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The Ultimate Ike Matchup Guide [Min Min's Matchup Added]

Qualk

Smash Cadet
Writing Team
Joined
Feb 1, 2019
Messages
73
Ike Matchup Guide
Hi all. I didn’t see a comprehensive matchup guide for Ike anywhere so I decided to make my own. First, a quick note about me: I've been playing Smash since 64 and competitively since Brawl. Recently I peaked at 7.5 Million GSP with Ike in Elite Smash (54% win rate in 800+ matches).

This is 21 pages long and over 15,000 words so it’s obviously not meant to be read like a book (use Ctrl+F to find who you want to know about). You should use this guide more as a reference if you’re having problems with a certain matchup or just want to watch Ike against a certain character without scouring through YouTube. I just want this guide to be the best it can be so any criticism or discussion is certainly welcome. I posted a link to a VOD of the matchup and I tried to find the most skilled players I could but obviously some videos will be higher quality than others. All characters now have a VOD but if anyone finds a matchup video with highly skilled players that I don't have in the guide already feel free to post it in a reply and I'll add it. Now, some definitions for those of you who may not know.

Neutral – The state of the match where neither fighter is off stage in the ‘recovering’ mode.
Recovering – When Ike is knocked off-stage and attempting to recover back on stage.
Edge-Guarding – When Ike’s opponent is knocked off stage and Ike is attempting to stop them from grabbing the ledge.
Edge-Trapping – When Ike’s opponent has grabbed the ledge and is attempting to get up.

If you'd like to watch a video on how to play Ike in general, these are the best Ike tutorials I've found. Other content creators might be better known but Jtails and Izaw I've found are the best teachers because they scaffold your learning (learn this easy step, then learn this harder step using what you just learned, etc). And they give you specific drills to practice to actually get better instead of just mindlessly listing combos you can do with Ike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7S-8R_MivU - JTails (some info may be out-dated as of patch 8.0)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_p-aiD1gTw - Izaw (some info may be out-dated as of patch 8.0)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttO2pO1GtIg - NEW Video (as of patch 8.0) with tips for Ike improvement

8.0 Update Changes
-Min Min Added
-Ike's Dash attack - extended launch distance
-Ike's Down tilt - shortened launch distance
-Ike's Neutral air - extended launch distance and reduced the low damage range
-Ike's Forward air - reduced vulnerability, maintained launch distance and increased power
-Ike's Up-Special - made it so the first attack upward does not get neutralized, extended launch distance of the final attack, adjusted launch angle of final attack


7.0 Update Changes
-Byleth Added
-Ike received no buffs or nerfs

6.0 Update Changes
-Terry Added
-Ike received no buffs or nerfs

5.0 Update Changes:
-Banjo-Kazooie Added
-Ike received no buffs or nerfs

4.0 Update Changes:
-Hero Added
-Ike received no buffs or nerfs

3.0 Update Changes:
-Joker Added
-Stage Builder Added
-Ike received no direct buffs or nerfs
-Projectiles nerfed against shields across the board (indirect Ike buff)
-Parrying projectiles buffed (less lag, indirect Ike buff)

2/2/19
-Milestone: Published Guide!

2/3/19
-Added a matchup VOD for Palutena and Pokémon Trainer

2/4/19
-Changed Mario's ratio (from 25/75 Mario's favor to 40/60 Mario's favor)
-Added a tip on stage choice in the Ness matchup (credit: MG_3989)
-Changed Villager's ratio (from 20/80 Villager's favor to 35/65 Villager's favor)
-Changed Mega Man's ratio (from 30/70 MM's favor to 40/60 MM's favor)
-Milestone: Added the little faces!

2/7/19
-Added a Robin matchup VOD
-Added a tip about Greninja edge-guarding you
-Changed Greninja's ratio (from 60/40 Ike's favor to 55/45 Ike's favor)
-Changed Mii Brawler's ratio (from 75/25 Ike's favor to 65/35 Ike's favor)

2/8/19
-Changed Villager's ratio (from 35/65 Villager's favor to 45/55 Villager's favor)
-Made minor changes to Villager's writeup
-Made minor changes to Mario's writeup
-Made minor changes to Squirtle's writeup

2/10/19
-Changed Donkey Kong's ratio (from 60/40 Ike to 55/45 Ike)
-Made minor changes to Donkey Kong's writeup
-Added a tip to the Donkey Kong writeup (Credit: WeretigerX)
-Added a Mario matchup VOD
-Made minor changes to Mario's writeup
-Changed Robin's ratio (from 55/45 Ike's favor to 45/55 Robin's favor)
-Added a ledge-trapping tip to the Robin writeup
-Added an edge-guarding tip to the Wolf writeup
-Added a recovery tip to the Dr. Mario writeup

2/12/19
-Added a Game & Watch matchup VOD
-Milestone: All characters now have a matchup VOD!

2/13/19
-Milestone: Added the Stage selection guide!

2/14/19
-Added a Lucina matchup VOD
-Added a tip to the Game & Watch writeup
-Milestone: 1,000 Views!

2/15/19
-Changed Rosalina & Luma's ratio (from 70/30 Ike's favor to 60/40 Ike's favor)
-Added notes about Rosalina & Luma's buffs from patch 2.0
-Added a Wolf matchup VOD

2/16/19
-Split up Roy and Chrom into two separate writeups
-Added Chrom's ratio (45/55 Chrom's favor (Roy's remains unchanged at 40/60 Roy's favor))
-Added Chrom writeup
-Added a Chrom matchup VOD

2/19/19
-Added a Game & Watch matchup VOD
-Added a tip to the Game & Watch writeup

2/20/19
-Added a Roy matchup VOD

2/21/19
-Removed part about chain-grabbing Shulk while he's in Shield art (this is not possible after testing)
-Added VOD's for Yoshi, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Peach, Sheik, Zelda, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Falco, Young Link, Ganondorf, Meta Knight, Dark Pit, Wario, Snake, Diddy, Lucas, Sonic, DDD, Olimar, Lucario, R.O.B, Toon Link, Mega Man, Wii Fit Trainer, Greninja, Pac-Man, Shulk, Bowser Jr, Duck Hunt, Ryu, Cloud, Bayonetta, Inkling, Ridley, Simon, King K Rool, Isabelle, Incineroar, and Piranha Plant
-Made moderate changes to Wii Fit Trainer's writeup
-Added a tip to the King K Rool writeup

2/22/19
-Compiled win/loss records of Ike on competitive stages and added it to the stage select guide

2/26/19
-Added VOD's for Dark Samus, Donkey Kong, and Mario

2/27/19
-Added a tip to the Inkling writeup

2/28/19
-Added a tip to the Peach/Daisy writeup

3/3/19
-Added a tip to the Luigi writeup
-Added a general Ike guide from Izaw

3/6/19
-Added VODs for Link, Captain Falcon, Kirby, Bowser, Mewtwo, Chrom, ZSS, Rosalina, Little Mac, all Mii fighters, and Robin

3/9/19
-Added a tip to the Link writeup

3/15/19
-Milestone: 2,000 Views!

4/9/19
-Added a tip to the Incineroar writeup

4/11/19
-Added VODs for Fox, Jigglypuff, Ice Climbers and Corrin
-Milestone: 3,000 Views!

4/18/19
-Added notes on 3.0 changes

4/27/19
-Added VOD for Joker

5/5/19
-Added Joker's ratio and matchup guide

5/12/19
-Milestone: 4,000 views!

5/27/19
-Added VOD for Villager

5/30/19
-Changed Piranha Plant's ratio (from 40/60 PP's favor to 50/50)
-Made some changes to Piranha Plant's writeup - Credit: $.A.F.

6/10/19
-Milestone: 5,000 views!

6/16/19
-Changed Pichu's ratio (from 30/70 Pichu's favor to 40/60 Pichu's favor)
-Changed Pikachu's ratio (from 40/60 Pikachu's favor to 45/55 Pikachu's favor)

6/26/19
-Added Recommended Stages for each Matchup (Spoiler Alert: BF and PS2 for almost everyone xD)
-Changed Fox's ratio from 55/45 Ike's favor to 40/60 Fox's favor
-Changed Palutena's ratio from 55/45 Ike's favor to 45/55 Palutena's favor
-Changed Mario's ratio from 40/60 Mario's favor to 50/50
-Changed Link's ratio from 40/60 Link's favor to 45/55 Link's favor
-Changed Jigglypuff's ratio from 55/45 Ike's favor to 60/40 Ike's favor
-Changed Sheik's ratio from 65/35 Ike's favor to 60/40 Ike's favor
-Changed Ganondorf's ratio from 45/55 Ganondorf's favor to 55/45 Ike's favor
-Changed Zero Suit Samus's ratio from 35/65 ZSS's favor to 45/55 ZSS's favor
-Changed Inkling's ratio from 55/45 Ike's favor to 45/55 Inkling's favor

7/11/19
-Milestone: 6,000 views!

8/3/19
-Added VOD for Hero

8/6/19
-Added matchup guide for Hero

8/10/19
-Milestone: 7,000 views!

9/6/19
-Milestone: 8,000 views!

9/13/19
-Added matchup guide for Banjo-Kazooie

9/30/19
-Milestone: It's OVER 9,000 VIEWS!!!

10/30/19
-Milestone: 10,000 Views!!!

11/23/19
-Added matchup guide for Terry

4/10/20
-Added matchup guide for Byleth

7/2/20
-Added matchup guide for Min Min
Stage Selection Guide:
Ike is generally better against most of the cast on stages like Battlefield. Any stage that is small and has platforms should be your go-to. A small stage will make playing against characters with projectiles much easier because they'll have less room to shoot you while remaining on stage. Furthermore, stages with platforms are also great for Ike because you can extend your Nair combos up onto the platforms and put more damage into people if they get hit by your first Nair. Furthermore, you'll have more options to switch up your recovery with Quick Draw because you can elect to land on one of the platforms, the main stage, snap to the ledge, or go for a hit on your opponent.

Competitive Stage Select Rules:
In case you're not familiar, these are the normally agreed upon rules for competitive Smash Ultimate stage selection (taken from the Genesis 6 ruleset).

Starter Stages:
  • Battlefield
  • Final Destination
  • Lylat Cruise
  • Pokémon Stadium 2
  • Smashville
Counterpick Stages:
  • Castle Siege
  • Kalos Pokémon League
  • Town & City
  • Unova Pokémon League
  • Yoshi’s Island (Brawl)
  • Yoshi’s Story

-Players play a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who strikes (bans) stages first.

-Stages are banned in a P1-P2-P2-P1 format to determine the starting stage for the first game. If Battlefield or Final Destination, a mutually-agreed upon variant can be used, though if players do not agree the default is played.

-After each game of the set, before counterpicking, the player who won the previous game may ban two stages from the full stage list. These bans do not persist throughout the set. The loser of the previous game then chooses from the remaining stages, barring any that that player has won on previously in that set. If Final Destination or Battlefield is chosen as a counterpick, a variant may be chosen by the loser of the previous game.

Starter Stages:
Battlefield or Lylat Cruise are both good choices to start off a set.

Counterpicks:
Castle Siege, Unova Pokémon League, Yoshi's Story, and Yoshi's Island (Brawl) should be your go-to counterpick stages.

Ban:
Final Destination, and Kalos Pokémon League should be banned whenever possible.

Neutral:
Pokémon Stadium 2, Smashville, and Town & City are all decent stages for Ike and don't necessarily warrant a ban.

Win Rates:
The following are Ike's win rates on specific stages (taken from the below VODs). If a stage is not listed, there were less than 10 matches played on that stage so therefore I'm waiting on a larger sample size.

Battlefield - 60% win rate (26-17)
Final Destination - 50% win rate (19-19)
Pokémon Stadium 2 - 65% win rate (58-31)
Smashville - 48% win rate (19-20)
Kalos Pokémon League - 60% win rate (9-6)
Town & City - 42% win rate (13-18)
Unova Pokémon League - 70% win rate (7-3)

Matchups:

:ultmario: Mario – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdHoZ7tLgUM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrEC59-gDUY | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnv4tTP13a8
Mario is pretty good against Ike, but if you have good spacing you can take him down. Make good use of the range advantage on your aerials to keep him from getting in too close to you. Watch out for his combos, since you’re heavy he can juggle you with up tilts and up airs at low percents, and if he gets a hold of you his aerials come out so fast you’ll have a very hard time getting away before you're up to 60% or so. Secondly, Mario is one of the best characters to edge-guard Ike. Fireballs can mess you up and cause you to SD, and if he has FLUDD charged it can ruin either of your recovery abilities. So when you find yourself off-stage, air-dodging to the ledge is your best bet. If you know you’ll have to deal with FLUDD do everything you can do sweet spot to the ledge with Aether so it’s harder for him to knock you away with the water. If you can get him off stage mix up your edge-guarding as much as you can, drop off Fair can work but watch out for his cape, drop off counter can also work but make sure you time it right or you’ll get stage spiked. Eruption at the ledge is hard to time right but you can attempt it, and you can also try down-tilts and short hop down airs.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultdk: Donkey Kong – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDW0PjHHYQ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkTozGCRobo
DK is an okay matchup for Ike, you outrange him in the air, a lot of your combos are easy to hit and guaranteed because of his size, and his recovery is very predictable. In neutral try to stay in the air to make it hard for him to grab you, he has some nasty grab combos. Stay in his face and keep the pressure up so he doesn’t have time to charge his punch. Your Fair is more useful than your Nair in this matchup due to its range, and make sure to use F-tilt liberally as well (Credit: WeretigerX). Always be ready for his back air when he gets you in kill range, it’s his fastest kill option. When recovering, side-B or air-dodge directly to the ledge when you can. If he follows you off stage he’s either looking for a Fair spike or a back air so be ready. While edge-guarding him, drop off counter works well if he’s coming from the side (if he’s coming from below your counter might not reach him even if you time it right). If he’s coming from below down tilt can work or even a short hop down air. If you decide to channel eruption make sure you do it at the very edge of the stage, you can actually reach him with it before he can hit you with his Up-B if you time it right. If you’re edge-trapping him stand farther back than you think you need to, his getup attack has a huge range.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultlink: Link – 45/55 Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PwA1_iblcs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAyZbIPjQzs
Link has the edge here in my opinion because his projectiles make it very hard for you to approach and they’re also extremely good at edge-guarding you. Most Links won’t use the arrows that much on stage so in the neutral phase you’ll be dealing with the bombs and boomerangs primarily. As you’ll see Salem do in the video, the bomb can be manipulated with his boomerang, his own attacks, and simply throwing or dropping it, so keeping track of where the bomb is at all times is critical. Approach with caution and try to parry when you can. You can use your N-airs and F-airs to knock the boomerang out of the air. Once you get into melee range you have better range than his melee attacks so use that to your advantage to string together some aerials. If you keep the pressure up he won’t have much time to harass you with his ranged arsenal. When you’re off stage, watch out for arrows, they can easily ruin your recovery attempts. Quick draw high when you can and when you have to Aether try your best to dodge the bomb he’ll inevitably try to drop on you. Edge-guarding him is imperative, you’re much better than he is off stage when he’s on the defensive. Fall off Fairs, fall off counters, and tilting at the ledge are all good options. Don’t bother channeling eruption he’ll just hit you with a boomerang or something. Edge-trapping is also very good for you in this matchup, mix it up with aerials and tilts to keep him off-stage.
Recommended Stages: Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova, Smashville

