The neutral: metal blade or lemons, which do you use more?

[p1ay6ack]

metal blade in neutral: encourages an aggressive playstyle
lemons in neutral: encourages a defensive playstyle

I think a good way for the megaman meta to improve is being aware that one projectile will favor an agressive playstyle wheras another projectile will favor a defensive playstyle. Knowing this will give you the advantage of a MU, some MUs prefer an agressive playstyle, some prefer a defensive playstyle

an example: captain falcon makes us play defensivly and choosing key moments when to go in
another example: pikachu makes us play an offensive/ defensive plastyle, its good to mix it up here and there, and i think metal blade works better than lemons here because of the metal blade hitstun > lemon hitstun

ultimately, I think somoene knowing how to combine both a defensive and an agressive playstyle in megaman would be godly and being aware of situations in certain MUs

 

[CopShowGuy]

PEW PEW PEW!

That's Mega Man's bread and butter. His mobile bread and butter.

 

[ixos]

I can say for sure that I use lemons a LOT more than metal blades in the neutral. This isn't to say that I don't use metal blades at all, though. I usually will at least have a metal blade in my hand, whether it be for throwing or for Z-dropping. I'll usually use the lemons to get a bunch of quick damage off, while holding on to that metal blade just for safe keeping.

 

[DRU192]

I play an aggressive MM so metal blade mix ups FTW!!

 

[Poopybutthole]

Pellets. Metal Blade is really good but if the enemy is approaching they can just catch it with a dash attack or an approaching aerial and it can be used versus us. I suppose it really depends on the enemy's play-style because a rush down constantly approaching Falcon or Fox will definitely punish Metal Blade if you use it to much so you NEED pellets to wall them out.

 

[p1ay6ack]

Pellets. Metal Blade is really good but if the enemy is approaching they can just catch it with a dash attack or an approaching aerial and it can be used versus us. I suppose it really depends on the enemy's play-style because a rush down constantly approaching Falcon or Fox will definitely punish Metal Blade if you use it to much so you NEED pellets to wall them out.

interesting you say that about dash attack. the thing I notice with the pika matchup is that they dont dash attack, i saw one of nakat's guides on pika and he said that pika's dash attack should only be used for punishes and never in neutral, and well, most top pikas hardly ever use dash attack in neutral, so i think this is why metal blade works better than lemons in this MU

 

[Poopybutthole]

interesting you say that about dash attack. the thing I notice with the pika matchup is that they dont dash attack, i saw one of nakat's guides on pika and he said that pika's dash attack should only be used for punishes and never in neutral, and well, most top pikas hardly ever use dash attack in neutral, so i think this is why metal blade works better than lemons in this MU

In the Pikachu match-up they may not use dash attack as much because as you said it should only be used for punishes, that move is really punishable. On the other hand characters like Pit and Fox have really good dash attacks and characters of Fox speed or similar can catch the Metal Blade whilst not really being punished for dash attaking cause of the Metal Blade end-lag. I suppose it heavily depends on how well you space the Metal Blade though, of course any Mega Man would get punished if they use it when the enemy is pretty close to them but for fast characters that spacing is more strict it seems like. Even watching Scatt versus his sets with Fatality he doesn't use Metal Blade much in neutral and really relies on those pellets to wall out Fatality.

Speaking from personal experience I do feel like I get punished a lot too when I throw out Metal Blades versus characters like Falcon or sometimes even Game & Watch who has a pretty decent dash attack. Of course my spacing is pretty bad though and it's something I've been working on a lot in my Mega Man game-play. I do feel like watching Scatt though made me realize that using Metal Blade in the neutral isn't always the best option and then for me, using Metal Blade too much can often get you punished and the enemy a free dash attack and Metal Blade to use versus you.

 

[p1ay6ack]

In the Pikachu match-up they may not use dash attack as much because as you said it should only be used for punishes, that move is really punishable. On the other hand characters like Pit and Fox have really good dash attacks and characters of Fox speed or similar can catch the Metal Blade whilst not really being punished for dash attaking cause of the Metal Blade end-lag. I suppose it heavily depends on how well you space the Metal Blade though, of course any Mega Man would get punished if they use it when the enemy is pretty close to them but for fast characters that spacing is more strict it seems like. Even watching Scatt versus his sets with Fatality he doesn't use Metal Blade much in neutral and really relies on those pellets to wall out Fatality.

