Those terms are so arbitrary and mean very little. The better player almost always wins. To be the better player means having a good balance of offense and defense.
If your offense is solid and you make little to no errors or openings for your opponent, then aggressive/offensive playstyle will win.
Example of aggressive Melee players: Mango, Hax, Westballz, Lucky
Aggressive Lucas mains: Neon, Hyperflame
If your defense is solid and you don't get hit, then passive/defensive playstyle will win.
Example of passive Melee players: Armada, Leffen, Shroomed
Passive Lucas mains: Kipcom, Frost, Pink Fresh
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In terms of what type of playstyle best exemplifies Lucas, I believe the answer you're looking for is a passive aggressive style, similar to Hyperflame's Lucas.
I think Lucas doesn't have the best whiff punishes, which makes a more aggressive-centered playstyle the better choice, similar to how players should approach Falco dittos. Despite having a quick dash speed and relatively good frame data on his attacks, Lucas has short range on most attacks. The result is a need for tighter spacing, contrary to other characters like Marth, Ganon, DDD, GnW, etc. This doesn't necessarily imply that Lucas should always be attacking or on the offense, but rather staying in a threatening zone, just outside of where the other opponent can land an attack.
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To relate back to your question, it's best to play aggressively right around the other Lucas' zone. Below is a low quality diagram to help emphasize my point:
Assuming both players are in neutral position....
- Yellow is the range where Lucas' magnet, tilts and immediate aerials can hit. If the opponent is inside that area, these attacks have a high probability of hitting them. This is your immediate threat zone.
- Outside red is approximately the area where dash attack / grab, running aerials, and PKF become humanly reactable and the Lucas player starts to over-extend outside of that range. This is your extended threat zone.
In the ditto, both players have the same threat zone. Knowing when to approach without over-extending is key to winning neutral. Safely gaining space through footsies (tight movement and well placed attacks at a close range) will lead you to winning these neutral interactions. Be aware of these threat zones at all times and do your best to play around them.
Being that Lucas' main projectile is PKF, understand the safe and unsafe ranges. Unlike other low end lag / autocancel projectiles (items, lasers, bacon, etc), Lucas' aerial PKF is unsafe at close ranges. It can be clanked and has 13 frames of landing lag + frames to land after using aerial PKF. Most Lucas players spam this move all the time, so playing smartly in the ditto where both players are aware of when and how to punish PKF is recommended.
This is why I say to play passive-aggressive in the ditto. PKF is the main opener for Lucas. Other than PKF, Lucas' safe approaches are predictable and short ranged.
[passive]
Wait for opportunities to punish the other Lucas for approaching or using PKF.
[aggressive]
Tight spacing and limiting the other Lucas player's space & PKF usage
If the other Lucas starts to use a PKF at this range and they do not fadeback or wavebounce the PKF, you can easily shield on reaction then punish OoS.
https://gfycat.com/HatefulLeftFinch
If PKF is thrown out anywhere past that range, it's easily reactable and punishable with a PKF of your own...
https://gfycat.com/SneakyVapidIriomotecat
D e l t a Is the roy advice good vs all swordsmen (ie dd bait sword, use pkf at a distance, run up shield)? Also how do you deal with tech chasing considering Lucas' poor tech rolls?
zFrost
could probably give you a good idea. She's played our local MI M2 a ton on netplay