:ultsamus: Samus + :ultdarksamus: Dark Samus – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS29bdU_T3I | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2-sIJCKsE0
On paper this looks like it’d be a tough matchup for Ike due to her projectile spam but the projectiles are pretty slow – both in time to shoot and trajectory speed, so as Ike you’re fast enough in the air to approach before she’ll be able to shoot too many missiles. Watch out for her Fair, it has great range, priority and it kills with the last hitbox. Get her above you; she doesn’t have too many good options for attacking someone below her and your Uair kills her early. While recovering side-B high to dodge the projectiles and if you must Aether sweet spot that ledge so you don’t get ruined by a stupid little non-charged energy shot. She’s pretty floaty but it is very possible to edge-guard her, try drop off Fairs or a short hop down air, don’t bother with eruption she’ll just get a free hit on you with a projectile.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Town & City

:ultyoshi: Yoshi – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-t5WnfDMUo | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-W1l74-X_Y
Yoshi is a very even matchup for Ike. He has a ton of out of shield options for when you inevitably Nair his shield. The most potent of these is his short hop Nair, it comes out super-fast, has a great hitbox, good knock back if he sweet spots it and good combo potential if he sour spots it. He is also really floaty while doing this, letting him get behind you even if you shield it so you can’t counter attack him (this is known as crossing up). When recovering watch out for his eggs, they can definitely gimp you. Yoshi I think is one of the few characters where recovering with Aether might actually be better than quick draw, if you fast fall below the stage it’s very hard for him to hit you with an egg or a Fair spike, whereas if you charge up quick draw he can easily hit you with an egg, potentially taking your stock. Don’t bother trying to edge-guard him unless he really leaves himself open, you’ll most likely just get hit with an egg and even if you do hit him you’ll probably hit his super armor (Yoshi gets super armor while doing his long double jump). Ledge-trapping, on the other hand, can be very effective against Yoshi, F-tilts and short hop Fairs can keep him on the back foot.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Yoshi's Island (Brawl)

:ultkirby: Kirby 65/35 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1x0-Ok7qjI | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJYv2kCsXUU
Kirby’s aerials are about the same speed as yours but with drastically less range. It’s very difficult for Kirby to approach Ike in neutral and not get hit by Nair. Kirby has a lot of options while edge-guarding you so be careful, you can try protecting yourself with a Fair if you have time and you’re going to want to use side-B to recover when possible. Kirby’s down-B special will go right through your Aether so watch out for that as well. Edge-guarding Kirby is very difficult because of his multiple jumps and general floatyness but you can try a jump or fall off Fair if you don’t think he’s suspecting it.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultfox: Fox 40/60 Fox’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbA1vol8VcY | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jou-7oysWA8
Fox has some great combos at low percents but you have a ton of kill options against him and a superb edge-guarding game. In neutral, make use of your massive sword to thwart his approaches, he’s extremely fast on the ground so don’t feel bad just spam those Nairs and Fairs. Hitting him with Uair can be difficult because he falls so fast so you might have better luck attempting to kill him off the side. When recovering he’ll probably either just pelt you with a few lasers or go for a drop off shine so sweet spot whichever recovery you have to use right to the ledge because a well-timed shine can definitely kill you. You have a lot of options for edge-guarding him, your down-tilt WILL hit him during his side-B recovery if you time it right, which leads into a Fair, and if he uses his Up-B you can go for a short hop Dair at the ledge or even a drop off counter.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultpikachu: Pikachu 45/55 Pikachu’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGs98-BqZU | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0gQwxdyQpU
The easier version of Pichu. The matchup plays out a lot like Pichu except Pikachu is a tad slower and easier to hit. Use your F-tilt more than you normally would in this matchup; it swings at the perfect height if Pikachu is on the ground and has more range than nearly all of Pikachu’s attacks. The little mouse has a lot of good options for edge-guarding you, he can spam lightning projectiles at you, jump off and thunder, or fall off and Fair. Don’t commit to charging a quick draw until the last possible moment so you can hopefully see what his plan is for you and dodge it. When edge-guarding him an eruption at the ledge can work but the timing needs to be perfect, it’s less risky to go for a down tilt or a fall off Fair.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultluigi: Luigi 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziq2FGzggRI | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJoaZsHEiA4
Luigi is a much easier matchup for Ike than his brother. He does have some nasty combos at low percents but your Nair and Fair provide so much safety for you due to their range advantage over Luigi’s attacks. He has some ridiculous combos at low and medium percent so do your best to DI or tech out of them when you can. When recovering you pretty much only have to worry about fireballs, he might try to spike you with a Dair but that’s pretty risky for him. Sweet spot the ledge whichever recovery you use so that a fireball doesn’t gimp you and he can’t catch you with a smash attack. Fall off Fair works exceedingly well against him if he’s recovering horizontally. If he’s coming at you from below a short hop down air or down tilt at the ledge is your best bet. Eruption can also work if he’s not expecting it but it’s a bit more dangerous.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultness: Ness 65/35 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLd4UjVw60 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igCvk8i66CU
Ness has a bit of a difficult time against Ike, his non-special moves have a limited range and he’s not that fast so as Ike you can dominate him if you don’t get hit by PK fires and combed. Jump over the PK fires and watch out for his dash attack, that’s the one attack that actually does have decent range. When recovering he can be annoying if he sends his PK Thunder after you, it can kill when you’re above 150% or so. If you’re having issues with it try air dodging in weird directions when it comes at you, you have a pretty big window to punish Ness if you can get to him while he’s channeling but be careful he doesn’t loop it back around and hit himself with it when you’re not expecting it. If he sends his PK Thunder after you while you’re recovering try fast falling and then Aether up to the ledge, quick draw will leave you open on the stage even if you dodge the PK Thunder with it. I’m a huge fan of the drop off counter against Ness if he’s forced to use PK Thunder to recover himself, just don’t screw up the timing whatever you do. Additionally, take Ness to battlefield or another similar stage if you can, this gives him less room to setup his PK fires on you (credit: MG_3989 for the stage tip).
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultfalcon: Captain Falcon – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-j_gWFvQ28 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAzS5q0VpAg&t=56s | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNuPJQx1pwE
El capitan is very good in Ultimate, but not quite up to melee level. He’s extremely fast both on the ground and in the air and because of this he has a great grab game. Try to stay airborne as much as possible to counter this, and block his approaches with Nairs and Fairs, just be careful you don’t get too predictable. While recovering side-B or air dodge to the ledge, don’t try to recover high, because of his speed a good Falcon will be able to set up a hard hitting attack to meet you where you’ll land. Be very careful edge-guarding Falcon, if he lands his Up-B on you it can easily stage-spike you for a KO. That being said, if you’re unpredictable sometimes you can catch him with a drop off Fair, or you can channel eruption for a safer possibility. Falcon has a lot of good options for getting back on stage after grabbing the ledge so just hang back the first few times he grabs the ledge to see what he does, if he gets into a habit you can exploit it.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultjigglypuff: Jigglypuff – 60/40 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcblv_cbZKw&t=21s (Jiggz match starts at 4:45) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srPr1BXISgo
Jiggz is vastly improved from her Sm4sh iteration but not quite melee level. She’s very light and dies extremely early to your up-airs, up-tilts, f-tilts, and back-airs. In neutral, spam Nairs to make it hard for her to approach and watch out that pound doesn’t destroy your shield. When she gets you off stage she’s the most dangerous because she can gimp you very easily, mix up your recoveries to keep her guessing and don’t use your double jump too soon, it’s extremely valuable in this matchup. It’s virtually impossible to edge-guard Jiggz so I usually just wait for her to come back. While edge-trapping be wary of her ledge-sing tech (Grabbing the ledge cancels the remaining pulses of her Sing up-B ability).
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Town & City, Smashville

:ultpeach: Peach + :ultdaisy: Daisy – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW6rI81bAL0 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPbSc3lUr80 (Ike match starts at 4:23)
Peach and Daisy are very good characters with many tier lists placing them high or top tier, but Ike does well in this matchup due to the range of his attacks and his kill power. Your Uair beats almost anything she can do when she’s above you so get her up there with Nair or throws and get those early kills. Off stage you’re at a massive disadvantage because she can easily gimp you with a turnip when you’re trying to recover with quick draw - so recover high. If you hit one of her turnips with your quick draw you'll swing and it'll stop your momentum, but this will allow you to act again so be ready for that. It’s almost impossible to edge-guard Peach or Daisy when they’re off stage because of their floating double-jump, so just stay on stage and play it safe. If she pulls a Mr. Saturn remember that if it hits your shield it instantly breaks it.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultbowser: Bowser – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkVzAtSv62o (Ike match starts at 11:15) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TOu3muIN4U
With Bowser being one of the heaviest characters in the game, expect to take him to 150%+ in a lot of stocks before you can actually kill him. He has an up throw Nair combo that works at low percents and does about 40% if he lands all the hits, and his Fair has a frightening amount of range and power behind it. His side-B also kills pretty early, especially if he can dunk you onto a platform with it and it’s a grab so you can’t shield it. Being a heavy character, a lot of your low percent combos work very well, Nair into grab, Nair into up-tilt, etc. Be careful going for an Up-air, his down-B and Dair attacks both have a tremendous amount of power and priority behind them, so you might be better off going for Bair or F-tilt kill confirms. While recovering mind his flame breath, it probably won’t kill you but it can rack up a ton of damage if you’re stuck off stage when you get caught in it. Use quick draw to recover high if he starts using flame breath to edge-guard you. He may also attempt a fall off Fair so be ready for that. When edge-guarding him fall off Fair, fall off counter, and Eruption at the ledge are all great options.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ulticeclimbers: Ice Climbers – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-OiAFqFTJ8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F1ADeE6AGM
The Ice Climbers can certainly be annoying for Ike but you can kill them so early because of how light they are, and most of your sword attacks swing in a wide arc so it makes it easier to hit both of them. Grabbing them is difficult because if you grab Nana instead of Popo your opponent can easily punish you. If you get them separated and can attack Nana without fear of Popo coming to her rescue go for it. If you kill her then Popo’s recovery and attack power will be severely diminished until the next stock. When recovering quick draw high to dodge their icicles and frost wind abilities, those abilities can make it very difficult to recover with Aether. Once you get them off stage you can follow them off and go for a Fair because it out-ranges their hammer-spin attack but don’t bother trying anything at the ledge, they have a super long recovery.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultsheik: Sheik – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjx-th3ya2w (Sheik match starts at 3:23) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5KkUPzcuJk
Sheik will have no problem racking up 100%+ damage on you but she doesn’t have a lot of kill options so it’s hard for her to convert that damage into actual stocks unless she gimps you or Fair spams you off stage. You kill her very early and vastly out-range her. When recovering just don’t get hit by the needles, either quick draw high or fast fall and sweet spot Aether to the ledge. She may try to use down-B to pursue you off-stage, it’s an arcing jump with a kick at the end and it is one of her few kill moves so be prepared for that. It’s tough to edge-guard her cause she’s very fast in the air and has multiple recovery options but a surprise drop off Fair can catch her out if she’s not expecting it.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultzelda: Zelda – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcvpg4qaH3k | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vjX4Dfv7OY
You out-range Zelda’s non-special attacks so approach quickly and confidently. She can do a surprising amount of damage with her new down-B (soldier spawn) and din’s fire from afar so stay on her and keep up the pressure. Nair into Uair or Bair are your best kill confirms against her and you can kill her pretty early. When recovering remember that the down-B soldier spawn attack goes VERY far in front of her if she fully channels it, also Din’s fire is controllable and it will kill you if you’re at a high percentage. So recover high with quick draw or fast fall and Aether under her soldier to the ledge. When she’s off stage it’s difficult to edge-guard her, her teleport does have a decent attack when she re-appears which can kill you. If you think she might try to kill you by teleporting onto you from off stage you can go for a counter but most Zelda's will probably just go for the ledge. Edge-trapping is very good against her, short hop Fairs and F-tilts can keep her off stage.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultdoc: Dr. Mario – 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdcGfARCtxg | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bw0lj5r-7I
Dr. Mario is a lot easier than uneducated Mario for Ike. Pill spam is annoying but you can get past it, you have much more range than he does in the air and once you get some momentum it’s hard for him to stop you. While recovering side-B high like you should against anyone with a projectile. If you have to use Aether watch out for those pills and his Dair spikes so expect that if he follows you off stage. Furthermore, Dr. Mario also has a cape which will completely reverse your momentum so be extremely careful when recovering. When edge-guarding him almost any of your bread and butter choices can work, down tilt at the ledge, channel eruption, drop off counter and drop off Fair are all good options, just be sure to mix it up. For edge-trapping, you can use your Nair, Fair, or try to catch him with an f-tilt or up smash.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultpichu: Pichu – 40/60 Pichu’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S731U-C1BM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-idPwa4woZk (Ike match starts at 7:50)
Pichu is just a really good character in general and can zero-to-death combo you if you’re not careful. The little mouse is extremely small and hard to hit but can die very early if you can manage to hit it. Don’t get frustrated if you get sucked into a nasty combo, with a few well-placed hits you can take a stock right back. When recovering Pichu can shoot the electric projectile at you or try to hit you with Thunder by waiting at the ledge or even jumping off and using it. And remember, the hitbox for Thunder extends very high above Pichu so sometimes recovering high is not the best option in this matchup. If you get Pichu off stage, you can try for an eruption, or a drop off Fair if he’s using the headbutt move to recover. This matchup more than any other is about keeping a level head and a good mentality.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultfalco: Falco – 40/60 Falco’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CIIb5Oap8U | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3itYF8J-sE
Falco is extremely mobile in the air and also has a super annoying laser to gimp you off-stage but this matchup is doable if you space your aerials well and get him above you or off-stage. You’ll have to approach to get him to stop lasering you and when he commits to fighting you with his feathers you can start using retreating short hop Fairs to keep him on his toes (talons?). Recover very high to dodge the laser spam when you can or if you can’t do that then fast fall below and sweet spot Aether to the ledge. His Dair also spikes so be aware of that. If you get him off stage your D-tilt is your go-to move here if you can time it to block his side-B recovery attempts. If he’s coming up with his Up-B you can try a short hop Dair or a drop off counter.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultmarth: Marth + :ultlucina: Lucina – 40/60 Marth/Lucina’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7KqdNkkfEk | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RHhyaNIFDE
A good ol’ Fire Emblem matchup; Marth/Lucina has the advantage in this matchup because they’re faster than Ike with very similar range and there’s a massive recovery discrepancy which I’ll go over below. Their U-tilt ruins our approach and starts some nasty combos for them, if you start to get juggled air dodge and get back to the ground ASAP. Your Nair is your best attack option for getting out of juggles and that is way too slow so just focus on getting back on solid ground instead of counter attacking. When recovering you want to be extremely careful about getting countered, always quick draw when you can and make sure to do so at different heights throughout the match so it’s tough for them to set up a counter. If you have to Aether a good Marth/Lucina will counter that every time and if you’ve used your double jump already you’re a dead man. It’s hard to do the same to them when they’re off stage because their Up-B is so much faster than Ike’s so a drop off counter is very risky. You can go for a drop off or jump off Fair if they’re coming in at the right angle but your safest edge-guarding option is gonna be staying at the ledge and going for a well-timed down tilt or short hop Dair.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultyounglink: Young Link - 40/60 Young Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTMpR7B6b4 (Young Link match starts at 3:25) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhlgK7YCBiQ
This matchup plays out very similar to Link, the difference is Young Link can shoot his arrows much faster than Link so you’ll have to deal with bombs, arrows, AND boomerangs while trying to approach. Your shield health is incredibly important in this matchup, parry his projectiles whenever you can and if you can’t then watch your shield and make sure it doesn’t get too small. You can catch his bombs but these are normal bombs that will detonate after a few seconds, not remote detonation ones like Adult Link so keep that in mind. His projectiles start all kinds of combos for him so you’ll have to carefully weave through them to get to your Nair range. When recovering always quick draw high because a well-placed arrow will easily destroy your recovery. Never Aether unless you have to, a good Young Link will simply drop a bomb on you for free damage. If you must Aether, sweet spot the ledge. Once you get him off stage you have a lot of options, fall off Fairs, drop off counters, and d-tilts at the ledge all work well but remember he can also use his grappling hook to tether to the ledge.
Recommended Stages: Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova, Smashville

