Phantasm Application

[Seison]

Hey. I main Falco (despite my PT avatar and sig lol) and so I've watched ALOT of Falco vids throughout the past few months, and there has been something I've noticed. People have not been taking advantage of the canceled phantasms ability to save you in a pinch.

If you play as Falco, you probably know that some characters best chance at killing you is pushing you too far off screen for you to recover *coughLucario&ROBcough*. All too often I've seen Falco get pushed offscreen somewhere in the upper left or right corner of the stage, too far for phantasm or firebird, and so they escape by either:

1.hitting the foe, and DIing towards the stage, so they can use phantasm
2. airdodging and Ding towards the stage so they can use phantasm

Now, there's nothing wrong with these options if they WORK, but chances are, if your opponent has pushed you all the way out there, they probably posses ample means of returning to the stage, or DIing after you and hitting you again. That's where the immediate canceled phantasm comes into play. Often all it takes to return safely to the stage is a canceled phantasm while you're still above ground level. Since canceled phantasms are amazing in brawl, you can often glide far enough through the air after canceling that you land even a few steps away from the edge.

I'm not claiming that this is a new tactic or anything, because it's a fairly obvious option. it's just that on more occasions have I seen ppl fail trying to recover, or resign their stock altogether, than apply this simple technique. It's saved me on more than one occasion.

Short Version: When you're above stage-level, and too far to phantasm to the edge, do a canceled phantasm (canceled at the furthest distance of course) and you will often glide back to the stage, when otherwise you may have died)

Hope this helps someone.

 

[clowsui]

Too bad ROB and Lucario will notice that you're in FallSpecial and will just **** you with a well placed Bair/Fsmash/Fair/Nair/Aura Sphere/etc.

GGz.

 

[Seison]

Too bad ROB and Lucario will notice that you're in FallSpecial and will just **** you with a well placed Bair/Fsmash/Fair/Nair/Aura Sphere/etc.

GGz.

Not really, because if both you and ROB are off-stage or almost offstage, and you cancel the phantasm properly, there's no way ROB can float back fast enough to get you before you land.

 

[wasabicheese]

not to mention glide-cancelling the phantasm is ridiculously hard.

 

[J0RDY]

I understand that this can be used to save your ***, but floating through the air after being hit that far (meaning you have 100% +) is a free kill for any competent brawler.

 

[clowsui]

...
Ever tried using ROB and Bairing with your back away from the stage?
YEAH. Have fun with trying to float faster than he does.

 

[TheKneeOfJustice]

...
Ever tried using ROB and Bairing with your back away from the stage?
YEAH. Have fun with trying to float faster than he does.

Um, if you manage to do the phantasm cancel properly while you are both off stage, I would put money down that you will reach the stage, even in fall special, faster than Lucario and ROB can. It's not like Falco falls slow as balls or something.

 

[J4pu]

not to mention glide-cancelling the phantasm is ridiculously hard.

I disagree
canceling it is quite easy, canceling it at the right length is the hard part

 

[redgreenblue]

Canceling the phantasm to the maximum length plus the glide is not very hard at all, in fact it's pretty easy. I started using it for all my long distance recoveries. Very useful when you're too far from the map. Falco has godly horizontal recovery AMIRITE

 

[Ghettible]

Canceling the phantasm to the maximum length plus the glide is not very hard at all, in fact it's pretty easy. I started using it for all my long distance recoveries. Very useful when you're too far from the map. Falco has godly horizontal recovery AMIRITE

Is it just a timing thing that eventually becomes muscle memory?

 

[Seison]

Finally, some people are talking sense. If you think Falco won't make it to the stage in time, try it. Do you KNOW how fast the phantasm is? depending on how high above ground lvl you are when you use it, there is sometimes hardly any "floating" time.

This technique is not foolproof. it CAN go wrong. you can mess up the cancel, or your opponent can predict it and hit you out of it, or whatever, but it also CAN work, much of the time. It's not your best recovery option, but when it's that or death, you might as well try it. The only scenario wherein it's okay to phantasm to your death on purpose is if you are below stage level, and out of firebird's range.

 

[clowsui]

Judging from all the playing I did with Overswarm yesterday, if I'd tried this it might've worked the first few times XD. Then he'd probably just turn around, shoot a laser at me, back up a bit, shoot a gyro at me and then start murdering me again.

Falco doesn't fall slow as balls but the problem is that with a character like ROB who has so many options to set you UP into KOs, you don't want that much damage at ALL. Again, playing Overswarm firsthand and realizing that "****, Falco has a dearth of options against him!" is pretty tough.

Also I haven't tested it but I think that even if you moved with horizontal DI while long cancelling it Over- I mean ROB could just stop his UpB (falling faster) Bair towards you and get on the ground fast enough to kill you...

 

[J4pu]

@ghettible: yes

 

[redgreenblue]

Is it just a timing thing that eventually becomes muscle memory?

Yes, eventually you will just *feel* the timing. Like how you learned your SHL and SHFFL timing from melee.

By the way, don't think that canceled phantasms are the BEST way to recover. They are merely used when a regular phantasm would not send you far enough, and also to be less predictable. However, when recovering close range you can't stick to the same recovery over and over. using this "glide" phantasm is something you cannot abuse, or else you run the risk of your opponent predicting when you use it. play smart first, flashy second.