Vertical Spacing

[hizzlum]

From the start of brawl I think that every marth mainer knew that the dair was'nt as easy to spike with as it was in melee. It was an important tool in melee that allowed marth to get low % kills that were effective and safe, if you knew how to use it. But this AT(which is quite old) allows Dair tips/spikes to happen 100% of the time.
Vertical Spacing: Also known as the footstool Dair, is an AT that most characters can use, but few profit from it(Captain Falcon and ganon can do this but they cannot land the dair). It is actually pretty easy to do, but it has to be done quickly.
First: Use a gamecube controller, it's the best way to play competitive brawl
Second: You must know how to short hop or else once you footstool you will fly upwards and not land the spike.
It is perform by shorthopping the opponent(works on everyone, but easier to use on MK,Jiggs,Kirby)and very quickly doing the dair. What I do to perform it is slide my hand down from Y to A while holding the control stick down and it works all the time.
They only way that this technique could be countered is by air dodging(since you want to be in the air to spike them, they might realize what's coming and try to dodge, but the duration of the dair will get a hit in that at most times will not be a spike. You must find a way to get above your opponent(dtilt semi spikes, then SH off the stage is a great way to get this AT to use), if your under them after an airdodge, just fair/uair/b-up to get a hit in and may be able to get some edgeguarding to happen.
SHOK created the AT, many pros,such as Drago, have incorporated it so that they can land ken combos and intercept recoveries with accuracy. For more, go to http://super-smash-bros.wikia.com/wiki/Vertical_spacing
This is pretty old news, but still very useful in making a situational move a thing of the past. Now marth can land a dair spike with this with 100% accuracy. Knowing this technique makes marth's dair way less situational than before, getting easy victories with spikes can now be done.

 

[Megavitamins]

The problem is, too get close enough to foot stool jump them you have to be on top of them, literally. If you get that close, you're probably going to get hit...

 

[kouryuuXfighter]

All vertical spacing does is make spiking easier from above. It does not make it any more practical than before. Ken combo is still doable with or without vertical spacing but your opponent can still get out of it by DI'ing properly after they get hit with the Fair.

I already mastered the spacing for spiking without the knowledge of Vertical Spacing and when I found out about it, I tried to incorporate it into my gameplay. Like I said, all it does is make spiking from above easier. It does not make it more practical. In fact, if you can footstool, you can spike. Of course it takes more work to spike normally.

Also, if Vertical Spacing is the only way you plan on getting spikes, then the practicality of spiking is reduced than from before. Marth can still get early kills/spikes without VS. In fact, some strategies involve spiking normally and not through VS.

All in all, I think all Marth players are better off mastering the spacing for spiking normally than mastering VS IMO (but still learning VS wont hurt either for easy spikes in certain situations).

 

[Shiranui117]

VS is good only for getting the timing & spacing down for the d-air spike. The Footstool makes your enemy fall rapidly, yes, but it's easy for your opponent to bail out.

Overall, VS should ONLY be used when learning to get the spike on Marth's d-air.

 

[PK Hexagon]

I remember hearing about this way back, and even still, it seems too situational to actually consider doing on a regular basis. You'd probably be better off just getting that last fair in...

 

[hizzlum]

All vertical spacing does is make spiking easier from above. It does not make it any more practical than before. Ken combo is still doable with or without vertical spacing but your opponent can still get out of it by DI'ing properly after they get hit with the Fair.

I already mastered the spacing for spiking without the knowledge of Vertical Spacing and when I found out about it, I tried to incorporate it into my gameplay. Like I said, all it does is make spiking from above easier. It does not make it more practical. In fact, if you can footstool, you can spike. Of course it takes more work to spike normally.

Also, if Vertical Spacing is the only way you plan on getting spikes, then the practicality of spiking is reduced than from before. Marth can still get early kills/spikes without VS. In fact, some strategies involve spiking normally and not through VS.

All in all, I think all Marth players are better off mastering the spacing for spiking normally than mastering VS IMO (but still learning VS wont hurt either for easy spikes in certain situations).

You typically have to hit from above to spike the opponent with marth's dair, when you spike with the top back part of the blade it is aweaker meteor smash than a sweetspot dair. And since most of the time you have to be above the opponent to spike, vertical spacing is helpful to get an unaviodable dair in(they cannot airdodge quick enough to block the dair after being footstooled).
When you spike to the side of the balde during a dair, you get a weaker meteor smash that people like MK,ROB,Pit can recover from(I have done ken combos ending with a dairspike at the top back part of the blade an my opponent recovered to the stage. A sweetspot dair sends them downwards with enough thrust that guarantees a kill.
I understand that VS is just one part of spiking with the dair, but it should be incoroprated when above an opponent for a more sucessful spike and kill.
Also VS stops a FF dair to happen, which at times can lead to an SD, just another thing to keep in mind about a VS is that it is a safe approach to spiking an opponent without falling to an SD

VS is good only for getting the timing & spacing down for the d-air spike. The Footstool makes your enemy fall rapidly, yes, but it's easy for your opponent to bail out.

Overall, VS should ONLY be used when learning to get the spike on Marth's d-air.

The footstool jump allows an unavoidable dair to land that sweetspots, it is the most accruate way to get a sweetspot spike.Your opponent cannot "bail" out of vertical spacing after the SH footstool is landed proceeding with a dair, it always lands with 100% accuracy, they cannot dodge it.
But remember, it is applied only above the opponent, if you next to the opponent and not above him the top back of the blade during the dair is perferable though you will get a weak meteor smash on them.

 

[GhettoSheep]

airdodge -> footstool -> dair spike

That's the only way I've ever pulled off the footstool -> spike combo

Besides, you can put yourself in better spiking positions without having to footstool. Try turning backwards, then you have the option of hitting with a bair or a spike. And if you miss with the spike they will still go away from the stage.