Venks
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2007
- Messages
- 375
- NNID
- VenksUSA
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Originally posted on Berathen.com - Go there for better formatting and pictures.
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Battlefield
The first thing you'll need to do when you take Little Mac to a tournament is find the right stage to play him on. Naturally, most players will strike/ban Final Destination, so you're gonna need to learn how to play on other stages.
Battlefield is my favorite stage to play on with Little Mac. A lot of players seem to have the idea that Little Mac struggles because he doesn't have a good approach for opponents on platforms, but that's actually untrue.
Reaching Platforms
Little Mac can reach both of the lower platforms with the apex of his up-smash. Essentially, this means the opponent is actually in a fairly poor position since they can not attack Little Mac, but he can attack them. If the opponent attempts to fall through the platform with an attack, they would still lose out to the super armor on Little Mac's up-smash.
The top platform is the hardest for Little Mac to deal with, but it is still doable. If you stand directly under the center of the top platform, then Little Mac can reach every inch on it with his Rising Uppercut. If the opponent is performing any action on the top platform, then the Rising Uppercut is a great punish. If the opponent is standing idle, then they could go into their shield, so you have to bait them with something else; I like to switch between empty jumps and double jump up-airs.
Realistically, neither of these attacks deal much damage, but continual pressure will make the opponent abandon the platform, as they can't really do anything in return. It's also important to note that a medium weight character at 110%, or above, will be KO'd if they are hit by Rising Uppercut. The opponent does have to be careful.
Perhaps you're starting to see why I like this stage so much? On Final Destination, there are a lot of moments where Little Mac will land a hit, but then there's not really anything he can do after that.
Stuck on a Platform
On Battlefield, you will have moments where you knock your opponent onto one of the two lower platforms. The opponent will either tech-in-place, roll left, or roll right. If you can read, or make a good guess as to how your opponent will get back up, then you get a free up-smash. This keeps your opponent above the platforms, forcing them to to work in order to get back down.
Obviously, the same is true for Little Mac. There will be times where you find yourself knocked onto the platforms, but realistically, most characters can ALREADY juggle or string attacks on Little Mac. Therefor, I feel giving Little Mac the option to land more damage and kill moves on the opponent is more than worth it.
Little Mac's true disadvantage on Battlefield is against characters with high aerial mobility. Zero Suit Samus and Diddy Kong can ledge camp especially well, thanks to Flip Jump and Monkey Flip which allows them to move between platforms quickly. Fox and Falco can also do this, but it's not quite as useful due to the lag of their side-specials. They can both be punishable if predicted. Sonic and Mega Man can both go exceptionally high with their up specials, and with the springs they can re-land on the same platform without being in range of Little Mac's up-smash.
These matchups can hurt, but Battlefield does help Little Mac with others. As you would obviously expect, the added platforms make it a lot easier for the boxer to reach projectile-based characters like Duck Hunt Dog. Also, both Sheik and Ness have combos at 0% that can take Little Mac straight off stage and set up for an easy gimp. The lower platforms, with the right positioning, can stop both of these combos from happening. It's also much more difficult for a lot of characters to approach Little Mac with aerials from above due to the platforms.
I just... I just love this stage so much!
Originally posted on Berathen.com - Go there for better formatting and pictures.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Battlefield
The first thing you'll need to do when you take Little Mac to a tournament is find the right stage to play him on. Naturally, most players will strike/ban Final Destination, so you're gonna need to learn how to play on other stages.
Battlefield is my favorite stage to play on with Little Mac. A lot of players seem to have the idea that Little Mac struggles because he doesn't have a good approach for opponents on platforms, but that's actually untrue.
Reaching Platforms
Little Mac can reach both of the lower platforms with the apex of his up-smash. Essentially, this means the opponent is actually in a fairly poor position since they can not attack Little Mac, but he can attack them. If the opponent attempts to fall through the platform with an attack, they would still lose out to the super armor on Little Mac's up-smash.
The top platform is the hardest for Little Mac to deal with, but it is still doable. If you stand directly under the center of the top platform, then Little Mac can reach every inch on it with his Rising Uppercut. If the opponent is performing any action on the top platform, then the Rising Uppercut is a great punish. If the opponent is standing idle, then they could go into their shield, so you have to bait them with something else; I like to switch between empty jumps and double jump up-airs.
Realistically, neither of these attacks deal much damage, but continual pressure will make the opponent abandon the platform, as they can't really do anything in return. It's also important to note that a medium weight character at 110%, or above, will be KO'd if they are hit by Rising Uppercut. The opponent does have to be careful.
Perhaps you're starting to see why I like this stage so much? On Final Destination, there are a lot of moments where Little Mac will land a hit, but then there's not really anything he can do after that.
Stuck on a Platform
On Battlefield, you will have moments where you knock your opponent onto one of the two lower platforms. The opponent will either tech-in-place, roll left, or roll right. If you can read, or make a good guess as to how your opponent will get back up, then you get a free up-smash. This keeps your opponent above the platforms, forcing them to to work in order to get back down.
Obviously, the same is true for Little Mac. There will be times where you find yourself knocked onto the platforms, but realistically, most characters can ALREADY juggle or string attacks on Little Mac. Therefor, I feel giving Little Mac the option to land more damage and kill moves on the opponent is more than worth it.
Little Mac's true disadvantage on Battlefield is against characters with high aerial mobility. Zero Suit Samus and Diddy Kong can ledge camp especially well, thanks to Flip Jump and Monkey Flip which allows them to move between platforms quickly. Fox and Falco can also do this, but it's not quite as useful due to the lag of their side-specials. They can both be punishable if predicted. Sonic and Mega Man can both go exceptionally high with their up specials, and with the springs they can re-land on the same platform without being in range of Little Mac's up-smash.
These matchups can hurt, but Battlefield does help Little Mac with others. As you would obviously expect, the added platforms make it a lot easier for the boxer to reach projectile-based characters like Duck Hunt Dog. Also, both Sheik and Ness have combos at 0% that can take Little Mac straight off stage and set up for an easy gimp. The lower platforms, with the right positioning, can stop both of these combos from happening. It's also much more difficult for a lot of characters to approach Little Mac with aerials from above due to the platforms.
I just... I just love this stage so much!