Sorry about the short post, I was about to leave for work ;3
hahaha
okay. First off, good Ice Climbers won't rely on grabs and should be able to fight competently with the non-grab moves.
Don't try spindashing into iceblocks, it doesn't work.
Blizzard is a problematic move, especially with desynched IC's, since one (probably Nana) will be protecting the main one with Blizzard. Your answer to this will be an aerial attack or feint. Drop a spring above them, and one is bound to be hit, and at the least, will temporarily disrupt the desynch.
On the topic of forced desynchs, Homing Attack and Spring>retreating D-airs work pretty well in this matchup. N-air and F-air work well off-stage for 'unwanted' desynchs, too.
IF you somehow (by accident or on purpose) grab Popo (player controlled IC), do NOT immediately go into a U/D-throw (it's a bad reflex for this matchup). Pummel. It will work as a semi 'jab' to disrupt Nana and keep her from smashing you. This is where F-throw comes handy, since I believe it's Sonic's fastest throw, so you can disrupt, kick, and gtfo. B-throw might work too, but I'm not sure if Nana's magnetism will slide her to chase you `.`;
On grabs:
Well, grabs can either be predictable (0-20% starter combo, 40% ice lock setup, 100%+ for a smash finish) or protected (Blizzard/iceblock backup). Don't approach with D-air against a good IC, and watch out for people with the timing good enough to grab out of spindashes, not that you should be approaching with grounded spindashes.
This is where reverse stutterstep shines. I've mentioned a few times that it's a good way to counter predictable 'tipper'-style (high precision) approaches. As a refresher, this is done with a [back > forward+A] at dash-dance speed. It adds extra distance to your backwards step on a F-smash, which is perfect for setting up a whiff.
On recovery/gimping:
Off-stage, you'll have to adapt to your specific opponent, and see if there are any predictable recovery movements.
IC's side-B is SOMETIMES used as a recovery. However, a solo Ice Climber has significantly less ability to float with it than dual Ice Climbers.
IC's up-B is generally the most-used recovery method. It works as a tether, and if someone is on the edge, then it will not sweetspot the ledge, but instead act as a third jump, with significantly more height given to the main IC. It's also how Popo tends to rescue Nana. As Popo is throwing Nana, he's vulnerable, so you can actually stage spike/gimp/kill him in that small window of time.
So... you will successfully gimp if the following conditions are met:
- Popo is parallel to/under the stage and Nana is occupied/dead.
- Popo is a little higher than the stage and Nana is occupied/dead.
Here are some gimp ideas:
- Knock Nana off the stage. Popo jumps off the stage to rescue Nana. You must predict when Popo is vulnerable and when he's about to use up-B (or side-B) then catch Nana in an F-air before he initiates the recovery move.
- Edgehog (so they don't sweetspot) and attack Popo as he returns to stage.
- If you get them to the edge, jab. Since the two are somewhat staggered, Popo's SDI/DI will be different from Nana. It's a rather effective disruptor for IC's.
- If you're playing against an IC who tends to up-B from below and Popo's at 40-60%, try dropping down and stagespiking Popo. He floats in one place when he throws Nana, so FF B-airs (or F-airs) can screw them up.
For this matchup, keep in mind to use your kill mindgames (whatever they are) as... well, kill mindgames. Save the most effective ones (and they tend to be the simple ones) for the kill and don't use them too often in damaging, as satisfying it is to smash a whiffed grab. ;p
There's probably more I forgot about. Feel free to correct anything here. My experience against IC's are limited to 1v1s on wifi (green-yellow connections), so although I've met a few that can chaingrab online, they do use desynchs and normal attacks more often.
