Keeping your Main a Secret?

[tekkie]

okay so a decent tournament uses a double blind character picking system, right?

since knowing the other person's main if they don't know yours can give a game-winning advantage (i.e. if you know they main snake, pull out your pocket dedede). you can counter-pick their character choice, i.e. in this case pick pikachu against their dedede. then, in round 3, they pull out marth or something. you lose before the match even begins.

do you keep your main a secret? have you ever been counter-picked before the match even began? what would you do if it happened?

brawl espionage. discuss.

Spoiler

this doesn't apply to MK mains, of course. MK users can go back to lala land :D

 

[Veel]

I main Yoshi... I'm fairly certain that people knowing who I play doesn't hurt me as no one goes out of their way to counter pick my character. In fact I think knowing before hand that I play Yoshi actually helps my chances as people have played characters they do not regularly use against me in tournament...

 

[OkamiBW]

So would it be a surprise to someone to practice a certain matchup really hard to surprise the counterpicker?

For example in Melee...you know they'll counterpick your Marth with Sheik; but you've practiced for months with that matchup. So you're counterpicking their counterpick.

 

[Kingarthurii]

I main Link









TR4Q

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

It actually can be a very large advantage, and even if your main is openly known, a good secondary can be invaluable. For example, in a tournament match against Gale, another MK main, I banned brinstar because I thought "it's an MK ditto and I really don't like brinstar at all". So what happens? He counterpicks me to FD with ICs and destroys me there (ICs on FD are a ****ing NIGHTMARE). All because I was too dumb to realize "whoops, he's got a pocket ICs". So yes, doing this has a few serious advantages.

 

[Meru.]

Nope, doesn't matter for me. I only main Peach and even though I do have secondaries, I don't use them in tourney because I don't want to, need to, and they suck too much. They're just for fun, actually. As for stages... I'm not very bothered by them, except if PS2 is legal >_>.

It won't make any difference to me.

 

[Meru.]

Nope, doesn't matter for me. I only main Peach and even though I do have secondaries, I don't use them in tourney because I don't want to, need to, and they suck too much. They're just for fun, actually. As for stages... I'm not very bothered by them, except if PS2 is legal >_>.

It won't make any difference to me. Besides, I think every opponent I have faced, knew that I main Peach anyway.

 

[Claire Diviner]

Well, it's no secret that, by the look of my postbit, I main R.O.B., but I have been picking up and playing the hell out of other characters, including high tier and top tier characters as insurance measures. I've never entered a tourney (yet) to know if I'm any good with them, so I guess I'll just have to wait and find out when I do eventually attend one (Pound V being my intended first tourney). :3

 

[Grim Tuesday]

I use Meta Knight when they request a double blind pick.

 

[BSP]

Your main info will probably get out as you play in more tournaments. But your pocket characters can give you an advantage if you keep them ready.

 

[tekkie]

Your main info will probably get out as you play in more tournaments. But your pocket characters can give you an advantage if you keep them ready.

but a double blind is standard, right? so first pick, your opponent knows your main and counterpicks you, you counterpick them later, and they get the last counterpick. you lose 2-1, all else assumed to be even

 

[Flutter NiTE]

I play with Pikachu as my main, always my best, no matter what, and i have a bunch of secondaries, exclusive to help with my bad pika match ups.

 

[BSP]

but a double blind is standard, right? so first pick, your opponent knows your main and counterpicks you, you counterpick them later, and they get the last counterpick. you lose 2-1, all else assumed to be even

Idk about larger tournaments, but at the locals I go to, no one usually requests a double blind.

 

[Kewkky]

I dunno what character would counter both my mains at the same time, so i feel safe going either one of them at any tourney. Last tourney I went to I didn't do double blind picks in any of my matches, and I didn't do stage striking either, I just let my opponents choose. My results? Exactly the same as my other tourneys, where I lost to the best-of-the-best players in my community. If someone were to main the characters who my characters has a disadvantage against, that would be serious trouble because I have no way to avoid the fact that there's a tough match ahead (like if someone around my skill level or higher picked MK).

I wouldn't doubt that there's people who find keeping their mains a secret to be an advantage, notably those that main characters who have a hard counter against them (a la DDD vs DK, or pocket MK vs Pit). Still, the closer you are to the top of the tourney scene, the more known you are and who you main and the less you lose to your character's disadvantages.

 

[OkamiBW]

I feel like even if your opponent knows your main...they don't know how much you've practiced against their character...and even more specifically, how much you've practiced on certain stages against their character.

 

[swift9]

I feel like even if your opponent knows your main...they don't know how much you've practiced against their character...and even more specifically, how much you've practiced on certain stages against their character.

Just learn there tactics and you should be good. My main is Sonic. I'm practicing with pikachu he is my second main.

 

[Jamage]

I use Meta Knight when they request a double blind pick.

Since I go to tournaments with you Ill have to remember that

I main Rob, everyone knows this and anyone good with MK usually picks him.

 

[ryuu seika]

I main Kirby so I don't think it really matters as no character is that much better against him than any other and people are likely to think it a walkover with anyone anyway (which, to be honest, it may well be).

 

[KoNfucius]

i main meta knight and diddy, that way i can win my first game on smashville with diddy then get hard countered to rainbow, then bust out meta and good game sir.

 

[Blarg I'm Dead]

I don't compete in huge tourneys like Apex or MLG (besides friendlies when I lived in orlando, but that doesn't count). I play tournament paintball at a national though so the competitive similarities are there.

As the tourney goes on [from your first match and on] people recognize good players when they register and who you main and secondary and your best character is typically pretty common knowledge soon after the start. People will watch your matches as well to figure out how you play and what you're doing and why.

Much like in paintball other teams and/or they're coach will watch the match you are playing to determine your game plan and breakouts [think plays in football, its a term for which bunker all your players go to when the buzzer goes off, which zones they shoot in to lock down, which bunkers they try and shoot an opposing player out off break for an early body number advantage, basically a complex gameplan].

Having people watch who you main and what you do in each situation is great and all, like knowing which breakouts a team uses and why. But knowing what they do and knowing how to beat it are completely different things.

I'd only be concerned if you see their games and know they know that matchup very well.

 

[Devvo]

On wi-fi, I just tell people I main random then choose my main so they can't counterpick me!

It works, trust me