Link Matchups - Someone who knows what's he's talking about

[NJ'zFinest]

rawr!
I don't think it's right for someone who's never stepped into a tournament should make a counter list for Link (no offense smashfan34).
Also, smashfan34 doesn't really use great logic...

Sorry, I don't agree at all. In fact, i personally believe link is almost a counter to marth, but without a doubt there is an advantage of 6/4. down aerial kills marth too fast. + link has better recovery. link chain grab ruins the whole range that marth has because links hookshot is longer.

um..lol? Now add that to the fact that he's somewhat of a biased Link fanboy.

Link Matchup List:


Counter Link:
Giga Bowser
Sheik
Fox
Falco


Link simply has the lower hand:
Cfalcon
Y Link

Link goes even:
Marth

Link has a slight advantage:
IC
Ganon
Mario
Doc
Pikachu

Link has the strong upper hand:
Peach
Samus
Jigglypuff
Luigi
DK

One-sided match up for Link:
Roy
Ness
Zelda
Bowser
Yoshi
Kirby
GW
Mew2
Pichu

 

[SexyDoodles]

I don't have much tourney experience myself, but is Mario really at a disadvantage? My brother plays a good Mario, and he's got some pretty nasty combos on Link. Mario is also a LOT faster than Link.

Could you explain what advantage Link has over Mario? I think this match depends on the stage, but i dunno. thx

 

[DLK]

Ty Faf, this list is much more accurate then smashfan34.

Also i thonught link vs. y.link was more even,
y.link speed=link power i thikn that makes them even IMO.


What link has over mario is that he can spam projectiles even though the cape is there there is still to many coming. Also the spin spike kills little marios up+b punch. Grabs alos work easy on mario these are my ideas on it.

 

[SexyDoodles]

The spin spike DOES NOT work on Mario's Up+b. A Mario who knows what he's doing anyway. I know Link has his projectiles, but up close, I don't think he can do much. SHFFL'd Bairs and Fairs destroy Link. Mario's got some great grab combos against as, too.

 

[NJ'zFinest]

Could you explain what advantage Link has over Mario? I think this match depends on the stage, but i dunno. thx

Link's priority and range makes it hard for the small ranged Doc/Mario to land a hit. Link wins in spacing.

Link also has the upper hand when it comes to spam (as cyphus said- arrows block pills, bombs explode against capes unless sweetspotted, caped boomerangs go upward abd allow link to immediately throw another). Link wins in spam.

Link can easily punishes Doc/Mario's recovery (sex kicks/spam). Link wins in edge guarding.

Eventhough Doc/Mario can land some pretty effective combos on Link, Doc/Mario are still known for lacking in KO power in certain matchups, this is one of them. Against Link, they don't have any good setups to land a good KO on him + the fact that their moves don't have strong a knockback. Link moves are enough to get Doc/Mario off the stage + edgeguard. Link wins in KOing.

Also i thonught link vs. y.link was more even,
y.link speed=link power i thikn that makes them even IMO.

Because of Y. Link's speed + spam, he is VERY hard to land a hit on with Link. Now add that to the fact that Y. Link can perform effective combos through his spam (bomb stun, ftw?).
Speed + "out-spamming" = bad for Link (his 3 counters have these)

 

[Link-NY]

\O/! NewJersey'zFINEST post are to good =b

also i think y-link goes even wit link =\ but has the lower hand aginst samus=\

 

[SexyDoodles]

Ok, makes sense since my spacing is really bad. o_o Thanks again.

 

[DLK]

Very true forgot the bomb stun, ty. Also you might want to fix title of subject if possible because u make it sound like a question more then a statement.

 

[El_LoVo]

Nobody say **** about ylink and link unless you've gone againts a good ylink cuz otherwise you don't know wtf you're talking about.

Also i'm not directing this at anyone it's just that i know someone is going to complain.<<<

 

[Plairnkk]

the prob with link is those chars who **** link ****ING **** link o_O.

