NESSBOUNDER
Smash Master
This is a Lucario-flavored hack of Emblem Lord's rather excellent explanation of traps and brickwalls in Brawl. For information on this, check out the original thread which should explain all you need to know about these very important concepts.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=183816
Now then, on to business. A lot of Lucario players will probably have done plenty of trapping and brickwalling subconsciously, as his gameplay lends itself to such tactics due to his relatively low-lag high-range/priority attacks as well as his projectile game.
First of all, Lucario is quite adept at brickwalling and decent at trapping. Some Lucario players playfully refer to this as "aura fortress". His brickwalling game mostly revolves around his large lingering hitboxes and slow moving projectile.
Aura sphere is critical for many of Lucario's traps and brickwalls.
Even so, I think it'd be more appropriate to start with his traps.
LUCARIO'S TRAPS
1) ftilt/dtilt trap
This one's very simple and effective to perform. Basically, both of these moves have hardly any ending lag and decent range/priority. Lucario's dtilt finishes only slightly slower than Marth's dtilt for comparison reasons, although it lacks the range. Even so, both these tilts are quite effective for this basic trap.
How to perform it: approach the opponent and use the attack. watch for the opponent's reaction. Providing that they aren't attacking you themselves, the opponent will either block the move, roll behind you, jump, or roll away from you.
If they block the move: both these attacks are safe on block, and few characters can punish you for landing these attacks on a shield, especially Ftilt.
If they dodge behind you: simply turn around while doing a jab combo, or use a force palm grab behind you. If they're a character with a short roll, then an uptilt will sometimes work too.
If they dodge away from you: chase and apply pressure, or move to a better position on the map. You could even throw an aura sphere and start a brickwall from this position too.
If they jump over it: lead into a string of aerials and set up for an aerial trap. Lucario is quite good at these, or get ready to shield if they seem like they're going to attack you.
2) Aura sphere trap
I can't decide whether to classify this as a trap or a brickwall since it can be used as both. Aura sphere is a very slow, large projectile. When you throw an aura sphere at an opponent, you set a hitbox between you and them, making it so that they can't continue a frontal approach.
How to perform it: make sure that you have a reasonable amount of space between you and the opponent. Enough room so that if they were to roll around the projectile, they would end up either in front of behind you. When faced with a projectile, the opponent can block it, attack it, roll behind it, jump over it or reflect it. They can't roll away due to the slow moving nature of aura sphere.
if they block it: throw another one.
if they roll past it: you may choose to already have an Fsmash ready if you predict that the opponent will do this. Other than that, you can grab them, use an AAA combo on them, or even use a force palm grab.
if they jump over it: get ready to intercept them in the air, or block and punish any aerials that come your way. Aura sphere is quite safe even if evaded, unless it's at close range. And you shouldn't be trying to use it at super close proximity in the first place.
if they jab it: throw another one. It's a stalemate situation but you can use it to move to a better position or continue the pressure.
if they reflect it: if your opponent is gifted enough to have a reflector, You should still have enough distance between you and them to perform a reverse double team and use it as an option to close in. Otherwise you could just shield it.
3) fsmash trap
Lucario's Fsmash is pretty amazing. It has hardly any ending lag. By the time your opponent sees it coming and rolls/blocks it, you have plenty of time to move again, making it really hard to punish.
How to do it: just fsmash in the direction of your opponent, making sure to space yourself properly, and watch for their reaction.
If they roll behind you: use uptilt. Even if they start the roll at the beginning of your Fsmash animation, not many characters will be able to punish you with anything faster than a 4-frame attack. I tested this using Marth's side dodge and dancing blade, and it was powershielded even though I had Marth dodge as soon as I started the attack.
If they shield: Fsmash again or throw an aura sphere.
If they spot dodge: use Dtilt or go for a force palm grab.
If they short hop: now this is the tricky part of using fsmash. If your opponent jumps over the attack, then you're open for an aerial. However, due to the height of the hitbox, the attack can still catch your opponent when they're in the air at the start of their jump. Given human reaction time, and the fact that a jump starts in 6 frames, your opponent will have had to begin their jump just as you started the Fsmash. Discourage them from jumping by throwing a shorthopped aura sphere first or something.
more coming later.
