Greninja as a Primary or a Secondary?

[ZCUB3D]

Hey Greninja mains! Let me preface this thread by saying I am very new to the tournament scene for smash 4 and these boards. I have only been to locals, and I haven't done terribly bad or good. However, I have a tournament on my radar in the summer, and I am wondering everyone's thoughts on this topic;

Should Greninja be a primary or secondary choice in tournament play?

Having started the competitive sm4sh scene with the character, I want to say, "use him at all times!" However, he barely makes B on the tier list because he has a lot of counters. Not to mention some of his drawbacks; his moves have a **** ton of end lag, and his recovery is extremely predictable. So, I am getting into the habit of using other characters, such as Lucina, Captain Falcon, and Sheik, and pulling out a set with Greninja if I am having trouble. Let me know what you think about the use of Greninja in tournament play. Pocket character or not?

 

[young grasshopper]

Hey Greninja mains! Let me preface this thread by saying I am very new to the tournament scene for smash 4 and these boards. I have only been to locals, and I haven't done terribly bad or good. However, I have a tournament on my radar in the summer, and I am wondering everyone's thoughts on this topic;

Should Greninja be a primary or secondary choice in tournament play?

Having started the competitive sm4sh scene with the character, I want to say, "use him at all times!" However, he barely makes B on the tier list because he has a lot of counters. Not to mention some of his drawbacks; his moves have a **** ton of end lag, and his recovery is extremely predictable. So, I am getting into the habit of using other characters, such as Lucina, Captain Falcon, and Sheik, and pulling out a set with Greninja if I am having trouble. Let me know what you think about the use of Greninja in tournament play. Pocket character or not?

I use Greninja as a main in tournament, although the scene in my local area is not that great (several levels below the average wifi warrior). Greninja can be a primary character, in fact, I'd say that the majority of characters can be used as primary mains at most levels of play. Minor side note: Greninja's recovery is only predictable if you are predictable. He has MANY options to mix up his recovery, but it is vulnerable if the opponent reads your direction since it lacks a hitbox. Back to the point, I think that you should use Greninja as your primary character, and maybe carry a pocket character if you feel like you need one. There aren't any unwinnable matchups for Greninja. It's up to you to decide if you want to take some of the time and effort you would usually spend on improving your Greninja in order to work on a secondary instead.

 

[ZCUB3D]

I use Greninja as a main in tournament, although the scene in my local area is not that great (several levels below the average wifi warrior). Greninja can be a primary character, in fact, I'd say that the majority of characters can be used as primary mains at most levels of play. Minor side note: Greninja's recovery is only predictable if you are predictable. He has MANY options to mix up his recovery, but it is vulnerable if the opponent reads your direction since it lacks a hitbox. Back to the point, I think that you should use Greninja as your primary character, and maybe carry a pocket character if you feel like you need one. There aren't any unwinnable matchups for Greninja. It's up to you to decide if you want to take some of the time and effort you would usually spend on improving your Greninja in order to work on a secondary instead.

I like what you're saying here. I have been working on a pocket Lucina, and possibly a villager if I'm feeling crazy. Thanks for that bit about recovery too, because all i've been doing to get back on the stafe is sideb close to the ledge then up special. And you're right; looking at the matchups, the only problems it has are like Bay and Cloud.

 

[young grasshopper]

I like what you're saying here. I have been working on a pocket Lucina, and possibly a villager if I'm feeling crazy. Thanks for that bit about recovery too, because all i've been doing to get back on the stafe is sideb close to the ledge then up special. And you're right; looking at the matchups, the only problems it has are like Bay and Cloud.

One cool recovery tactic that takes a bit of practice to do without killing yourself is using hydro pump to go backwards (thus shooting water at the stage) before redirecting back to stage. It cuts your distance down, but can push the opponent too far away to punish you. Also, shadow sneak is best used as a mixup when your opponent is least expecting it. Try only using it if you absolutely need it for distance (which is rare since Greninja's double jump is sooooo high), or if you're a couple matches into a set where you haven't used it in a recovery yet.

 

[LifeMushroom]

Greninja's recovery is predictable? I think the opposite, there are so many options.
I use Greninja as a secondary for my main Ganondorf.

 

[free33]

Greninja's recovery is predictable? I think the opposite, there are so many options.
I use Greninja as a secondary for my main Ganondorf.

lol i play the same characters. but I would say co main, tho greninja is a better character, so i would say ganon is the pocket.

 

[MERPIS]

Greninja unfortunately has too many -2's to be a good primary character pick.

 

[young grasshopper]

Greninja unfortunately has too many -2's to be a good primary character pick.

-2 does not mean entirely unwinnable, even though it is incredibly hard. Greninja has the versatile tools to play in a variety of ways, so you can adapt to hard matchups. Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea to have a secondary for those matchups, but it definitely doesn't mean that Greninja can't be a primary character

 

[MERPIS]

-2 does not mean entirely unwinnable, even though it is incredibly hard. Greninja has the versatile tools to play in a variety of ways, so you can adapt to hard matchups. Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea to have a secondary for those matchups, but it definitely doesn't mean that Greninja can't be a primary character

I'm not saying he can't, I'm saying he really shouldn't.