:ultganondorf: Ganondorf - 55/45 Ike’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5GGANI8wb8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1V-vm2Yy2E
A very skill based matchup; both characters are actually quite similar in weight and playstyle. Ganon's up-air is very good against you, it has great range and comes out much faster than your Nair so he can ruin a lot of your approaches with it. Watch out for his Down-B, it comes out quickly and does a lot of damage if he hits it. His major weakness is his recovery, but it’s risky to contest it in the air because you might get hit by his Up-B and stage spiked just like Captain Falcon, so it’s better to simply stay on stage and wait for him with a down tilt. When recovering make sure you sweet spot the ledge every time, he’ll most likely use his up-tilt (massive dropkick that pulls you in) or a smash attack to ledge-trap you, don’t be afraid to drop off the ledge to stall and mess up his timing.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultmewtwo: Mewtwo – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZdoN4AE4Dw (Match starts at 3:50) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRRJzhrewaM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82kez9FJl4o
Mewtwo has almost as much range as you on some of his tail attacks and he’s deceptively fast in the air. He also has a great edge-guarding game against you but he has a large hitbox and a light weight class which means he’s very easy to hit and you will kill him early. Get in quick so you don’t give him time to charge his shadow ball, but watch out for his disable attack (stuns you briefly if he lands it but you have to be looking at him). Go high when recovering to dodge his shadow ball and if you can’t go high Aether right to the ledge. He’s floaty and has a great teleport recovery so edge-guarding him is very hard, d-tilt at the ledge is your safest option. Another note about this matchup, he actually goes invisible when he air-dodges which is really annoying because you can’t immediately see which direction he air-dodges in.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultroy: Roy – 40/60 Roy's favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uMsvAYh1tc | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ZxSPHlgjU | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v6wKQ0nCOs
This matchup plays out similar to Marth/Lucina. He’s much faster than you so you can wait for him to approach you with Nairs and retreating Fairs or just shield his approach and punish with a grab combo. When recovering you’re vulnerable to getting countered so quick draw at different heights throughout the match to keep him guessing and don’t use Aether to recover unless you have to, a good Roy will counter that every time and you’ll be dead. A good way to dodge this is to Aether in such a way that you'll rise too high above him for the counter to actually hit you. When he’s recovering it is possible to catch him with a drop off counter but it’s risky, a safer option is d-tilt at the ledge.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultchrom:Chrom - 45/55 Chrom's favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTv6rrxCFUM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e-LtVjBJas&t=422s
This matchup plays out similar to Marth/Lucina. He’s much faster than you so you can wait for him to approach you with Nairs and retreating Fairs or just shield his approach and punish with a grab combo. When recovering you’re vulnerable to getting countered so quick draw at different heights throughout the match to keep him guessing and don’t use Aether to recover unless you have to, a good Chrom will counter that every time and you’ll be dead. A good way to dodge this is to Aether in such a way that you'll rise too high above him for the counter to actually hit you. Chrom is much easier than Roy to deal with when you're edge-guarding him, a counter at the ledge is almost guaranteed to hit him as long as you time it right. Fall or jump off Fair is hard to hit because he flies so fast through the air but you can attempt it to keep him guessing. Another note on Chrom, they did nerf his "Chromicide" ability where if he used his Up-B on you off stage you die first. Now, Chrom will die first if he does that.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultgnw: Mr. Game and Watch – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65w9HH282Iw (G&W match starts at 8:28) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpqKN3sMGM
G&W has a lot of solid aerials in ultimate, combined with his edge-guarding and above average recovery this becomes a pretty close matchup. He’s faster than you in the air but you out-range him so use that to your advantage. Try to send him above you so you can go for an early up-air kill (but mind his Dair attack, he spawns a key and falls down quickly with it so make sure to account for that when going for your Uair). While recovering always side-B high when you can, if you’re recovering low he can just spam sausages or drop a bomb on you and screw up your Aether so be prepared for that. Another note on recovering against G&W, if you quick draw into his bomb (his Fair) you'll actually attack it which will cause it to not explode but it will also stop the momentum from your quick draw. Edge-guarding him is hard I usually just try for a down-tilt as he comes to the ledge. Edge-trapping is much easier you can try an up smash, short hop Fairs or you might even catch him with an f-tilt as he gets up.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultmetaknight: Meta Knight – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UbrIonOcw8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfx_MBPfNRQ
The terror of Brawl is back in Ultimate but not quite as dominant as he was back in 2008. Meta Knight has very quick aerials but his actual speed through the air is pretty slow and you out-range the crap out of him with your aerials. Watch out for his dash attack when he’s approaching, he’s pretty speedy on the ground and it combos into a ton of stuff. Try to stay below him if you can, his Uair juggles are nuts when combined with his multiple jumps and you don’t have anything fast enough to break that combo so just air dodge back to the stage as soon as you can. Be careful when you’re a good distance above him, his Up-B causes him to fly up in a loop and will kill you so don’t get complacent just because he’s far away from you. When recovering you should actually use Aether over quick draw, it’s much easier for him to punish your quick draw compared to Aether. When you get him off stage don’t try any edge-guarding, he has multiple jumps and multiple special moves he can use to recover, all of which will do damage to you if you attempt an edge-guard.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultpit: Pit + :ultdarkpit: Dark Pit 40/60 Pit + Dark Pit’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQSaWyHryA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdWnJnXWD9I (Pit match starts at 3:29)
Pit is incredibly annoying for Ike to deal with; a fast controllable projectile combined with comboing aerials and super quick smash attacks makes this a tough matchup for you. You have to approach quickly or risk getting poked down by arrows, just make sure you don’t run right into one of his aerials. His Fair can combo into itself as he pushes you off stage with it so try to time your air dodge to stop the bleeding and get back on stage. When recovering be sure to quick draw above him, this way a well-placed arrow won’t kill you, but instead will simply do a bit of damage. When edge-guarding you can try following him off the stage with a Fair but because of Pit’s aerial mobility and A+ recovery this won’t usually work. Edge-trapping is a much more reliable for you than edge guarding in this matchup so focus on keeping him off stage with tilts and short hop aerials rather than following him off stage.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultzss: Zero Suit Samus 45/55 ZSS’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHKEaCNg0RY | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWbfpdJYBpk
ZSS is extremely irritating for Ike. She has a small hitbox, is very fast on the ground and in the air, a projectile that stuns you, and a perfect answer to your Aether recovery. In neutral, use a healthy dose of Nairs to keep her from zipping around everywhere and watch her projectile, she can charge it and it’ll do more damage and stun longer if it’s charged but she can’t store the charge like Samus, she has to fire it right away. Don’t get flustered by her speed and just keep calm and Nair on (should get that on a t-shirt). When recovering always quick draw high both to dodge her projectile and to avoid having to use Aether. If you must Aether, make sure to get as close as possible to the ledge, she can snag you with her whip from a safe distance if you come up above the ledge even a little bit. Be careful following her off stage when you knock her off, she has a vault-type recovery similar to Sheik’s except it’ll spike you so you’re better off waiting for her on stage.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultwario: Wario – 50/50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdwGzYf0CqI | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7via1okX6S4
A good Wario can be very annoying to deal with. He’s deceptively quick in the air and his aerials come out a lot faster than yours. In neutral try to keep him at bay with a healthy dose of Nairs, if you find yourself above him, try to make it back to the stage, his up-air is extremely fast and strong. While recovering use side-B when you can, if you think he might try to throw his bike at you you can try to time Aether so the super armor protects you (but watch out, his down air beats your Aether if he times it right). Edge-guarding Wario is very difficult because he’s so nimble in the air. A drop off Fair is risky so I’ll usually just hang out on the stage and try to catch him with a down tilt or f-tilt. Edge-trapping Wario can be good for Ike here, try to time a Fair to hit him as he gets up.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultsnake: Snake – 40/60 – Snake’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sx5PZPLk3w | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbGIq35sHiA
Snake is a real pain for Ike, his grenades make spamming your Nair dangerous, he can kill you pretty early with tilts and his edge-guarding game is fantastic. In neutral pay close attention to exactly what Snake is doing at all times, especially where his grenades and C4 are. You can catch the grenades and throw them back but they’re on a fairly short timer. You’ll also take damage if you get hit by the grenade before it explodes. When you get him above you he might try to drop a C4 on you so watch for his little crouch animation and you can also listen for a click sound that he makes when he plants it. When you’re recovering quick draw very high if you can, he’ll usually send out his controllable missile which is a huge pain because if it doesn’t outright hit you, it’s an attackable projectile so you’ll swing at it with your quick draw, potentially ruining your recovery. When he’s off-stage be very aggressive jumping off after him with Dairs and Fairs, his recovery is very predictable and punishable (just remember the helicopter thing can hit you once he lets go of it).
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultike: Ike – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEqy6gBGXPw
The mirror match is such a manly clash of titans. Remember that whoever jumps first is gonna have the advantage so if your opponent jumps first it’s better to just stay on the ground and punish after blocking his aerial. When recovering quick draw high to dodge a counter. If you have to use Aether, sweet spot the ledge so that he can’t counter you; then, when he’s off-stage jump or fall off Fairs work well, in addition to counters against his recoveries if you can time it right.
Recommended Stages: Any

:ultsquirtle: Pokemon Trainer (Squirtle) – 30/70 Squirtle’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHM-D8jGpig
Squirtle is super aggravating in general, and especially to Ike. He’s like an obnoxious love child of Mario and Pichu; he has the crazy low percentage combos of Pichu plus the water shooting nightmare of Mario. Down tilts are good against him because of how small he is and he’ll usually stay on the ground when he's looking for his combo starter. Space him with Fairs and Nairs and be aggressive once you get him above you. When you’re off stage, quick draw high so that hopefully water gun doesn’t screw you up and if you have to Aether get it right to the ledge.

