jetfour
Smash Journeyman
From my experience of playing against Snakes (AZ people, most notable including Forward), I notice 3 main styles of using the C4.
Most commonly, the C4 is used for a "stage control" style of play. This is when the C4 is placed on strategic locations around the stage to limit the mobility of the opponent. This includes but is not limited to:
-Near the edge
-On platforms
Disadvantages:
-Can leave you vulnerable from below in the air
-Cannot use the C4 for recovery
The other Snake players are reserved and cautious with the C4. Since the C4 is not planted, they can pull it out in midair. The main two uses are:
-Anti-juggling
-Recovery
Disadvantages:
-The C4 will rarely be used offensively, which is a shame considering that the C4 has extremely high KO'ing power and is rarely stale since Snake's other moves will be used more often (in a good Snake at least
)
-Can become predictable
Lastly, my personal favorite is the "sandbagging" style, a.k.a. sticking your opponent. In casual play, it's always fun to stick your friend and watch him panic. Maybe I don't watch enough Snake videos, but in the competitive matches I've played and watched, I almost never see sticking used as an effective offensive strategy. It may be difficult to get in close quarters to actually land a sticky, but once you develop set-ups and adjust to your opponent's defensive habits, stickies will be landed more often than you expect.
Here, I'll share some basic and advanced techniques for landing stickies even on skilled opponents.
Basic knowledge about the sticky:
*The sticky's property of going through shields is often overlooked. It is also a powerful spotdodging punisher.
*The C4 can stick to opponents that are laying down or even in the air.
*You can stick your teammate, even if team attack is off.
*When a character that has been stuck touches another character, the C4 transfers over to the clean character. The C4 must remain on a character for about 5 seconds before it will transfer though.
*For use as a K.O. move, stick lighter opponents at about 60% and the heaviest opponents at about 90%. Tack on at least 25% more before you attempt the detonation.
The best time to sticky an opponent is when you are in the air and your opponent is on the ground. Generally, there are two types of opponents. The smartest players are in the middle, but everyone is closer to one type than the other and it is up to you to observe and figure out which type your opponent is closer to.
Type A is the aggressive kind that will go for an upB/u-smash/aerial. Type B is the kind that will patiently wait for you to airdodge and punish you as you land or punish your attack out of shield. Dealing with Type A is easy -- just airdodge/avoid and punish. If you are facing Type B, the C4 is your new best friend
As you land, C4 them. You'll probably get attacked/grabbed, but now they're under your possession.
Platforms are helpful for stealthy sticking. If they're on a platform, it's surprisingly easy to just jump up and stick them. If they're below you, fall through and stick. If you're slick enough, they might not even realize that they are stuck.
Ledgehop sticky against opponents that are shieldgrabby.
The opponent will try to transfer the sticky to you. They will often succeed. However, you are still in control. Who holds the detonator? Plus, you can always just transfer it back to them.
Although it may be intuitive to detonate the C4 soon after you stick it before your opponent transfers it to you, the answer is NO!!! Patience is the key for getting those earned K.O.'s. A smart opponent will wait for the "NOW!" cue and airdodge or shield. Just as the sticky requires anticipation, the detonation requires it too. The most obvious way is to explode them while they are in hitstun from an attack or throw. The way that messes with your opponent's head the most is to play like a mine isn't even present. They'll eventually play offensively and then BAM gotcha.
The last and least fruitful method of KOing is to do nothing. Eventually, the C4 will explode on its own and no opponent had quick enough reflexes to dodge it. Don't rely on this method though, since the C4 sometimes simply falls off the opponent.
Although very situational, the C4 can be beneficial if it is stuck to you and not your opponent. It's basically a built-in third jump, no precise aim and timing required.
Random C4 tricksies and hints
-Cover up the sound of planting a C4 by planting it as a mortar/grenade explodes
-Flashy K.O.: Footstool the opponent. Drop the C4 and explode it while they are still tumbling XD
-Plant a C4 on the edge. When you are recovering, edge cancel your detonation animation into a b-air.
-Plant a proximity mine in the exact location of your C4. When the opponent sees the proximity mine explode, the sometimes let their guard down in that location forgetting that the C4 is present.
-On Yoshi's Island, the rotating platform completely conceals the C4 if both opponents stay grounded below it
-You know how you can run off the edge and b-air? Next time, try a sticky (especially effective against other Snakes)
-If you wanna be cheap, play with the volume off Your opponent won't hear the stick OR the dreaded "NOW!"
