How do I deal with Lucas and his post patch grab?

[jcEmblem]

With this new patch I have really hate fighting Lucas. I have a friend who I beat consistently but he recently picked up Lucas and everything just seems twice as hard. I have this problem online as well.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character, his design, and the entirety of the Mother series! I'm not trying to say he his annoying or too fast or whatever.

But...

I still feel he is just a big mental block to my improvement as a Smash player.
The things I have the most trouble with are:

• new improved grab
• he feels really hard to punish (he jabs out of everything)
• offstage capabilities (he can go so deep and has two reliable spikes!)
• patience with his zoning game

Also I main Ness so he can easily absorb my PKT pretty easily, however I'm open to using a secondary character if I have to.

Hopefully you guys can help me out there because this mu really leaves me lost. I feel besides Rosa and Sheik he is my only problem character. Thanks!

 

[cstonic]

Spot dodge, jab, jump, and spacing a move (to punish lucas) all work for countering a grab. Also, if you expect him to jab, shield it then punish.

 

[JesterJaded]

With this new patch I have really hate fighting Lucas. I have a friend who I beat consistently but he recently picked up Lucas and everything just seems twice as hard. I have this problem online as well.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character, his design, and the entirety of the Mother series! I'm not trying to say he his annoying or too fast or whatever.

But...

I still feel he is just a big mental block to my improvement as a Smash player.
The things I have the most trouble with are:

• new improved grab
• he feels really hard to punish (he jabs out of everything)
• offstage capabilities (he can go so deep and has two reliable spikes!)
• patience with his zoning game

Also I main Ness so he can easily absorb my PKT pretty easily, however I'm open to using a secondary character if I have to.

Hopefully you guys can help me out there because this mu really leaves me lost. I feel besides Rosa and Sheik he is my only problem character. Thanks!

Lucas typically has trouble against rushdown characters (Sheik, Captain Falcon, Fox, Sonic, Greninja, etc.) because they have little trouble breaking through his zoning game. Once you're in, try to pile on safe pressure, but be wary of Dtilt and shield grabs. Try to get him in the air and keep him there; Lucas' landing options aren't that great.

Lucas also has a bit of a problem against power shielding, so shielding through his keep-away game can bait out grabs, which are still punishable if you're fast enough -- OoS aerials if you think he's going for a grab tend to work well.

 

[SpandexBullets]

Its a frame 12 grab, so Lucas cant really shield grab fast tilts or jabs. If Ness, go in with a lot of nairs and bairs, and punish grabs/dash grabs with PK fire. Also, Lucas is floaty, so really rack some damage with PK thunder when Lucas is coming back to the ledge.

Get in your friends face, play fox or MK, some fast rushdown character. Lucas can't safely chase anyone and approaches are always unsafe.

Alternatively, pick up Lucas as a secondary. Really fun character with some pretty, interesting moves and abilities!

 

[van18]

You use ness right? just use that frame 5 nair, its really handy for getting out of Lucas' combos.

 

[jcEmblem]

Thanks everyone! I've been thinking about controlling space more and it seems to be working! I played a Lucas on Anthers and it felt a little bit easier.

Also I've been trying out a little Greninja and he's pretty fun so maybe I could have him as a backup character.

 

[TyDye]

Lucas has alot of slow and easily punishable moves and can also be gimped pretty easily when not in range to tether to the stage. Patience can go along way against him. But I find it easy to take a ranged character and out zone him. Who do you use as alt's when not playing Ness?

 

[jcEmblem]

But I find it easy to take a ranged character and out zone him. Who do you use as alt's when not playing Ness?

Lucina/Marth, but I've been trying a lot of Greninja lately and want to pick up Lucas like SpandexBullets suggested. I probably wouldn't go for a Lucas ditto though