MookieRah
Kinda Sorta OK at Smash
I've been posting some stuff in the matchup impressions thread to spread some old-school general M2 advice to all the new Sm4sh players, but my advice is somewhat off-topic because I am talking about stuff M2 should do in general, and nothing matchup specific. It should be noted, I don't have a 3DS, a Wii U, and haven't even played Sm4sh. My advice is based on observing some M2 Sm4sh videos and my pre-existing melee M2 knowledge (and smash theory in general). I will never give very specific information, because I don't have it, and often I will pose questions rather than answer things. All that said, don't write me off as this is solid advice and can be applied to every smash game (as well as other fighting games to various degrees).
Mewtwo is better suited as a somewhat defensive, reaction based character. This is true in melee, as well as Sm4sh. M2 isn't fast enough, either with run speed, air speed, and his attack speed to be some kind of rush down or offensive pressure oriented character. He has moves that have good reach and can be used to zone people out, but they aren't very fast/spam-able. He also is light, large target, making him susceptible to early KOs. What this translates to is that you need to reserve your options until you know they will work. You do this through good movement and spacing, and by keeping your opponent in your optimal range and preventing them from getting inside. This isn't to say there are never times when M2 goes on the offense, but M2 should remain very patient and focus on not overcommitting while in neutral. If you don't know what I mean by neutral, keep reading and you'll find out.
What does all that mean exactly? It means you have to think about what your options are in every circumstance. If you have the option to do something that guarantees an advantage, it's almost always better to take the guaranteed option instead of a prediction based mix-up, even if it's only a small advantage. The best example of going for the guaranteed option I can think of is down throw follow-ups. I'll dissect this situation to show you what I mean.
Down throw does not combo into anything. Your opponent always has the means to avoid your followup and even punish you for it. While it's very tempting to follow up with a fair, know that it will likely not land against a good opponent. Instead, your best option is to be patient and react to what your opponent does. In the worst case scenario your opponent DIs away to escape from you. That's fine, just walk/dash (but don't run) forward, take all that valuable stage he is giving you. Park yourself in your optimal range and then you will find yourself with more stage control, limiting the options your opponent has while reserving your own. If your opponent does not DI away, get within optimal range and wait. Judging from videos people either will air-dodge or attack. Both can be punishable on reaction with a shield grab or dash grab. If they look as if they will land without doing anything, it's still in your advantage as you have time to make a move before your opponent has fully landed. The number one thing to look out for is your opponent rolling through you/getting behind you. It's fairly easy to cover these options if it is priority #1.
From the above example, you should be able to think of how that applies to M2 in general, as a lot of his attacks don't really combo in Sm4sh. Instead of just throwing out a move that you really, really want to land, think about all the options you have, and try to figure out what will give you the biggest advantage with the lowest risk. You should also focus on gaining and maintaining stage control.
This is all fine and good, but what do you do when neither player has stage control? This state is what is known as neutral. In neutral, M2 should focus on closing off as much stage from your opponent without using risky moves, or commitments. This means that you shouldn't randomly dash attack or dash grab your opponent, something I see A LOT in current M2 Sm4sh videos. You should use movement that reserves options, such as walking or quick dashes. Running is not ideal, because once you are running you limit what you can do. You want to be able to react quickly to your opponent's commitments. If your opponent is not making commitments of his own, that is when you need to start poking.
Pokes are moves that are fairly safe that can be used to put some pressure on your opponent. The goal of the poke is not necessarily to hit your opponent, as much as it is to get them to give up some stage or prompt them to attack you. Hitting with a poke; however, is a nifty bonus when it happens. In Melee M2 could poke with dtilt and to some extent ftilt. Dtilt still seems to be great in Sm4sh, but it suffers from the same problem it has in melee, it doesn't cover opponents that will jump in on you. Ftilt, or angled up ftilt, is great for poking when you think your opponent plans to jump in on you. It's to be noted that you will first need to identify what is a safe range to throw out ftilt, so that you don't get punished for using it.
That is all for now, but I hope this is helpful to some of the newer players here that aren't aware/don't know these concepts.
Mewtwo is better suited as a somewhat defensive, reaction based character. This is true in melee, as well as Sm4sh. M2 isn't fast enough, either with run speed, air speed, and his attack speed to be some kind of rush down or offensive pressure oriented character. He has moves that have good reach and can be used to zone people out, but they aren't very fast/spam-able. He also is light, large target, making him susceptible to early KOs. What this translates to is that you need to reserve your options until you know they will work. You do this through good movement and spacing, and by keeping your opponent in your optimal range and preventing them from getting inside. This isn't to say there are never times when M2 goes on the offense, but M2 should remain very patient and focus on not overcommitting while in neutral. If you don't know what I mean by neutral, keep reading and you'll find out.
What does all that mean exactly? It means you have to think about what your options are in every circumstance. If you have the option to do something that guarantees an advantage, it's almost always better to take the guaranteed option instead of a prediction based mix-up, even if it's only a small advantage. The best example of going for the guaranteed option I can think of is down throw follow-ups. I'll dissect this situation to show you what I mean.
Down throw does not combo into anything. Your opponent always has the means to avoid your followup and even punish you for it. While it's very tempting to follow up with a fair, know that it will likely not land against a good opponent. Instead, your best option is to be patient and react to what your opponent does. In the worst case scenario your opponent DIs away to escape from you. That's fine, just walk/dash (but don't run) forward, take all that valuable stage he is giving you. Park yourself in your optimal range and then you will find yourself with more stage control, limiting the options your opponent has while reserving your own. If your opponent does not DI away, get within optimal range and wait. Judging from videos people either will air-dodge or attack. Both can be punishable on reaction with a shield grab or dash grab. If they look as if they will land without doing anything, it's still in your advantage as you have time to make a move before your opponent has fully landed. The number one thing to look out for is your opponent rolling through you/getting behind you. It's fairly easy to cover these options if it is priority #1.
From the above example, you should be able to think of how that applies to M2 in general, as a lot of his attacks don't really combo in Sm4sh. Instead of just throwing out a move that you really, really want to land, think about all the options you have, and try to figure out what will give you the biggest advantage with the lowest risk. You should also focus on gaining and maintaining stage control.
This is all fine and good, but what do you do when neither player has stage control? This state is what is known as neutral. In neutral, M2 should focus on closing off as much stage from your opponent without using risky moves, or commitments. This means that you shouldn't randomly dash attack or dash grab your opponent, something I see A LOT in current M2 Sm4sh videos. You should use movement that reserves options, such as walking or quick dashes. Running is not ideal, because once you are running you limit what you can do. You want to be able to react quickly to your opponent's commitments. If your opponent is not making commitments of his own, that is when you need to start poking.
Pokes are moves that are fairly safe that can be used to put some pressure on your opponent. The goal of the poke is not necessarily to hit your opponent, as much as it is to get them to give up some stage or prompt them to attack you. Hitting with a poke; however, is a nifty bonus when it happens. In Melee M2 could poke with dtilt and to some extent ftilt. Dtilt still seems to be great in Sm4sh, but it suffers from the same problem it has in melee, it doesn't cover opponents that will jump in on you. Ftilt, or angled up ftilt, is great for poking when you think your opponent plans to jump in on you. It's to be noted that you will first need to identify what is a safe range to throw out ftilt, so that you don't get punished for using it.
That is all for now, but I hope this is helpful to some of the newer players here that aren't aware/don't know these concepts.