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=183816
Now then, on to business. A lot of Lucario players will probably have done plenty of trapping and brickwalling subconsciously, as his gameplay lends itself to such tactics due to his relatively low-lag high-range/priority attacks as well as his projectile game.
First of all, Lucario is quite adept at brickwalling and decent at trapping. Some Lucario players playfully refer to this as "aura fortress". His brickwalling game mostly revolves around his large lingering hitboxes and slow moving projectile.
Aura sphere is critical for many of Lucario's traps and brickwalls.
Even so, I think it'd be more appropriate to start with his traps.
LUCARIO'S TRAPS
1) ftilt/dtilt trap
This one's very simple and effective to perform. Basically, both of these moves have hardly any ending lag and decent range/priority. Lucario's dtilt finishes only slightly slower than Marth's dtilt for comparison reasons, although it lacks the range. Even so, both these tilts are quite effective for this basic trap.
How to perform it: approach the opponent and use the attack. watch for the opponent's reaction. Providing that they aren't attacking you themselves, the opponent will either block the move, roll behind you, jump, or roll away from you.
If they block the move: both these attacks are safe on block, and few characters can punish you for landing these attacks on a shield, especially Ftilt.
If they dodge behind you: simply turn around while doing a jab combo, or use a force palm grab behind you. If they're a character with a short roll, then an uptilt will sometimes work too.
If they dodge away from you: chase and apply pressure, or move to a better position on the map. You could even throw an aura sphere and start a brickwall from this position too.
If they jump over it: lead into a string of aerials and set up for an aerial trap. Lucario is quite good at these, or get ready to shield if they seem like they're going to attack you.
2) Aura sphere trap
I can't decide whether to classify this as a trap or a brickwall since it can be used as both. Aura sphere is a very slow, large projectile. When you throw an aura sphere at an opponent, you set a hitbox between you and them, making it so that they can't continue a frontal approach.
How to perform it: make sure that you have a reasonable amount of space between you and the opponent. Enough room so that if they were to roll around the projectile, they would end up either in front of behind you. When faced with a projectile, the opponent can block it, attack it, roll behind it, jump over it or reflect it. They can't roll away due to the slow moving nature of aura sphere.
if they block it: throw another one.
if they roll past it: you may choose to already have an Fsmash ready if you predict that the opponent will do this. Other than that, you can grab them, use an AAA combo on them, or even use a force palm grab.
if they jump over it: get ready to intercept them in the air, or block and punish any aerials that come your way. Aura sphere is quite safe even if evaded, unless it's at close range. And you shouldn't be trying to use it at super close proximity in the first place.
if they jab it: throw another one. It's a stalemate situation but you can use it to move to a better position or continue the pressure.
if they reflect it: if your opponent is gifted enough to have a reflector, You should still have enough distance between you and them to perform a reverse double team and use it as an option to close in. Otherwise you could just shield it.
3) fsmash trap
Lucario's Fsmash is pretty amazing. It has hardly any ending lag. By the time your opponent sees it coming and rolls/blocks it, you have plenty of time to move again, making it really hard to punish.
How to do it: just fsmash in the direction of your opponent, making sure to space yourself properly, and watch for their reaction.
If they roll behind you: use uptilt. Even if they start the roll at the beginning of your Fsmash animation, not many characters will be able to punish you with anything faster than a 4-frame attack. I tested this using Marth's side dodge and dancing blade, and it was powershielded even though I had Marth dodge as soon as I started the attack.
If they shield: Fsmash again or throw an aura sphere.
If they spot dodge: use Dtilt or go for a force palm grab.
If they short hop: now this is the tricky part of using fsmash. If your opponent jumps over the attack, then you're open for an aerial. However, due to the height of the hitbox, the attack can still catch your opponent when they're in the air at the start of their jump. Given human reaction time, and the fact that a jump starts in 6 frames, your opponent will have had to begin their jump just as you started the Fsmash. Discourage them from jumping by throwing a shorthopped aura sphere first or something.
more coming later.