 

[NJ'zFinest]

lol @ DLK, El Lovo, and Plairnkk

Now..
I'm having trouble with Pikachu's placing. I'm not sure if I should say that Link has a slight advantage or has a strong advantage. Pikachu is easily outspaced and all..., however his jolt spam makes it pretty annoying for Link to appoarch. Link is also at a good weight/falling speed for combing on Pikachu's hand. Pikachu has a solid vertical KOing ability and edgeguard too. I'm a noob when it comes to Pikachu (I haven't played many Pikas), so, anyone else wanna help out?

 

[NovA™]

I agree with this but one more time i think samus and link go even and link does good vs Y- Link.

 

[Z-N_Freak]

lol @ DLK, El Lovo, and Plairnkk

Now..
I'm having trouble with Pikachu's placing. I'm not sure if I should say that Link has a slight advantage or has a strong advantage. Pikachu is easily outspaced and all..., however his jolt spam makes it pretty annoying for Link to appoarch. Link is also at a good weight/falling speed for combing on Pikachu's hand. Pikachu has a solid vertical KOing ability and edgeguard too. I'm a noob when it comes to Pikachu (I haven't played many Pikas), so, anyone else wanna help out?

I almost think it is even....

Pika's Ub b will not get him in the Ub b of Link. Pikachu is much faster then Link. Pika's Jolt has a Better range then Fsmash of Link (and maybe also his spin attack) + it cannot be disrupted by an attack (unless you hit Pika). Pika spams Jolts
Pika's Down smash owns everybody Pika's Up air spike could kill an unexpecting Link. Jolt Spam @ the ledge to edge Guard a Link + Down smash/dtilt is good. Nair is good if you land behind link (Shield grab stays annoying... )

Well That are some advantages I can think of that I use against my friends Link ( he might not be that good, so don't go yelling at me please )

 

[Z-N_Freak]

lol @ DLK, El Lovo, and Plairnkk

Now..
I'm having trouble with Pikachu's placing. I'm not sure if I should say that Link has a slight advantage or has a strong advantage. Pikachu is easily outspaced and all..., however his jolt spam makes it pretty annoying for Link to appoarch. Link is also at a good weight/falling speed for combing on Pikachu's hand. Pikachu has a solid vertical KOing ability and edgeguard too. I'm a noob when it comes to Pikachu (I haven't played many Pikas), so, anyone else wanna help out?

I almost think it is even....

Pika's Ub b will not get him in the Ub b of Link. Pikachu is much faster then Link. Pika's Jolt has a Better range then Fsmash of Link (and maybe also his spin attack) + it cannot be disrupted by an attack (unless you hit Pika). Pika spams Jolts
Pika's Down smash owns everybody Pika's Up air spike could kill an unexpecting Link. Jolt Spam @ the ledge to edge Guard a Link + Down smash/dtilt is good. Nair is good if you land behind link (Shield grab stays annoying... )

Well That are some advantages I can think of that I use against my friends Link ( he might not be that good, so don't go yelling at me please )

 

[TheBuzzSaw]

I do not understand where everyone is coming from when they say "Samus and Link are even" or "Samus beats Link". As NJ'zFinest stated in his original list, Link has a strong advantage over Link. The only Samus I've ever had trouble with was HugS, but he is just 200x better than me so it's not a good example. All Link has to do is stand still and absorb Samus' projectiles by means of the Hylian Shield.

And Link only does well against Young Links who don't know what they're doing. >_>

 

[Aiser]

I actually thought out of all the link counters, fox and sheik were actually winable. I could be wrong though. =\

 

[NJ'zFinest]

I actually thought out of all the link counters, fox and sheik were actually winable. I could be wrong though. =\

Actually, this is kinda true. I think it's Fox and Falco that are the more "winable" ones rather than Sheik. Sheik doesn't even need to CG to **** Link.
So... I think it's dependent on how the opponent plays and what stage you are on. Say if you play a spam happy Fox or Falco on Final Destination, you're ****ed. Say if you play a aggressive Fox on FD or a "non-spammy" Falco, you have the opportunity to land some sexy Link combos. Then again, Link still shouldn't win >.>

 

[KILLA.FOR.CASH.]

