The Genetic Pokemon - Three Expert Opinions On Smash 4 Mewtwo

When it was announced that Mewtwo would 'strike back in Smash 4, it left many fans excited. Players hoped he would rise beyond his poor standing in Melee where he currently is 21st on the tier list. The dev team dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon, but did they succeed? We brought in three Mewtwo experts to weigh in on the character.

• RayNoire - Power ranked #6 in Wisconsin using Mewtwo. Placed Top 8 and sometimes top 4 in Milwaukee's Construct tournaments (the biggest tourney series in WI). Placed 17th Kings of the North 4. Plays on the UW-Madison Collegiate Crew
• Speedshocker - Has had notable tournament performances in North Carolina.
• MewSquared - Several solid and high placings in Texas with notable wins over Denti, Aerolink, Gyo, and Karna.

So how do these three experts feel about Mewtwo in Smash 4? Let's find out!

Disadvantages​

Mewtwo is not a character without flaws as all three experts were able to point out issues. The biggest one each expert mentioned was simply his weight. "Although Mewtwo does weigh slightly more than Jigglypuff, his height and tail actually cause him to die earlier, thus making him even more easy to KO." Speedshocker explained. This weight combined with his floatiness can create other issues as well.

"His floatiness makes it very hard for him to land back on the ground, which is where you wanna be in the neutral." Mewsquared told us. "It can be very difficult to get back in the neutral when recovering from off stage as his big size and floatiness allows opponents to harass him during his recovery and landing options."

"People know about the weight, but Mewtwo's also got a lot of issues with his hitboxes on almost every move he has." RayNoire also mentioned. "His frame data is pretty bad (fastest move is frame 6, fastest aerial frame 7), he has a horrible time getting off the ledge, his OoS game is among the worst...There's more but you get the idea."

Advantages​

However even with these weaknesses Mewtwo has some great strengths to make up for them. "I'd say one of his biggest strengths are his powerful d-tilt/standing combo links." Speedshocker said and Mewsquared agreed. "Mewtwo has amazing combo potential with his jab and tilts, with both heavy damaging combos and kill confirm combos."

MySmashCorner Showing Off His Combo Potential​

His combo game is greatly aided by a strong ability to space and zone. "His attacks also have incredible range and relatively safe disjoints." Speedshocker told us. "He has an amazing projectile in Shadow Ball, which has quick startup and is quite safe due to Mewtwo's ability to reflect with Confusion." These qualities fit into his gameplan very well according to Mewsquared. "With Mewtwo, you want to space and zone the opponent with tilts and Shadow Ball pressure, then link into his many confirms for massive damaging combos. He is great at spacing with his tail moves and his floatiness can be used to effectively bait air dodges for punishes."

This isn't the end of his advantages either. While his weight and floaty nature at times can be a disadvantage it can also be quite a boon for Mewtwo. "His weight and floatiness can actually help him escape many of the other cast's combos." Mewsquared said.

Relevant Matchups​

Each player found certain matchups among the top tier to be in Mewtwo's advantage and disadvantage. Speedshocker gave a general rundown on what kinds of characters Mewtwo has issues against. "His worst MU's are often dependent on one key factor; can they keep the pressure on him? Mewtwo can't stand characters that are fast and always on top of him. He can't charge Shadow Ball, and literally if they're "above" him, he can't hit them with his pokes. (Jab and Dtilt) which can cause some real problems."

RayNoire mentioned Fox, Mario, Captain Falcon, Yoshi, and Meta Knight, and Speedshocker mentioned Sheik and Little Mac as some of those fast characters that gave Mewtwo issues. MewSquared mentioned Pikachu and Zero Suit Samus but also said "Both the matchups are doable, however it forces Mewtwo to play outside of his comfort zone, as you'll have to be in the air a bit more often then normal."

However he is not without some positive top tier matchups either. RayNoire gave his thoughts on Mewtwo doing well against Rosalina. "Mewtwo's best top tier matchup is probably Rosalina. Mewtwo finds it very easy to get rid of Luma and it's tough for Rosa to land." Mewsquared looked at Luigi as "by far Mewtwo's best matchup. Mewtwo dominates Luigi, it is one of Mewtwo's best matchups in general."

Is Mewtwo Viable?​

All three experts had varying levels of optimism and skepticism on her viability on the national level with RayNoire being on the lower end. "I'll just say that I think Mewtwo is among the least viable characters in the game. Where most people put him on tier lists right now (bottom 3/5) is about where he's at."