Speaking from personal experience I do feel like I get punished a lot too when I throw out Metal Blades versus characters like Falcon or sometimes even Game & Watch who has a pretty decent dash attack. Of course my spacing is pretty bad though and it's something I've been working on a lot in my Mega Man game-play. I do feel like watching Scatt though made me realize that using Metal Blade in the neutral isn't always the best option and then for me, using Metal Blade too much can often get you punished and the enemy a free dash attack and Metal Blade to use versus you.

i agree with all you said. scatt pretty much showed us how using lemons is better than using metal blade in the falcon MU. if you know zucco, he streams here http://www.twitch.tv/vitaminzk he uses more metal blade than pellets and its amazing seeing how he gets his metal blade conversions and how he goes in with his MUs. I have learned from his metal blade play how being on the agressive side works a lot better than using lemons in some MUs. i think just being aware of when using metal blade and when using lemons will make megaman go far in the meta. don't ask me about shiek tho. that MU is super hard in top level play

 

[Poopybutthole]

i agree with all you said. scatt pretty much showed us how using lemons is better than using metal blade in the falcon MU. if you know zucco, he streams here http://www.twitch.tv/vitaminzk he uses more metal blade than pellets and its amazing seeing how he gets his metal blade conversions and how he goes in with his MUs. I have learned from his metal blade play how being on the agressive side works a lot better than using lemons in some MUs. i think just being aware of when using metal blade and when using lemons will make megaman go far in the meta. don't ask me about shiek tho. that MU is super hard in top level play

I used to be super reliant on Metal Blades as well until I started watching Scatt. I actually used to watch VitaminZK a lot but recently I haven't because just been busy with other stuff and moderating another stream. I know that Zucco has always had a more aggressive play-style with Mega Man and he himself stated before that he's not a big fan of the pellets play-style, I need to watch some Zucco again and see how hes play since he was my original motivation when starting off with the character. I definitely agree though that learning how to use not only even his Metal Blade play and pellets but all of his tools will greatly advance Mega Man in the meta. I read some tweets that Scatt made about how he doesn't even consider his Mega Man play top level because he still has so much to explore for the character, gave me a lot of motivation to continue driving the character forward. Also Sheik match-up is just like... lol impossible. I recently found out she can duck under like everything we have (other than item thrown Metal Blade I believe), as if the match-up wasn't hard enough already. =(

 

[Red Shirt KRT]

I think of these in a different way than you. I don't see them as being offensive or defensive.

I think both can be used offensively or defensively depending on the situation.

Ex. if opponents are close to you z dropped mb can be a defense move to get them off you.

I think I usually use them depending on how close the opponent is and where they are in relation to me. If they are below me I use mb. If the are coming in close I usually use pellets.

I think a lot of this is situational.

 

[ChopperDave]

I tend to alternate between lemons and leaf shield in neutral.

Metal Blade is just too risky, particularly against characters with good dash attacks and/or air games. A metal blade can be caught or swatted out of the air fairly easily; a barrage of lemons or a thrown leaf shield can't.

I generally use metal blade as a mixup, and only when I have enough distance that I can't easily get dash attacked. I also tend to generate an item metal blade when in advantage, but that's another discussion.

 

[Poopybutthole]

I tend to alternate between lemons and leaf shield in neutral.

Metal Blade is just too risky, particularly against characters with good dash attacks and/or air games. A metal blade can be caught or swatted out of the air fairly easily; a barrage of lemons or a thrown leaf shield can't.

I generally use metal blade as a mixup, and only when I have enough distance that I can't easily get dash attacked. I also tend to generate an item metal blade when in advantage, but that's another discussion.

