Squid Inkling Viability

[Vert]

This is a question to fellow/future inkling mains out there.
I've had a good amount of time playing at the live events for Smash Ultimate so I feel like I can get a decent grasp on Inkling.
My question is how do you all feel about their future viability? Much like Sheik in smash4 Inklings also have a severe-case of "Marth-itis"
They can most definitely combo and wrack up a lot of percent fairly quickly, but they 100% struggle with getting that confirmed kill. Ledge traps are quite useful, but from what I've been able to see/do a consistent kill option is quite hard to come by.
Unless someone found a way to confirm to one of Inklings kill options consistently then please ignore this LOL

 

[Splotim]

Yeah, they’re going to have to work for that kill, but that’s not always bad. Shiek has the exact same issue in 4 and she was considered the best character in the game for a long time.

Even if they have to rely on smashes or gimps to kill, they’re still going to be good.

 

[Vert]

Yeah, they’re going to have to work for that kill, but that’s not always bad. Shiek has the exact same issue in 4 and she was considered the best character in the game for a long time.

Even if they have to rely on smashes or gimps to kill, they’re still going to be good.

Yeah I agree, Hopefully we'll be able to find some setups for kills; much like Sheik in Smash4 has up-air confirms or 50/50s
However, from my experience 50/50s seem to be a bit harder. Having directional airdodges makes the aggressor have to be a bit more patient, but as a result will lag their punish. I'm sure it'll all develop when the game comes out. But from my knowledge there doesn't seem to be a reliable setup as of now. I'm sure once we can lab it out more reliably without timed matches/laggy setups.

 

[Splotim]

We have a kill confirm don’t worry:

Spoiler: Leaked Game spoiler

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Might be hard to land, but it’s definitely something people need to watch out for.

 

[Vert]

We have a kill confirm don’t worry:

Spoiler: Leaked Game spoiler

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Might be hard to land, but it’s definitely something people need to watch out for.

Yeah but getting that uair is going to be difficult. Nothing really setup for that uair st that percent.

 

[Skitrel]

You don't need any setup for that uair at all.

Uair is safe on shield because it's 6f landing lag. Spotdodge should beat a shieldgrab if your uair hits shield. This means you can throw uair at the opponent and either spotdodge if you hit shield or usmash if you get the confirm.

If you want to optimise it even further then you can do a crossup uair (assuming the opponent's back is closer to the edge than their front), if you hit shield you can do uair>grab and bthrow for the kill instead of usmash. This would give you a kill even if you hit shield provided % is high enough for the kill throw.

The only counter I can see to this is parry. They will either have to parry or die.

 

[~The Koopa King~]

the ink mechanic(and how well it is in competitive play)will make or break inkling overall

 

[Kierdar]

I'm haven't found any comp groups lately so I'm not the best and i haven't tried the game, but I found that side-b f-smash might work nicely, but if they shield side-b it wont end very well.

 

[Wolydarg]

Inkling's Nair looks really good, too:
https://twitter.com/MeowMixSSB/status/1067436867329511425

 

[MERPIS]

Good lord these guys look fun as hell to play!
Is it bad however, that I don't think they're gonna lose a single MU aside from maybe meta knight?
Heck I gotta ask now, how's fair looking?

 

[Splotim]

A couple notes from the inkling discord:

Fair can be a poor man’s sex kick
Both Nair and Uair 1 are great combo starters
Ink multiplier is 1.5x the damage for all moves
Ink also affects knockback
Bair has deceptively large range
Ink bombs cancel out projectiles
U-throw -> Uair is a kill confirm(!!) with a pretty large % window.
Nair -> Dair is a combo without DI. Might be a true combo on large characters

 

[BigMac1304]

Inkling looks so amazing. Good aerials, trusty kill confirm, good throws, and many many combos as we have seen, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Inkling is at least A tier.

We have a kill confirm don’t worry:

Spoiler: Leaked Game spoiler

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Might be hard to land, but it’s definitely something people need to watch out for.

EDIT: Something to note here: watch how much ink that move used. It's not the biggest deal in the world, seeing as you can recharge after you do the confirmed kill, but if you're doing doubles or a 1v1v1v1, this might not be too good of an idea.

That reminds me, because Inkling's smash attacks consume so much ink, in doubles it might be smart to have Inkling be the person that sets up combos without launching them too much via the aerials, and the other teammate pulling off smash attacks or zoning the opponents out. Maybe Richter would be a good teammate for Inkling? Idk.

 

[MERPIS]

U-throw -> Uair is a kill confirm(!!) with a pretty large % window.

do you need ink help

 

[Splotim]

do you need ink help

No but it would definitely help. Without ink, the confirm starts killing light opponents at 120% and heavies at 170%. Apparently it works earlier with full ink, although I haven’t seen proof yet. I guess we’ll see in a week.

 

[MERPIS]

No but it would definitely help. Without ink, the confirm starts killing light opponents at 120% and heavies at 170%. Apparently it works earlier with full ink, although I haven’t seen proof yet. I guess we’ll see in a week.

Ay cool, we looking like a slightly slower sheik out here.
So is forward air of any use at all in neutral?

