xS A M U R A Ix
Smash Ace
Since brawl has the new knockback decay system implemented, this means that Metaknight can't spam his kill moves for damage at low percents. This sucks really because a lot of meta's kill moves are also some of his best moves all around. Here's a look at the moves you'll be killing with as Metaknight and their uses, as well as alternatives to them:
Down Smash: Probably Meta's best kill move. The back hit hits a lot harder than the front hit, so generally that one will kill at lower percentages. Attack Decay really hurts this because you either have to pick using this as a ground poke / roll punisher, or a killing move. It's also amazing out of your shield, so it might be tough deciding on which way to use this. You could use it as both, but don't expect to get kills till that later 100's.
Up B: This move has surprisingly high kill potential if you don't use it till the very end. It's also got like 3 or 4 different ways of hitting it to make them go in different directions, so your method of killing them can vary depending on what direction you want to send them. Sadly, this move is also amazing just for normal use. I find myself using it when my opponent is above me quite a bit, or after uairs and the like, so the kill power gets diminished quite a bit in some matches. if you want to save it for the killing blow, you sacrifice a lot of your threat to air born opponents.
Glide Attack: This is probably meta's best upwards KO move. This is also meta's only way of canceling glide recovery though, so sometimes you have to use it. It's also got great priority, is fast, and is completely safe on air approach. It can combo into things at lower percentages and makes for a great approach from the air. Avoiding using this move may gimp you a little, so I'd only suggest avoiding it's till later on levels with lower ceilings.
Forward Smash: Honestly, I think this move sucks outside of it's kill power. If you're gonna save a move, save this one. I'm not even entirely sure how to land it outside of roll punishing, so I can't give a lot of tips on that, but yeah. This one KOs pretty easily, so use it if you find an opening for it at high percentages.
Now onto the next section, moves you WANT to have knockback decay and ways to implement them in place of your good kill moves.
f.tilt: probably one of meta's better ground moves. It's fast and has good range, so you can use it in place of areas you could forward smash in. If it's knockback is reduced, you can easily get combos off of it, or atleast set up a potential chase. If someone rolls behind you, you can quickly turn around and use this and punish them the same as you would down smash. It also builds damage quick, so I say use this move as much as possible. One thing that has yet to be explored is if each hit counts towards the attack decay or if all 3 hits only count as one move.
d.tilt: another good ground approach that can be used in place of down smash. Knocks down sometimes and can be comboed off of. Very Spammable and good for shield pressure. Doesn't really have knock back so this move decaying won't matter.
f.air / b.air: this is another move you want knocking them back less, and probably one of his best aerials, so abuse it. The more you use it, the easier it is to combo, and it builds the strength of your other kill moves in the process.
d.air: Can be used in place of glide attack as an aerial approach. If you space it right, it's completely safe, has a big hit box, and semi decent knock back. I use this a lot straight off the ground, and can be useful for tech chasing because of how fast it is, so definitely add this to your arsenal.
Other moves of spammable note:
uair, mach tornado, up smash, and run attack.
With careful use of meta's moves and varying what you use, you can save the strength of your kill moves for when they really matter. This is something that requires EXTRA attention as metaknight since his KO power can be weak at times, so make those kill moves count!
Down Smash: Probably Meta's best kill move. The back hit hits a lot harder than the front hit, so generally that one will kill at lower percentages. Attack Decay really hurts this because you either have to pick using this as a ground poke / roll punisher, or a killing move. It's also amazing out of your shield, so it might be tough deciding on which way to use this. You could use it as both, but don't expect to get kills till that later 100's.
Up B: This move has surprisingly high kill potential if you don't use it till the very end. It's also got like 3 or 4 different ways of hitting it to make them go in different directions, so your method of killing them can vary depending on what direction you want to send them. Sadly, this move is also amazing just for normal use. I find myself using it when my opponent is above me quite a bit, or after uairs and the like, so the kill power gets diminished quite a bit in some matches. if you want to save it for the killing blow, you sacrifice a lot of your threat to air born opponents.
Glide Attack: This is probably meta's best upwards KO move. This is also meta's only way of canceling glide recovery though, so sometimes you have to use it. It's also got great priority, is fast, and is completely safe on air approach. It can combo into things at lower percentages and makes for a great approach from the air. Avoiding using this move may gimp you a little, so I'd only suggest avoiding it's till later on levels with lower ceilings.
Forward Smash: Honestly, I think this move sucks outside of it's kill power. If you're gonna save a move, save this one. I'm not even entirely sure how to land it outside of roll punishing, so I can't give a lot of tips on that, but yeah. This one KOs pretty easily, so use it if you find an opening for it at high percentages.
Now onto the next section, moves you WANT to have knockback decay and ways to implement them in place of your good kill moves.
f.tilt: probably one of meta's better ground moves. It's fast and has good range, so you can use it in place of areas you could forward smash in. If it's knockback is reduced, you can easily get combos off of it, or atleast set up a potential chase. If someone rolls behind you, you can quickly turn around and use this and punish them the same as you would down smash. It also builds damage quick, so I say use this move as much as possible. One thing that has yet to be explored is if each hit counts towards the attack decay or if all 3 hits only count as one move.
d.tilt: another good ground approach that can be used in place of down smash. Knocks down sometimes and can be comboed off of. Very Spammable and good for shield pressure. Doesn't really have knock back so this move decaying won't matter.
f.air / b.air: this is another move you want knocking them back less, and probably one of his best aerials, so abuse it. The more you use it, the easier it is to combo, and it builds the strength of your other kill moves in the process.
d.air: Can be used in place of glide attack as an aerial approach. If you space it right, it's completely safe, has a big hit box, and semi decent knock back. I use this a lot straight off the ground, and can be useful for tech chasing because of how fast it is, so definitely add this to your arsenal.
Other moves of spammable note:
uair, mach tornado, up smash, and run attack.
With careful use of meta's moves and varying what you use, you can save the strength of your kill moves for when they really matter. This is something that requires EXTRA attention as metaknight since his KO power can be weak at times, so make those kill moves count!
