Is Dash Attack on Shield a Good Option?

[Yaruzu]

Hey,
So around 6 months ago I picked up this habit of dash attacking on shield, in hopes that I will be able to go through them and punish them from behind (I play Falco by the way). From my experience, it seems that low level players will fall for this and will grab late letting me punish them, whereas mid to high level players usually just grab me out of it. So I was wondering, is it a good option at all? I wanted to know if it would be better for me to just stop doing this altogether, or if this is a good option to use every once and a while.

 

[necroTaxonomist]

I feel like any situation where you could go for a dash attack on shield you could just as easily keep dashing then do a JC grab.
You probably shouldn't rely too much on a strategy if you're describing it as "in hopes that I will be able to go through them."

Also, don't quote me on this, but I think that even if you get behind the other player, Fox, Falco, Sheik, and Peach can get out an attack goes behind them before the lag ends from your dash attack.

 

[SAUS]

It's super punishable by all of the top characters in the game. The players most likely just don't know how to punish it properly. This would be called a gimmick and you should avoid using it - especially avoid relying on it.

 

[mythbust4000]

I don't care about who you and your opponent are the answer is

No​

 

[Dolla Pills]

Yeah it's definitely a gimmick

 

[SSG SAX GAMER]

Probably not because it has way to much lag at the end of the attack

 

[Ramnikia]

This is never good. Falco's dash attack is pretty long and as some said, most top tiers have an answer once you get behind them. Namely getting shined or bair'd. Just don't do it, even against low level players. It's a horrible habit to develop.

 

[MudkipUniverse]

when you see someone shield then you shouldn't be reacting with DA

grab is a lot better to name something basic, there's also shield pressure in Aerials + Shine

 

[1000g2g3g4g800999]

If the hitbox reverses for a dash attack, you and your opponent will push each other away from each other. You're probably better off doing something else. Even if dash attacks have low start-up, you have to get extremely close for this to work out anyway.

Even if the hitbox reverses, dash attacks are pretty universally laggy, so it's probably still going to be punishable.

If you use it once in a blue moon, hey, maybe it will work vs some better players, or if you've conditioned them that options other than shield grab are bad somehow (say, spacing moves out of grab range and blocking and punishing aerials OoS), then getting ambiguous crossups through dash attack could make them whiff a grab. But in general, you're better off using moves that are less laggy if you see a shield, or just grabbing, or not attacking at all, since they can't shield forever, and are limiting their own options.

Note that how they DI the dash attack on shield, for if you're even considering the concept of "ambiguous crossups" can ruin your strategy with relative ease.

This strategy might be more valid as an "oh no, I've gotten too close, here's my last ditch effort to escape" if you were playing as Peach or Samus or something (making sure you reverse the hitbox). Then again, Peach has float cancel and Samus has bombs, so that's not a particularly good option for those characters either.

 

[jfb112697]

Nope, chances are you'll just get shield grabbed, dash grabs might work. I had that habit as well when I first started, started getting punished a lot.

 

[Yashoku]

You should dair them using your momentum to land behind (basically dairing their back, if that makes sense) them so they can't grab you oos, from there you can punish a missed grab oos or whatever else the situation calls for.
Every situation is unique but this is a good go-to imo

 

[ph00tbag]

It's not uncommon to see players space a dash attack so that the hitbox strikes the back of the opponent's shield. An opponent that's been conditioned to expect an earlier dash attack (which is typically better for combos) can often be baited to attempt a shield grab, or they might whiff a bair oos because of the move's pushback. This is actually a popular technique for Samus, as she lacks a solid way to safely pressure shield at close range, and it provides greater safety than a lot of other options.

Of course, this option can still be beaten if read and reacted to properly, but there are very few options in Melee for which this isn't the case.

 

[Diosama]

That's far too general of a question. If you asked the same thing but with fair instead, would the answer always be the same? Obviously not because peach and falcon are a thing.

Fox and Falco dash attack usually results in a crossup, but it varies at what distance you use it at. The relative safety of it also varies depending on what you decide to do after it (i.e. if you always uptilt after a cross up, people will catch on and punish you).