 

[Buddy002]

How big of a factor is his ink for damage?

 

[BigMac1304]

How big of a factor is his ink for damage?

While I can't answer that question exactly, I do know that without ink there is no knock-back on any moves.

 

[The Neon Flame]

Ink will definitely be a big part of any inkling match. Whether you can completely cover an opponent may be what makes or breaks you. Just from what I've seen. Still, it shouldn't be too hard to do most of the time.

 

[Bayopuff]

They're probably going to be A or B-Tier, but I don't really see new players picking them up, they're not the easiest character to learn, even if it pays off at the end.

 

[BigMac1304]

We have a kill confirm don’t worry:

Spoiler: Leaked Game spoiler

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Might be hard to land, but it’s definitely something people need to watch out for.

How do you get the Tweet to show up like that?

 

[Splotim]

You click the “...v” symbol. Then select Media and paste the url of the tweet. If you are going to list all of the combos in your thread, I suggest putting the tweets in spoiler tags too. They’re under the same drop down menu as Media. This is what it should look like if you do it right:

[SPOILER="Leaked Game spoiler"][MEDIA=twitter]1067072419083489281[/MEDIA][/SPOILER]

 

[Taïï]

Can we not use the fact that no ink means low kb so more potential combos ?
I think ink bomb can cover a lot of options if well thrown on the ledge so that means some nice ledge traps

 

[Deleted member]

Inklings are definitely gonna be rushdown early kill characters, if you run out of ink then it's a pain to restore it but at full ink Inklings are MONSTERS.

 

[MERPIS]

Inklings are definitely gonna be rushdown early kill characters, if you run out of ink then it's a pain to restore it but at full ink Inklings are MONSTERS.

even without ink they're stupidly good, look at those aerials

 

[Deleted member]

even without ink they're stupidly good, look at those aerials

yeah but everybody is stupid good in this game, Inklings are just ULTRA stupid good with full ink

 

[MERPIS]

yeah but everybody is stupid good in this game, Inklings are just ULTRA stupid good with full ink

Yeet

Alrighty I know its early but I wanna theorize, so what might be some suspect or bad matchups for inkling

 

[Deleted member]

Alrighty I know its early but I wanna theorize, so what might be some suspect or bad matchups for inkling

Characters that can outlive the Inkling's attacks until they run out of ink might be a problem, so maybe fast characters and some heavies. Overall though Inklings are pretty versatile a la Fox, so idk if they really have and BAD matchups.

 

[MERPIS]

Characters that can outlive the Inkling's attacks until they run out of ink might be a problem, so maybe fast characters and some heavies. Overall though Inklings are pretty versatile a la Fox, so idk if they really have and BAD matchups.

I doubt they have anything worse than a -2, maybe just a singular -2 against like, k rool or something. Then maybe losing to like roy, marth, and olimar

 

[~The Koopa King~]

it would probably best to not put yourself into too many situations where you are dangerously low on ink if that happens then you are pretty much screwed and are likely to lose

 

[Xeiros]

Exactly.

You want plenty of ink both in your tank, on the ground, and of course on your opponent, ideally, for as close to 100% up-time as possible. The worst situation you can be in is have an empty tank and most likely a clean opponent as well.

Having ink is important not only for racking up percentage, but for getting the KO or rather at least having a more manageable time attempting such. That is to say it's not worth it to expend the whole tank playing rushdown to quickly build percent, if you wind up lacking the ink needed to be in the best state to finish the job.

I'd argue they're much better off working to keep their tank as close to full as is reasonable even when that means using the space KB creates to mix in quick refills instead of trying to always push an advantage.

The closer to empty the tank gets the more space you need to create to fill it back up to the point inkling can fight back at their best yet the less capable they'll be of actually making that space in the first place as a result.

It's going to get to the point where players will have memorized by sight how much ink a given ink move consumes and from that be able to determine based on how much ink is remaining just what an inkling is capable of before they run low/out. Hence proper ink management.

I neglected to mention this, but even if you play super rush-down, aggressive and manage to score a KO by completely emptying your tank you still need to refill it when they revive for some revenge. Unlike Splatoon/2 you cannot simply stall for time so it refills on its own. You have to create enough space to refill the tank to the point that not only are you no longer in that gimped state, but that you don't fall back into it after using only a couple ink moves shortly thereafter.

I'll make this claim right now. Inklings will never, in any competitive scenario regardless of what character and stage they're fighting on, gain any tangible benefit whatsoever from having an empty ink tank. Any claim that inklings can “combo” better with no ink is as laughable as trying to argue that Robin would not be much better if say levin sword was permanent.

 

[Justin Allen Goldschmidt]

Exactly.

You want plenty of ink both in your tank, on the ground, and of course on your opponent, ideally, for as close to 100% up-time as possible. The worst situation you can be in is have an empty tank and most likely a clean opponent as well.

Having ink is important not only for racking up percentage, but for getting the KO or rather at least having a more manageable time attempting such. That is to say it's not worth it to expend the whole tank playing rushdown to quickly build percent, if you wind up lacking the ink needed to be in the best state to finish the job.