Speedshocker felt more in the middle on his viability. "Depends on the dedication honestly. I've seen characters being used on a national level that many once thought to be flat out bad.Mewtwo is not an exceedingly exceptional character in general. He has flaws that are obvious, and his attacks aren't always that safe. If you want to use Mewtwo on a national level, you're going to have to put in the effort to focus on his strengths and have the knowledge to make up for his weaknesses."

Mewsquared remained confident that Mewtwo was viable on a national level. "He has plenty of options and tools to handle the top tiers and although he may lose some match ups every matchup of his is doable. I do not believe he loses any matchup incredibly badly. However some are much easier with the help of certain stages."

Advice For Mewtwo Mains?​

RayNoire had this to say. "Base your neutral around Dtilt. Know what options counter it and your options against those options, and mix up from there. Learn ALL your landing options; you will need them. RAR your Nairs. More generally, know what you're getting into. It's going to be difficult and bad things will happen. Embrace the challenge and don't get flustered."

For those wanting to play as Mewtwo Speedshocker stressed that patience while staying in proper position was key. "Mewtwo isn't easy to use, and isn't for everyone. If you want a character that has powerful mobility, insane grabs, and some unique perks, then Mewtwo might be the one for you. The best advice I can give specifically is work on keeping the opponent where you want them to be. If something isn't working right, position yourself in a spot where it is. Stay on your toes, and keep your calm. Like a Psychic Pokemon should be, Mewtwo is all about the mind."

Mewsquared had his own advice to share. "My advice to anyone looking to play Mewtwo is completely 100% forget about his weight. I believe his light weight is the biggest thing that distracts people from Mewtwo's many strengths, and creates the illusion that he is a bad low tier character. I have always said this to those people since the very beginning, his light weight only matters if you get hit. Why are you always getting hit? Focus on his strengths, develop your spacing and combo game, and you will begin to understand how good Mewtwo really is."

---​

A special thanks to RayNoire, Speedshocker, and Mewsquared for their help with this article. With so much valuable Mewtwo information not everything was able to fit within a single article. To learn more about Mewto and see the full interviews with these three players be sure to check out the Mewtwo forums here on Smashboards by following this link.

Agree or disagree with these Mewtwo experts? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned to Smashboards for future expert analysis on characters from all Smash titles!

 

Yaaaasss! :3

 

I disagree with him doing well against Rosalina (I main both characters myself so I'm not biased either), but I agree with everything else.

 

Good tips. Mewtwo is hella fun. People were SOO excited for him, but then saw his weight problem and dropped him. Stick with him, he is a good time.

 

Awesome! I didn't think it would be done so fast!

 

Well.... didn't the Mewtwo boards agree that Mewtwo didn't have real serious hitboxes problems already?
Other than that, those were good interviews.... and I liked that MewSquared didn't bring the character way down like everybody else does!

 

This is probably my favourite kind of thing to do with Mewtwo though.

Gotta got them style points.

 

Great article, Mewtwo really needed some clearing up!
Who're you gonna do next?

 

This is probably my favourite kind of thing to do with Mewtwo though.

Gotta got them style points.

#FreeMac

 

It's here! Mewtwo's finally on the front page. Great article, Capps! I hope a lot of people see this and give it some thought. The only thing I disagree with is RayNoire's statement of Mewtwo being bottom 5, but that's about it. Everything else is awesome! In all honesty, I think the Japanese tier lists, which I believe tend to place Mewtwo at mid-tier, are more accurate than the Western tier lists, but mid-tier might be just a little too high. Somewhere in between would probably be best, in my opinion. Anyways, I'm starting to ramble. Once again, great job on the article, Capps! It was a nice read.

 

Nice! Didn't think it would be done already. Good choice of players and great article!

 

Yo is this going to be a series of expert opinions on low-tiers? If it is, keep going! I'm going to love these opinions.

 

Great article, Mewtwo really needed some clearing up!
Who're you gonna do next?

I'm considering Lucina so people can really know if she's worth using over the Marth

Yo is this going to be a series of expert opinions on low-tiers? If it is, keep going! I'm going to love these opinions.

I hope to start with lower tiers or simply characters people know but I wont shy away from the best characters either. People could use insights into how to fight them as well

 

Yo is this going to be a series of expert opinions on low-tiers? If it is, keep going! I'm going to love these opinions.

Hope he does Sheik next.

