don't use aether to get to the edge against tethers. Just get on the edge. Tether recoveries blow because if someone's on the edge, they can't recover. Anyone tested the possiblity of ledgedropped bairs? something most can't do in melee, brawl's a lot floatier, is it possible to just drop and Bair without using your DJ? can you do it with a FF? Also, what moves hit well below the edge. The auto sweetspot means that moves need to hit below the stage by a significant margin, which moves of Ike's do that?
Just speculation but, correct me on any of this, or add more:
Eruption, Dair, dtilt. That's all I can think of that might hit Way below the edge.
If you mean while you are hanging on the ledge, and you drop down and perform a Bair, then you will NOT be able to get back to the stage(this is even if you don't FF it). You can drop, jump, and use a Bair off the stage and be able to get back. You can also DI the ledgehop back onto the stage with a Bair, but that requires better timing.
Another option is jumping from the stage to Bair. You can jump off and Bair immediately and be able to grab the ledge without using Aether. You can FF your Bair, but if you FF too late (trying to Bair below the stage quickly), you won't be able to recover. The latest you can Bair after a shorthop from the stage and still be able to recover using Aether is starting the Bair when you are JUST passing level to the edge. Anything above that is easy to recover. Timing takes getting used to.
As for hitting below the edge, Eruption probably hits the furthest below while Ike is standing near the ledge, but this requires very good timing, as you want it to land JUST before your opponent sweetspots. This can be hard because of the startup lag after you release the Eruption.
Dtilt doesn't really go down too far, and is only really useful if you're opponent doesn't sweetspot correctly, which is more often than not a rare occurrence. Same goes for DSmash I believe...though that sends you're opponent upwards, which generally isn't what you're aiming to do. If you're opponent is in the right spot, I should also note that a well timed Ftilt can be very effective.
I like to Fair off the stage also. You CAN just run off the ledge, Fair, then recover successfully, only just barely. This can work great if you're opponent is aiming very low to recover, and can also catch them off guard. But be warned, if you miss, you're opponent can grab the edge at the right time and use the invincibility to successfully edgehog your Aether...it's happened to me a few times before >.<
For shorthopping from the ledge and planning to Fair, the latest you can Fair and still FF it, is at the peak of your short hop. You can Fair at the peak, FF immediately, and be able to recover successfully. If you can predict you're opponent to double jump after being thrown off the stage, or if they are coming high, Fair can cover lots of space to intercept as well.
And now for Dair. This one is a nice option, usually better than lets say Dtilt from the stage. First I will start with an important note: If you use this attack while descending, you will AUTOMATICALLY FF! This is even if you use the C-stick to do it. This makes running off the edge and using a Dair impossible, as you are descending and the animation is long enough that you can't even try to jump before you die.
With that said, you must short hop off the ledge to be able to do this. The earliest you can do this attack with a FF right after, us just near the peak of the short hop. You can also just delay fast falling and be able to safely get back, but you won't hit as much below the stage as the prior method. Another note, shorthopping and more or less immediately using a Dair, you can just double jump to grab the ledge without Aether.
My favorite way to use Dair is to wait after a double jump to use it, either from the stage or on the ledge. What this means:
--If you're hanging on the ledge, you can drop, immediately jump, and use a Dair on a recovering opponent. You can delay the Dair by maybe half a second or so to get the most below the stage with it. Just be careful not to use it too late. You can also use the Dair immediately after the double jump and then immediately FF and still be able to recover. Timing is tight here, as you JUST make it back, but it IS possible.
--Short hopping from the stage, you can jump off, wait a bit, then double jump and Dair. This gives you slightly more control of where you want your Dair to hit, such as you can jump out further from the stage than you can if you were just on the ledge. You can go as far down as you can a ledge dropped-->jumped Dair, obviously as it is basically the same thing, just different starting positions.
Quick note on other Aerials: You basically NEVER...NEVER EVER NEVER want to use Nair off the stage. This attack as an ENORMOUS amount of air lag to it. You sometimes see Ike's accidentally use this after just falling off the stage. That equals instant death, unless you double jump first...but why would you do that anyway? As for Uair, you can try mixing it up by going off the stage, double jumping and using an Uair from under your opponent. It's just something to mix things up and can be useful for a KO if they are at the right percent.
Wow, I didn't realize I wrote so much o.O I hope this helps you guys in your edgeguarding game! :D
Hmmm...maybe I should edit my guide sometime...there's some new stuff I haven't written down yet lol.
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