Okay I've done rigorous testing in training mode pitting Zelda's USmash against the entire cast's Dairs. Here's what I found:
USmash will consistently beat:
Mario
Donkey Kong
Samus
Fox
Marth
Luigi
Zelda
Shiek
Falco
Squirtle
Snake
Peach
Yoshi (also beats down special consistently)
Ganon (CAN beat down b)
Ness
Sonic
Bowser (CAN beat down b)
Olimar
Captain Falcon (also beats down special consistently)
Jigglypuff
Wolf
Interesting things about this group:
Donkey Kong, Samus, Ness and Marth can trade hits with the first hit of your USmash but the timing to do this is VERY difficult. So most likely a good player will avoid Zelda when above her.
Peach has a nasty trick. If she has a turnip she can Z drop this which will go straight through Zelda's USmash. She can then catch the turnip and begin her crazy combo strings on you. She cannot Z drop a turnip whilst caught in USmash.
Ganon and Bowser's down b's are very interesting. The attacks seem to have more priority when done closer to you from above. If they perform these moves far away from you they will be caught in USmash VERY EASILY. Otherwise these moves have strong chances of beating Zelda's USmash.
Olimar is interesting in that his yellow pikmin have more reslience against Zelda's 'lightning' based magic. Hence he is more likely to beat you from above with a yellow pikmin than any other. However, he still needs crazy timing to pull this off.
Dairs that are beatable but fare slightly better against USmash:
Link
Kirby
Diddy
Pit
Charizard
Ice Climbers
Wario
Wolf
Zero Suit Samus
Interesting things about this group:
No much really. Diddy can z drop a banana if he's ever falling down towards you. This is similar to peach. Be on guard about this.
Link's Dair is highly telegraphed BUT many Links enjoy doing this move (if they were to ever use it) as close to the character as possible. It's animation is more difficult to spot when Link is closer to you and so you are more likely to get hit. However, if the Link player telegraphs this move from above you will CONSISTENTLY beat it with good timing.
Ice Climbers are similar to Ganon and Bowser in that the USmash has problems if their dair is performed closer to the ground. Anything higher and it's fine.
These Dairs ARE beatable but with good timing:
Pikachu
Game and Watch
Meta Knight
Toon Link
Interesting things about this group:
Pikachu's Dair is weird. It has two hits, and the second hit is what causes a problem for Zelda. Her Usmash can beat his Dair due to range issues, but it will certainly not beat it consistently.
Game and Watch CAN BE BEATEN. I've tested it many times. Perhaps the best way to beat it is to not catch his Dair in the middle of Zelda's USmash but at the very start of it. Zelda's timing must be good.
Dairs that CANNOT BE BEATEN:
Ivysaur
King Dedede
Lucario
ROB
Lucas
Ike
Interesting things about this group:
I bet you're surprised at King Dedede, right? The reason he's on this list is because his Dair has interesting properties - range, priority and the fact it's multi-hit as well. A dedede will always beat Zelda if he spaces himself well. Zelda can certainly beat a sloppy dedede who mistimes and mispaces his dair, but just be VERY careful.
The others are standard really. The only way Lucas can ever be beaten is if USmash catches him inbetween the attacks of his Dair, but this is down to chance. It's something no one can consistently time, hence he's in this category.
Ike's can actually out prioritise Zelda's USmash. However he has great startup lag involved with his Dair. Be wary of an Ike player however if he can time the Dair well, because it will beat Zelda (comes down to range.)
SUMMARISING:
USmash has the potential to beat all but 6 dairs, and out of those 6, I'd say dedede, lucas, possibly ROB and Ike can still be beaten but Zelda needs to be in her prime and her opponents need to mess up. OR YOU COULD SH TO UAIR? Which technically will solve all the answers to all your problems!
Hope this thread helped!
EDIT:: Tested Toon Link again and yep, it can be beaten. Timing is hard but not hard enough for it to be unbeatable. Ike has moved down to the unbeatable group because his Dair does outprioritise. It's the startup animation that may hinder him in this respect so Zelda may have a chance.
