Reflectable Smashes; How to KO in those MU's?

[BulborbAdventurer]

I noticed very early on that Olimar's smashes are reflectable by certain characters (most reflects).
I, probably like many others who play Olimar, primarily rely on Olimar's smashes for their reliable range, damage, and launching power. I use the smashes to punish people at range (where they would otherwise not be hit by non-projectile attacks), to build damage by keeping people in the air, and, above all, to KO. Obviously there are other moves that can KO, but none (except his ftilt) do them reliably without using one of his smashes to set up first. I understand Olimar's aerials got a buff for this reason, but I don't understand how to get people in the air in these match-ups without using smash attacks. I really feel like Olimar cannot zone these characters, nor can he reliably build damage/KO better than these characters.

For me, most of these match-ups result with awkward roll-spam, with reflects and smashes thrown in.

How, overall, do you play these match-ups? Do you aggress? Do you still try to punish? How do you deal with characters that have a better camp game than you, but at the same time have more KO power due to them reflecting your smashes (e.g. Zelda, Fox, Falco, etc.)?

What moves do you use to KO in match-ups against characters with reflects?
How do you get these characters in the air? Are there any reliable combos other than jab->dtilt-> SH nair/Utilt?
How do you punish characters (that have reflecting-moves) at range bigger than purple grab? Do you use grabs to punish?

 

[Myran]

In regards to killing the characters who have reflects you can go about it in a few ways. 1. You can pullback on the amount of smashes you are throwing out, and then try to catch them off guard. Building up damage with Pikmin toss or whatever else you use in the meantime. 2. You can rack damage, and finally get a blue Pikmin up throw to kill. 3. Ftilt is a pretty decent kill move when you have rage mode, and they're percentage is higher. 4. You could try to land a bair after their percent has racked up.

You have different options. They just are a bit harder to land. It helps to make your smashes less predictable, and use once you know it's pretty much guaranteed. Unless they are the type of person who just spams the reflector (In which case there a plenty of ways to punish that) you just have to be smart about throwing the move out.

In regards to getting characters in the air, it seems you don't grab that often. I know grab can be a bit risky since it has a decent amount of end lag, but the follow ups off downthrow are pretty good. Depending on the percent/how they vector you can usually follow it up with a fair or u-air.

I'd say overall just be smart about using your smash attacks and keep in mind the other moves you have at your disposal. Don't be afraid to camp them out with Pikmin throw, and knowing when to switch to the aggressive punish playstyle is a must to really be good at Olimar.

Hope this helps.

 

[BulborbAdventurer]

snip 4. You could try to land a bair after their percent has racked up.

snip

Is bair a reliable kill move? I feel like its really easy to punish. I might just not use it enough (to kill; I use it a lot to space) because I'm used to uair, and I like dair a lot in this game.

 

[Myran]

Is bair a reliable kill move? I feel like its really easy to punish. I might just not use it enough (to kill; I use it a lot to space) because I'm used to uair, and I like dair a lot in this game.

It can be a reliable kill move. Just be smart about using it, and watch what Pikmin you hit them with.