So, I've been seeing 2 types of people lately.

[this isn't pete i swear]

people who think little mac is utter garbage
and people who think he's the meta knight of sm4sh
from what i've seen, he appears to be the epitome of a glass cannon
what do you guys think about this character's viability?

 

[FamilyTeam]

I think he's decent, I hate getting KO Punched but that's life.
That story changes if you're in a laggy match, though. In a match with high ping... yeah, it does feel like Mac is Brawl Meta Knight tier.



Nice avatar.

 

[this isn't pete i swear]

the idea of being in a for glory match with a somewhat decent, but laggy little mac sounds absolutely horrifying
that's some serious creepy pasta level stuff right there

 

[Rebel13]

Little Mac is so volatile it's hard to place him on a tier list. He is probably just a good pocket character because he does really well vs heavyweights, fox, ryu, and some others, but he is pretty much an automatic forfeit vs any character that can gimp him easily (sheik, mario, and cloud come to mind).

People who think Mac is OP just aren't good at gimping him.

 

[TheLegendaryFoxFire]

the idea of being in a for glory match with a somewhat decent, but laggy little mac sounds absolutely horrifying
that's some serious creepy pasta level stuff right there

I don't think so. I tend to do worst in High Ping matches with Little Mac.

 

[Rubiss]

Little Mac has no edge guarding game, no aerial game, no grab game, excellent frame data, great at catching landings, has a KO punch mechanic which can even out a stock when used correct and can be hard to punish on the ground. He is incredibly easy to pick up and play and has a low skill cap. I think he is a bad character overall. No versatility, every Little Mac plays the same. Once you know the matchup, Mac is at a huge disadvantage.

 

[{Kyro}]

Nobody has mentioned yet that without KO punch, Little Mac basically loses to characters that can shield. Even if he somehow, magically gets a grab, his throws are so ridiculously bad that it's not even worth thinking about unless he starts getting 10 grabs per stock.

Little Mac relies on the punishing the opponent's mistakes. If you want to beat him, camp him out so he has to approach. Automatic win if you know how to punish his tilts. Run-to-shield, play ridiculously safe, stay grounded, and don't throw smash attacks in neutral.

I absolutely agree with the point about lag though. Laggy Little Macs are like Slippy Toad: they keep coming back but you just wish they would disappear.

 

[Rebel13]

{Kyro} Good point about camping Mac, but can't beat shields? Have you ever played against a good Little Mac? Dtilt, Ftilt, Fsmash, and jab are all really safe on shield, so Little mac can just throw things at you till he gets a shield poke. Admittedly you probably wont just stand there and take it, but it can put you in a bad spot where you might get your roll read or get cornered and end up offstage. I almost never grab with Little Mac, high risk/low reward, and you just don't need to.

I also really struggle to play Little Mac on wifi, lag screws up PP tilts and dash dances, and makes recovery even more difficult.

 

[{Kyro}]

R Rebel13 I don't know if this is just because I play top tiers so I don't have that much experience with slower characters, but jumping out of shield into an aerial can catch Mac's ground moves really well. This includes Sheik's short hop fair and nair, Fox's nair, Falco's fair, Bowser's fair, etc. You can also catch with moves like Bowserms Up-B out of shield, or tether grabs.

 

[Zoramine Fae]

Little Mac imo is a solid mid-tier with one crippling flaw (since while his air game DOES suck, it really isn't needed) being his recovery offset by his amazing ground mobility, frame data, and killing power. He is pretty lacking in top tier matchups barring Ryu (who imo goes almost even but still in Ryu's favor due to the insta-kill nature of up tilt to TShoryu), but he has some other good MUs and no unwinnable MUs due to the nature of his Smashes and KO Punch as well as Rising Uppercut. Pretty polarized character in terms of MUs and strategy, but a good character nonetheless.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

The main challenge that Little Mac has is that his air game and recovery are awful, and while his ground game is powerful, he hates shield-grabs, which is a problem whenever your attacks don't deliver much shield damage.

 

[Tino]

People claiming that Little Mac is overpowered are basically the ones who aren't skilled enough to send him flying off stage and gimp him as Rebel13 mentioned...or they're just not skilled enough in general. How good Mac is depends on the user themselves. You'll find those who are just plain bad, decent or the ones who are like semi trucks on a busy highway...as in the very good ones, which they're really a nightmare to deal with.