That's basically my opinion of it. Watching Scatt as well I've really adapted the Leaf Shield a lot more into my game-play both using it as a way to keep enemy off of me / get a grab or just throwing it because people really rarely expect it and it's like a free 7% I believe when thrown.

I think of these in a different way than you. I don't see them as being offensive or defensive.

I think both can be used offensively or defensively depending on the situation.

Ex. if opponents are close to you z dropped mb can be a defense move to get them off you.

I think I usually use them depending on how close the opponent is and where they are in relation to me. If they are below me I use mb. If the are coming in close I usually use pellets.

I think a lot of this is situational.

In terms of the Metal Blade I really agree with you there, I've been mixing up z-drop Metal Blade a lot more in my game-play aside from just using it off-stage to cover the enemy's options off-stage and it's really good. Also have been using a lot more Up Thrown / Down Thrown Metal Blades. I've been using the DITCIT Metal Blade ( I think that's what it's called? The Boost Blade one?) to give me more spacing for the enemy from the enemy.

Both pellets and Metal Blade can be used offensively though but as you said it's situational. The only situations I can really imagine Metal Blade being used offensively is whilst approaching for it to get a free grab / Up Tilt / Dash Attack but even than it doesn't always work out. Pellets can be risky too but overall are more safe, I really need to work on my forward tilt -> short hop -> Neutral Air.

 

[Mega-Spider]

I prefer to use lemons to help me in the neutral, since I've had times where I tried to use a Metal Blade, only for it to get caught and screw me over. I do use the Metal Blade when I'm confident I have the match, otherwise, I just stick to good ol' lemons.

 

[Greward]

i feel like i use metal blade too much. i get punished for using it a lot. gotta improve that.

 

[Megamang]

Think of it like the megaman games! You have a ****ton of moves, and you gotta find out what is super effective. Not only in different MUs, but vs different people.

 

[ForteX]

I use the metal blade a lot, and I've noticed that sometimes it gets me in trouble. It doesn't come out anywhere near as fast as lemons, and as a result people figure out that they can challenge it and come out on top. Right now, using it when lemons would be a better option is my worst habit. Guess all there is to do is overcome that habit and identify another bad one.

I don't really agree with the sentiment that either move favors offense over defense, though. Both are versatile tools that have applications for offense and defense.

 

[Tino]

I find myself relying heavily on Metal Blades to slow my opponent down and then go for a grab or a dash attack but it doesn't always work most of the time as I sometimes ended up getting punished for it. Haven't been shooting pellets that much until just recently, which is something I gotta improve on.

P.S. I may be a Mega Man main here but I gotta be honest: referring his pellets as "lemons" annoys the **** out of me it literally makes my head hurt. :/

 

[CopShowGuy]

P.S. I may be a Mega Man main here but I gotta be honest: referring his pellets as "lemons" annoys the **** out of me it literally makes my head hurt. :/

http://i.imgur.com/GanoWEl.jpg

 

[ForteX]

P.S. I may be a Mega Man main here but I gotta be honest: referring his pellets as "lemons" annoys the **** out of me it literally makes my head hurt. :/

Rock's original duty as a housekeeping robot mainly focused on making lemonade for Dr. Light. Upon Rock's request to become a battle robot, as a true man of science, Light simply built upon his original lemonade dispenser design and changed it to the buster gun, intended to fire whole lemons with enough force to pierce utility grade steel sheets. Later, Light improved the design even further, introducing electrical energy to convert raw lemons into plasma - we know this as the charge shot.

Dr. Light went on to win a Nobel prize in crayon physics when he partnered with Crayola to produce the tint of yellow known as "Laser Lemon", joking on the inability of the general public to discern between MegaMan's lemons and an actual laser weapon.

It's all true so don't fact check me on this. Next time we'll go over why people sometimes call Metal Blade "the saw".

 

[Diamond Octobot]

...Well, the Metal Blade kinda looks like that guy tbh : http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net...OS-JP-C.png/revision/latest?cb=20150213113951

And the Buster shots aren't even Lemons or Pellets, they are Plasma. Like, pure Compressed Solar Energy. How Mets and Mario manage to withstand it is Smash magic, I guess.