Using Nair in Edgeguarding

[Crossie]

I've seen lots of people use nair in their edgeguards and thought at the time that it was a good choice, but when I'm playing I never seem to choose it over fairs or bairs. Fair and bair hit harder, have better range, and are less likely to trade. I've seen Hbox ledgecancel nairs on the edge of the stage to try to cover side-b's that might or might not sweet spot, but even there I'm not sure why you wouldn't use a fair instead. Is it just because nair stays out longer? What advantages does nair have for edgeguarding? When do you guys use it?

 

[Low5_]

Nair is especially effective on interrupting the Side-B of either Fox or Falco. In a lot of cases if you're out searching for a Bair or a Fair to finish them off, they'll attempt to either Side-B on stage, or go for the ledge-cancel. In both of these situations a jump nair will pop them back off stage giving you plenty of time to react and finish your edge-guard.

In terms of interrupting a sweet-spot, in my opinion it all comes down to preference and what you're comfortable following up with. Personally, I like to mix it up sometimes and hit them with the last couple hits of a ledge-cancelled Dair ---> into a Fair or Bair. Fair and Nair both work just as effectively for this as well, although you could argue that in case you miss the ledge cancel, the auto-cancel on the Nair gives you more room to mess up and not risk dropping your edge-guard.

 

[ChumSSBM]

Only time i use nair when edgeguarding is to cover multiple options because of the length of the animation. In my opinion fair and bair are almost always better.

 

[Crossie]

Nair is especially effective on interrupting the Side-B of either Fox or Falco. In a lot of cases if you're out searching for a Bair or a Fair to finish them off, they'll attempt to either Side-B on stage, or go for the ledge-cancel. In both of these situations a jump nair will pop them back off stage giving you plenty of time to react and finish your edge-guard.

Why is nair better than fair for interrupting side-b? Isn't it more likely to trade?

 

[Low5_]

Why is nair better than fair for interrupting side-b? Isn't it more likely to trade?

Due to the hurt-box of a Fox or Falco Side-B being in front of the hit-box, there is no risk of trading when throwing out a Nair.

However, as I'm sure you've experienced, if you use either option too late you will most likely clank with the hitbox and do nothing to Falco. This will happen with any ariel if produced too late.

 

[Crossie]

Due to the hurt-box of a Fox or Falco Side-B being in front of the hit-box, there is no risk of trading when throwing out a Nair.

However, as I'm sure you've experienced, if you use either option too late you will most likely clank with the hitbox and do nothing to Falco. This will happen with any ariel if produced too late.

I guess that's true. So the answer to why nair is better, then, is just that it stays out longer (meaning you can use it earlier and you're less likely to clank) and there are no real drawbacks?

 

[Low5_]

I guess that's true. So the answer to why nair is better, then, is just that it stays out longer (meaning you can use it earlier and you're less likely to clank) and there are no real drawbacks?

Exactly, it's much easier to cover different timings. It's pretty common to fair too early and miss the edge guard.