1) If they aren't close enough to hit your position on the edge nor directly above it, but are close enough to swat at you if you get on the level, edge-hop neutral B's to make them move forward to try and punish you, or backward to try and get you to do something else.
2) If they are close enough to swat at you if you jump from the edge, but not close enough to attack you while holding the edge, mix up edge-drop re-grabs to make them either move forward to try and punish you, or backward to try and get you to do something else.
3) If they are far enough away that your neutral-B's couldn't hit them, then you can stand up or waveland onto the level no problem.
4) If they try to wait you out by standing on a platform above or near the edge, they're probably going to face away and wait for you to get off the edge and punish with an aerial. Edge-drop re-grab to be mostly invulnerable while you either wait for them to move, or if you want to bait them, stand up in shield and go from there.
5) If they are close enough to the edge to hit you while holding it, but are not waiting right by the edge, they will either be shielding or not. If they are not shielding, wait. If they attack, stand up or drop the edge to avoid it. If they put up their shield, edge-hop a few times and if they're still holding it, they're waiting for you to attack their shield, after which they will try to shield-grab or otherwise punish. Give them what they think they want: edge-hop fair them, but immediately up-b after you l-cancel. With their already worn down shield, the fairs will probably poke, and the screw attack definitely will. Worst case nothing hits and they full-jump out of shield with an aerial. In most cases, this won't happen, and you should just fast-fall as soon as you can during your up-b and and re-grab the edge.
6) If they are so close to the edge that you wouldn't be able to react to avoid an attack in time, they probably won't be shielding, and will either attack or wait and try to crouch-cancel your attack and retaliate with a smash, shine, etc. Again, give them what they want, with an unexpected twist: Edge-hop an up-air. Since they are so close, they will keep getting hit, even by the last part of the uair which will knock them over and back, while you re-grab the edge, with their attempt at a CC-smash or shine being foiled. If they don't CC, they'll get knocked back even before then, and you'll still safely grab the edge.
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I've come back and won many teams matches on my last stock against 2 to even 4 stock just by playing the edge like this. It works even better in singles. Since the great majority of the time, they get burned for trying to edge-guard you at all (once you have the edge), people will eventually get trained to move back and dash-dance well away from the edge and pretty much just let you get back on the level. If you really want to win, and have the lead, just stay on the edge, and further drive them nuts. They'll become more aggressive and make more mistakes, or will just stay back and camp while the timer ticks down to their inevitable loss.
Avoid jumping up or rolling up except when you want to completely throw them off, since you otherwise "never did it". Avoid doing this near the end of a match, since players heavily expect the unexpected.
Attack-up only when they are getting frustrated by your neutral-b edge spam and are coming to the edge to try and attack you out of it. The timing is perfect, and you will avoid their attack while you hit them.
Standing up and shielding is great, except when they like to wait (dash-dance or otherwise) about roll-distance on the level, and just grab you when you do it. Consider edge-hopping a missile cancel and punishing if this is the case.
The biggest problem becomes when people are smart and fast with pivoting. You have to learn how to react quickly if they start reading these strategies and punish accordingly. Don't keep edge-hopping attacks into wavedash back / pivot smashes. If they love doing that, just start standing up in shield more often, or even rolling up and smashing them.
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To recap:
• Super-close enemy, often CCing. Edge-hop uair to regrab edge
• Dangerously close enemy, often shielding. Edge-hop fair, l-cancel, up-b and FF to regrab edge.
• Well-spaced enemy. Edge-hop neutral b blasters (not fully charged) to regrab edge.
• Enemies keeping their distance (such as on a nearby platform). Edge-drop, sweet-spot midair to regrab edge and stall until they move or you decide to take action (stand up or roll up, or waveland right after an invulnerability refresh being the best).
• Anything else and they're trying to give you enough space to comfortably get back on the level. Do so if you feel like it.
Most importantly, start with these basics, make them your own, and see how people react. If you find that your strategy makes one enemy wait a moment and then pivot a smash (often I encounter this against better players), just wait for them to do so, and THEN attack up or edge-hop an aerial. Learn from your mistakes, and learn from theirs.
