Optimizing strategy in doubles

[Freikugel]

TL;DR - What role can Shulk perform that synergizes best with your partner? Which strategy have you found accomplishes this most efficiently? What success have you had with Shulk in teams?

I've got 1v1 down pat. My strategy emphasizes prediction through defensive play. However, it falls flat when confronted by two opponents, and I can't fight to the best of my ability. Because of this, I don't play an active role and can't compliment my partner. I'm also overly-reliant on Visions and Smashes to score KO's, and I can't focus on one target to edgeguard, so I remain by the ledge.

So... Let's return to the topic. Does Shulk function best offensively or defensively, and how?

I'd say my Robin's and Ness' performance in doubles is much better, so I usually just play them. But I'd like more character options.

 

[Masonomace]

My two cents:

Personally I like to go more defensive with Shulk in Doubles, aka Support Shulk. Shulk's follow-up game is fantastic from your partner's throw setup or attacks, & Speed mode makes this very effective. We have Back Slash for the partner's F-throw or B-throw given their back's direction facing to favor guaranteed stronger Back Slashes every time. MArt Shield helps us survive a lot longer which helps Shulk be a great stock tanking character for share stock, & for turtling the match, stalling it out for your partner to be more aggressive if you desired.

 

[Phoenix502]

I suppose it depends on your partner, really... sure, shulk's better for playing defensive support, but buster and smash can be great offensive tools if your partner stays on beat with you. a good aim on Buster can trap the target between you and your partner to get a chunk of damage fast, and while smash is double-edged in doubles, it can make quite a revenge counter if you buddy gets launched...

still, overall, I do agree shulk serves better in support, because with his range, attempting to take the lead might accidentally damage your partner as well.

 

[Masonomace]

I'm iffy on Buster & Smash for said reasons, but when the time is right, those MArts would really come in handy from off-the-top setups & things like that.

I thought of a new idea about a Doubles team:
OR +
Strategy:

• Inhale > Spitting collateral damage

Lemme eggsplain, Inhaling is one thing, & usually if it's the + team then will probably copy ability MArts. But instead, let's think about Inhale > Spitting for a moment. This is either / or for , but would make great usage of this more just because can't copy abilities. Spitting collateral damage is apparently based on the weight of the character spat out, & because 's weight is 102, the spit damage would be 15% (Source). If weight is "loosely" the deciding factor for the damage, what if inhaled & spit out MArt Shield?. . .What about HMArt Shield (HShield) ?!?!
According to that earlier source, deals 19% from the spit, so Shield mode would maybe deal 21%, & HShield mode would deal 30%??. . I'm ecstatic about this, because the weight alone deciphers how strong the spit damage will deal, & I get more mileage out of using Shield mode in Doubles anyways. Smash mode despite dealing less damage, would KO reliably since the collateral damage already has good knockback to it.

My only curiosity between Shield & Buster for the Inhale > Spit strategy would be if the drawbacks & boosts were applied to the spit attack or not. This is coming out of an interesting theorized strategy, & frankly the MArt drawbacks may or may not apply to the inhaled spitting attack since it's or 's attack move. I'll mess around with this when I play with my friend again this week. It just so happens he plays .

 

[Claxus]

Kind of already went on about this in the other thread, but I think Kirby's one of Shulk's most potential partners as well, having a completely different character with Monado Arts. Kirby's also good at securing kills for Shulk, and they're both great all around characters. Kirby's long grab animations can lead to easy backslashes. A combo I really want to see is Kirby's Stone, with Shulk using Vision on it. Sort of as a deadly Vision trigger. If both are in Smash, it's gonna hurt...

But I'm also interested in the spit attack, if Shulk could become a powerful projectile...

 

[DavemanCozy]

I find that + is really good, with Shulk playing Support.

controls the ground, and his attacks have insanely good knockback. He's one of the best for rushing in the opponent.

has range that lets us control space that Little Mac does not control as effectively, like platforms of battlefield. He also does really well following up opponents offstage or upwards, thanks to Jump. Shulk's objective in this team is to let Little Mac do all his super-armor boxer stuff to go in, while Shulk follows at moderate distance behind him and finishes any flying opponents. Shulk's range also forces opponents to think twice about using platforms to approach Mac.

I'm currently set to team with a local Little Mac player in Toronto (Frupcakes) for the Come Up. I'll be satisfied if we make it far enough to get knocked out by a team of well known players.

 

[erico9001]

I've tried doubles against computers with a brother. We tried a few different things, but what worked best was generally Shulk/Ike. There were a number of different strategies we used. Usually I stayed more behind him and would jump over his smash attacks to go after the opponent offstage or in the air. Similarly, sometimes I would let him stay forward and act like a wall with his up smash as I jumped over him with Monado Jump and came speeding down with a Nair to support him from punishment due to the attack's lag. Us accidentally hitting each other was rarely an issue despite both of our long sword reaches. I think this might be because we both have long swords.

 

[Masonomace]

So I confirmed for myself that Marts DO NOT affect King DDD's Inhaled spit attack. Shulk as the star projectile always dealt 15% no matter what. The Doubles Dream of spitting a heavy Shulk is dead~

Funny too because DDD's inhale + spit attack is still weight-dependent in terms of damage; Bowser dealt 19% no matter what, while Jigglypuff dealt 9%. Which is really too bad, I really wanted Shield mode to work like that. =(

Now at this point, it's advantageous to be following up from the spit attack, rather than augmenting the spit attack via a MArt, like Jump or Smash

 

[DavemanCozy]

So I confirmed for myself that Marts DO NOT affect King DDD's Inhaled spit attack. Shulk as the star projectile always dealt 15% no matter what. The Doubles Dream of spitting a heavy Shulk is dead~

Funny too because DDD's inhale + spit attack is still weight-dependent in terms of damage; Bowser dealt 19% no matter what, while Jigglypuff dealt 9%. Which is really too bad, I really wanted Shield mode to work like that. =(

Now at this point, it's advantageous to be following up from the spit attack, rather than augmenting the spit attack via a MArt, like Jump or Smash

I guess it takes Shulk's default weight instead and ignores the Monado Art modifiers. I think Kirby is a better teammate myself, having two characters with different movesets and Monado Arts is pretty good.