USmash will consistently beat:
Mario
Donkey Kong
Samus
Fox
Marth
Luigi
Zelda
Shiek
Falco
Squirtle
Snake
Peach
Yoshi (also beats down special consistently)
Ganon (CAN beat down b)
Ness
Sonic
Bowser (CAN beat down b)
Olimar
Captain Falcon (also beats down special consistently)
Jigglypuff
Wolf
Interesting things about this group:
Donkey Kong, Samus, Ness and Marth can trade hits with the first hit of your USmash but the timing to do this is VERY difficult. So most likely a good player will avoid Zelda when above her.
Peach has a nasty trick. If she has a turnip she can Z drop this which will go straight through Zelda's USmash. She can then catch the turnip and begin her crazy combo strings on you. She cannot Z drop a turnip whilst caught in USmash.
Ganon and Bowser's down b's are very interesting. The attacks seem to have more priority when done closer to you from above. If they perform these moves far away from you they will be caught in USmash VERY EASILY. Otherwise these moves have strong chances of beating Zelda's USmash.
Olimar is interesting in that his yellow pikmin have more reslience against Zelda's 'lightning' based magic. Hence he is more likely to beat you from above with a yellow pikmin than any other. However, he still needs crazy timing to pull this off.
Dairs that are beatable but fare slightly better against USmash:
Link
Kirby
Diddy
Pit
Charizard
Ice Climbers
Wario
Wolf
Zero Suit Samus
Interesting things about this group:
No much really. Diddy can z drop a banana if he's ever falling down towards you. This is similar to peach. Be on guard about this.
Link's Dair is highly telegraphed BUT many Links enjoy doing this move (if they were to ever use it) as close to the character as possible. It's animation is more difficult to spot when Link is closer to you and so you are more likely to get hit. However, if the Link player telegraphs this move from above you will CONSISTENTLY beat it with good timing.
Ice Climbers are similar to Ganon and Bowser in that the USmash has problems if their dair is performed closer to the ground. Anything higher and it's fine.
These Dairs ARE beatable but with good timing:
Pikachu
Game and Watch
Meta Knight
Toon Link
Interesting things about this group:
Pikachu's Dair is weird. It has two hits, and the second hit is what causes a problem for Zelda. Her Usmash can beat his Dair due to range issues, but it will certainly not beat it consistently.
Game and Watch CAN BE BEATEN. I've tested it many times. Perhaps the best way to beat it is to not catch his Dair in the middle of Zelda's USmash but at the very start of it. Zelda's timing must be good.
Dairs that CANNOT BE BEATEN:
Ivysaur
King Dedede
Lucario
ROB
Lucas
Ike
Interesting things about this group:
I bet you're surprised at King Dedede, right? The reason he's on this list is because his Dair has interesting properties - range, priority and the fact it's multi-hit as well. A dedede will always beat Zelda if he spaces himself well. Zelda can certainly beat a sloppy dedede who mistimes and mispaces his dair, but just be VERY careful.
The others are standard really. The only way Lucas can ever be beaten is if USmash catches him inbetween the attacks of his Dair, but this is down to chance. It's something no one can consistently time, hence he's in this category.
Ike's can actually out prioritise Zelda's USmash. However he has great startup lag involved with his Dair. Be wary of an Ike player however if he can time the Dair well, because it will beat Zelda (comes down to range.)
SUMMARISING:
USmash has the potential to beat all but 6 dairs, and out of those 6, I'd say dedede, lucas, possibly ROB and Ike can still be beaten but Zelda needs to be in her prime and her opponents need to mess up. OR YOU COULD SH TO UAIR? Which technically will solve all the answers to all your problems!
Hope this thread helped!
EDIT:: Tested Toon Link again and yep, it can be beaten. Timing is hard but not hard enough for it to be unbeatable. Ike has moved down to the unbeatable group because his Dair does outprioritise. It's the startup animation that may hinder him in this respect so Zelda may have a chance.
