I'm back from my first PM tournament and have a couple questions...

[Invis]

Earlier today, I went to my first tournament with a friend. I wasn't expecting to do that well, but when I played I realized that I had a lot more work to do with Lucario before I was ready to win any matches with him.

1) How do you go about approaching characters that can spam projectiles? (Mario, Link etc.) When approaching, I can't find a way in and end up getting hit, losing my momentum and getting combo'd
2) Any good combos that work on most characters? When I was able to get off a hit, I would get in a couple jabs and tilts, but for the most part it would end there.
3) Are there any specific techniques (minus wavedashing, dash dancing, ASC) that are essential to playing him?

Any help or other tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kami~]

2) Any good combos that work on most characters? When I was able to get off a hit, I would get in a couple jabs and tilts, but for the most part it would end there
--
Why would it end? are you getting crouch cancelled?

 

[Invis]

2) Any good combos that work on most characters? When I was able to get off a hit, I would get in a couple jabs and tilts, but for the most part it would end there
--
Why would it end? are you getting crouch cancelled?

Sometimes it would get crouch cancelled, but for the most part by the time I got in the hits they would be either too far away or in an angle where the smash couldn't land

 

[DakotaBonez]

Sounds like they got good DI.

 

[Darkgun]

Boy do I wish I could give you a solid answer with the first question. In my experience, this is what Double Team is for, though to really get the mileage needed out of he move, it has to be used on read instead of reaction. Think of it as a really slow startup counter for projectiles.

Short answer: No. Long answer, while there are a few strings that appear to be global in nature, you are more likely to group characters into different weight and fall speed combinations in your head and combo them in different ways based upon this grouping. The best method is, of course, to always use the correct option at every step of the combo, which Lucario does have the potential to do, but that is a bit impractical early on, so... go with the grouping thing.

If you've not already read this. <--I've said that so many times I'm putting it in my signature right now.
If there's one thing you take away from that explanation, Aura Sphere Cancel should be it. The ability to end moves faster is incredibly useful. You can see some uses for it in my play (I use ASC... probably entirely too much).

 

[Invis]

Boy do I wish I could give you a solid answer with the first question. In my experience, this is what Double Team is for, though to really get the mileage needed out of he move, it has to be used on read instead of reaction. Think of it as a really slow startup counter for projectiles.

Short answer: No. Long answer, while there are a few strings that appear to be global in nature, you are more likely to group characters into different weight and fall speed combinations in your head and combo them in different ways based upon this grouping. The best method is, of course, to always use the correct option at every step of the combo, which Lucario does have the potential to do, but that is a bit impractical early on, so... go with the grouping thing.

If you've not already read this. <--I've said that so many times I'm putting it in my signature right now.
If there's one thing you take away from that explanation, Aura Sphere Cancel should be it. The ability to end moves faster is incredibly useful. You can see some uses for it in my play (I use ASC... probably entirely too much).

Thanks for the input! I'm surprised that your post hasn't been stickied yet because it would be really helpful to new Lucario players. Also, in your video at 4:33, was that a regular double team cancel? If so, how did you manage to stay so horizontal when moving back onto the stage?

 

[Darkgun]

... Also, in your video at 4:33, was that a regular double team cancel? If so, how did you manage to stay so horizontal when moving back onto the stage?

That'd be DTC>dair. Dair stops vertical momentum, so instead of traveling at the normal DT angle, you get a more horizontal path. It's useful for setting up spacing for recovery mixups or just recovering high all together.