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[MU] Falco

Zelkam

Resident Wizard
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So while I was home for Christmas I was able to get in plenty of matches against my little brothers, one of which mains Falco. Usually I don't have too much trouble against him because he's still predictable and I can land punishes easy. However, it still can be quite the pain because the match up is very much in falco's favor.
Some of the things I have the most trouble with is dealing with the reflector, figuring out how to approach, and dealing with his aerial superiority. Also, is there any way to escape the down throw to fair combo?
 

Goulmania

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Let's break this down, to approach Falco you need to watch out for lasers and reflector. Both are unsafe on block at close range. if he spams laser throw a bomb or arrow from the air he's either going to dodge it or reflect it, in both cases you should be able to close in the gap since the projectile will be reflected above you as you land.

Falco had some good aerials but you can abuse your anti-air in the form of Utilt and Usmash or block it and shield grab him.

If he gets you in the air you can try to combo break with nair at even altitudes or if you're above him pull out a bomb and dare him to come. Air dodge is also a very valid option to get back on the ground, just make sure you're not punished for the landing lag.

Down throw to Fair is most likely a true combo at low percent but you can DI away from falco and air dodge/double jump it at mid-high percent and be safe.

I hope I helped a little and best of lucks!
 

kxiong92

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Funny, Falco is one of my little brother's mains too (he also mains Ganondorf) and he's pretty good.

The Falco match up is difficult. Spacing, like most of Link's match up, is probably the most important in this match up. Avoid close-quarters because his tilts and jabs are very quick. The closest you should be against Falco is Link's sword length. For approaching, I usually take out a bomb and bait his reflector, and then punish. It might be difficult to approach if he adapts to it. But what Link really want to do is to use projectiles to force a bad approach.

I also think edge guarding is very important. When Falco uses UpB to recover, that's an opportunity to gimp or end a stock. Falco is vulnerable until he moves when he uses UpB. Nair is probably Link's best option when Falco uses UpB to recover. Another alternative is arrow if he's recovering far from the stage. Link's nair can do the same for Falco's SideB though you might get spiked if it's not timed correctly.

Also Bair is probably Falco's best kill option, so watch out for it.
 
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ZSaberLink

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393
I kind of wonder whether it makes sense to attack from above in this case. Falco can't do anything special to a bomb thrown down on top of him because his reflector only goes forward. Also uncharged arrows from higher up can annoy him. Because his laser has quite a bit of lag now, I typically just start rushing him and throw a bomb at him to hopefully continue things. Like folks said, Link has great anti-air in this game, so if you ever get him above you, that's great.
 

Ffamran

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A2ZOMG

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I've contributed my opinions in the Falco forums. I'm currently in the process of learning both Falco and Link.

I think this is one of Link's better matchups outside of the fact Falco has pretty easy edgeguards on Link. The thing that makes this matchup better for Link than others is he gets more reward than Falco for fighting in close range, and his sword has to be respected. Plus Falco is easier for him to juggle than a lot of characters. Although Falco's 2 frame Jab is very strong for boxing, keeping your space as Link with your own Jab and tilts is strong against Falco. Be aware of when he wants to throw out Shine and Dash Attack in midrange and punish accordingly when the opportunity presents itself.
 

Koby_T

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Falco is my secondary so I feel I would be doing the board a disservice if I didn't attempt to contribute a few points for discussion. Wall of text incoming.

1) Lasers

Most of us are aware of the nerfs to this tool. This is no longer the spammable offensive and defensive tool but rather a projectile that discourages certain playstyles. Lasers require us to be much more precise with our own projectiles and keep us from mindlessly spamming from further than medium range.

Bombs absorb lasers (2 if they're stale) during the descent of the toss. Hylian Shield also blocks lasers as of 1.0.5 on the 3ds. Lasers are transcendent so no other projectile cancels with them.