 

I'm considering Lucina so people can really know if she's worth using over the Marth



I hope to start with lower tiers or simply characters people know but I wont shy away from the best characters either. People could use insights into how to fight them as well

I'd like to see you tackle someday. He's nowhere near as bad as people say he is, and he's got a lot of good stuff going for him. Keitaro even won a tournament only using Falco a couple weeks ago.

 

A10theHero

U mad bruh

 

Jigglypuff next?

 

Jigglypuff next?

But that implies Jigglypuff has more than one player.

 

Mewtwo has the technique to win, despite its disadvantages.

 

But that implies Jigglypuff has more than one player.

I hope you realize Jigglypuff has better results than Mewtwo. And that's not just because Mewtwo was released later. Hell, look at the rankings.

 

A10theHero

U mad bruh

U sad bruh

 

I'm considering Lucina so people can really know if she's worth using over the Marth



I hope to start with lower tiers or simply characters people know but I wont shy away from the best characters either. People could use insights into how to fight them as well

I would love to see Shulk, I'm the only person in my state who plays him.

 

Would love to see Villager, but excited for Lucina if you decide to go for it XD

This was certainly a fun read.

 

Calling him floaty is a bit misleading, he's only barely floaty at worst as his fall speed is actually pretty average.

 

Why is he calling jab resets locks

 

Calling him floaty is a bit misleading, he's only barely floaty at worst as his fall speed is actually pretty average.

Even though he's not floaty in terms of stats, he does feel floaty. Especially due to how high his second jump is.

 

Calling him floaty is a bit misleading, he's only barely floaty at worst as his fall speed is actually pretty average.

His air speed is really exceptional, however. Especially with Confusion.

 

Another thing I feel got a bit glossed over is his offstage game.

 

 

I disagree with him doing well against Rosalina (I main both characters myself so I'm not biased either), but I agree with everything else.

This. I main both Rosalina and Mewtwo as well and I always have a hard time defeating Rosalina if I'm using Mewtwo, but maybe that's because I rely way too much on Shadow Ball, something Rosalina is pretty much immune against with that unpunishable Gravitational Pull of hers.

Great article nonetheless. I am of those who think that Mewtwo is mid-tier at the least. He's seriously not that bad. Besides, he's just so fun to use! It's really satisfying to kill people with Up Throw and Back Throw, and stunning them with Disable.

 

This. I main both Rosalina and Mewtwo as well and I always have a hard time defeating Rosalina if I'm using Mewtwo, but maybe that's because I rely way too much on Shadow Ball, something Rosalina is pretty much immune against with that unpunishable Gravitational Pull of hers.

Great article nonetheless. I am of those who think that Mewtwo is mid-tier at the least. He's seriously not that bad. Besides, he's just so fun to use! It's really satisfying to kill people with Up Throw and Back Throw, and stunning them with Disable.

GP is punishable at mid range due to Shadow Ball's low endlag, though only the smaller ones.

It's more of an even matchup, coming down to who spaces better. Rosa has an edge in that regard with Luma, but Mewtwo doesn't have too many problems ridding her of it if he plays smart, and his main kill moves (uthrow, usmash, dsmash) are VERY effective on her due to her floatiness. In fact she might even die sooner of the top than he does normally.

 

Great article and the three professionals offered some very good insight. Mewtwo isn't as bad as people say. He has some very powerful options, just they aren't spoon fed to you like some other characters. You need to use your mind when you play as him, just like a psychic type, and you'll get surprisingly more success than you thought was capable with Mewtwo. He's definitely not as bad a people say, but mid tier is really pushing it. I'm in the middle of the western and Japanese opinions.

 

Samus!

 

This inspired me to pick up Mewtwo again!

 

GP is punishable at mid range due to Shadow Ball's low endlag, though only the smaller ones.

It's more of an even matchup, coming down to who spaces better. Rosa has an edge in that regard with Luma, but Mewtwo doesn't have too many problems ridding her of it if he plays smart, and his main kill moves (uthrow, usmash, dsmash) are VERY effective on her due to her floatiness. In fact she might even die sooner of the top than he does normally.

Nobody has problems getting rid of Luma by principle. Nobody is especially good at getting rid of him. It takes one Smash or two aerials to start launching Luma, roughly. You can't be especially good at swatting Luma when doing it is that simple.

How easy Luma is to KO is ENTIRELY down to the Rosalina player's own proficiency. A Rosalina player who can both protect Luma and move him around as if he was a normal character, will give Mewtwo, and a lot of characters, pure hell.

