hologram summer
Smash Cadet
I've started using this more as a semi yolo option but I wanted to share some successful setups I've had with it.
Note that this move is pretty much never safe in neutral anyway, but hitting its weak hitbox sets sheik up for some of her best combos. I'm ranking these in terms of what I feel is actual utility, so situations at the end are more unsafe and more situational.
0. No tech jab reset --> Upsmash on wakeup / Upsmash read on no tech / Upsmash read on tech roll
So far pretty much the only usage of the move that we see at high level play and that's cuz it works really well in those situations. If you mistime the upsmash its likely you would have mistimed other moves and would have lost the tech chase anyway, but its very guaranteed if you have the read or you get the reset. At ~30-40% upsmash is a devastating move, sets up for some really good dair/weak hit upair combos.
0. Dair --> Sliding upsmash on DI
I think this only works at around 40% and you need to hit the upsmash with the weak hitbox for you to get any good followups. Dair should give you enough hitstun time vs. Spacies to confirm the DI and do a sliding upsmash in that direction. It is a little fast though, but its a very reliable option other than wavedash uptilt or just ftilt in that direction. I would argue that it's better because ftilt allows them to DI very far away and upsmash does more hitstun and I don't think you can DI it that drastically.
1. AC Fair on shield --> fox trot back --> fox trot forward JC Upsmash
This one actually works well sometimes because after the fox trot back they'll think your block pressure is over and might jump, wavedash forward or wavedash back. If they even just let go of shield this also works, so it catches people sometimes being a little slow. Execution wise it feels weird because I was so used to just holding the control stick after AC fair to run away, so I have to tap it now for the fox trot if I want to set this up. This works well closer to the edges of the stage where they don't really have anywhere to retreat to but the upper platforms or vertically in general.
2. AC fair on shield --> run past cc Upsmash
This is a real gimmick and works center stage if your opponent holds shield a lot. This probably won't work a lot of the time but it works decently well on Falcon who might stay in shield slightly longer than most characters due to his bad OOS options. He also likes to jump out of shield so this could catch him.
3. (If you have a roll read) max range jab on shield --> sliding upsmash charge in the opposite direction
I think this, short of just grabbing people, is the ultimate roll punish. People sometimes get caught with this in the corner because they feel threatened. In general no one should really be rolling out of shield in general but if you have the read, I would say go for it. It's actually not SUPER unsafe because the move can sometimes hit a little meaty if they do nothing and try to punish. But it is very punishable
4. This only works on Yoshis. Upthrow onto the platform --> AC fair their shield --> short sliding upsmash towards the edge of the platform closest to the center stage
This covers a decent amount of options. If your timing is good AC fair will just hit them before they can shield. If you timed your AC fair on their shield, the upsmash will cover rolls to the other side of the platform, shield drops, wavedashes towards center stage, and sometimes short hops out of shield. It won't beat retreats to the top platform or wavedashing off of the edge.
5. CC Nair at ~30-50% Upsmash
Nair at these percents will cause you to slide back and will make shine whiff, but some Spacies don't realize this and continue to trudge forward. To be honest, the CC animation and the puffs of air almost mask your upsmash and this can sometimes catch auto pilot double nairs or other bad approaches. This only really works vs. Falcon if his nair doesn't completely cross you up.
6. Upsmash at the edge of invincible ledge dash spacing.
I love doing this sometimes if I know my opponent has a ledge recovery preference. This will not work vs falco at all, but vs Fox and Falcon, sometimes they might autopilot the ledge dash without knowing the spacing. The key is to time it right as they are approaching the ledge for their ledge jump so you hit them on the last possible frame and maximize recovery and have a better chance to beat shields. It's risky but fun to use.
Have you guys found any cool usages for this move in neutral?
Note that this move is pretty much never safe in neutral anyway, but hitting its weak hitbox sets sheik up for some of her best combos. I'm ranking these in terms of what I feel is actual utility, so situations at the end are more unsafe and more situational.
0. No tech jab reset --> Upsmash on wakeup / Upsmash read on no tech / Upsmash read on tech roll
So far pretty much the only usage of the move that we see at high level play and that's cuz it works really well in those situations. If you mistime the upsmash its likely you would have mistimed other moves and would have lost the tech chase anyway, but its very guaranteed if you have the read or you get the reset. At ~30-40% upsmash is a devastating move, sets up for some really good dair/weak hit upair combos.
0. Dair --> Sliding upsmash on DI
I think this only works at around 40% and you need to hit the upsmash with the weak hitbox for you to get any good followups. Dair should give you enough hitstun time vs. Spacies to confirm the DI and do a sliding upsmash in that direction. It is a little fast though, but its a very reliable option other than wavedash uptilt or just ftilt in that direction. I would argue that it's better because ftilt allows them to DI very far away and upsmash does more hitstun and I don't think you can DI it that drastically.
1. AC Fair on shield --> fox trot back --> fox trot forward JC Upsmash
This one actually works well sometimes because after the fox trot back they'll think your block pressure is over and might jump, wavedash forward or wavedash back. If they even just let go of shield this also works, so it catches people sometimes being a little slow. Execution wise it feels weird because I was so used to just holding the control stick after AC fair to run away, so I have to tap it now for the fox trot if I want to set this up. This works well closer to the edges of the stage where they don't really have anywhere to retreat to but the upper platforms or vertically in general.
2. AC fair on shield --> run past cc Upsmash
This is a real gimmick and works center stage if your opponent holds shield a lot. This probably won't work a lot of the time but it works decently well on Falcon who might stay in shield slightly longer than most characters due to his bad OOS options. He also likes to jump out of shield so this could catch him.
3. (If you have a roll read) max range jab on shield --> sliding upsmash charge in the opposite direction
I think this, short of just grabbing people, is the ultimate roll punish. People sometimes get caught with this in the corner because they feel threatened. In general no one should really be rolling out of shield in general but if you have the read, I would say go for it. It's actually not SUPER unsafe because the move can sometimes hit a little meaty if they do nothing and try to punish. But it is very punishable
4. This only works on Yoshis. Upthrow onto the platform --> AC fair their shield --> short sliding upsmash towards the edge of the platform closest to the center stage
This covers a decent amount of options. If your timing is good AC fair will just hit them before they can shield. If you timed your AC fair on their shield, the upsmash will cover rolls to the other side of the platform, shield drops, wavedashes towards center stage, and sometimes short hops out of shield. It won't beat retreats to the top platform or wavedashing off of the edge.
5. CC Nair at ~30-50% Upsmash
Nair at these percents will cause you to slide back and will make shine whiff, but some Spacies don't realize this and continue to trudge forward. To be honest, the CC animation and the puffs of air almost mask your upsmash and this can sometimes catch auto pilot double nairs or other bad approaches. This only really works vs. Falcon if his nair doesn't completely cross you up.
6. Upsmash at the edge of invincible ledge dash spacing.
I love doing this sometimes if I know my opponent has a ledge recovery preference. This will not work vs falco at all, but vs Fox and Falcon, sometimes they might autopilot the ledge dash without knowing the spacing. The key is to time it right as they are approaching the ledge for their ledge jump so you hit them on the last possible frame and maximize recovery and have a better chance to beat shields. It's risky but fun to use.
Have you guys found any cool usages for this move in neutral?
