Rango the Mercenary
The Mercenary
I would actually like to go over Ike vs. Samus, having faced a noteworthy challenge from several players online.
On one hand, Ike beats her neutral cleanly. In addition to outranging her normal attacks, he can just jab right after her Jab 1 if they're both grounded.
On the other hand, Samus not only maintains strong control at long range, but also has very fast attacks up close. Her Uair seems to have a very large hitbox and can use it for juggling. While defense is one of Ike's priorities, she is not only a tether grabber, but can also break shields with Charge Shot.
Ike can use normals to neutralize Charge Shot, such as Bair. However, it requires strict timing. It is still, however, a solid landing option.
One of Samus' other strengths is off-stage. Much like Wii Fit Trainer, she has a number of options to counter edgeguarding - Ike's primary strength and arguably the best in the game. Zair for far-ranged, safe strikes, Fair for a multi-hit move which is safe on landing when blocked, and Charge Shot as a projectile option. All of these out-range most of Ike's moves, and her jump height makes it easier for her to go over his head to escape to a platform.
Both characters are very heavy, Samus being one point heavier than Ike. I feel Samus' major detriment in this matchup is landing a kill option. Charge Shot has to be, well, charged. Bair is strong, but not the strongest move, and FSmash is still not wholly reliable, as you're more likely to pop the sourspot. Meanwhile, Ike's Bair and recently-patched Fair will neutralize all of her options when spaced properly. However, Ike lacks the ability to properly hit Eruption on Samus due to her tether, effectively eliminating one of his core kill moves. Also, due to Samus' floatiness, she is one of the characters who cannot be Fair kill confirmed off of UThrow, as the combo will lose its effectiveness well before kill percents.
Off-stage, Samus has gimping options. However, her slow moving and floaty aerials, coupled with her large hitbox, also makes her a prime character to end with an Aether spike. Both characters have a Dair spike, Samus' being more reliable. Ike's walk-off Fair will kill Samus around the 90% margin, and less with rage. Samus does not have a powerful off-stage option outside of Charge Shot, but can utilizing gimping with Fairs.
I feel Samus' strengths in this matchup are her weight, her offstage game, her shieldbreaking Charge Shot, and the use of Grappling Beam both to Zair out of Ike's max range and to grab from afar. Her weaknesses being she loses heavily in neutral and she lacks an effective kill move or confirm, which can lead to dragging on the battle with Ike constantly building rage as a result of taking damage.
Also of note, stage picks. Samus gains the ability to use more juggles with Uair and Screw Attack on stages like Battlefield and Dream Land. However, unless I haven't seen it yet, she seems to lack effective landing options. While camping is an option for flat stages, like FD and DH, the Samus' I have faced tend to play highly aggressively.
On one hand, Ike beats her neutral cleanly. In addition to outranging her normal attacks, he can just jab right after her Jab 1 if they're both grounded.
On the other hand, Samus not only maintains strong control at long range, but also has very fast attacks up close. Her Uair seems to have a very large hitbox and can use it for juggling. While defense is one of Ike's priorities, she is not only a tether grabber, but can also break shields with Charge Shot.
Ike can use normals to neutralize Charge Shot, such as Bair. However, it requires strict timing. It is still, however, a solid landing option.
One of Samus' other strengths is off-stage. Much like Wii Fit Trainer, she has a number of options to counter edgeguarding - Ike's primary strength and arguably the best in the game. Zair for far-ranged, safe strikes, Fair for a multi-hit move which is safe on landing when blocked, and Charge Shot as a projectile option. All of these out-range most of Ike's moves, and her jump height makes it easier for her to go over his head to escape to a platform.
Both characters are very heavy, Samus being one point heavier than Ike. I feel Samus' major detriment in this matchup is landing a kill option. Charge Shot has to be, well, charged. Bair is strong, but not the strongest move, and FSmash is still not wholly reliable, as you're more likely to pop the sourspot. Meanwhile, Ike's Bair and recently-patched Fair will neutralize all of her options when spaced properly. However, Ike lacks the ability to properly hit Eruption on Samus due to her tether, effectively eliminating one of his core kill moves. Also, due to Samus' floatiness, she is one of the characters who cannot be Fair kill confirmed off of UThrow, as the combo will lose its effectiveness well before kill percents.
Off-stage, Samus has gimping options. However, her slow moving and floaty aerials, coupled with her large hitbox, also makes her a prime character to end with an Aether spike. Both characters have a Dair spike, Samus' being more reliable. Ike's walk-off Fair will kill Samus around the 90% margin, and less with rage. Samus does not have a powerful off-stage option outside of Charge Shot, but can utilizing gimping with Fairs.
I feel Samus' strengths in this matchup are her weight, her offstage game, her shieldbreaking Charge Shot, and the use of Grappling Beam both to Zair out of Ike's max range and to grab from afar. Her weaknesses being she loses heavily in neutral and she lacks an effective kill move or confirm, which can lead to dragging on the battle with Ike constantly building rage as a result of taking damage.
Also of note, stage picks. Samus gains the ability to use more juggles with Uair and Screw Attack on stages like Battlefield and Dream Land. However, unless I haven't seen it yet, she seems to lack effective landing options. While camping is an option for flat stages, like FD and DH, the Samus' I have faced tend to play highly aggressively.
But I do get your point.
