JFox
Smash Hero
So since I started maining peach (4 months ago i think) I have focused very very diligently on my edgegaurding against Fox and Falco because I believe it is probably the only think that peach can do to keep the match close against high level players. When I first started playing her, I made a thread asking for advice for edgeguarding. Now that I feel like I am good at it, I feel it is time for me to give back by telling people my methods in case they are seeking some help in this area. (Note: Many peach players know this stuff, but many people like myself may benefit from this thread) These are the basic edgegaurds I use because they are reliable and cover many options at once. I will add some other edgeguards if I feel that people want more.
I am going to go through each recovery option a Fox/Falco has, and try to tell you how to cover every one of them. Video footage will be provided as an aid in the near future.
Double Jump Sweetspot
As soon as I hit a space animal off the stage, I run to the ledge with peach facing off the stage, and immediately go into an instant float hovering right above stage, but not off stage. First recovery option- If the opponent is close, and I think they are gonna try to sweet spot the ledge from below with their double jump, I dair because it reaches below the stage. Note that I don't just dair immediately as a guess, but that I react to the way they are aligning their character. If someone falls down to a specific spot while they still have their double jump, they are gonna try and sweetspot the ledge. I react to the spacing, not the jump itself.
Forward B options
Even if they aren't close enough, I still set myself up with Peach facing off stage, in float. I wait, and react to what they do. If they use their forward B and they are higher than the ledge, I react to the sound of the forward B with a nair. You have to work on the timing, but eventually you will get it down so that EVERYTIME they forward B onto the stage, you will hit them back off stage with a Nair. If they go behind you, you are doing it too early, if u are getting hit, too late. Now if they sweetspot low enough with the forward b, you must dair the ledge. React in the same way, just use dair. Now after hitting them out of their forward B, you MUST capitalize. If they are at low percent, they can still recover. Immediately drop out of your float and meet them while they are starting their Up B. Begin to float AS you get to where they are, and than nair. On Fox I sometimes use Fair simply to avoid being hit by the fire. Drop down and meet them with a floating nair.
If I see the opponent is hit up pretty high, and I think they are gonna forward B onto a platform, I drop out of float, wait for them to forward B onto the platform, and than punish the lag of the forward B with a rising fair or nair (note that they will get their jump back from landing on the platform). Then start the edgegaurd back in first position.
So far we have discussed the three options a space animal has with their forward B, and how to cover all three. This is where things get a little more difficult.
The Up B.
The Up B is tricky because they just have so many options after they have started it. The worst is if they are in position where they are at an angle that they can go down and sweetspot the ledge from above (diagonally). Let me start by saying that Fox and Falco’s up B is completely trumped by Fair. If you use it properly, you will hit any angle they have so long as you are timing it right, AND you will not trade with it. I use fair for almost all of their Up B options. Now if you want to cover the Up B down to the ledge, you must put your body slightly in front of the ledge and hit with the upper swing of Peach’s Fair. The more of a horizontal angle they come in from, the hard it will be to hit them, so the more in front of the ledge u must be. Just stand in their line of trajectory and Fair them, but do not attempt to hit with the lower part of the fair.
Fair also covers the straight forward angle right into you. If the opponent sees that you are covering the ledge, and u think they are gonna Up B to a platform, double jump out of float and Fair them on their way up to the platform. If you have enough time, you can also drop out of float and rising fair them on their way up.
Now one of the most tricky parts. What to do when your opponent drops down below the ledge, and Up B riding the wall. Its tricky because there are just so many options. Some peach’s use Dsmash, however, I do not. If someone is good enough, they will just get a free recovery from smash by teching and then immediately forward B into the ledge. I also don’t use Bair for the same reason, you can wall tech it. I use the dair. Make sure to space it so that her feet are kinda hiding in the ledge, not hanging off the ledge or u will get burned and lose the edgeguard. So be as far away from the ledge as possible while still hitting it with your feet. This spacing keeps you from trading with the Up B a little better. When u hit with the Dair, try to combo into a nair. If it doesn’t, drop down after the dair commences, and float nair.
Another option is if they are only slightly below the ledge when they start their Up B, and u don’t think they will be able to sweetspot the ledge by riding the wall, time a nice Fair and knock them off right as the are getting above that ledge. This one is pretty tricky because if they use a super angled Up B, you may miss the timing. However, I still use it.