I would like some advice vs a spamtacular falco .. my link got two stocked by manacloud on FD at NCT:2 and some things i noticed about his falco.. he doesnt miss ONE l cancel while pillaring.. and he makes it almost impossible for link to use projectiles because when i try to jump over his SHL he full jumps with me and barrages me with more lasers..

any advice?

 

[Aiser]

Actually, this is kinda true. I think it's Fox and Falco that are the more "winable" ones rather than Sheik. Sheik doesn't even need to CG to **** Link.
So... I think it's dependent on how the opponent plays and what stage you are on. Say if you play a spam happy Fox or Falco on Final Destination, you're ****ed. Say if you play a aggressive Fox on FD or a "non-spammy" Falco, you have the opportunity to land some sexy Link combos. Then again, Link still shouldn't win >.>

Eh well, I play a pretty aggressive sheik, so I tend to know how to play one on my link. generally if I land a grab I tech chase as much as I can from that. and I tend to be really spammy so they can't get in. which manages to keep them at bay for 30 seconds lol.

So I'm a tad biased with that match up.

note: sheik ***** link, then ***** his corpse.



Killa: don't play on FD, try to play on a smaller stage and spam alot. it should be alot easier, but you'll still lose.=\

 

[TheSavageBlueBoy]

how does link have a strong upper hand agianst samus? I've always heard it the other way around, samus has the upper hand on link

 

[Aiser]

she's a floaty thats why, aslong asyou don't fight on peach land 64, or falco destination you should be okay.

 

[NJ'zFinest]

I would like some advice vs a spamtacular falco .. my link got two stocked by manacloud on FD at NCT:2 and some things i noticed about his falco.. he doesnt miss ONE l cancel while pillaring.. and he makes it almost impossible for link to use projectiles because when i try to jump over his SHL he full jumps with me and barrages me with more lasers..

any advice?

upon every full jump, throw a boomerang or pull out a bomb since the only time you'll be able to spam is pretty much whenever you're in the air. You'll actually have to full jump alot in this matchup since it's the only way you'll be able to move Link. Other things you should do while jumping are Nairs and falling Uairs.
Nair, Upsmash, and Spin attack right out of your shield are all important due to the fact you will be shielding alot and Falco will be appoarching you a lot (assuming he isn't a camping player). Nair out of shield is good because of it's speed and priority; Upsmash out of shield is good for it's speed and the fact that it setups up for a fast faller combo (Trevyn uses this pretty **** well); Spin attack out of shield is good for the fact that you can get Falco of stage(where Falco isn't godly).
Keep in mind grabbing is pretty much useless in this matchup since Link has a hard time grabbing oppenents + Falco is the harderst character to grab.
If he ever ends up above or below you, take the opportunity to get a u-air/u-tilt juggle on him since combing is basically the only think Link has on Falco.
I don't really know what else to say. Link gets ***** by Falco

how does link have a strong upper hand agianst samus? I've always heard it the other way around, samus has the upper hand on link

Link out spams Samus and has a better time appoarching; out spaces Samus; combos Samus better than she can combo him; has a good edgeguarind game against her; blah blah

 

[OcarinaLink]

uptilt works wonders on a jumping-l-cancelling falco for link. The challenge is to find an actual opening to work your combos on him. But, like NJ said, it's an uphill battle. You'll need to be on the top of your game with Link if you hope to win, because Falco lay on 50%+ damage on you before you even know you made a mistake.

As for the Link vs. Samus matchup, missile-spam is the only challenge Link faces here. Once you get inside that spacing where her missiles are too slow to pull out, yet where Link is just out of range for Samus' melee attacks, Link has the upper hand. Link can edgeguard better, his projectiles have more variety, is just as fast as Samus (if not faster), and can combo out of grabs much more easily than Samus. He has more dependable KO moves than Samus, and can last longer in a battle of attrition against Samus.

EDIT: I just read some of smashfan's posts in the other threads. That boy sure is hella biased in favor of Link...