:ultivysaur: Pokemon Trainer (Ivysaur) – 40/60 Ivysaur’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufw5WMQzFWc
Ivysaur is a little easier than Squirtle, he’s larger and slower than his water type companion which can leave him open for your Nair combos. He does have a very good amount of range on his aerials however, and can attack you at odd angles so you should be creative and varied with your approaches. Also, watch out for his projectile, even though it looks like it might have a boomerang effect it does not come back. When recovering quick draw high due to the leaf projectile, and mind his Dair - it can spike you. Once you get him off stage don’t be aggressive with edge-guarding, he can throw his leaf at you and he has a tether recovery with a great amount of range, just wait for him to come back and ledge-trap him.

:ultcharizard: Pokemon Trainer (Charizard) – 60/40 – Ike’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPr00w7_tuU
The best pokemon for Ike, he’s much larger and easier to hit than the other two and his recoveries are exploitable. He has great range on a lot of his attacks so try to get in close and string together some aerials. Quick draw high above him when recovering otherwise you risk taking a lot of damage or even dying to his flame breath. Once you get him off stage he can either go low and recover upwards with his Up-B or use Flare Blitz (his side-B) to make a massively powerful and fast horizontal recovery. Flare Blitz will make a distinctive sound right before he uses it and it will kill you early if it hits, but it also does damage to Charizard. If you think your opponent might use this to recover you can get in its path and counter for enormous damage.

Pokemon Trainer (General Notes) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-KZHPbzGa8
The trainer’s rotation goes Squirtle > Ivysaur > Charizard so he can never go from Squirtle straight to Charizard and he can’t go Ivysaur to Squirtle. A lot of Pokemon trainer players will switch pokemon while off stage to change their recovery options. If you knock Ivysaur off too far, they might switch to Charizard and go for a Flare Blitz recovery so always keep in the back of your mind which pokemon can come out next and how to adjust your playstyle accordingly. They will also automatically switch to the next pokemon when they lose a stock. (I found 4 VODs for this matchup in no particular order considering how Pokemon trainer works as a character)
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultdiddy: Diddy – 40/60 Diddy’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdUWaq-zmNg | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHDnreDdTxg
Diddy is so frustrating to play against. He has very quick aerials and is fast in the air on top of that. In addition to his speed you always need to be worried about where the banana is, try to grab it by using an aerial or air-dodge near it and throw it back at him. The color of the little arrow above the banana tells you whose it is, and you won’t slip on your own banana. The banana will be owned by whoever last threw it. When recovering make sure to quick draw above the stage so that you can dodge either the banana or a peanut gun shot, either of which can interrupt your recovery and take your stock. Edge-guarding is difficult, he has a chargeable Up-B that can be released whenever he wants to, so it’s hard to time a Fair or counter off stage, better to wait on stage and try to get that down-tilt.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultlucas: Lucas – 40/60 - Lucas’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4wq1es4HHY | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TowTNBmqCCU
Lucas is quick in the air, has annoying projectiles, can space you in the air with his snake, and has tons of options for edge-guarding you. You can win, however, if you stay in his face, keep up the pressure, and land those up-air kill confirms. Mind his aerial snake when you’re approaching, it can reach you outside of your Nair hitbox. Jump over his PK fires and get into melee range as soon as possible. You want to stay in that sweet spot where you outrange his own aerials and ground attacks but you’re too close for him to safely PK fire you. While recovering he can either try to PK freeze you, PK fire you, or send his PK thunder after you so it’s kind of a nightmare. Of the 3, PK Freeze is probably the easiest to dodge but if it hits you you’re definitely dead. Mix up your recoveries here, side-B high the first time, then fast-fall Aether next time, etc. Don’t let him get into an edge-guarding rhythm. Oh, and his back air spikes so watch out for that. While edge-guarding him you have some options, I’m a big fan of the drop off counter here if you see him start that PK thunder, just make sure you time it right. Eruption at the ledge or a drop off Fair can also work. Edge trapping is tough because his double jump is so potent but Fairs and tilts can work.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultsonic: Sonic – 45/55 Sonic’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV45RxJgJto | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht66DX-hIFU (Sonic match starts at 5:25)
Sonic is the fastest character in the game on the ground so it can be difficult to get your sword up in time to stop his approaches. Retreating Fairs work well against him and don’t forget about counter, it can make him think twice about spamming spin attacks. If you shield his spin attack you can do a quick short hop Bair out of shield to punish him. While recovering quick draw high because his Up-B produces a little spring and it can drop on you and ruin your Aether. When you get him off stage he’ll usually have to recover straight up, so you can try d-tilt, Eruption, or short hop Dairs at the ledge.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultkingdedede: King Dedede – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryI3QMOe8o (Ike match starts at 7:40) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2taxgQ3ww
DDD can be bothersome to deal with, but if you take advantage of the fact that you’re much faster than him in the air you can come out on top. In neutral watch out for his gordo attack and also when he spits it out. You can attack the gordo to send it back at DDD and it can damage him if it hits him. He outranges you on the ground so try to approach him quickly through the air. Nair into grab is very reliable at low percents against him. Be extremely careful when edge-guarding, he can suck you up while falling and spit you out under the stage. When recovering keep an eye on the gordo if he decides to use that, if he chases you off stage you can try to ward him off with a Fair or a counter if you’re high enough, if you have to recover low make sure to sweet spot Aether to the ledge so the gordo has a low chance to catch you.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultolimar: Olimar – 40/60 Olimar’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhM9FQw9jQ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGKuLvN8BO4
Olimar is very hard to hit with that tiny little body he has, but when you do hit him you’ll kill him early. Approach swiftly; don’t let him build up damage by throwing his pikmin at you. If you have a pikmin attached to you doing damage you can do an aerial to knock it off (this will also kill it and force Olimar to have to pluck another one out of the ground to replace it). Get him above you with Nairs and throws and go for those Uair kill confirms early, he doesn’t really have an answer to your Uair when he’s above you. Recovering is very difficult against Olimar, if he hits you with a purple pikmin it’ll knock you out of your quick draw or Aether, and if you have a pikmin eating you your quick draw won’t go anywhere cause it’ll hit the pikmin. Pay attention to which color pikmin Olimar is going to throw next (the only ones you need to know are the fat purple ones have knock back if he throws it at you, and the white ghost pikmin do the most damage (and fly the farthest) if they attach to you). Olimar’s pikmin will actually grow stronger if they survive during the match, you’ll see the leaf on their head turn into a bud and then a flower. The flower pikmin will do the most damage so make sure you’re killing his pikmin so that he doesn’t have a bunch of flower pikmin ready to tear you to shreds. When edge-guarding him his new Up-B causes him to kind of fly around for a bit so if he comes in at a horizontal angle you can definitely go for a drop off Fair. One final note on Olimar, his down-special (pikmin call) will actually grant him super armor for a second, so don’t be surprised if that happens.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Town & City, Smashville

:ultlucario: Lucario – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHEXUyYTU9I | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifE5B6c3NTc
You really out-range almost all of Lucario’s attacks, and he’s not that much faster than you so this is a pretty good matchup. Vary the speed of your attacks if he starts using his counter, if you bait it out it’s very punishable. Stay on him and keep the pressure up so he doesn’t have time to charge his Aura Sphere. If he gets you off stage, quick draw high to dodge the Aura Sphere. Using Aether to recover is terrible in this matchup, not only can he hit you with a well-timed Aura Sphere, he can also use his counter to knock you back off-stage. Once he’s recovering be super aggressive with jump and fall off Fairs, his Up-B has a little delay to it at the beginning and he can direct its angle but most Lucarios will go straight to the ledge so you can exploit this.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultrob: R.O.B – 40/60 R.O.B’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4l8_Jv7HQI | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x05WptgCUq4
ROB has a ton of tools to make Ike’s life miserable. The laser and spinning top make approaching awkward and painful for you, his recovery is fantastic which makes it very hard to edge-guard him, and he matches your range in the air. One thing you have going for you in this matchup is his large hitbox and generally light weight, which makes him easy to hit and KO. Approach fast, his top will stay on the stage longer and do more damage if he has more time to charge it. You can pick up the top and throw it back at him but if you walk too close to it when it’s spinning on the stage it’ll just damage you so I usually just try to leave it alone. Recovering against ROB will probably give you PTSD, both his top and laser can shoot you out of quick draw or Aether so quick draw high and then at random heights to throw him off. Additionally, his Dair can spike you straight out of Aether because it has so much range. Furthermore, edge-guarding ROB is basically impossible, he’s floaty so he can protect himself with lasers or spinning tops as he falls and then he has a very controllable Up-B recovery that allows him to pretty much fly around wherever he wants.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Town & City, Smashville

:ulttoonlink: Toon Link – 40/60 Toon Link’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07iqeBe3pB4 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLsJbEY5GQQ (Ike match starts at 4:15)
This matchup plays out very similar to Young Link. They both have the same projectiles, the main difference is Toon Link’s projectiles are more floaty (just like himself), his bombs and arrows stay out longer and are lighter, and his boomerang goes further and slower than Young Links’ but otherwise they’re almost identical. Approach rapidly so he can’t whittle you down with his projectiles and parry his projectiles when you can to keep your shield healthy. Recover high with side-B so the projectiles don’t interrupt you and if you have to Aether watch out for the bombs. For edge-guarding him, jump off Fairs work decently well just watch out if he has a bomb in his pocket. Drop off counters can also work against him.
Recommended Stages: Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultwolf: Wolf – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNlcebZ79_Q | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_mMuULU2Y
Wolf has some nasty combos; his aerials come out much faster than yours, and he can camp you with his blaster, but he dies early to you and doesn’t have a lot of good options if you get him above you. Stay in his face and don’t let him blaster spam you. Fast, reliable attacks are your friends here, down tilts, jabs, and Nairs. If he starts to juggle you with up-airs try to air dodge back to the ground as soon as you can, you’ll never pull out your own aerial or counter fast enough to break his combo. While recovering mind the blaster, side-B high if you can (but watch out for his up smash), if you have to recover low make sure to sweet spot Aether to the ledge so he can’t hit you with his blaster. Edge-guarding Wolf is difficult because of his multiple recovery options, plus if his side-B sweet spots you it’s a spike so I’ve found its best not to mess around with following him off the stage and better to wait on stage with an eruption or a down tilt. Some Wolfs will attempt to nail you with the sweet spot of their side-B recovery as they're coming back on stage, if you think your opponent might try this, a well-timed counter will make sure he doesn't try that again. Edge-trapping can be problematic because he can use any of the normal getup methods or a drop off side-B and try to sweet spot you with it. Play it safe the first few times you get him on the ledge and see if he has a habit you can work around.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultvillager: Villager 45/55 Villager’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyjCIMjP8eg | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjUYrN1y73s
A good Villager can make it difficult for Ike to approach, but if you come at him diagonally from the air it'll be tough for him to keep you at bay with his Fairs and Bairs. He is small and hard to hit but he’ll constantly be spamming his Fairs and Bairs (he shoots a small pellet through the air) it doesn’t do a lot of damage (4%-6% per hit) but they sure do add up because he can shoot them so quickly. Additionally, they can combo into his gyro special which is a delayed projectile that shoots slowly across the screen and blows up if it hits you. His ridiculously fast projectile spam makes it hard to approach unless you’re a god at parrying. And once he gets you off stage your woes continue, the aforementioned pellets of doom interrupt your quick draw recovery which can spell a frustrating early death, and if you try to recover with Aether from below his F-smash will obliterate you (he drops a bowling ball that falls down on you). If you do manage to get him off stage be ready to block the incoming projectiles and maybe go for a short hop down air or down-tilt if he’s recovering from below, anything else is too risky. Try your best to get him above you, your up-air kills him very early and he has fewer options vertically than he does horizontally. If you can, pick the smallest stage you can find, and ban the larger stages.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Kalos

