Below is a comprehensive list on the statistics of Meta Knight:
Attack Damage:
Standard A - 10% per round, 1% per hit
Ftilt - 12% per round, 4% first hit, 3% second hit, 4% third hit
Dtilt - 7% at base, 4% on tip
Utilt - 7% at tip, 6% at base
FSmash - 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged
DSmash - 11% first hit, 13% second hit, 15% fully charged first hit, 18% fully charged second hit
USmash - 9% per round, 3% first hit, 2% second hit, 4% third hit
Nair - 12% sweet spot, 6% on sour spot for sword, 7% if sour spot anywhere else
Fair - 10% per round, 3% on first hit, 3% on second hit, 4% on third hit
Bair - 10% per round, 3% on first hit, 3% on second hit, 4% on third hit
Uair - 6%
Dair - 7%
Mach Tornado - The most damage this can out put is 21%, however this does not happen with the heavier Tornado mod on, and I do not have it currently therefor I can't test for it. The damage I am assuming would be around 9%
Drill Rush - The most damage this can out put that I have managed is 6%.
Shuttle Loop - Grounded sweet spot does 9%, sour spot grounded does 6%. Aerial Shuttle Loop sweet spot does 9%, aerial sour spot does 5%.
Glide Attack - 12%
Dimensional Cape - 14%
Up Throw - 12%
Down Throw - 11%
Forward Throw - 9%
Back Throw - 10%
Grab Jab - 3%
As clearly outlined above, the most damaging tools in Meta Knights arsenal are his throws. Every other move save for a few do average to below average damage.
Combos:
Since the main focus is Meta Knights ability to combo in to Shuttle Loop, I will be outlining the set up moves, and how to avoid a follow up with simple tactics. The following set ups were chosen specifically based on a Mario using no DI; if I could follow up on a lifeless Mario, then it was placed down for testing purposes. For accuracy based on percentage specific combos, I will be using the intervals of 10%, 20%, 40%, and 80%.
Dash Attack: Dash attack shouldn't follow up with Shuttle Loop at all. By DIing towards the oncoming Meta Knight and downward diagonally, you will pop very far past the Meta Knight in the opposite direction, completely away of danger. This works at even lower percents.
Dash Attack shouldn't work.
Ftilt: Ftilt has two bases for knock back on the third hit which will determine how Meta Knight can follow up a Shuttle Loop. If you're hit with the hilt of the sword, you will be sent in a trajectory mostly vertical and in perfect range for a Shuttle Loop follow up,
assuming no DI of course. If the Ftilt is spaced, and the Ftilt connects to the actual sword on the third hit, the enemy will be sent too far away,
regardless of percent or DI.
This can be counteracted by either holding
down or
away, and no follow up can be ensured afterwords with Shuttle Loop. Since the third Ftilt hit comes out on frame 21, and the average person can react within 3 frames of an action at best, this leaves a huge window to perform this, and is very easy to do.
Ftilt shouldn't work.
Utilt: Utilt can be followed up regardless of DI, however it it is difficult to position this set up, and stops working prior to the 80% mark, and can only reliably follow up at around low to mid percent range.
USmash: USmash works well, however situational. After around 70%, depending on the character of course, it gets difficult to reliably follow up.
Nair: After 36%, the sour spot of this move knocks down the opponents, so all potential for a Shuttle Loop combo is gone. After around 25%, DI will also prevent this from being a possibility.
Fair: Fair can can be completely avoided from not only Shuttle Loop, but any other follow up by holding
away and diagonally down. This sends Mario too far away, and he can effectively tech the floor if necessary to either by pass a Meta Knight attempting to pursue, or he can tech away to gain more distance. The third hit box of Fair is the hit box that sends away, and comes out on frame 14, giving plenty of time to properly DI.
Fair shouldn't work.
Bair: Bair is the exact same as Fair, except the third hit box comes out on frame 20, which is even easier to deal with.
Bair shouldn't work.
Uair: Uair works. Plain and simple.
Dair: After 22%, Dair can't be a follow up for anything on the ground. It can be immediately teched because the target will be knocked the ground. To make this occur, simply
DI down and away. In the air, Meta Knight can't pursue a Shuttle Loop because of his poor aerial speed, even if you DI upward to prevent gimps. Just DI up and away from Meta Knight.
Dair shouldn't work.
Fthrow: Simply DIing away on the control stick absolutely ruins this as a set up for Shuttle Loop. By the time he reaches the target, he is already able to react, and it shouldn't work at any percent beyond 30%.
Dthrow: There is absolutely no way to follow up on this with DI used. DI down and away, and you're able to tech any follow up from there. It's too low to the ground to even attempt a aerial shuttle loop anyway.
Dthrow shouldn't work.
Glide Attack: Glide attack works very well in this instance, and the only reasonable way to avoid a Shuttle Loop follow up is to DI up and away. At higher percents, depending on the target, Meta Knight may not be able to follow suit. Still works well.
Drill Rush: Drill Rush should never work against an experienced player. All it takes to get out of this move is to SDI straight in to it, and you'll exit on the other side. The move telegraphs itself ahead of time, and the initial hit box comes out rather late. Unfortunately I do not have the frame data for it, but anyone experienced with Meta Knight knows it is a large gap.
Drill Rush shouldn't work.
So what have we learned today? Everyone complains about how easy Meta Knight can combo in to Shuttle Loop. It turns out that he only has four reliable set ups, and only two of them are really useful for competitive play.
Learn to play guys.
Edit: For giggles, I wanted to see what a heavy would do in the event he got hit with Shuttle Loop with good DI. Snake without DI will die at the edge of F.D. at 91%. With good DI, he dies at 157%.