I think that’s it. Lets review.
Summary
Double jump sweetspot- Dair to nair.
Forward B-
-Nair if they come at you
-Dair if they sweetspot the ledge.
-Nair if the forward B to platform in the lag of forward B.
Up B-
Above the ledge Up B
-Fair if they come straight at you.
-Fair if they try to sweetspot ledge from above.
-Fair intercept if they go for the platform.
Under the stage Up B
-Dair to nair at high percents.
-Fair if u think can't sweetspot the ledge.
Finisher (Blow out the candle)
- If the opponent doesn’t have a jump and is forced to fall under the stage and Up B, drop down and Float Nair.
*New Section*
Some Alternative Edgeguard trixies- I made a video to correspond to each of these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4S27seGU4
Reverse turnip throw edgehog- definitely a staple edgegaurd trick. you can often trick the person into thinking they will make it onto the ledge because of how quick this is. Its also just a nice quick way of getting onto the ledge. With a turnip in hand throw short hop towards the ledge and throw the turnip backwards to turn peach around, than fast fall down and grab the ledge for a quick edgehog.
Bair into the wall- Sometimes people drop down to avoid getting gimped, or sometimes u just mess up an edgegaurd but you can still fix it with a pseudo gimp. Bair'ing the opponent into the will work, but I wouldn't overuse it because they can always wall tech. I tend to use this as a last resort if i mess up.
Dash attack- you can use the front hitbox of the dash attack to hit someone in their up b that is trying to sweetspot the ledge.
Dsmash quick nair- this kinda blows, cuz no one really up B's anymore. But you basically do a dsmash and than run out on nair them out of their up b.
Get up attack- This one is a combination of hilarity and situational ****. Get up attack can often be used to send them back off stage, to keep an edgegaurd going. You'd be surprised, its pretty useful at times.
Dthrow dsmash- This ***** bad players, sometimes good ones too. You have to face in towards the stage, if you dthrow someone and they dont DI, you can actually dsmash them into the wall, and they probably wont ever tech it. This works well on spaceys and falcon. Also people often jump right into this even if it doesnt actually combo.
Ledge Drop Bair- This is my favorite edgeguard. As you are hanging on the edge you drop off and bair the person and than recover with your double jump and up b. (This is amazing, especially vs marth because he likes to try and attack you while u are sitting on the ledge. It works great on fox, falco, falcon, ganon, marth, links and young links chain recovery...basically anyone that is trying to recover from under the ledge.)
I am going to go through each recovery option a Fox/Falco has, and try to tell you how to cover every one of them. Video footage will be provided as an aid in the near future.
Double Jump Sweetspot
As soon as I hit a space animal off the stage, I run to the ledge with peach facing off the stage, and immediately go into an instant float hovering right above stage, but not off stage. First recovery option- If the opponent is close, and I think they are gonna try to sweet spot the ledge from below with their double jump, I dair because it reaches below the stage. Note that I don't just dair immediately as a guess, but that I react to the way they are aligning their character. If someone falls down to a specific spot while they still have their double jump, they are gonna try and sweetspot the ledge. I react to the spacing, not the jump itself.
Forward B options
Even if they aren't close enough, I still set myself up with Peach facing off stage, in float. I wait, and react to what they do. If they use their forward B and they are higher than the ledge, I react to the sound of the forward B with a nair. You have to work on the timing, but eventually you will get it down so that EVERYTIME they forward B onto the stage, you will hit them back off stage with a Nair. If they go behind you, you are doing it too early, if u are getting hit, too late. Now if they sweetspot low enough with the forward b, you must dair the ledge. React in the same way, just use dair. Now after hitting them out of their forward B, you MUST capitalize. If they are at low percent, they can still recover. Immediately drop out of your float and meet them while they are starting their Up B. Begin to float AS you get to where they are, and than nair. On Fox I sometimes use Fair simply to avoid being hit by the fire. Drop down and meet them with a floating nair.
If I see the opponent is hit up pretty high, and I think they are gonna forward B onto a platform, I drop out of float, wait for them to forward B onto the platform, and than punish the lag of the forward B with a rising fair or nair (note that they will get their jump back from landing on the platform). Then start the edgegaurd back in first position.
So far we have discussed the three options a space animal has with their forward B, and how to cover all three. This is where things get a little more difficult.
The Up B.