:ultmegaman: Mega Man - 40/60 Mega Man’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru2H50AC4mw | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URkCGZ7b5ig
Mega Man is a huge pain for Ike, his Bair and leaf shield do some good work negating our Nair approaches, and we have to approach fast because if we don’t we’ll get pummeled by 500 energy shots. Small stages are your friend here, give him less horizontal space to work with and you’ll have a better time. Quick note: If he lands his sticky bomb you can actually use counter to negate the damage from it when it’s about to go off. You can also simply shield when it’s about to go off and if Mega Man is nearby he’ll take damage from it. Recovering against Mega Man is like navigating a brutal maze of death. He’s got sticky bombs, a projectile down-air that spikes, a ranged F-Smash, oh and if you recover high he’s got an up-air that sends a tornado up to get you (and if it doesn’t do damage it can actually change the trajectory of your quick draw and may cause you to completely miss the stage and die off the other side). Mix up your recovery methods so he doesn’t get comfortable, every time you get back to stage safely should be considered a major victory. Edge guarding him is almost as hard as recovering yourself is, short hop down airs at the ledge are probably your best bet here. Edge trapping is where you can try to do some damage, F-tilts, U-tilts, and Fairs will keep him on his toes as he tries to get up.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultwiifittrainer: :ultwiifittrainerm: Wii Fit Trainer 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgkcnxxkMIE | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrUSVunWC_E
In neutral your aerials outrange the trainer’s and Wii Fit Trainer has average speed, so with proper spacing you can make it very hard for a WFT to get inside the range of your Nair. While recovering remember to use your Side-B to recover high when possible so WFT can’t snipe you with projectiles. While edge-guarding don't bother with Eruption, you'll just get hit with a soccer ball. Drop off Fair, or a down tilt from the ledge are both good options. For edge-trapping be careful because a lot of good Wii Fit Trainers will drop off and spike their soccer ball at you so your best option for that might be jumping at different heights so you can quickly react to their get-up strategy.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultrosalina: Rosalina & Luma – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCIKCFKX760 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Vr6ADGBus
Luma is its own character much like Nana of the Ice Climbers, it can be KOed like a normal fighter which will severely hamper Rosalina’s attacks. Luma will respawn in a minute or so after it’s KOed or when Rosalina herself is KOed. Most of your aerials will also hit Luma if they hit Rosalina and this can cause them to be separated. If you have a spare second go ahead and hit Luma to try to knock it off stage, but don’t leave yourself vulnerable to Rosalina. You have a lot of range advantage over her normal attacks so space your Nairs properly and you’ll be able to rack up some damage on her. When recovering she may chase you off stage and go for a Fair, it’s her best aerial and it’ll kill you so fast fall Aether if you have to to dodge it. She also has a special attack that sends out a few mini stars from Luma which will also interrupt your recoveries. When she’s off stage a surprise fall off Fair works well but don’t do it every time. Your safer option is a d-tilt at the ledge – her recovery is very good. 2.0 Update: Widely considered one of the worst characters, Rosa got a slew of buffs in 2.0.0 (Piranha Plant patch) increasing the knockback of a lot of her abilities and giving her some quality of life adjustments. Due to this, she is seeing an increase in popularity with some players (notably: Wadi) picking her up. Changed her ratio to 60/40 instead of 70/30 to reflect these changes.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultlittlemac: Little Mac – 55/45 Ike’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37QYYseJEE | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyQF2nbGo8s
Little Mac is extremely fast and powerful on the ground, but you completely dominate him in the air. Get him above you and get him off stage. Stay mobile and make good use of counter, if you counter one of his strong hits you can easily do 30+ damage, and it’s easy for Little Macs to attack in rhythm which leaves them open to a good counter. When recovering he’ll likely try to snag you with a smash attack at the ledge instead of jumping off after you so just make sure you sweet spot your recovery to the ledge every time. When edge guarding him you need to be very aggressive, jump off and Fair or jump off and counter, he’s out of his comfort zone out there so you need to punish him (however, realize when he can’t make it back and don’t needlessly take damage from his Up-B when he’s gonna die anyway). When edge-trapping him he’s more likely to roll up from the ledge or attack from the ledge than other characters so keep this in mind, f-tilts, aerials, and maybe even an up-smash work well here.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultgreninja: Greninja – 55/45 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e3iF7fZZ50 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0p1hAX6_98
Greninja is a fast little bugger but you severely out-range him and your Uair kills him at very low percents. Keep moving and jumping and use Nairs and Fairs to get some momentum. Don’t let him charge his projectile; it’ll make it a lot worse for you later on. Mix up the speed and rhythm of your attacks so you don’t get caught by his counter. He also has a special move where he jumps out of his shadow, so watch the ground for that and stay away or give him a counter of your own. When you’re recovering stay high with quick draw to dodge his ice projectile. Once he’s off-stage wait for him on stage with a d-tilt, and once he expects that of you, do a fall off Fair to surprise him. Another note about Greninja, his recovery actually also has a water-push component similar to Mario's FLUDD so a Greninja can use this to edge-guard your recoveries by pushing you away.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

Mii Brawler 65/35 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHz_zdhX_qQ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ip0eTdpck (Brawler Match starts at 4:12)
Mii Brawler is just not a very good character in general. Brawler’s aerials are quick but have very limited range, as Ike you SIGNIFICANTLY out-range Brawler. Just make good use of your aerial combos here, and retreating Fairs are especially good in this matchup because it can easily catch them as they try to approach you. Brawler does have a projectile they can throw out (like a shotput type ball thing). It doesn’t go very far but it does decent damage and knockback so watch out for that when recovering. When edge-guarding MB has a recovery similar to Sheik’s down-B so jumping or fall off Fairs work well. Tilts are your friend when edge-trapping, your F-tilt has way more range than MB’s get up attack.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

Mii Swordfighter – 40/60 Mii Swordfighter’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuSMEe_qUb0 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ip0eTdpck
I actually think Mii Swordfighter is an underrated character; he’s deceptively fast and has a good amount of projectile and kill options. Watch out for the long range chakram and wind attacks he can throw out, he’ll spam them at you all day unless you find a way to quickly approach. Like most characters, you out-range him in the air but he’s so quick that you need to be very clean with your aerials by not wasting any moves. When recovering use side-B high above the stage if you can to dodge his inevitable projectile spam and if you have to Aether make sure it sweet spots the ledge. When edge-guarding him a drop off counter can work well with proper timing but don’t try it repeatedly. And while edge-trapping give him a few steps of space so you can impose your range on him.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

Mii Gunner 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g66eolaCnw (match starts at 4:50) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxbyJfhMhcE (match starts at 5:00)
The Mii Gunner is a weird combination of a lot of projectile based characters. They have a medium ranged fire plume attack very similar to Simon and Richter’s, a charge shot very similar to Samus/Dark Samus, and a recovery kind of like Diddy’s. Their projectiles are fairly slow compared to other characters, so it’s not too difficult to approach and get in your comfort zone (pick a small stage if you can to help with this). Watch out for their Uair and F-smash attacks, they fire out energy bullets that shoot a fair distance above and in front of them respectively and both attacks can kill. Other than that, your melee attacks are vastly superior to theirs so as long as you don’t get camped this matchup is pretty easy for Ike. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the projectiles and if you have to Aether make sure you sweet spot to the ledge so they can’t hit you with their F-smash or projectiles. MG’s recovery shoots them up with an explosion, but compared to recoveries from the rest of the cast it’s not that great. You can go for jump off Fairs, fall off Fairs, or d-tilts and Dairs at the ledge once you get them off-stage.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultpalutena: Palutena 45/55 Palutena’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf4Zuk9wBlQ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjETrK8-HkI
Palutena has a lot of tools that are effective against Ike but your massive sword will kill her very early, especially with Uair. Palutena has a ranged targeting shot that fires a few projectiles at you as well as a fire attack similar to Zelda’s Din’s fire except she can’t control it. The fire attack will kill you and is an excellent edge-guarding option against you. If you manage to shield her Nair hold down that shield button for a long time, her Nair stays out FOREVER. Focus on getting her above you and killing with Uair, her good options decrease drastically when she’s above you. If she knocks you off the stage use quick draw high (very high) above her to dodge the targeting projectiles, the fire, and the U-smash which has some crazy vertical range. She also has a counter ability similar to yours so avoid using Aether unless absolutely necessary. When you bounce her off the stage, she’ll use a teleport recovery similar to Mewtwo’s, you can either stay at the ledge and go for d-tilts and short hop Dairs or you can even jump off after her and go for a Fair (although that is more risky).
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultpacman: Pac-Man –60/40 Ike’s favor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUjfHeRV4bs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpnO-Hri21M (Ike match starts at 6:55)
Pac-Man is a good matchup for you if you space your aerials properly, Pac-Man’s aerials are fast but they don’t have nearly the range that yours do. Keep an eye out for which power-up he pulls out, they each do different things, the only thing you really need to know as the Ike player is that the key will do a lot of damage and kill you at high percent, and the bell will stun you for a second. When recovering watch out for his hydrant, if he uses it in the air it’ll drop straight down so air dodge to the ledge when you can. Pac-Man’s recovery is ridiculous, he can recover from extremely far away, but you can see where he’s about to go so if your timing is good you can drop off and Fair him or short hop down air at the ledge. Edge-trapping isn’t too hard against him, mix it up with tilts and aerials each time and watch out for one of his quick aerials as he gets up.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultrobin: :ultrobinf: Robin – 45/55 Robin's favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAxteuqNcBc | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PeLNoVgvU (Ike match starts at 7:44)
The Robin matchup is very skill-based. They have multiple projectiles to keep you at bay, but you beat them if you can get up close and personal. Watch out for their thunder and fire attacks as you stay airborne while approaching. Their aerials are fast but you severely out-range them so take advantage of that. Another quick note with Robin, you can keep track of the durability left on their special attacks with the meter down near their percentage, once one runs out they can’t use it again for a while or until death. Recover high when you can just like when you’re against any other character with projectiles. When edge-guarding watch out for a long-range lightning attack from off stage if it’s charged up, otherwise you can try down-tilting at the ledge, short hop down-airing, or a drop off Fair if their trajectory calls for it. Robin's ledge-traps are absolutely legendary, a good Robin will land his Arcfire right on the ledge which blocks your regular get up, attack get up, and drop off double jump options. This means you're forced to either roll or jump which makes it much easier for Robin to punish you.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultshulk: Shulk 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtpGAhG1PH4 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97bNC-gMLsQ
Shulk is a swordsman like yourself and matches you for range on a lot of attacks, you are stronger though and can kill him very early, especially if he has certain Monado Arts equipped which we’ll go over below. Shulk’s B is Monado Art; he can choose one of 5 effects that alter his character during the battle. Jump increases his jump height but decreases his defense. Speed increases his run speed but reduces his attack power and jump height. Shield increases his defense and weight while reducing his attack power and run speed. Buster increases his attack while lowering his defense and launch power. And finally Smash increases his launch power while reducing his attack power and launch resistance. Once he selects one, you’ll see a small meter down by his percentage, once it runs out his stats will return to normal and he can’t repeatedly select the same Art. Shulk’s aerials are very good and rival yours so get in his face and keep the pressure up so it’s hard for him to switch to whatever Monado Art he wants. Shulk does have a counter attack he can use against our recovery options so keep that in mind when you recover, usually its best to go right to the ledge. When you knock him off you can channel Eruption at the ledge, jump or fall off and Fair him or D-tilt at the ledge. If you decide to go off stage after him for a Fair keep in mind a lot of Shulk’s will switch to the Jump Art which increases the height of his double jump a lot.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultbowserjr: Bowser Jr. 60/40 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D742GKAewHw | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pchJQ5RfPs
You can actually pick up their mecha-koopa and throw it back at them. If their mecha-koopa reaches the end of a platform it will turn around and go back the other way. He also has a cannonball projectile that moves slow but is spammable. If you can get in close without taking too much damage from his projectiles you’ll be golden. He doesn’t have a lot of options when he’s above you so aggressively pursue up-air juggle opportunities. Side-B high above him during recovery in order to dodge the cannonballs. Bowser Jr’s recovery is actually very good, he can side-B for horizontal and then up-B for vertical recovery and he can do them both without touching the ground. So for edge-guarding him I’d recommend sticking with a down-tilt at the ledge or a short hop down air at the ledge, anything else is too risky or has a low chance of success.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultduckhunt: Duck Hunt 55/45 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VjELDF8dY8 (He switches to Inkling for the 2nd game but then he goes back to Duck Hunt for the 3rd) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GHdaxRbAb0
Duck Hunt is a very weird character with strange projectiles. First, he can spawn a can of explosive...stuff? If he activates it again it’ll get shot by some mysterious bullet and move. Once either enough time has passed or enough damage has been dealt to the can, it’ll explode (this can kill you but not until about 180%+). He can also spawn a...I’m gonna say villain. His eyes shine after a second and then he’ll shoot his gun straight towards you (this can also detonate his can). If you attack the villain before he shoots he’ll get perturbed and de-spawn without firing his gun. He also has a Frisbee type projectile that does damage to you multiple times if it hits you. If you’re able to successfully weave through all those obnoxious projectiles you have a distinct advantage in melee range. Nair him relentlessly and get him above you, Uair confirms kills very early against him and he doesn’t have many good options when he’s above you. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the projectile spam, and mind his can, if you hit it with quick draw you’ll swing your sword at it and cancel your sideways momentum (also the can will probably explode). He basically flies around for his recovery – it’s very good – so just wait for him on stage with a d-tilt or a short hop Dair. You can try Eruption but make sure he's coming up from below you otherwise he'll hit you with a projectile.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultryu: Ryu + :ultken: Ken – 55/45 Ike’s favor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BNzWTryJec | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuqBYGvrysQ
The Street Fighter duo is a pretty even matchup for Ike. You out-range them (except for Hadouken) but they’re faster than you in terms of when their attacks come out. The key is to get in range for your Nairs (without getting hit by Hadouken) but not close enough that they can hit you with their fists. When recovering quick draw high to dodge the Hadouken. If you get him off-stage it’s dangerous to stand at the ledge because his Up-B will hit you through the stage as he grabs the ledge so your best bet is either to channel Eruption a few steps from the ledge to edge-trap him with it or jump off and Fair him if he’s coming in more horizontally.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultcloud: Cloud – 40/60 Cloud’s favor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwOVsshM0fM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gwDiRFez5c
Cloud is a tough matchup for Ike in my opinion. He’s just as good as you are in the air, is faster on the ground, and has a very potent projectile. In neutral get in his face and use your quick attacks to keep up the pressure so he can’t camp you with his projectile attack or charge his limit break. Don’t underestimate counter here if you see him get into a rhythm. I like to start countering more when his meter is charged just to make him second guess himself before unleashing one of his upgraded special moves. While recovering side-B high to dodge his projectile while also keeping an eye out for his Fair - it spikes. When edge-guarding you can stand at the ledge and time a counter to hit him as he comes up or channel eruption from a few steps back. You can even drop off Fair if you don’t think he’s expecting it. Be cautious when edge-trapping, he has a lot of good options for getting up, you should find success if you space your tilts well.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Lylat Cruise

