In Brawl, your best offense can literally be the intelligent use of defensive options in the midst of battle. Such is the nature of Brawl, a game where the perfect defense can easily pierce through offense and turn the bound of battle.
While I am sure all of you more-dedicated-than-me Toon Link mains will have more to contribute, I'd like to underlay the foundation of this thread with:
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Options out of shield
We are all aware there are moments in battle where you are stuck in a rather disadvantageous position w/ Toon Link, or any character for that matter. However, with the aid of the jump command, which instantaneously cancels shield release lag with a jump, some of Toon Link's best moves can be used to swat away the opponent.
Note jump canceled shield to whatever is safer than simply shield releasing, which takes anywhere from 5-7 frames if I recall correctly. That's enough time for faster characters like Meta Knight to punish you rather than reverse.
Jump canceled Usmash
This is so-so in the fact that most opponents won't be attacking you from above unless they have a multi-hit or lingering hitbox, and in which case means they'll stuff your Usmash anyway. However, if there should be a need to use Usmash out of shield, press jump along with C-stick up (assuming it's on Smash) and release to perform a Usmash with all shield lag gone. Probably works well on slower characters that mess up spacing and get too close to your shield.
The hitbox behind you is weak and also allows you to try to set up a Uair kill or a juggle trap with Bair from this. The front blunt side outright kills around 95%+ against middleweights and below. However, as I said, the hitbox of Usmash horizontally is small.
Jump canceled *grounded* Spin Attack
Probably a more well-known choice out of shield. Spin Attack (Up+B) is a somewhat weak attack that sweeps low on the ground and therefore has good horizontal distance, but poor vertical (it for some reason still has a bit though). It's a multi-hit move that sucks the opponent in and then throws them out at the end. Do know the attack has the tendency to pop them out early naturally, or whiff hits so they can powershield in-between hits, or Dolphin Slash through it (Marth only).
To do the grounded form, jump cancel the shield and immediately Up+B. If you have tap jump on, just press Up+B from shield. If done correctly, you should NOT do the aerial up+b, just the grounded form.
If you are *crazy* enough to do aerial Up+B out of shield, only do it if they're attacking in front of you. Aerial up+b has almost no back hitbox at the beginning, and toward the middle and end, it has absolutely none so be wary.
Jump cancel to aerials
Probably one of the best options you have. The only offset is the fact that your sword is naturally short in range. However, this gives you the most versatile options. Simply shorthop out of shield and perform a rising aerial (remember to let go of shield or you'll do non-autocanceled Zair).
The two best options are Nair and Bair, both are quick and get the job done. The opponent attacking you from behind? Bair. From the front? Nair. You can also try to do Uair if they've just sitting inside your shield, but there's a few frames where no hitbox is out. Dair is the next best alternative to Bair/Nair. Fair works as well but is laggier than Uair. Fair might be good if you want to retreat and scare them off with good old fair from your shield. For the sake of just getting them off your shield though, stick with Bair and Nair, your bread and butter.
Jump cancel to airdodge/Zair
There are times when retreating is best since you lack range against the likes of Marth and Meta Knight. A jump cancel to airdodge is a good way to do this. Add this with DI and you can retreat. Since Zair cancels an airdodge at any moment, you can airdodge out of shield and do a Zair that gets autocanceled and either follow up or run since it's lagless. Make sure that if you want a Zair from this that you shorthop, as well as get the timing for a full-ranged Zair that also gets autocanceled at the same time.
Bombs out of shield
This is rather interesting. With bombs, you can do a lot of things out of shield. You can bomb drop from a shorthop as you DI away from jump cancels, or throw it forward, backward, up, down, lightly or a full toss. Whatever. When you hold a bomb, you can also press A+use control stick/C-stick to shield cancel to a throw in any four directions. This can be used in conjunction with shielding to bait opponents. Whatever it is though, you have a lot of options with a bomb in hand.
Shield Grab
The most basic and universal option out of shield. Everyone has this. Tether users tend not to do this since tether lag upon failure is a millennium and four quarters of a decade. However, this is a good mix-up tactic, especially on users that attack with a laggy move. Use the grab to pummel them with grab jabs to refresh your moves and either Dthrow to juggle w/ Bair at low percents or Uthrow to set up a higher length for them to fall back down from, giving you more time to set up whatever shenanigans you want to do up in the air (Uair kills, bair juggles, bomb pressuring, etc.). You can also Bthrow if you're near the ledge and prepare your assault with your above average offstage game. Even a grab release will suffice as it gives you a positional advantage *most* of the time. On characters like Ness/Lucas, you can Dsmash or jab from the ground break.
Since Toon Link is too short to force jump breaks unless you grabbed them off the edge of a platform/ledge, jump breaks aren't guaranteed. However, if the foe manually does one, you can follow up on some characters. For example, if MK jump breaks, you can get off a free Nair or something. Simply experiment with a friend that can airdodge/attack/have a brain and you can explore this further. The good thing is that jump breaks cannot be DI'd so experimentation is limited to whether or not your foe can attack or dodge before your follow-up.
