Write-up by Yagami Light at the old matchup discussion
Character Two - Solid Snake
Character Strengths: Fast attacks, large hitboxes, very powerful, stage control.
Character Weaknesses: Poor air game, mediocre recovery.
Recommended Counterpick: Halberd / Corneria
Snake is a very good character that until recently occupied the highest possible spot on tier lists. This is due to his fantastic moveset, which contains speed, power and stage control all in one. Add to that the fact that he's the third heaviest character in the game, and as such going to be killing you at a faster rate than you'll be killing him, and you've got serious trouble.
Well, the last sentence WOULD be true were you anyone else, but you use Ike. The main thing Snake can use against you is his ability to control the stage. He has 5 or so projectiles, all of them quite deadly. As soon as the match starts, just run towards him to get him to fight you in Ike's best area, close quarters combat. Essentially, when I say just run towards him, I actually mean do dodge the grenades and such, so as to not get any damage. When you do reach him, you've got a few things that are a massive boon to your chances. First off, you've got your good air game, and Snake is very vulnerable in the air. Secondly, you've got quite a few spikes, so if you knock Snake off the stage (Using a plethora of moves, try to rack up damage via aerials, grabs and your ever present friend, the jab combo) you can use your Down Tilt spike, your Down Aerial spike if he's a bit too far (You can go fairly low for a spike, the Cyphr will assist you) and if he's trying to fly over you, teach him a good lesson and bring him back down with an Aether. Don't bother with a grab, kill him the real way. Whilst that is Snake's biggest weakness, you can attempt to kill him while on the stage as well. The Forward Tilt outranges the first hit of Snake's Forward Tilt (Known for incredible range) and kills pretty early. The back aerial is also great, even better because you can get him in the air with it. If you get him into the air, he'll attempt airdodges back to the ground. Teach him a good lesson with the Up Smash, Up Aerial or Eruption. Never whiff a grounded side smash, as Snake has an almost equally powered one.
Now, let's reverse these roles, and assume Snake isn't doing punching bag training or has recently changed his world view on violence. Snake's moves are mostly faster than Ike's, most of them match Ike's power, and he's got good range and priority. Snake's jab combo (While not as good as yours) packs quite the punch and does 14%. Snake's forward tilt has ludicrous range and does 21%. Snake's down throw is one good tech chase and does 12%. Why am I listing these percents? Because Snake's up tilt kills you at around 100%, that's why. Now, as I'm sure you know, even though Ike is a middle-heavyweight, you still should be playing to not get hit, that concept is even more reinforced during this match. Snake's landmines and Nikita can be shielded, countered (Though don't degrade your counter too much, alright?) or just avoided in general (Do dispatch of the landmines, just in case). Snake will attempt to mortardash away if you get too close, so that's just another reason to keep the guy in the air. The Nikita missle is mainly used as an edgeguard, and quick drawing into it is the same as QDing into a human, so then you die. If you're high, feel free to Quick Draw (Watch out for an up smash, however), but if you're at a fairly low level, go and Aether. You may have to time the SA frames so a Nikita falling on you won't kill you, but that's a rare situation you'll be in. Never hurts to know your SA frames, of course (For the record, Aether has more SA frames tha Eruption does).
Snake's weight can and should be used against him with your underrated grab game. Jab to grab, forward or down throw, follow-up is a great way to rack up the damage on a heavy like Snake. By using these "weak" moves as damage dealers, you not only rack up damage, and keep him in the air or on the defensive, but you ALSO conserve and refresh your other, more powerful, killing moves so you don't get into the situation other characters with kill problems do.
Stages, stages. Corneria is the standard Ike CP of choice, but it's a little more dangerous here as Snake's Up tilt kills super fast at the top fin and he can lure you out of your infinite zone by using the Nikita missile. For this matchup, you might try Norfair or Green Greens. Green Greens is also a self explanatory Ike stand, filled with infinites, low kill areas and it also kind of messes with Snake's projectiles. Norfair blows up Snake's land mines, gives him little mortardash space, and as a whole reduces and camper's effectiveness as a whole. As far as neutral stages go, Battlefield is probably your best bet. Everything else assists Snake in some way (Try seeing mines on Lylat...).
That's essentially the lowdown on Snake. Ike's definitely got the ability to mess with Snake and put a damper on his game with all his close combat options. Essentially, get past the stage control, get him into the air, and give Snake no sympathy, haha.
he's far above me as a player.
