How necessary are mix-ups?

[Prepare_Yourself]

When I play a match, I've noticed that my use of the same ledge getup, approach, landing, and recovery options can make my play pretty punishable at times. I tend to choose how to perform those four things based on MU and occasionally my opponent's play style, but I was wondering how present the idea of mixing them up should be in my head. Do you typically mix those options up when it becomes totally necessary, or when it seems like it might become necessary later, or just when you notice a pattern in your own play?

P.S.
I only recently decided to look into this site, and when I did I got pretty excited. I made this account and posted a few messages, and was pleased to find you all to be the most accepting and helpful bunch the web has had to offer me. I've learned a lot about playing Ike and feel like I've become part of a community, one that I'd like to stay in. So here's to friends, and let's keep fighting for them.

 

[Mario766]

Mix-ups are important when you get to the level of play where people adapt.

If you keep doing the same thing you'll get read, and punished for doing it if they can adapt to your playstyle.

 

[GhostUrsa]

Mix-ups are very important, especially for those with a more limited move set like Ike. Since we have a limited number of good options in a given situation, we need to keep opponents on our toes to keep from getting read (and to setup our opponents for a good punish!). Ike isn't much of a flow-chart character, and the best Ike's don't really play the match-up as much as they play the player behind the character. Keeping them guessing keeps them flustered, which allows Ike to have more opportunities to punish.

As for when to start mixing things up, that is up to you. Everyone plays differently, and when I feel is a good time to mix things up may not be a good one for you. The best things I can recommend is to keep an eye on your opponent. This seems cliche, but you need to get comfortable enough with your character where your eyes are always on your opponent instead of on Ike. This way, you can see when he/she's trying to bait you into something or trying to anticipate when you are doing an action. You'll be more aware of when you are being predictable and can use that knowledge to mix things up or bait your opponent.

Now with all that said, with Ike make sure to keep your expectations about mix-ups in check. He doesn't get long combos out of mix-ups, if any combos at all, so the odds of zero-death against your target is really low. But since Ike hits hard, every mix-up, every punish, every grab to F-air builds up to that one hit you need to u-tilt someone to oblivion.