence over whether you get a sourspot or not when very close to opponents. As a general rule, heavy or fast falling characters you want to angle it downward while very close while lighter characters you want to angle upward at very close range. This minimizes but does not eliminate the possibility of getting a sourspot at close range. In most cases you're better off doing a tap A rather than forward tilt at this range however unless the opponent is at high percent and you do not have time to adjust spacing or use forward smash.