The Up B is tricky because they just have so many options after they have started it. The worst is if they are in position where they are at an angle that they can go down and sweetspot the ledge from above (diagonally). Let me start by saying that Fox and Falco’s up B is completely trumped by Fair. If you use it properly, you will hit any angle they have so long as you are timing it right, AND you will not trade with it. I use fair for almost all of their Up B options. Now if you want to cover the Up B down to the ledge, you must put your body slightly in front of the ledge and hit with the upper swing of Peach’s Fair. The more of a horizontal angle they come in from, the hard it will be to hit them, so the more in front of the ledge u must be. Just stand in their line of trajectory and Fair them, but do not attempt to hit with the lower part of the fair.
Fair also covers the straight forward angle right into you. If the opponent sees that you are covering the ledge, and u think they are gonna Up B to a platform, double jump out of float and Fair them on their way up to the platform. If you have enough time, you can also drop out of float and rising fair them on their way up.
Now one of the most tricky parts. What to do when your opponent drops down below the ledge, and Up B riding the wall. Its tricky because there are just so many options. Some peach’s use Dsmash, however, I do not. If someone is good enough, they will just get a free recovery from smash by teching and then immediately forward B into the ledge. I also don’t use Bair for the same reason, you can wall tech it. I use the dair. Make sure to space it so that her feet are kinda hiding in the ledge, not hanging off the ledge or u will get burned and lose the edgeguard. So be as far away from the ledge as possible while still hitting it with your feet. This spacing keeps you from trading with the Up B a little better. When u hit with the Dair, try to combo into a nair. If it doesn’t, drop down after the dair commences, and float nair.
Another option is if they are only slightly below the ledge when they start their Up B, and u don’t think they will be able to sweetspot the ledge by riding the wall, time a nice Fair and knock them off right as the are getting above that ledge. This one is pretty tricky because if they use a super angled Up B, you may miss the timing. However, I still use it.
I think that’s it. Lets review.
Summary
Double jump sweetspot- Dair to nair.
Forward B-
-Nair if they come at you
-Dair if they sweetspot the ledge.
-Nair if the forward B to platform in the lag of forward B.
Up B-
Above the ledge Up B
-Fair if they come straight at you.
-Fair if they try to sweetspot ledge from above.
-Fair intercept if they go for the platform.
Under the stage Up B
-Dair to nair at high percents.
-Fair if u think can't sweetspot the ledge.
Finisher (Blow out the candle)
- If the opponent doesn’t have a jump and is forced to fall under the stage and Up B, drop down and Float Nair.
*New Section*
Some Alternative Edgeguard trixies- I made a video to correspond to each of these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4S27seGU4
Reverse turnip throw edgehog- definitely a staple edgegaurd trick. you can often trick the person into thinking they will make it onto the ledge because of how quick this is. Its also just a nice quick way of getting onto the ledge. With a turnip in hand throw short hop towards the ledge and throw the turnip backwards to turn peach around, than fast fall down and grab the ledge for a quick edgehog.
Bair into the wall- Sometimes people drop down to avoid getting gimped, or sometimes u just mess up an edgegaurd but you can still fix it with a pseudo gimp. Bair'ing the opponent into the will work, but I wouldn't overuse it because they can always wall tech. I tend to use this as a last resort if i mess up.
Dash attack- you can use the front hitbox of the dash attack to hit someone in their up b that is trying to sweetspot the ledge.
Dsmash quick nair- this kinda blows, cuz no one really up B's anymore. But you basically do a dsmash and than run out on nair them out of their up b.
Get up attack- This one is a combination of hilarity and situational ****. Get up attack can often be used to send them back off stage, to keep an edgegaurd going. You'd be surprised, its pretty useful at times.
Dthrow dsmash- This ***** bad players, sometimes good ones too. You have to face in towards the stage, if you dthrow someone and they dont DI, you can actually dsmash them into the wall, and they probably wont ever tech it. This works well on spaceys and falcon. Also people often jump right into this even if it doesnt actually combo.
Ledge Drop Bair- This is my favorite edgeguard. As you are hanging on the edge you drop off and bair the person and than recover with your double jump and up b. (This is amazing, especially vs marth because he likes to try and attack you while u are sitting on the ledge. It works great on fox, falco, falcon, ganon, marth, links and young links chain recovery...basically anyone that is trying to recover from under the ledge.)
