Punishing Mario?

[Cazdon]

Hi Mario boards! I've been playing against a really good Mario and I want to know what's in his kit that can be punished and how exactly. Mario's Short hop game is amazing and moves like his SH Dair are nearly impossible to punish, at least I can't see a way to.

The bread and butter the Mario I play against likes to do is usually rising sh dair and if it hits at low % convert into u-tilt string. If I shield, it immediately becomes grab into u-tilt city due to that little landing lag to it. Spot dodging is quite similar to shield. Rolling is okay but it just resets the situation and can be easily read.

I find it difficult to challenge in the air, as it's so fast and covers him very well unless I have good disjoint (which Pit's are only okay) so would challenging the landing be an option? Like retreating sh fairs?

Also as a more general question which of Mario moves are the most punishable? Just need something to keep in the back of my mind while fighting.

Knowledge is power... so everyone! Share your power with me!

 

[HeroMystic]

SH D-air is a pretty good as an approach tool, but Mario's shouldn't rely on it completely. It's main use is to apply shield pressure (which is what your buddy seems to be doing), but if it's read pretty much every spacing tool can beat it.

The best option is to actually walk away from it and punish accordingly. Pit's F-air and F-tilt are good, but if you want to be super safe just stuff it with a Neutral-B. If you wanna go for a hard read, use Side-B since it has super armor.

F-Smash, D-Smash, F-air, and a poorly utilized D-air are Mario's most punishable moves. Otherwise, Mario is fairly mobile with his attacks and you have to capitalize pretty quickly to punish. What you should be doing as Pit is to win in the footsie war and not let Mario get within his comfortable range where he can lay down a lot of hurt and pressure.

 

[Cazdon]

SH D-air is a pretty good as an approach tool, but Mario's shouldn't rely on it completely. It's main use is to apply shield pressure (which is what your buddy seems to be doing), but if it's read pretty much every spacing tool can beat it.

The best option is to actually walk away from it and punish accordingly. Pit's F-air and F-tilt are good, but if you want to be super safe just stuff it with a Neutral-B. If you wanna go for a hard read, use Side-B since it has super armor.

F-Smash, D-Smash, F-air, and a poorly utilized D-air are Mario's most punishable moves. Otherwise, Mario is fairly mobile with his attacks and you have to capitalize pretty quickly to punish. What you should be doing as Pit is to win in the footsie war and not let Mario get within his comfortable range where he can lay down a lot of hurt and pressure.

Thank you very much for the detailed response. I'll try to put all of this into play, thanks again!

 

[A2ZOMG]

The best way to punish Mario is to play a spacing game against him. Most characters in this game can beat him in midrange, both in terms of damage and range. Especially in the case of someone like Pit, you really shouldn't be aiming to shield against Mario but just to never let him get close easily.

I honestly believe both the Pits are pretty bad matchups for Mario. Mario can't really camp against either of them. Both of them also have better grab games and multiple jumps to avoid Mario's U-smash, on top of their range on every attack being a chore for Mario to work around. Pit's F-tilt and F-smash alone force Mario into taking a lot of risks in neutral. They also do better most of the time getting KOs safely when they can pressure a Mario on the defensive with F-throw, while setting up Mario's B-throw in a good position in contrast is more difficult.

 

[Cazdon]

Thanks guys! Your advice helped a lot and I managed to take a couple matches off of 'em. You guys have been very polite and helpful. Thank you!

 

[Smashtistics]

Mario is one of those characters, that when he gets comfortable, he can be really hard to do anything against. I find when I'm being too aggressive the side-b works pretty well at keeping me honest and worrying about being punished. Projectiles and well spaced neutral airs can also keep Mario at bay.

Sounds like you might be letting your opponent get easy approaches, and with Mario that is a recipe for getting beat. I tend to find that up close I hurt Pit, but when he spaces me correctly, I eat some good damage before getting in.

I know that personally I have trouble getting away from the f-smash when I'm landing, this a weakness I have in general, but Pit really punishes this. Also apply lots of ledge pressure with arrows for a possible gimp, and Pit can def push Mario back with his quick air moves.

I also get punished pretty bad by Pit's amazing grabs. Look for gimps and kills with those, and they work well against Mario near ledges, and keep him from using his back throw for easy kills.

Agree that Pit is a tough match for Mario, and one I often have trouble with even with players I'm a good amount better than.

Glad to hear you took some matches off your rival, and good luck to you. It's actually a pretty fun matchup I think.

As a Mario main I used to get destoryed by good Ganon's and now after taking my beatings, he's one matchup I win a lot more than I lose.