 

[FamilyTeam]

1. Pick .
2. immediatly at the start of the match until FLUDD is fully charged.
3. spotdodge the ridiculously obvious approach your everyday Little Mac uses at the start of the match.
4. Grab, Back Throw.
5. Shorthop, at his attempt at recovery, and try to atleast get the entire second half of the spray in. Fell free to use if they use their own Side Special to recover instead.
   
6. Stock taken.

FLUDD is too good against Lil' Mac., it's ridiculous.

 

[Zoramine Fae]

1. Pick .
2. immediatly at the start of the match until FLUDD is fully charged.
3. spotdodge the ridiculously obvious approach your everyday Little Mac uses at the start of the match.
4. Grab, Back Throw.
5. Shorthop, at his attempt at recovery, and try to atleast get the entire second half of the spray in. Fell free to use if they use their own Side Special to recover instead.
   
6. Stock taken.

FLUDD is too good against Lil' Mac., it's ridiculous.

And then a smart Little Mac doesn't approach with Dash Attack or Forward Smash.

But no, seriously, what you said is completely true when your opponent has no skill as Mac. Maybe I'm the only one that does this, but I rarely ever side B immediately to recover. If they are going to gimp me, it's pretty obvious since they will jump to use NAir, FAir, or the Cape, which results in a spotdodge. For FLUDD, just spotdodge the first bit, let the second bit push you upwards, then spotdodge the obvious Side B gimp your everyday Mario uses when you are offstage, then Side B. Or, if you are stylish and know they will Side B, then use your own Side B to recover instead. *jokes*

 

[this isn't pete i swear]

look at the length of this video before watching it
obviously it's ZeRo and his sheik, but this still doesn't look fair

 

[lunaticz0r]

whats not fair about it?

edit: it was before nerf, also its zero dude...with the top ranked char on a very bad map for mac...pretty much the ****tiest matchu you can tink of LOL

best player
best char
worst map
VS lil mac....

 

[FrankTheStud]

1. Pick .
2. immediatly at the start of the match until FLUDD is fully charged.
3. spotdodge the ridiculously obvious approach your everyday Little Mac uses at the start of the match.
4. Grab, Back Throw.
5. Shorthop, at his attempt at recovery, and try to atleast get the entire second half of the spray in. Fell free to use if they use their own Side Special to recover instead.
   
6. Stock taken.

FLUDD is too good against Lil' Mac., it's ridiculous.

Ah yes, the Pipe Dream... At least until the announcer declares "Game Set!"
In all seriousness though, the more rage Mac gets, the scarier he becomes... Can you really blame us for trying to gimp? Superior frame data, movement speed, and super armor on Smash Attacks (including the forced Omega on For Glory), and Mac is quite the force to be reckoned with.
Also don't forget how predictable Mario's recovery is and how safe dtilt/dsmash is at ledge! Don't run in on a shielding Mario with full FLUDD while he stands at the ledge and you'll be fine. Frame 1 jab any Fireballs he dishes out and Mario is pretty much at a stalemate.

 

[Zenithia]

"Mac is trash" = I don't know how to play him so that he can land hits effectively and unpredictably; why not just complain?

"Mac is OP" = I don't know how to counter him; why not just complain?

In reality, all this viability stuff has no meaning, imo. Spending time improving your game is far more important than spending time complaining about how good or bad a character's game is, and it's their loss if they're doing the latter.

 

[OmegaStriker]

I personally think it's really ambiguous as to how viable he is. When played right, the damage he eats can be soaked up by super armor and contribute to his Power Meter. If you can read grabs, you can avoid being forced into the air. Not dash attacking at every waking moment makes sure you don't force yourself into a trap and get shield-grabbed. However, his good traits are difficult to put into practice, meaning that while Mac seems like a brainless character to play with, using laggy FG tactics against competent players is a surefire way to get yourself gimped early. He relies on very smart play. Lousy recovery and bad aerials mean that as soon as he's in the air, he's screwed.

When played correctly, I think he can deal with several characters with great movement and analytically placed normal moves. His frame data is uncontested in the ground; I feel like if you have a pinpoint neutral and can acknowledge bad habits, he's deadly. The problem is that he has to be played almost perfectly because he has virtually no margin for error. I feel like people who play and are good at more traditional fighting games may have really good success with him...though Ryu is in for that crowd.