:ultcorrin: :ultcorrinf: Corrin – 40/60 Corrin’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7XoQXUuvDA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlN9dYgVapI
Corrin matches your range in the air, gets most attacks out faster than you, and has a projectile and counter to ruin your recoveries. Try not to get juggled, get back to the ground quick if you find yourself above them. Their projectile is good but it’s not spammable so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in melee range. When recovering watch out for both the stunning projectile and the counter, so quick draw above or air dodge to the ledge when you can. When you get them off stage eruption at the ledge is a fantastic option, if you position correctly and time it well you can catch them right before the ledge grab.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultbayonetta: Bayonetta – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q1QiQkfqzw | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5iKEeKc3Pk
Bayonetta racks up a ton of damage very quickly against you with her crazy aerial combos, but she has a distinct lack of options to actually take your stock. You, on the other hand, kill her very early with Bair and Uair so the damage you manage to get on her means a lot more than the damage she gets on you. This is another matchup where a level head is very important; her seemingly endless aerial combos can be very annoying. Just remember she’ll most likely need to take you to at least 150% every time to actually take your stock. When recovering mind her foot bullets, if she charges them they’ll do more damage and knockback (they also fire at an upwards angle) so either quick draw above it or fast fall below and Aether. When edge-guarding her, a d-tilt at the ledge is your best and safest option, this can lead into Fair and Bair kill confirms.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultinkling: Inkling – 45/55 Inkling’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yto_JrDoVWw | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDN6Rvjn2FU
Inkling is a great character, very high on most tier lists; she has quick aerials, an incredible dash dance game, a damage multiplier mechanic, and an above average recovery. You out-range her in the air though, so keep her at the tip of your sword to make it difficult for her to counter your approach. Be careful if she starts combo-ing you with aerials, you can very easily get juggled all the way off-stage so hold onto your double jump or you’ll be a dead man. When recovering just keep an eye out for her paint bombs, they move through the air slowly so you shouldn’t have too much trouble dodging them. Try to avoid recovering with Aether if possible because her neutral-B paint spray actually has a no-damage knockback effect which can easily gimp you. When you get her off stage your best bets are eruption at the ledge, down-tilt, or short hop down air.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultridley: Ridley – 45/55 Ridley’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuxajj_VW6s | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxSUXG3ztZU
Ridley is a deceptively fast heavy character who will give you nightmares if you don’t recover properly against him. Ridley has a large grab range and can combo down throw into his Nair so stay airborne and mobile to make it hard for him to grab you. Speaking of his Nair, his comes out faster than yours and has almost as much range so you might need to get a little creative with your approaches, mixing in full hops with the short hops, fast falling then not fast falling, etc. Recovering is very important against Ridley, he can easily gimp you with his flames. Make sure to recover high above him when you can and if you have to Aether try to sweet spot the ledge and be ready to spam it as the flames continuously interrupt you. Edge-guarding him is difficult, he has multiple jumps and recovery methods, so just play it safe and stay on the stage with a d-tilt. Edge-trapping is much easier, mix up your options to keep him guessing.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultsimon: Simon + :ultrichter: Richter – 40/60 Simon/Richter’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNYspnsIyW8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkMkRGS8aj8 (Ike match starts at 11:00)
Simon and Richter both have such a ridiculous projectile and camping game it makes it really hard to get in range to do anything as Ike. Pick the smallest stage you can and do your best to weave through the maze of boomerangs fire and axes to get to your target. The axe is the worst because it flies at the perfectly correct angle to thwart your aerial approaches, so you might want to stay on the ground more than you normally would in this matchup. The fire is actually a catchable projectile before it hits the ground so you can catch it and throw it back which makes the fire yours. Once you do get into melee range you need to make it count cause as soon as they knock you away with something its back to projectile spam. Recovering against them just sucks. You have to worry about the holy cross boomerang and the axe – which will kill you. Air-dodging to the ledge is your best option but if you can’t do that make sure to time your quick draw so you don’t dash straight into the axe. If you have to choose between the boomerang and the axe pick the boomerang, at least it won’t outright kill you. When you get them off-stage be aggressive with jump off Fairs but only if they’re at stage level or above (Note: Do the jump off Fair if they’re too far away to tether to the ledge with their whip, if you jump off and they tether they can easily turn it around on you). If they’re below the stage just stay put and go for a d-tilt at the ledge.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova

:ultkrool: King K Rool – 60/40 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LjEmCUMwq4 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4BLlwpzUWE
The Donkey Kong villain has a lot of tricks up his sleeves but nothing you can’t handle. He has two projectiles, his crown which acts like a boomerang, and his blunderbuss which shoots a slow moving cannonball towards you. Once he shoots the cannonball his gun turns into a vacuum somehow and will suck up either you or his cannonball and relaunch it. He also has a super-armor mechanic on a lot of his moves, the dash attack and neutral air being the ones you’re most likely to actually hit him during. If you look closely you can see cracks start to appear on his breastplate after he makes use of the super armor a couple times. Once his breastplate fully breaks he’s stunned for a long time, just like if you broke his shield. It’s rare that that happens but just something to keep in mind. His projectiles are very slow so you shouldn’t have a problem closing the gap. Once you get in a lot of your moves are faster than his so take advantage to rack up some damage. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the crown doesn’t return to him it’ll become a throw-able item on the stage and K Rool won’t be able to throw his crown again until he retrieves it (or dies). You can try to use the crown against him or simply throw it off the side of the stage if you want. Don’t try to edge-guard him, you’ll either get hit with a crown, his propeller, or even worse – get sucked up by his gun as he falls and then get spat out under the stage. When you’re recovering quick draw high to dodge the cannonballs and crowns inevitably flying at you. If you quick draw into his crown projectile at the right angle you'll actually hit it and it'll stop your momentum so be aware of that while recovering.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultisabelle: Isabelle – 45/55 Isabelle’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3xZ1-Y9TY8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XInhySTgkwA
Similar to Villager, Isabelle will spam her Fairs at you to try to whittle you down, however, Isabelle plants her gyros in the ground instead of shooting them at you, so you only need to deal with one projectile in this matchup. Approach quickly and mix up your full hops and short hops so it’s harder for her to hit you. While recovering go above her with quick draw in order to dodge both the Fairs and the dreaded fishing rod. If she casts the rod off of the edge of the stage it drops a bit and can still catch you. When edge-guarding keep in mind she can grab the ledge with her fishing rod, but if she’s forced to use her balloons to recover you can attempt an Eruption right at the ledge which can catch her with the lower part of the hitbox. She doesn’t have many good options for getting back onto the stage so use tilts and aerials to trap her on the ledge.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultincineroar: Incineroar 65/35 Ike’s favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uMsvAYh1tc (Incineroar match starts at 6:38) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uki4B3tMb5s
Incineroar is a powerful character but he has a disadvantage against Ike because he lacks one of Ike’s main weaknesses – a projectile. Plus, he doesn’t have the range to match Ike in close quarters. Switch up your style during the match to throw him off, approach aggressively at first, then wait for him to come to you while using retreating Fairs in the next stock. His grabs deal a lot of damage and one of his special moves is also a grab so don't use your shield as much as you normally would. When recovering, he might use a tilt or smash attack at the ledge or jump off and try to use an aerial against you. Use Aether or quick draw depending on how he decides to edge-guard you. When you get him off stage some Incineroar’s will attempt to hit you with the downward part of their Up-B as they come back onto the stage, if your opponent shows this tendency you can punish with a counter. If they’re off stage horizontally you can go for a jump off or fall off Fair. Incineroar’s recovery is not that great so try to recognize when he’s dead and don’t take unnecessary damage trying to edge-guard him.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Unova, Lylat Cruise

:ultpiranha: Piranha Plant – 50/50 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6K_HJCUKQ4 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-61OAN4jUlc
The Plant has some good tools to deal with Ike, but you out range him in neutral which is huge because Piranha Plant isn't that fast. Approach the plant with caution, Ptooie does a whopping 22% damage and will kill you at about 120%+ and is a great anti-air. Mix up your approaches and stay on the ground more than you normally would. His poison cloud ability will do damage to you but it has no knockback, and you’ll take more damage if you stay in the center of the cloud. Another note on Piranha Plant, his D-special where he goes into his pipe and then pops out really far in a direction gives him super armor on his pot (his head becomes his hurtbox). When recovering go high with quick draw so you don’t get hit by the spiky ball of doom. If you have to Aether try to time it so you get your super armor when the spiky ball hits you. Bonus note: Piranha Plant has a distinctly unusual ability in smash, if you footstool a crouching Piranha Plant he will bite you without any input needed from the player. If you get him off-stage Eruption, d-tilts, or short hop Dairs work great at the ledge and you can also fall off Fair since your Fair out-ranges the hitbox of his recovery.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2, Kalos, Town & City

:ultjoker:Joker - 55/45 Ike's favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeP1mvp29jk | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7cuMgmtftk
The Joker matchup is very even but slightly in Ike's favor due to the range advantage of your melee attacks. Yes Joker does have his gun to poke you down but for the most time he'll be using it at medium range to combo with his knife so as Ike you should look to engage quickly and keep him at the edge of your sword. His down-special in normal form is a counter, he'll take damage from your attack but suffer zero knockback and then counter attack you in addition to filling a large portion of his gauge. This stays out a long time, so wait before punishing (or just grab him). Keep a close eye on Joker's Arsene gauge, it's a blue meter next to his percentage at the bottom. Once it fills, he'll shed his mask and summon Arsene which will dramatically increase the effectiveness of a lot of his moves. Most notably, his projectile can now kill you at 140% or so. His recovery changes from a tether to a vertical wing flight similar to Pit's, and his down-special becomes a straight up counter similar to yours. When you get him off stage in normal form you can attempt a drop off F-air but his approach angle has to be right for that, it's much safer to wait on ledge to edge-trap him. When he's off stage in Arsene form it's very difficult to edge-guard him because his recovery gives him tons of invincibility frames so it's better to wait on stage for a ledge-trap. When you're off stage be very careful to avoid getting gimped, his gun has minimal knockback but his aerials in both forms come out fast and you can quickly find yourself dead at a very low percent if you use your double jump prematurely. Also be extremely cautious recovering when he's got Arsene ready, his counter can quickly end you if he times it right so use quick draw whenever possible over Aether and switch up your timing.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ulthero: Hero - 60/40 Ike's favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lnFnKg_TTA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WinQEjeYX9k
Hero is finally here and what a crazy character he is! Ike’s matchup against him is good but it’s also subject to change at the drop of a hat depending on which spells Hero gets in his Down-special and if you happen to get hit by a critical hit and killed early. Hero has a total of 21 spells he can use with his down-special but only 4 will appear at a time. The most important ones you’ll need to watch out for as Ike are as follows:

-Hatchet Man ハチェットマン – A powerful swing of Hero’s flame coated blade, this attack has a 100% chance to critically hit and will break shields instantly. Make sure to notice when he selects this spell so you can dodge it, shielding it is futile.

-Thwack/Whack スワック – A move that can instantly KO an opponent. The chance is higher if the opponent’s percentage is higher. Be very careful if Hero selects this spell, especially if you’re at a high percentage. Whack costs less MP and has a lower chance to one-hit KO.

-Bang - バング– Medium range projectile that pulls its target in and then explodes. Watch out for this if you’re recovering.


-Kaboom -カブーム – Very large explosion but costs a lot of MP. This spell is very hard to avoid.

-Sizz/Sizzle -シズ – Fireball projectile. Mind this if you’re recovering. Sizzle is the stronger version, it also travels farther than Sizz.


-Snooze - スヌーズ – Launches a sphere that puts enemies to sleep, you’ll be asleep longer the closer you are to Hero when he casts this spell. This spell can hit you while airborne so be very careful when recovering.

-Kamikazee –神風 - KO’s himself to cause massive, unblockable damage to all nearby enemies. Just run if he gets this spell, if you can dodge this you’ll get a free stock.

-Magic Burst -マジックバースト – A giant purple explosion spreads out from Hero, dealing massive damage. This move uses all of Hero’s remaining MP. Hero can be interrupted while casting this spell which will cancel the spell’s effect but not refund his MP. If you’re far away when he casts this just stay away and try to avoid it, but if you’re close to him you can rush in and try to hit him as he casts it.


Your aerials and basic attacks are generally much better than Hero’s so you need to be extremely aggressive in this matchup. Get close to him and keep up the pressure so he doesn’t have time to charge his neutral B or calmly select the spell he wants. If you space your N-air and F-tilts correctly he’ll have a very hard time punishing you if you hit his shield. Watch the bottom of the screen whenever one of you gets knocked off stage, that’s when he’ll likely try to select a spell and you’ll want to know which one he selects. Hero’s recovery sends him straight up, so usually he’ll go low and then directly up to the ledge so Eruption works spectacularly well in this matchup for edge-guarding. However, keep in mind he needs to charge up his Up-B for a second to get the full effect so wait just a half second longer in order to get that perfect Eruption. When recovering you’ll want to recover how you would normally against any projectile user - high with Quick Draw whenever you can. Mix up your quick draws so he can’t tee off on you, go high, then to a platform, then go for a hit on him, then snap to the ledge, etc.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultbanjokazooie:Banjo-Kazooie - 55/45 Ike's Favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ixu7HrkyvQ
The bird and bear have some annoying tools that we have to deal with but if we approach confidently and space correctly we can repeatedly win neutral. Approach quickly so you don't get poked down by his eggs and bomb projectiles, these can easily rack up damage. You can pick up the bomb and throw it back at him, but it will explode in your face if you hold it too long. Do everything you can to get back to the stage if he gets you above him, his up-air is very good and we don't really have an answer for it when we're above him. Your aerials like N-air and F-air can nullify his egg projectile if you hit it but be careful, if you hit his bomb it'll explode so learn how to differentiate them. The eggs are sort of a blue-ish white color, while the bombs are bigger and green with smoke coming out of them. Keep an eye out for Wonderwing, do NOT counter this, even if you time it right you won't hit him. If you see this coming just shield it and punish with a dash attack or grab combo. While recovering mix up the height of your quick draws like normal and watch out for his eggs and bombs, try to avoid using Aether if possible. When edge-guarding do not follow him off-stage unless he is below the stage and won't be able to recover with Wonderwing OR you know he's used all his feathers for the stock. It's best to just stay on stage and go for a d-tilt, don't use Eruption either, it'll leave you open to getting hit with Wonderwing or an egg/bomb.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Unova