 

[xeonoex]

You underestimate good Samus's and Jigglypuffs.

 

[Link-NY]

and Jigglypuffs.

Im quite sorry but your post fell apart after this point.

 

[Skler]

I dunno, I have a serious problem fighting small characters with Link. Jigglypuff adds to this problem by being so maneuverable in the air. It pisses me off to know my projectiles (except for bombs, which you can't pull because that puffball will follow you around just out of range) are worthless because they get kicked and then I get kicked in the lag.

Some of Link's best attacks (nair and bair) can't do anything to the puff because puff has that bair, the same bair that hits through every projectile except the bomb. I hate how once it hits you and you have reached the tender amount of damage that is 40 or above you will usually leave the ground and then get killed. All of Link's attacks are just worthless against the puff, you also can't grab it (not that you can really combo puff after a grab once they take any damage) because a good puff won't touch the ground in front of you unless it has to for some reason.

Ok not all Link's attacks are worthless but all his best ones are, his F-smash outranges puff a ton (but it isn't exactly fast) and his fair has it beat in priority, but those all pack horizontal knockback and won't kill the puff.

I think I need help against Jigglypuff if Link should be doing good against it, because I must be overlooking something (I still win like 50% of my matches vs my friends puff, but it seems Link players consider jiggs an easy matchup).

 

[Mann]

Is your list general based? As in stages aren't put much into a factor?

Edit: Nevermind. Couldn't come up with a good example. As I was about to say that Link has an advantage over Falcon on Final Destination. If the Link can react faster than Falcon, as Falcon's speed can get him across the stage in time before Link can finish pulling out a bomb. But the flat stage and length of it give Link an advantage nonetheless for his projectiles to keep coming.

 

[Pixelation500]

against falco ban fd

stay on platforms, and throw projectiles hit n run style

this will give u control

learn to powershield

now falco only has a decent advantage

always make samus approach u

peach marth ganon beat Link on tiny lvls

EDIT: I don't agree with this list at all

 

[Kyle Kerplunk]

Being some other people are asking for advice I guess I mine as well. One of my friends I smash with plays Marth I personally agree with NJ that Link is equal to Marth instead of a counter but thats besides the point. My friend recently has been doing better in Link V Marth matchups, instead of winning a majority of the time I usually only split with him now. His new edgegaurding tactic is to space a d tilt, and poke as I get near it negates shffling back on pretty well and even if I sweetspot the hookshot I usually have trouble getting back. The one thing I find works is rolling back onto the level, but that will eventually get to predictable and I'll need another option ledge teching is one as well. But even Marths tilt seems to work very nicely against my recoveries from the ledge I havent seen this tactic used in videos or such its new to me so I'm not sure how to handle it any sugestions?

 

[technomancer]

This list is all kinds of silly, lol. The top tiers are correct.

Mario and Doc destroy Link. They can outspam him with pills, fireballs, and the cape (this is not an overstatement, talk to Pyrogamer and Eggz if you have problems), and have overkill chaingrabs with the downthrow. They're also faster and leave very narrow gaps between their attacks, and can take out Link with Bairs and Nairs of the stage, or well timed capes.

Roy should be bumped up one, why do you hate Roy so much? The match fares similarly to Marth, and Roy has some good simple Fsmash combos that work through about 60% or so, +mindgames.

Pika's fine where it is, because Link's recovery is difficult for Pika to gimp.

Bump Kirby up one, Peach up to even, Jiggly has an advantage, Ganon is more even, and Ness is even or worse (bair combos).

 

[Mann]

But even Marths tilt seems to work very nicely against my recoveries from the ledge I havent seen this tactic used in videos or such its new to me so I'm not sure how to handle it any sugestions?

Use your boomerang and/or bomb before trying to get on. And get on fast if possible. Have you ever tried teching against the wall after getting poked? Instead of rolling you can do ledgehopped boomerang/Nair/Fair. Keep your recoveries vast and different. Don't do the same thing over and over. Keep him guessing.