2) If they are close enough to swat at you if you jump from the edge, but not close enough to attack you while holding the edge, mix up edge-drop re-grabs to make them either move forward to try and punish you, or backward to try and get you to do something else.
3) If they are far enough away that your neutral-B's couldn't hit them, then you can stand up or waveland onto the level no problem.
4) If they try to wait you out by standing on a platform above or near the edge, they're probably going to face away and wait for you to get off the edge and punish with an aerial. Edge-drop re-grab to be mostly invulnerable while you either wait for them to move, or if you want to bait them, stand up in shield and go from there.
5) If they are close enough to the edge to hit you while holding it, but are not waiting right by the edge, they will either be shielding or not. If they are not shielding, wait. If they attack, stand up or drop the edge to avoid it. If they put up their shield, edge-hop a few times and if they're still holding it, they're waiting for you to attack their shield, after which they will try to shield-grab or otherwise punish. Give them what they think they want: edge-hop fair them, but immediately up-b after you l-cancel. With their already worn down shield, the fairs will probably poke, and the screw attack definitely will. Worst case nothing hits and they full-jump out of shield with an aerial. In most cases, this won't happen, and you should just fast-fall as soon as you can during your up-b and and re-grab the edge.
6) If they are so close to the edge that you wouldn't be able to react to avoid an attack in time, they probably won't be shielding, and will either attack or wait and try to crouch-cancel your attack and retaliate with a smash, shine, etc. Again, give them what they want, with an unexpected twist: Edge-hop an up-air. Since they are so close, they will keep getting hit, even by the last part of the uair which will knock them over and back, while you re-grab the edge, with their attempt at a CC-smash or shine being foiled. If they don't CC, they'll get knocked back even before then, and you'll still safely grab the edge.
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I've come back and won many teams matches on my last stock against 2 to even 4 stock just by playing the edge like this. It works even better in singles. Since the great majority of the time, they get burned for trying to edge-guard you at all (once you have the edge), people will eventually get trained to move back and dash-dance well away from the edge and pretty much just let you get back on the level. If you really want to win, and have the lead, just stay on the edge, and further drive them nuts. They'll become more aggressive and make more mistakes, or will just stay back and camp while the timer ticks down to their inevitable loss.
Avoid jumping up or rolling up except when you want to completely throw them off, since you otherwise "never did it". Avoid doing this near the end of a match, since players heavily expect the unexpected.
Attack-up only when they are getting frustrated by your neutral-b edge spam and are coming to the edge to try and attack you out of it. The timing is perfect, and you will avoid their attack while you hit them.
Standing up and shielding is great, except when they like to wait (dash-dance or otherwise) about roll-distance on the level, and just grab you when you do it. Consider edge-hopping a missile cancel and punishing if this is the case.
The biggest problem becomes when people are smart and fast with pivoting. You have to learn how to react quickly if they start reading these strategies and punish accordingly. Don't keep edge-hopping attacks into wavedash back / pivot smashes. If they love doing that, just start standing up in shield more often, or even rolling up and smashing them.
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To recap:
• Super-close enemy, often CCing. Edge-hop uair to regrab edge
• Dangerously close enemy, often shielding. Edge-hop fair, l-cancel, up-b and FF to regrab edge.
• Well-spaced enemy. Edge-hop neutral b blasters (not fully charged) to regrab edge.
• Enemies keeping their distance (such as on a nearby platform). Edge-drop, sweet-spot midair to regrab edge and stall until they move or you decide to take action (stand up or roll up, or waveland right after an invulnerability refresh being the best).
• Anything else and they're trying to give you enough space to comfortably get back on the level. Do so if you feel like it.
Most importantly, start with these basics, make them your own, and see how people react. If you find that your strategy makes one enemy wait a moment and then pivot a smash (often I encounter this against better players), just wait for them to do so, and THEN attack up or edge-hop an aerial. Learn from your mistakes, and learn from theirs.