I'd argue they're much better off working to keep their tank as close to full as is reasonable even when that means using the space KB creates to mix in quick refills instead of trying to always push an advantage.

The closer to empty the tank gets the more space you need to create to fill it back up to the point inkling can fight back at their best yet the less capable they'll be of actually making that space in the first place as a result.

It's going to get to the point where players will have memorized by sight how much ink a given ink move consumes and from that be able to determine based on how much ink is remaining just what an inkling is capable of before they run low/out. Hence proper ink management.

I neglected to mention this, but even if you play super rush-down, aggressive and manage to score a KO by completely emptying your tank you still need to refill it when they revive for some revenge. Unlike Splatoon/2 you cannot simply stall for time so it refills on its own. You have to create enough space to refill the tank to the point that not only are you no longer in that gimped state, but that you don't fall back into it after using only a couple ink moves shortly thereafter.

I'll make this claim right now. Inklings will never, in any competitive scenario regardless of what character and stage they're fighting on, gain any tangible benefit whatsoever from having an empty ink tank. Any claim that inklings can “combo” better with no ink is as laughable as trying to argue that Robin would not be much better if say levin sword was permanent.

They may have meant Inkling will combo better when the *opponent* isn't inked. I could be wrong though.

 

[MERPIS]

I recieved word that inkling back throw can kill, is that true?

 

[Buddy002]

Exactly.

You want plenty of ink both in your tank, on the ground, and of course on your opponent, ideally, for as close to 100% up-time as possible. The worst situation you can be in is have an empty tank and most likely a clean opponent as well.

Having ink is important not only for racking up percentage, but for getting the KO or rather at least having a more manageable time attempting such. That is to say it's not worth it to expend the whole tank playing rushdown to quickly build percent, if you wind up lacking the ink needed to be in the best state to finish the job.

I'd argue they're much better off working to keep their tank as close to full as is reasonable even when that means using the space KB creates to mix in quick refills instead of trying to always push an advantage.

The closer to empty the tank gets the more space you need to create to fill it back up to the point inkling can fight back at their best yet the less capable they'll be of actually making that space in the first place as a result.

It's going to get to the point where players will have memorized by sight how much ink a given ink move consumes and from that be able to determine based on how much ink is remaining just what an inkling is capable of before they run low/out. Hence proper ink management.

I neglected to mention this, but even if you play super rush-down, aggressive and manage to score a KO by completely emptying your tank you still need to refill it when they revive for some revenge. Unlike Splatoon/2 you cannot simply stall for time so it refills on its own. You have to create enough space to refill the tank to the point that not only are you no longer in that gimped state, but that you don't fall back into it after using only a couple ink moves shortly thereafter.

I'll make this claim right now. Inklings will never, in any competitive scenario regardless of what character and stage they're fighting on, gain any tangible benefit whatsoever from having an empty ink tank. Any claim that inklings can “combo” better with no ink is as laughable as trying to argue that Robin would not be much better if say levin sword was permanent.

Heres the thing tho. Is it actually that hard to refill ink midgame? Bc all the video ive seen it reloads fairly quickly...

 

[Splotim]

Heres the thing tho. Is it actually that hard to refill ink midgame? Bc all the video ive seen it reloads fairly quickly...

Ink refills pretty quickly, but you have to be pretty safe to use it since it has considerable end lag. It also means you’re giving up potential gimps/follow ups.

 

[CoolerDude]

I think Inkling is absolutely broken

 

[MaverickF]

I'm thinking Inkling is top tier. Their aerials are crazy fast with most having little landing lag, they have great combo starters, and they are fast in a game where movement is key. I wouldn't say they are like diddy was for ssb4 and I definitely wouldn't say they're broken like ssb4 bayo. However, they look promising and considering so many pro players are picking them up, they can only get better from here.

 

[chipndip]

You don't need any setup for that uair at all.

Uair is safe on shield because it's 6f landing lag. Spotdodge should beat a shieldgrab if your uair hits shield. This means you can throw uair at the opponent and either spotdodge if you hit shield or usmash if you get the confirm.

If you want to optimise it even further then you can do a crossup uair (assuming the opponent's back is closer to the edge than their front), if you hit shield you can do uair>grab and bthrow for the kill instead of usmash. This would give you a kill even if you hit shield provided % is high enough for the kill throw.

The only counter I can see to this is parry. They will either have to parry or die.

...or block and roll?

...or just anti-air you for being disrespectful enough to go at someone on the ground with an attack aimed at the sky?

 

[WeLinkLinks]

I've been playing Inkling since I got them unlocked and damn, I'm really enjoying them so far. I think they're top tier TBH

 

[grizby2]

id say they are in a great spot. they hit hard and are hard to hit. extremely fast, great recovery. they have a mechanic that just flat out gives free damage, they have projectiles, excellent frame data, and you can proooobably tell I absolutely hate them.

I would not be surprised if they get nerfed. even then, they still have all the utilities needed to be top tier. when it comes to smash I usually completely ignore anything like a tier list, but after fighting them and using them over and over, I just have to say: They are VERY good man.
im sure i'll learn to play around them sometime, but for now... just damn. lol