I generally use lasers when the opponent is absolutely set on not approaching or when they have a tendency to feint approaches. My other opportunities are to tack on extra percent when I am out of follow-up options and, most dangerously, steal mid-air jumps during a recovery attempt.

-Action Points (tl;dr)
*keep spacing within a couple character lengths of the tip of Link's sword. This is where our projectiles give follow-ups and where Falco's is unsafe.
*Generally avoid using midair jump while even with the stage during recovery attempts. You'll need it desperately in order to avoid Falco's edgegame.
*Many of Falco's attacks (ex. fthrow, jab, nair) lead to a laser lock if unteched.


2) Reflector

This is the other half that makes up Falco's anti-spam core. It's best at countering charged arrow and close range bomb due to it's fast startup (5 frames) and active frames (~28?). Reflected rang is bothersome because it stops momentum in a MU that greatly benefits from it, but is otherwise safe.

The most important thing to note is that Falco's Reflector is not safe. The end lag is just long enough for many characters to punish (Ftilt, Dsmash, Grab, and Jab for us). I like to throw this out every now and then to surprise an opponent but getting to liberal with reflector use should always end with a firm punish.

-Action Notes (tl;dr)
*No charged arrows
*Mix-up bomb toss with rang or ftilt (bomb in hand). This is to bait and punish reflector

3) Spacing

Our ideal spacing is at maximum sword length and a few character lengths beyond. This is important because we are at a natural frame disadvantage when we're within Falco's reach. Link's jab is his fastest attack (7 frames) and is beat out or matched by Falco's jab (2 frames), Ftilt (6), Utilt (5), Dtilt (7), and Dsmash (7).

This recommended spacing gives us our jab and projectiles for pressure while also taking away nearly all of Falco's options (Phantasm deserves special mention due to its low end lag with follow-up potential). This spacing is also difficult to close if we're set on keeping it. Falco's dash is only barely faster than Link's and he has a laggy dash grab. Falco's dash attack is unsafe on shield but has great active frames to catch sidesteps and roll aways.

As a side note: Center stage control is preferred while pushing Falco towards an edge. We should avoid pressing too close against Falco at the edge, or allowing ourselves to get cornered because it will lead to being sent off-stage where Falco has a distinct advantage.

-tl;dr
*Feast your eyes on this potato of an illustration!!
-avoid red and maintain green spacing


4) Edgeguarding

I'm still theory-crafting and testing our options so only a couple concrete things here.

Use Nair to stuff Phantasm. This will hardly stop his recovery due to his incredible midair jump, but it's one of your few options to keep him from getting back for free (Rang + Arrow work)

Fire Bird is the key here for a successful edgeguard. Once you learn the timing of this move, it should translate into a free stock. Trade Dair for Fire Bird...done. The hard part is forcing Fire Bird when Falco has an excellent midair jump and Phantasm (This is what I'm still testing). I've had success baiting reflector by conditioning and always stuffing Phantasm with arrow/rang but there are some reads involved that I don't have ironed out yet.

-Action Points (tl;dr)
*Force Firebird
*Spike Firebird


5) Recovering

Falco has a couple of options to shut down our recovery.

1) Run-off Fair
2) Laser > Run-off Fair
3) Reverse Fair for stage spike
4) Dair (Worst option)
5) Run-off > midair jump > Dair (Seen it done but haven't done it myself. I don't see this as a viable option vs Link in particular)

1-3 are by far the most potent. 1 and 2 are fairly easy to avoid with an air dodge. 3 is a free stock for Falco if we attempt a low recovery (missed tech) due to spin attack's blind spot at the back of Link's head.

Zair is the go-to recovery if Falco is still on the stage. It's too fast for many of Falco's options. Falco has reliable gimps but they all require a read and commitment.

-Action Points (tl;dr)
*avoid recovering at ~45 degree angle when possible because this is the perfect angle for Falco's fair. (Spin attack may have enough priority to get through)
*Only recover low if Falco has committed to an edgeguard option.
*Don't use midair jump when level with stage or it could be stolen by laser which forces a ~45 degree angle.
*Mix-up your recovery and read this by sasook. (Courtesy of Elessar)


Thanks for taking the time to read this text wall. I hope it was thought-provoking. Feel free to contact me anytime to study this MU in-game.
 