Hope I didn't repeat too much and you learned something new! Contributed tips will be appreciated and credited.
Most commonly, the C4 is used for a "stage control" style of play. This is when the C4 is placed on strategic locations around the stage to limit the mobility of the opponent. This includes but is not limited to:
-Near the edge
-On platforms
Disadvantages:
-Can leave you vulnerable from below in the air
-Cannot use the C4 for recovery
The other Snake players are reserved and cautious with the C4. Since the C4 is not planted, they can pull it out in midair. The main two uses are:
-Anti-juggling
-Recovery
Disadvantages:
-The C4 will rarely be used offensively, which is a shame considering that the C4 has extremely high KO'ing power and is rarely stale since Snake's other moves will be used more often (in a good Snake at least
)-Can become predictable
Lastly, my personal favorite is the "sandbagging" style, a.k.a. sticking your opponent. In casual play, it's always fun to stick your friend and watch him panic. Maybe I don't watch enough Snake videos, but in the competitive matches I've played and watched, I almost never see sticking used as an effective offensive strategy. It may be difficult to get in close quarters to actually land a sticky, but once you develop set-ups and adjust to your opponent's defensive habits, stickies will be landed more often than you expect.
Here, I'll share some basic and advanced techniques for landing stickies even on skilled opponents.
Basic knowledge about the sticky:
*The sticky's property of going through shields is often overlooked. It is also a powerful spotdodging punisher.
*The C4 can stick to opponents that are laying down or even in the air.
*You can stick your teammate, even if team attack is off.
*When a character that has been stuck touches another character, the C4 transfers over to the clean character. The C4 must remain on a character for about 5 seconds before it will transfer though.
*For use as a K.O. move, stick lighter opponents at about 60% and the heaviest opponents at about 90%. Tack on at least 25% more before you attempt the detonation.
The best time to sticky an opponent is when you are in the air and your opponent is on the ground. Generally, there are two types of opponents. The smartest players are in the middle, but everyone is closer to one type than the other and it is up to you to observe and figure out which type your opponent is closer to.
Type A is the aggressive kind that will go for an upB/u-smash/aerial. Type B is the kind that will patiently wait for you to airdodge and punish you as you land or punish your attack out of shield. Dealing with Type A is easy -- just airdodge/avoid and punish. If you are facing Type B, the C4 is your new best friend
As you land, C4 them. You'll probably get attacked/grabbed, but now they're under your possession.Platforms are helpful for stealthy sticking. If they're on a platform, it's surprisingly easy to just jump up and stick them. If they're below you, fall through and stick. If you're slick enough, they might not even realize that they are stuck.
Ledgehop sticky against opponents that are shieldgrabby.
The opponent will try to transfer the sticky to you. They will often succeed. However, you are still in control. Who holds the detonator?
Plus, you can always just transfer it back to them.Although it may be intuitive to detonate the C4 soon after you stick it before your opponent transfers it to you, the answer is NO!!! Patience is the key for getting those earned K.O.'s. A smart opponent will wait for the "NOW!" cue and airdodge or shield. Just as the sticky requires anticipation, the detonation requires it too. The most obvious way is to explode them while they are in hitstun from an attack or throw. The way that messes with your opponent's head the most is to play like a mine isn't even present. They'll eventually play offensively and then BAM gotcha.
The last and least fruitful method of KOing is to do nothing. Eventually, the C4 will explode on its own and no opponent had quick enough reflexes to dodge it. Don't rely on this method though, since the C4 sometimes simply falls off the opponent.
Although very situational, the C4 can be beneficial if it is stuck to you and not your opponent. It's basically a built-in third jump, no precise aim and timing required.
Random C4 tricksies and hints
-Cover up the sound of planting a C4 by planting it as a mortar/grenade explodes
-Flashy K.O.: Footstool the opponent. Drop the C4 and explode it while they are still tumbling XD
-Plant a C4 on the edge. When you are recovering, edge cancel your detonation animation into a b-air.
-Plant a proximity mine in the exact location of your C4. When the opponent sees the proximity mine explode, the sometimes let their guard down in that location forgetting that the C4 is present.
-On Yoshi's Island, the rotating platform completely conceals the C4 if both opponents stay grounded below it
-You know how you can run off the edge and b-air? Next time, try a sticky (especially effective against other Snakes)
-If you wanna be cheap, play with the volume off
Your opponent won't hear the stick OR the dreaded "NOW!"Hope I didn't repeat too much and you learned something new! Contributed tips will be appreciated and credited.