That's why "MY CHARACTER CAN KO LUMA WELL" should flat out be disregarded in any Rosalina discussion. Luma is inherently easy to get rid of. No characters are special in that regard.

I would say Rosalina wins the MU pretty easily because she has much better hitboxes even without Luma, better frame data (especially with Lunar Landing), can either GP Shadow Ball or have Luma take it like a champ (also Luma's rapid jab flat out cancels most charges of it).

There's more I could go over but above all, Mewtwo is incredibly light, is very large with a huge hitbox, and is incredibly floaty. Meaning he suffers against Rosalina's amazing juggle game and U-air KOs more than any other character in the game. On stages like Battlefield and Smashville, Rosalina has incredibly easy (i.e 3 or 4 hits) 0-KO true combos on Mewtwo because of this. And even on FD, I still often KO Mewtwos as early as 20% without rage with Rosalina's U-air.

 

Mewtwo also works great as a secondary, particularly if your primary has woes with zoning... like Luigi.

ChikoLad you're doing what literally everyone who doesn't play Mewtwo does when they analyze matchups with him, which is only paying attention to how easily he can die. If you'd actually read the article you'd know that Mewtwo's struggles lie with characters who can rush him down and constantly pressure him, and Rosalina is not one of them. All I can say is that if they Mewtwos you've played keep dying to your uairs at 20% on FD, they most likely were not very good Mewtwos, since his airdodge makes hitting him with aerials that aren't frame tight rather tricky, on top of all the movement options he can use to evade her.

 

Mewtwo also works great as a secondary, particularly if your primary has woes with zoning... like Luigi.

ChikoLad you're doing what literally everyone who doesn't play Mewtwo does when they analyze matchups with him, which is only paying attention to how easily he can die. If you'd actually read the article you'd know that Mewtwo's struggles lie with characters who can rush him down and constantly pressure him, and Rosalina is not one of them. All I can say is that if they Mewtwos you've played keep dying to your uairs at 20% on FD, they most likely were not very good Mewtwos, since his airdodge makes hitting him with aerials that aren't frame tight rather tricky, on top of all the movement options he can use to evade her.

Rosalina is perfectly capable of rushing down and pressuring, and don't know where you got that idea from. This is a character that can literally follow up certain moves with another on the very next frame, using Lunar Landing. Not to mention all of the other shenanigans that come from being able to be in two places at once, as well as all of her Luma de-sync tech.

And no, don't use the "they must be bad Mewtwo's" excuse. Mewtwo's air dodge is easy to bait since he's floaty.

It's one thing if Mewtwo can be KO'd early, that's something he suffers from across the board. 20% from the top though, is just obnoxiously bad, especially when it's so easy to do.

 

I'm enjoying these 'expert opinions on controversial/popular topics' articles. It's always a pleasure to hear what knowledgeable players have to say on various aspects of Smash. I'd love to see it continued!

 

I disagree with him doing well against Rosalina (I main both characters myself so I'm not biased either), but I agree with everything else.

Obviously in your case, but compare to the likes of Shiek and ZZS, he has it a little more easier with her than most of the high tier aside from Luigi.

 

Nobody has problems getting rid of Luma by principle. Nobody is especially good at getting rid of him. It takes one Smash or two aerials to start launching Luma, roughly. You can't be especially good at swatting Luma when doing it is that simple.

How easy Luma is to KO is ENTIRELY down to the Rosalina player's own proficiency. A Rosalina player who can both protect Luma and move him around as if he was a normal character, will give Mewtwo, and a lot of characters, pure hell.

That's why "MY CHARACTER CAN KO LUMA WELL" should flat out be disregarded in any Rosalina discussion. Luma is inherently easy to get rid of. No characters are special in that regard.

The difference is that Mewtwo doesn't have to do anything different from his bread-and-butter gameplan to get rid of Luma. Dtilt, Fair, Dash Attack, and Dsmash all tumble Luma and those moves make up a large portion of Mewtwo's neutral to begin with. You don't have to throw out an unsafe option and eat the punish like a lot of characters do.

I think it's pretty easily Mewtwo's best MU in the top-tier, but that's not to say he actually wins. It's more like evenish. We take what we can get.

I understand why Mew^2 thinks it's Luigi, but I've got some experience on both sides (I use Luigi in doubles with my brother who's a Mario main) and it's unfortunately pretty easy for Luigi, even post-patch. Mewtwo gets eaten alive by Nado air chases and Jabs-SJP is super free on him. Getting in isn't the worst either because Mewtwo has to respect Bair and Fireball.