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zeldasmash

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Methinks this is slightly in Link's favor, but it's mostly an even matchup. Falco's Lasers are completely ineffective due to Hylian Shield and is forced to approach Link. Link beats Falco at neutral due to Bomb's and his reflector isn't like Fox that can stay forever so Link can camp Falco.

Link out-ranges Falco hard so we will win trades against him. Almost everything Falco can do can be shielded and most are unsafe on block. Off-stage, Link can edge-guard Falco pretty easily: Falco Illusion can be smacked with a Spin Attack to the face which usually results in death for Falco, Bombs disrupt his recovery attempts and Falco has to be very wary of Dair.

On the flipside, when Falco gets in and gets a hit, Link is in trouble. Falco does a lot of damage on just small combos and can edge-guard Link almost just as easily as we can. Falco's Jab is something to be very wary off and Bair is an excellent edge-guarding/kill move. And just because his reflector doesn't last forever like Fox that doesn't mean it isn't useless, it still reflects projectiles and is very useful as a mid-screen poke.

Overall though, this is a matchup that can go both ways, but i'll give Link the very slight edge due to being able to kill Falco at early percents, especially if he gets Falco in an edge-guarding position.
 

Koby_T

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I don't know. I think you may be oversimplifying things.

Falco's Lasers are completely ineffective due to Hylian Shield and is forced to approach Link.
Right, but how often are you going to be standing and walking throughout the match? Granted, it's a tool and you should definitely use it, but how often will you have a bomb in your hand? When will you try to throw a projectile? Running ever? Jumping? Hylian shield is at max usefulness when you're at range and not throwing projectiles...which is bad. Hylian shield is really just a perk to this MU, not a defining feature.

Link beats Falco at neutral due to Bomb's and his reflector isn't like Fox that can stay forever so Link can camp Falco.
This is simply false. Falco is one of the more difficult characters to camp. The only time you'll hit Falco with a projectile is if you throw at the same time he shoots. His reflector comes out fast and has a lot of active frames. Link's projectiles are not fast enough to beat out reflector and punishing it with projectiles is near impossible as well. The best way to get around it would be to jump and throw but that really plays into Falco's approach more than I would be comfortable with.

Off-stage, Link can edge-guard Falco pretty easily: Falco Illusion can be smacked with a Spin Attack to the face which usually results in death for Falco, Bombs disrupt his recovery attempts and Falco has to be very wary of Dair.
I think you're underestimating Falco and his ability to get back to the stage. As long as he has that insane midair jump, he has a way to greatly vary his recovery. Trying to hit illusion with spin attack seems a little silly. In order to hit with the significant hitbox of the attack you need a hard read on Falco recovering onto the stage. Almost always, going for the ledge is a better option for Falco and you won't hit him with a spin attack there. You're right about bombs but Dair isn't too threatening unless we stuff illusion with something (nair works best) and take away his midair jump so that he has to use fire bird. Then it's an easy spike.

Overall though, this is a matchup that can go both ways, but i'll give Link the very slight edge due to being able to kill Falco at early percents, especially if he gets Falco in an edge-guarding position.
I can't refute this but let's just say I respectfully disagree. This match-up could easily go in Link's favor if we maintain perfect spacing. However, when considering players of equal skill, Link is sorely outmatched when it comes to his recovery vs Falco's edgeguarding, and Link now has an even harder time keeping Falco out with the jab nerf. Falco has better approach options, generally better frame data, and better ways of dealing with our projectiles than we do of his (reflector + aerial approach options). On the other side, we have better range, extremely versatile projectiles, and a little more killpower in our kit.

Overall I would argue that this MU is at least 55/45 in Falco's favor, perhaps 60/40.
 
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