:ult_terry:Terry - 55/45 Ike's Favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxOFHqt76wo
Mr. Bogard has a lot of excellent aspects to his kit that can make him tough to deal with but with knowledge of his moves and good spacing the matchup is very winnable for Ike. If you're not the best at spacing Ike's moves, play against a good Terry, they will force you to learn better spacing because they will punish you hard if you screw up. Jump over his slow moving projectile and keep him at the tip of your sword, the second you hit his shield with something while being too close to him he'll combo you for about 30% and just kill you if you're above 90% or so. A bunch of Terry's moves become more powerful once he's above 100% so you need to shift to kill moves when he's 85%-99%. His side punch ability will trump Aether so always quick draw or dodge to the ledge while recovering. When you've got him off stage your best option is usually down-tilt at the ledge but you need to space it right so you don't get hit by his spinning kick recovery move. You can also attempt fall off F-airs but make sure he's coming in from the side if you're gonna try this.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultbyleth:Byleth - 60/40 Ike's Favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdPgD4FAlNY
Byleth is a good character overall and slightly outranges you with some moves but you are much faster and can kill her earlier. Byleth's primary spacing/neutral tool is F-air and B-air which come out quick and do good damage but have quite small linear hitboxes. Due to this weakness, it's very difficult for Byleth to deal with you if you approach diagonally from the air. Just watch out for their side-B and U-smash, they cover an extremely large range but it's easy to punish if they whiff it. Do NOT go for an off-stage edgeguard if you get them off stage, their Up-B recovery move can spike you if they hit you with it instead of the ledge, and their recovery is a tether so it's very difficult to hit them anyways. Your best bet is to prepare for a ledgetrap with Eruption, F-air or N-air. If you're off stage watch out for their arrows and avoid using Aether at all costs, their F-smash will completely ruin you if they time it right.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Pokémon Stadium 2

:ultminminMin-min - 60/40 Ike's Favor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_AXyP5zrfg | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N50M6GLjxbs
On paper it looks like Min Min would do well against Ike, she has a bunch of long range attacks to keep him away and gimp him but in practice it's very difficult for Min Min to hit an Ike that approaches properly. As Ike you're going to want to approach her quickly. Come diagonally from the air and land with N-air, F-air or a tomahawk grab. Mix this up with aerial quick draws in order to close the gap and get in her face. Watch out for her circular arm, that's the one that'll do a little upward spin after she punches with it. The giant ball arm is slow and quite punishable if she whiffs, while the dragon arm has an extra fire attack she can use at the end that extends the range so watch out for that. Don't bother edge-guarding her, she has a tether recovery that will hit you if you are between her and the ledge, instead stand back and get in position for a ledge-trap. While recovering make sure to always save your double jump so that if you get knocked out of quick draw or aether you can still recover. Recovering high or to a platform with quick draw is usually the safest bet, as long as you're not doing that every time.
Recommended Stages: Battlefield, Kalos
 
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Banjobeast158

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Great work, will definitely be referring to this in the future for help.
 

Arrei

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Okay, so right off the bat the Mario entry is giving me side-eyes here. By my recollection, wasn't a ratio like 30/70 reserved for something like Brawl Meta Knight levels of disadvantage? And is the consensus among Mario players not that he gets walled out hard by swords due to his limited reach? Aether is still as stupidly vulnerable to FLUDD as ever, sure, but with airdodging to ledge being an additional option now on top of mixing up Quick Draw timing, I don't think the matchup should be anywhere near that bad.
 
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XDaDePsak

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Holy **** that's a hell of a write-up. Haven't seen something like this since the Gamefaqs days.
 

Qualk

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Okay, so right off the bat the Mario entry is giving me side-eyes here. By my recollection, wasn't a ratio like 30/70 reserved for something like Brawl Meta Knight levels of disadvantage? And is the consensus among Mario players not that he gets walled out hard by swords due to his limited reach? Aether is still as stupidly vulnerable to FLUDD as ever, sure, but with airdodging to ledge being an additional option now on top of mixing up Quick Draw timing, I don't think the matchup should be anywhere near that bad.
I'd be interested to read more about this matchup from the Mario's perspective, is there a thread or video or something where a Mario main talks about the matchup?
 

Banjobeast158

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Holy **** that's a hell of a write-up. Haven't seen something like this since the Gamefaqs days.
Don't make me feel old =,(
I'd be interested to read more about this matchup from the Mario's perspective, is there a thread or video or something where a Mario main talks about the matchup?
You can make a post in the Mario section of this site (SSBU). If you don't get what you are looking for here, you can also try something like Reddit. There is equal amounts of crap information and helpful information on there...


In my personal experience, Mario isn't too terrible. Recovering is always scary, but if you can properly space your sword swings (primarily Nair/Fair/Dtilt) it can be difficult for Mario to get in. The problem is, Mario's air moves come out, overall, quicker than Ike's so don't get too predictable in the air. Hope that helps!
 

MG_3989

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As a Ness main as long as you don’t get caught in PK Thunder juggles and don’t get your landings caught with PK Fire you’re probably winning this fight. An Ike with good spacing might be the most difficult fight for Ness in the game. Everything you said is true, the drop down counter works if I’m forced to use PKT2. Another thing is make sure your sword always outspaces Ness’s aerials and he can’t sneak in on you and pull out some combos. You guys. Definitely have the advantage in this one and everytime I play a good Ike if I win I feel like it was one hell of an accomplishment. Good write up on the Ness match up

Also take Ness to Battlefield. On a flat stage the matchup is very different and not nearly as much in Ike’s favor as it is with platforms. Ness has a lot easier time dealing with Ike on a stage without climbing platforms
 
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h4 Gambiteer

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I concur with a couple of other people. Having just read the mario entry, it's not that bad. 25/75 is basically unplayable...I believe in the Smash4 Ike discord we thought 40/60 was about the worst of the matchup spread, and Ike is much better in this game.

Yes, fludd and cape gimp us hard. We have other tools though, and if we're careful we shouldn't be leaving the stage much. I believe there was a set of MKLeo's Ike destroying Ally's Mario, but I might be making that up because I can't find it right now.
 

Qualk

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I concur with a couple of other people. Having just read the mario entry, it's not that bad. 25/75 is basically unplayable...I believe in the Smash4 Ike discord we thought 40/60 was about the worst of the matchup spread, and Ike is much better in this game.

Yes, fludd and cape gimp us hard. We have other tools though, and if we're careful we shouldn't be leaving the stage much. I believe there was a set of MKLeo's Ike destroying Ally's Mario, but I might be making that up because I can't find it right now.
Thanks for the feedback, I'll go ahead and update the ratio for Mario. Considering what you said about the worst matchup being 40/60 what do you think of my Villager and Mega Man writeups?
 
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h4 Gambiteer

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Thanks for the feedback, I'll go ahead and update the ratio for Mario. Considering what you said about the worst matchup being 40/60 what do you think of my Villager and Mega Man writeups?
Oh, man. I hate villager like I hate all annoying characters, but tbh I don't think it's that bad. He's kinda slow which means he usually won't be able to punish QD that hard (if you start charging it way up high, you have some options about whether to land on stage or snap ledge, and he won't be able to react to a stage land and Smash you). His projectiles beat our aerials in range, but he doesn't have great "get off me" moves from below so once you get in, you'll get a lot of percent. But you kill him a lot earlier so if you play cautiously and don't get frustrated or called out on unsafe stuff, you'll be fine. In general, you can walk up to him and perfect shield/jump over stuff, and hit him once you're close.

The bowling ball wrecks aether, but that just means that you'll get punished by low skilled villagers as well as high skilled villagers.

I also dislike megaman. Again, he struggles to kill though, so mostly keep calm, don't get juggled with upairs, and don't leave the stage. Go for a 2-frame with dtilt and try ledge trapping him instead of edgeguarding--if he's knocked far enough away that he needs to use his double jump, you should be able to react to upB with a 2-framed eruption.

He edgeguards us hard, but when you're playing Ike you should assume your life is forfeit no matter who is edgeguarding you. Patience is key, and staying close so he doesn't have time to set up stuff. Dash attack can be good to catch his lemon-protected landings, and if you time it right you might even trade/win dash attack against his grounded pellets.

But neither of these characters are juggling Ike (as far as I've seen), and their edgeguarding is easy but that just means that lower skilled players can do it to us as well. But they're annoying, and most Ike-personality types get frustrated. That might be while the matchup feels so bad, because you're forced to play their game.

So TL;DR: the matchup chart changes depending on the skill of both players. Megaman and Villager have pretty obvious advantages and punishes over Ike, but at a higher skill level when you expect everyone to edgeguard you, they're not so oppressive imo. Just get the early kills to make up for your early edgeguards.

I've been having the most trouble with squirtle, wolf, falco, and piranha plant. In theory I think Marcina should wreck us as well, but I haven't really seen it happen.
 

Qualk

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Thanks for the feedback! I also got a response in the villager forum so I think I'm gonna change villager to 35/65 and mega man to 40/60.

And yeah for the guide I was assuming both players are highly skilled.

Squirtle is definitely a pain, he's the worst pokemon from the trainer IMO. I think Wolf is pretty even but I need to watch more matches. Agree with Falco and Piranha Plant both being difficult as well.

Yes, a skilled Marcina is a very tough matchup. I think sword characters that are faster than Ike will always give him trouble, add that onto a counter ability that basically negates our vertical recovery and sometimes our horizontal recovery and you've got a recipe for a lopsided match.
 

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Good god ike isnt that bad, theres some here he definitely wins such as MARIO, stop underrating your character people holy hell
 

Banjobeast158

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Good god ike isnt that bad, theres some here he definitely wins such as MARIO, stop underrating your character people holy hell
We are still getting used to him being good after the PTSD that is Brawl/Smash 4. Also, not everyone on here thinks he is underpowered.
 

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We are still getting used to him being good after the PTSD that is Brawl/Smash 4. Also, not everyone on here thinks he is underpowered.
Thank the sakurai for that. I just feel like some one making a matchup chart should be a little more knowledgeable of the game. Not some one that thinks Villager, mario and mega man curb stomp ike
 

Qualk

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Thank the sakurai for that. I just feel like some one making a matchup chart should be a little more knowledgeable of the game. Not some one that thinks Villager, mario and mega man curb stomp ike
Do you have anything more specific to say than that? Or better yet a VOD that highlights his supposed advantage over these characters? I admitted at the top of the guide that it's far from perfect and I've already adjusted several parts of the guide based on constructive feedback. But this kind of response that just says I'm wrong without saying why isn't helpful at all.
 

MERPIS

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Do you have anything more specific to say than that? Or better yet a VOD that highlights his supposed advantage over these characters? I admitted at the top of the guide that it's far from perfect and I've already adjusted several parts of the guide based on constructive feedback. But this kind of response that just says I'm wrong without saying why isn't helpful at all.
Actually I do, most of this seemingly is basing off the fact that Ike just seems to be some big slow heavy weight with little movement and horrid attacks. Turns out ike actually has really good range and his frame data isn't that bad at all. He definitely has wins over mario and villager as those both were even with slow horrible ike in smash 4, and with both of them being nerfed in smash ultimate, and Ike being buffed to heck and back, there's little reason to say he loses these when its almost fact that he wins them. Another bit of seemingly bias is just cause he's slow, this automatically means he loses to every projectile user out there, well if that were the case then we might as well throw wolf, marth, lucina, and peach simply because projectiles can be a rather big problem for all of those bar wolf, who is just slow. This is not the case has not only does ike have the range on ragnell to push through walls and let his superior up close game crush the opponent more than half the time, but ragnell itself also stops a ton of projectiles due to sword. This is why snake is beat so heavily by ike and is why ike is one of his worsts. Ike's sword nullifies any projectiles thrown and snake can't get through due to Ike's broken range advantage and snake's lack of mobility or range.

Ike only truly loses to characters who can combo him off the level and proceed to gimp him for free, so basically the rats for example are poster boys for giving ike a bad day.
 

Qualk

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Actually I do, most of this seemingly is basing off the fact that Ike just seems to be some big slow heavy weight with little movement and horrid attacks. Turns out ike actually has really good range and his frame data isn't that bad at all. He definitely has wins over mario and villager as those both were even with slow horrible ike in smash 4, and with both of them being nerfed in smash ultimate, and Ike being buffed to heck and back, there's little reason to say he loses these when its almost fact that he wins them. Another bit of seemingly bias is just cause he's slow, this automatically means he loses to every projectile user out there, well if that were the case then we might as well throw wolf, marth, lucina, and peach simply because projectiles can be a rather big problem for all of those bar wolf, who is just slow. This is not the case has not only does ike have the range on ragnell to push through walls and let his superior up close game crush the opponent more than half the time, but ragnell itself also stops a ton of projectiles due to sword. This is why snake is beat so heavily by ike and is why ike is one of his worsts. Ike's sword nullifies any projectiles thrown and snake can't get through due to Ike's broken range advantage and snake's lack of mobility or range.

Ike only truly loses to characters who can combo him off the level and proceed to gimp him for free, so basically the rats for example are poster boys for giving ike a bad day.
I don't know where you think I'm saying he's slow with little movement and has bad attacks. He definitely does have great range and frame data, which is why a lot of his matchups are favorable. As far as Mario goes, yes Ike out-ranges him, and theoretically Mario should never get close to Ike. However, no player is perfect, and as soon as you make one mistake Mario can punish you for 60%-80% pretty easily with one combo. Then later on you say Ike only loses to characters who can combo him off stage and gimp him, which Mario can definitely do. So I'm still not convinced Mario's matchup is much better than 40/60.

Regarding Villager, I may change his ratio a bit because I'll admit on certain stages it's a lot harder for him to camp you, and if you approach him diagonally it can be difficult for him to respond fast enough. So the Villager matchup might not be as bad as I originally thought.

