FrostByte
Smash Lord
As most people know, Shields play an integral part in competitive play. In Brawl however, since grab game has been nerfed for all but 2 or 3 characters, we have to find other ways to get around campy defensive play.
This brings me to a not-so-common long term use of bypassing shields.
Shield eating
Sonic is actually pretty good in this department. His Spin charge takes a moderate chunk of shield with every hit, homing too. With these combined, you can leave your opponent open.
(can somebody confirm if the Spindash can hit 3 times, I don't have access to a wii at the moment)
.....S.../
/-\1__3/
.....2
Where S is the Shield, 1 is the end of initial hop, 2 is the ground hitbox and 3 is the jump hitbox. You can hold backwards in the initial hop to travel a shorter distance, making it easier to hit.
Sonic's upsmash is another attack with good Shield eating and Shield stabbing properties due to it's multi-hit nature. However, the startup lag makes it unsafe while standing still and the momentum makes it difficult to hit with precicely when running. You might want to cancel your run animation first if you don't want to get the sliding effect.
Sonic's fair is also good for the same reasons and will cancel out perfect shields without risk of getting grabbed. Not the best choice against shields though due to it's limited versatility. It can only be used at the start of a jump.
Shield stabbing
What to do once you've got that shield down? Opening their shields will expose the top and bottom parts of their body. You can take advantage of this by using low and high attacks Sonic's main low attack after lowering an opponent's shield is his awesome downtilt, which is actually terrible against people with full shields (It moves him forwards which is basically asking to get grabbed). As long as it hits with the closest hitbox, you should get a free "combo." Another downtilt, uptilt or aerial depending on the % and knockback. Low Ftilt which is done by tilting in the down/left diagonal is also godly if you just want to get them out of your face. Low Fsmash can help if you space it well. Stutter step and Pivot step help a lot.
High attacks include aerials Fair and Bair which you can use freely. Homing attack can be used as a shield stabber as well as a shield eater as it hits the opponent's head most of the time. The cooldown on it can mess you up though but it's worth the rist IMO.
Safety
Sonic Says: That's no good! (youtube that phrase if you don't know what I'm talking about)
Dash attack is - by far your safest approach. It has good priority and good speed. A low risk, relatively high reward attack that you can get a fair or utilt off. Or you can just run away.
Ftilt pushes opponents away from you. Hits twice at close range to throw off impatient shieldgrabbers.
Downsmash allows you to weave in and out of range. It is relatively difficult to punish under the right circumstances. Don't do it when your opponent it right in front of you. If you're having trouble predicting your opponent's movements, this is the attack to use.
Counterattacks
The Spring helps you escape combos and gives you invincibility frames. If you spring away from your opponent, you can use the dair to reach the ground quickly. If you pursue, you can use the spring dair combo. The combo isn't completely free of risk though, high priority upairs will outprioritise the dair (Marth, T/Link, Metaknight etc.)
Pivot stepping is a technique that almost goes unpunished because Sonic pulls back even further. It's also a very good spacing tool along with the stutter step.
To be honest, I don't think anti-shield play is as important as it was in previous games in the Smash series due to the introduction of perfect shielding and an overall heavier emphasis on aerial play. But it's worth a try because Sonic needs to get every hit he can to match up to the damage building prowess of characters like Metaknight and Zamus.
This brings me to a not-so-common long term use of bypassing shields.
Shield eating
Sonic is actually pretty good in this department. His Spin charge takes a moderate chunk of shield with every hit, homing too. With these combined, you can leave your opponent open.
(can somebody confirm if the Spindash can hit 3 times, I don't have access to a wii at the moment)
.....S.../
/-\1__3/
.....2
Where S is the Shield, 1 is the end of initial hop, 2 is the ground hitbox and 3 is the jump hitbox. You can hold backwards in the initial hop to travel a shorter distance, making it easier to hit.
Sonic's upsmash is another attack with good Shield eating and Shield stabbing properties due to it's multi-hit nature. However, the startup lag makes it unsafe while standing still and the momentum makes it difficult to hit with precicely when running. You might want to cancel your run animation first if you don't want to get the sliding effect.
Sonic's fair is also good for the same reasons and will cancel out perfect shields without risk of getting grabbed. Not the best choice against shields though due to it's limited versatility. It can only be used at the start of a jump.
Shield stabbing
What to do once you've got that shield down? Opening their shields will expose the top and bottom parts of their body. You can take advantage of this by using low and high attacks Sonic's main low attack after lowering an opponent's shield is his awesome downtilt, which is actually terrible against people with full shields (It moves him forwards which is basically asking to get grabbed). As long as it hits with the closest hitbox, you should get a free "combo." Another downtilt, uptilt or aerial depending on the % and knockback. Low Ftilt which is done by tilting in the down/left diagonal is also godly if you just want to get them out of your face. Low Fsmash can help if you space it well. Stutter step and Pivot step help a lot.
High attacks include aerials Fair and Bair which you can use freely. Homing attack can be used as a shield stabber as well as a shield eater as it hits the opponent's head most of the time. The cooldown on it can mess you up though but it's worth the rist IMO.
Safety
Sonic Says: That's no good! (youtube that phrase if you don't know what I'm talking about)
Dash attack is - by far your safest approach. It has good priority and good speed. A low risk, relatively high reward attack that you can get a fair or utilt off. Or you can just run away.
Ftilt pushes opponents away from you. Hits twice at close range to throw off impatient shieldgrabbers.
Downsmash allows you to weave in and out of range. It is relatively difficult to punish under the right circumstances. Don't do it when your opponent it right in front of you. If you're having trouble predicting your opponent's movements, this is the attack to use.
Counterattacks
The Spring helps you escape combos and gives you invincibility frames. If you spring away from your opponent, you can use the dair to reach the ground quickly. If you pursue, you can use the spring dair combo. The combo isn't completely free of risk though, high priority upairs will outprioritise the dair (Marth, T/Link, Metaknight etc.)
Pivot stepping is a technique that almost goes unpunished because Sonic pulls back even further. It's also a very good spacing tool along with the stutter step.
To be honest, I don't think anti-shield play is as important as it was in previous games in the Smash series due to the introduction of perfect shielding and an overall heavier emphasis on aerial play. But it's worth a try because Sonic needs to get every hit he can to match up to the damage building prowess of characters like Metaknight and Zamus.