 

[Link-NY]

I dunno, I have a serious problem fighting small characters with Link. Jigglypuff adds to this problem by being so maneuverable in the air. It pisses me off to know my projectiles (except for bombs, which you can't pull because that puffball will follow you around just out of range) are worthless because they get kicked and then I get kicked in the lag.

Some of Link's best attacks (nair and bair) can't do anything to the puff because puff has that bair, the same bair that hits through every projectile except the bomb. I hate how once it hits you and you have reached the tender amount of damage that is 40 or above you will usually leave the ground and then get killed. All of Link's attacks are just worthless against the puff, you also can't grab it (not that you can really combo puff after a grab once they take any damage) because a good puff won't touch the ground in front of you unless it has to for some reason.

Ok not all Link's attacks are worthless but all his best ones are, his F-smash outranges puff a ton (but it isn't exactly fast) and his fair has it beat in priority, but those all pack horizontal knockback and won't kill the puff.

I think I need help against Jigglypuff if Link should be doing good against it, because I must be overlooking something (I still win like 50% of my matches vs my friends puff, but it seems Link players consider jiggs an easy matchup).

Jabs, bombs,f-smash,rangs and the occasional u,air and d-air are the answers to this match up. Link > puff on final D and onnet town. ignore gay small stages

Mario and Doc destroy Link. They can outspam him with pills, fireballs, and the cape (this is not an overstatement, talk to Pyrogamer and Eggz if you have problems), and have overkill chaingrabs with the downthrow. They're also faster and leave very narrow gaps between their attacks, and can take out Link with Bairs and Nairs of the stage, or well timed capes.

Wrong. doc/mario do not destroy Link.

 

[Deva]

Yeah, I have to agree with Link-NY. Doc and Mario destroying link.....lol. One of my friends mains Mario. I'm sorry, but the fire balls can't out spam all of Link's projectiles, especially when you can jump through the air and launch them from different directions as well as send them in different directions. The cape can be annoying but that's all it is. A mario that sits there and uses his cape on your projectiles really doesn't know what he is doing. Simple example: Mario starts spamming fire balls. You pull out a bomb while jumping over fire balls. Throw a boomerang to stop the spam and launch the bomb for another hit. Pull another bomb. Throw it and fast fall. Mario reflects it with his cape. it goes over your head and you get another free hit from his lag. It's not as bad as Fox trying to reflect items but it's close. Don't get me wrong, Mario can hold his own because he is faster and has good shffles, but Doc and Mario destroying Link, .

 

[SLH]

No, Doc and Mario are at a disadvantage to Link. People would know that if they played stages besides just FD, where they can obviously do better than normal by spamming fireballs/pills.

 

[Gimpyfish62]

*feels the urg to say something about the bowser vs link matchup*


*knows thats a terrible matchup*

*says nothing*

 

[Vall3y]

wow this list makes link look really good lol
only 5 chars have advantage over link?

 

[Deva]

Yeah, the problem is those five are commonly used a tourneys, which is why Link is considered low tier....urg.

Gimpyfish, your being modest. You know you could take out a decent Link with your Bowser.

 

[SLH]

^ Yup.

Keep in mind the tier list is partly based on tournament results. Link players get ***** in tournaments cause 2 of his 3 worst matchups, Fox and Falco, are the most commonly played characters.

EDIT: Deva beat me!? T_T

 

[Link-NY]

Mario/Doc vs Link is a even match up. they can chain throw link but he can easily escape it once hes at 41%++++ Mario spamming fireballs = Link spamming projectiles. Doc spamming pills > Link spamming projectiles. Link easily out prioritizes them both and both sides can do nasty stuff to each other how ever link has the easier time edge hoging/gaurding. the only real thing Link has to watch out for in these matches are grabs, u-airs,u-tilts and d-air. also Doc/Mario are only a touch faster then Link which really doesnt make a diffrence in the match up. How ever id prefer to use Mario/Doc vs Link then the other way around lol

 

[Sageee]

''You underestimate good Samus's and Jigglypuffs.''

lol are you saying a good jiggly stands a chance against a good link? lawll