I'm not really sure why you think Mario and Villager were nerfed from 4. According to their Smash Wiki pages Mario got 27 buffs and 19 nerfs and Villager got 17 buffs and 9 nerfs and the general consensus seems to be neither of them were heavily buffed or nerfed overall.

As far as the projectiles are concerned, I never said Ike loses to projectiles because he's slow, I said he loses to projectile characters because they can gimp him off-stage (or just stick a bunch of damage onto him while he's trying to recover). And yes you make a good point that your sword can nullify projectiles, but that's not really what I'm talking about in most of the matchups.

As for Snake, I actually think this matchup is fairly hard for Ike simply because of grenades. Your sword doesn't 'nullify' a grenade, it blows it up in your face (unless you catch it). All snake has to do to is pull a grenade and shield and you can't approach with Nair or you'll hit the grenade and blow yourself up, and if you try approaching with grab to counter this, Snake's grenade may still go off and mess up your follow-up. Plus, Snake can easily gimp you while you're off stage by forcing you to quick draw into his side-B missile, which cancels your momentum and can easily cause you to die as a result.

TLDR: I don't agree with Mario I still think he's about 40/60. Admit that Villager may be easier, will adjust. Do not agree with Snake, still think he's difficult.
 

Arrei

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On Snake, though, I kind of get the feeling people overvalue those grenades. They don't do anything when hitting you before their fuse timer is up, so as long as you pay attention to how long Snake is holding it, you almost don't even need to shield against them. If he holds onto it by holding special, it's fairly trivial to avoid hitting the grenade, and if he drops it to hold it as an item, his attack options are much more limited and you no longer need to worry about it exploding on hit. And as characters with similar weight, Snake doesn't gain as much from grenade trading as he would from a lightweight. I've had a lot of success playing against Snakes as Ganondorf, of all characters, by just standing at middle range and reacting to whatever he throws my way until I see my chance to attack. I even get to chuck back a few grenades to punish him for getting spammy with them.
 
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WeretigerX

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It might be me sucking against Donkey Kong, but I feel like that one is closer to 50/50. DK's kill moves come out a lot quicker than Ike's and he can set up his kill moves with a super-armored Side B. DK's grab range is ridiculous and at mid percentages he can basically ragdoll you off stage. You can recover from most of them, but it sets up nice edgeguarding options for DK. Just as easily as Ike can gimp DK's recovery, DK can do the same with maybe a bit more trouble. DK's aerials are faster and are solid edgeguarding tools. Ftilt is Ike's best friend in this matchup on the ground. Cross-up Nair is a nice mixup as well as Cross-up Bair. Dk's tilts are even faster than Ike's Dtilt and outrange it, so that doesn't have nearly as much utility as normal. A patient and defensive DK will be able to deal with spaced Nairs pretty well, so Fair is actually your better neutral tool in the air because of its range.
 

MERPIS

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As far as Mario goes, yes Ike out-ranges him, and theoretically Mario should never get close to Ike. However, no player is perfect, and as soon as you make one mistake Mario can punish you for 60%-80% pretty easily with one combo. Then later on you say Ike only loses to characters who can combo him off stage and gimp him, which Mario can definitely do. So I'm still not convinced Mario's matchup is much better than 40/60
Maybe it could be you’re bad at the matchup
 

Banjobeast158

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It might be me sucking against Donkey Kong, but I feel like that one is closer to 50/50. DK's kill moves come out a lot quicker than Ike's and he can set up his kill moves with a super-armored Side B. DK's grab range is ridiculous and at mid percentages he can basically ragdoll you off stage. You can recover from most of them, but it sets up nice edgeguarding options for DK. Just as easily as Ike can gimp DK's recovery, DK can do the same with maybe a bit more trouble. DK's aerials are faster and are solid edgeguarding tools. Ftilt is Ike's best friend in this matchup on the ground. Cross-up Nair is a nice mixup as well as Cross-up Bair. Dk's tilts are even faster than Ike's Dtilt and outrange it, so that doesn't have nearly as much utility as normal. A patient and defensive DK will be able to deal with spaced Nairs pretty well, so Fair is actually your better neutral tool in the air because of its range.
I haven't fought a good DK with Ike yet, but I have with Cloud. His tilts are quick and cover a BIG area, also his suicide throw shenanigans are cancerous. I feel like if it wasn't online, dealing with a slower character like DK would seem easier. Regardless, It is harder to space against him because of the grab/tilt range...

Maybe it could be you’re bad at the matchup
Also, please stop provoking.
 
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WeretigerX

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I haven't fought a good DK with Ike yet, but I have with Cloud. His tilts are quick and cover a BIG area, also his suicide throw shenanigans are cancerous. I feel like if it wasn't online, dealing with a slower character like DK would seem easier. Regardless, It is harder to space against him because of the grab/tilt range...
I don't consider DK to be a slow character, because most of his attacks are about as fast as any mid-weight fighters and sometimes faster. His movement speed is not ideal though.
 

MERPIS

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I haven't fought a good DK with Ike yet, but I have with Cloud. His tilts are quick and cover a BIG area, also his suicide throw shenanigans are cancerous. I feel like if it wasn't online, dealing with a slower character like DK would seem easier. Regardless, It is harder to space against him because of the grab/tilt range...



Also, please stop provoking.
MAN I just love it when people can't take criticism and always brush it off as an attempt to troll. God you people are way too sensitive

You are a puff player. Go get bent somewhere else man. No body cares what you have to say. Go camp somewhere else. No one likes you.
belmont main
nice flamebait
 

Banjobeast158

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Maybe it could be you’re bad at the matchup
I don't consider DK to be a slow character, because most of his attacks are about as fast as any mid-weight fighters and sometimes faster. His movement speed is not ideal though.
He is almost in the same boat as Ike: sped up attacks from smash 4 along with the decreased landing lag. Also he retained his strength (unlike Ike from Brawl-Smash 4) so he can apply some good pressure. I'm not sure who dashes faster, but I think the best thing to do against DK would be to abuse his slower ground speed and try to get in a Dtilt or grab. I would say Ftilt, but there are not really follow ups to it. Not sure if his tilts out-range Ike's though, will need to check that.
 

T-Donor66

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I don't know where you think I'm saying he's slow with little movement and has bad attacks. He definitely does have great range and frame data, which is why a lot of his matchups are favorable. As far as Mario goes, yes Ike out-ranges him, and theoretically Mario should never get close to Ike. However, no player is perfect, and as soon as you make one mistake Mario can punish you for 60%-80% pretty easily with one combo. Then later on you say Ike only loses to characters who can combo him off stage and gimp him, which Mario can definitely do. So I'm still not convinced Mario's matchup is much better than 40/60.

Regarding Villager, I may change his ratio a bit because I'll admit on certain stages it's a lot harder for him to camp you, and if you approach him diagonally it can be difficult for him to respond fast enough. So the Villager matchup might not be as bad as I originally thought.

I'm not really sure why you think Mario and Villager were nerfed from 4. According to their Smash Wiki pages Mario got 27 buffs and 19 nerfs and Villager got 17 buffs and 9 nerfs and the general consensus seems to be neither of them were heavily buffed or nerfed overall.

As far as the projectiles are concerned, I never said Ike loses to projectiles because he's slow, I said he loses to projectile characters because they can gimp him off-stage (or just stick a bunch of damage onto him while he's trying to recover). And yes you make a good point that your sword can nullify projectiles, but that's not really what I'm talking about in most of the matchups.

As for Snake, I actually think this matchup is fairly hard for Ike simply because of grenades. Your sword doesn't 'nullify' a grenade, it blows it up in your face (unless you catch it). All snake has to do to is pull a grenade and shield and you can't approach with Nair or you'll hit the grenade and blow yourself up, and if you try approaching with grab to counter this, Snake's grenade may still go off and mess up your follow-up. Plus, Snake can easily gimp you while you're off stage by forcing you to quick draw into his side-B missile, which cancels your momentum and can easily cause you to die as a result.

TLDR: I don't agree with Mario I still think he's about 40/60. Admit that Villager may be easier, will adjust. Do not agree with Snake, still think he's difficult.
Dude, I’m gonna give it to you straight. If you consistently lose to Mario as Ike, you are not qualified to write this guide, plain and simple. Mario is the type of character ike eats up. Stop creating Ike guides if you yourself have trouble consistently spacing.
You are a puff player. Go get bent somewhere else man. No body cares what you have to say. Go camp somewhere else. No one likes you.
Lets get something straight. This type of targetted harassment based on someones character choices does not fly in this community. The less amount of petty, immature, defensive people like you we have on this site, the better. The fact that MERPIS MERPIS ’s opinion illicited a reaction like that out of you shows me how insecure you are. Go back to Youtube comments if that is how you wish to behave.
 
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Qualk

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It might be me sucking against Donkey Kong, but I feel like that one is closer to 50/50. DK's kill moves come out a lot quicker than Ike's and he can set up his kill moves with a super-armored Side B. DK's grab range is ridiculous and at mid percentages he can basically ragdoll you off stage. You can recover from most of them, but it sets up nice edgeguarding options for DK. Just as easily as Ike can gimp DK's recovery, DK can do the same with maybe a bit more trouble. DK's aerials are faster and are solid edgeguarding tools. Ftilt is Ike's best friend in this matchup on the ground. Cross-up Nair is a nice mixup as well as Cross-up Bair. Dk's tilts are even faster than Ike's Dtilt and outrange it, so that doesn't have nearly as much utility as normal. A patient and defensive DK will be able to deal with spaced Nairs pretty well, so Fair is actually your better neutral tool in the air because of its range.
This is great feedback, thank you. I agree with what you said and I made some adjustments to DK's writeup and ratio.
 

Qualk

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Dude, I’m gonna give it to you straight. If you consistently lose to Mario as Ike, you are not qualified to write this guide, plain and simple. Mario is the type of character ike eats up. Stop creating Ike guides if you yourself have trouble consistently spacing.
Maybe it could be you’re bad at the matchup
You both could be right honestly, I haven't faced that many good Mario's myself, which is why a lot of the guide (including the Mario section) is based on reviewing videos of the matchups and listening to feedback. Personally, I feel a guide like this is actually better by analyzing videos of different Ike players instead of basing it all on my own experience because like most players not named MKLeo, I have lots of weaknesses and holes in my game that I need to patch up, which could cause the guide's advice to become biased if I only use my own play.

If you could find a video where an Ike beats a good Mario that'd be helpful. I found one additional video where an Ike 3-stocks Mario but it was just in pools of a local tournament and it was only one game (Mario player swapped to Young Link for game 2) so looking for a higher sample size here.
 

san.

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Please keep it civil. There are players with various skill levels and matchup experiences that are all valid in their own ways as long as the relevant info is taken from it. You could look at a list of the same advantages and disadvantages and come to completely opposite conclusions based on how one weighs these advantages/disadvantages.

That being said, there's much to learn about a lot of matchups in this game to get better at it, and many matchups even at top level are pretty infantile right now.
 

Qualk

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Just added a stage selection guide. If you guys could take a look and tell me what you think that'd be great, I will definitely update that as needed.
 

Illink17

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Ok so I'm new here and I've been playing a decent amount of ike and have some experience with him in competitive since I've attended 4 tourneys now. Do you really think he loses these many matchups? I thought he drastically improved from smash 4? I can kinda see why he loses but I feel nothing is too unmanageable. Then again I need some good matchup experience, but again Id really like to read your input.
 

Qualk

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Ok so I'm new here and I've been playing a decent amount of ike and have some experience with him in competitive since I've attended 4 tourneys now. Do you really think he loses these many matchups? I thought he drastically improved from smash 4? I can kinda see why he loses but I feel nothing is too unmanageable. Then again I need some good matchup experience, but again Id really like to read your input.
A lot of them are really close, and some matchups can change pretty drastically based on the stage choice. I think people are starting to realize what Ike's weaknesses are and capitalize on them. You can see this in the MKLeo interview after he won Summit while barely playing Ike, someone asked him if Ike is still a thing and he basically said yes but only in certain matchups.

Anyways, I'd be curious if you have issues with any specific character ratio, I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
 
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PrinceKazma

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Great post, man.
I appreciate your analysis on the match-ups and the videos, pretty handful.
I'm eager to see what you find on the Joker's match-up (prolly against Ike).
Keep the good work, man.
 

Gryphon827

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I honestly think that Ike has one of the best matchups against Pichu. The main problem that a lot of characters have with him is that he's hard to hit, but when your moves hit in a 5 foot radius around you, that isn't a big problem. Definitely not a 30-70; I'd consider it a 45-55.
 

DeDeDIke

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The Hero is out!!! What do you guys think of the matchup? I haven't gotten around to doing that matchup just yet.
 

Qualk

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The Hero is out!!! What do you guys think of the matchup? I haven't gotten around to doing that matchup just yet.
Just added some videos, seems pretty even maybe even in Ike's favor. I'll get a writeup going as soon as more videos are uploaded and I have time to watch/analyze them.
 

Arrei

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I feel like Ike won't have too much trouble against Hero. While he has large disjointed aerials like ours, they're real slow, and rather laggy. Hero's air speed is also fairly mediocre, making it harder for him to evade Nair, Fair, and Uair so that he has room to use spells. Perhaps most importantly, Ike isn't very easy to catch with the Hero's Kawoosh -> Kafrizz edgeguard technique, since Ike can easily go higher with Quick Draw and Aether can interrupt the setup. Aether itself is a pretty bad idea to recover with if you can avoid it though - Command Window has several options that can take advantage of Aether's spin time, such as Kaboom from midstage or Flame Slash, Kacrackle Slash, and Thwack from close range. Landing any of those in an edgeguard situation will probably spell doom for Ike.

We will have to watch out for his Utilt, since it's absolutely huge and we love to jump, but he has very few combos so even if we get caught the punish shouldn't be too hard.
 
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