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I focused almost exclusively with options from a jump canceled shield, but I am sure there a lot more you more creative people can conjure up. Have fun now?
<_<
While I am sure all of you more-dedicated-than-me Toon Link mains will have more to contribute, I'd like to underlay the foundation of this thread with:
-----------------------------------------
Options out of shield
We are all aware there are moments in battle where you are stuck in a rather disadvantageous position w/ Toon Link, or any character for that matter. However, with the aid of the jump command, which instantaneously cancels shield release lag with a jump, some of Toon Link's best moves can be used to swat away the opponent.
Note jump canceled shield to whatever is safer than simply shield releasing, which takes anywhere from 5-7 frames if I recall correctly. That's enough time for faster characters like Meta Knight to punish you rather than reverse.
Jump canceled Usmash
This is so-so in the fact that most opponents won't be attacking you from above unless they have a multi-hit or lingering hitbox, and in which case means they'll stuff your Usmash anyway. However, if there should be a need to use Usmash out of shield, press jump along with C-stick up (assuming it's on Smash) and release to perform a Usmash with all shield lag gone. Probably works well on slower characters that mess up spacing and get too close to your shield.
The hitbox behind you is weak and also allows you to try to set up a Uair kill or a juggle trap with Bair from this. The front blunt side outright kills around 95%+ against middleweights and below. However, as I said, the hitbox of Usmash horizontally is small.
Jump canceled *grounded* Spin Attack
Probably a more well-known choice out of shield. Spin Attack (Up+B) is a somewhat weak attack that sweeps low on the ground and therefore has good horizontal distance, but poor vertical (it for some reason still has a bit though). It's a multi-hit move that sucks the opponent in and then throws them out at the end. Do know the attack has the tendency to pop them out early naturally, or whiff hits so they can powershield in-between hits, or Dolphin Slash through it (Marth only).
To do the grounded form, jump cancel the shield and immediately Up+B. If you have tap jump on, just press Up+B from shield. If done correctly, you should NOT do the aerial up+b, just the grounded form.
If you are *crazy* enough to do aerial Up+B out of shield, only do it if they're attacking in front of you. Aerial up+b has almost no back hitbox at the beginning, and toward the middle and end, it has absolutely none so be wary.
Jump cancel to aerials
Probably one of the best options you have. The only offset is the fact that your sword is naturally short in range. However, this gives you the most versatile options. Simply shorthop out of shield and perform a rising aerial (remember to let go of shield or you'll do non-autocanceled Zair).
The two best options are Nair and Bair, both are quick and get the job done. The opponent attacking you from behind? Bair. From the front? Nair. You can also try to do Uair if they've just sitting inside your shield, but there's a few frames where no hitbox is out. Dair is the next best alternative to Bair/Nair. Fair works as well but is laggier than Uair. Fair might be good if you want to retreat and scare them off with good old fair from your shield. For the sake of just getting them off your shield though, stick with Bair and Nair, your bread and butter.
Jump cancel to airdodge/Zair
There are times when retreating is best since you lack range against the likes of Marth and Meta Knight. A jump cancel to airdodge is a good way to do this. Add this with DI and you can retreat. Since Zair cancels an airdodge at any moment, you can airdodge out of shield and do a Zair that gets autocanceled and either follow up or run since it's lagless. Make sure that if you want a Zair from this that you shorthop, as well as get the timing for a full-ranged Zair that also gets autocanceled at the same time.
Bombs out of shield
This is rather interesting. With bombs, you can do a lot of things out of shield. You can bomb drop from a shorthop as you DI away from jump cancels, or throw it forward, backward, up, down, lightly or a full toss. Whatever. When you hold a bomb, you can also press A+use control stick/C-stick to shield cancel to a throw in any four directions. This can be used in conjunction with shielding to bait opponents. Whatever it is though, you have a lot of options with a bomb in hand.
Shield Grab
The most basic and universal option out of shield. Everyone has this. Tether users tend not to do this since tether lag upon failure is a millennium and four quarters of a decade. However, this is a good mix-up tactic, especially on users that attack with a laggy move. Use the grab to pummel them with grab jabs to refresh your moves and either Dthrow to juggle w/ Bair at low percents or Uthrow to set up a higher length for them to fall back down from, giving you more time to set up whatever shenanigans you want to do up in the air (Uair kills, bair juggles, bomb pressuring, etc.). You can also Bthrow if you're near the ledge and prepare your assault with your above average offstage game. Even a grab release will suffice as it gives you a positional advantage *most* of the time. On characters like Ness/Lucas, you can Dsmash or jab from the ground break.
Since Toon Link is too short to force jump breaks unless you grabbed them off the edge of a platform/ledge, jump breaks aren't guaranteed. However, if the foe manually does one, you can follow up on some characters. For example, if MK jump breaks, you can get off a free Nair or something. Simply experiment with a friend that can airdodge/attack/have a brain and you can explore this further. The good thing is that jump breaks cannot be DI'd so experimentation is limited to whether or not your foe can attack or dodge before your follow-up.
-----------------------------------------
I focused almost exclusively with options from a jump canceled shield, but I am sure there a lot more you more creative people can conjure up. Have fun now?
<_<
