what art do you start the match with?

[andrewc1]

So you know how you start a match against shulk and he immediately switches to buster no matter what? well i'm not really felling that for a few reasons.

whenever you hit them at a low % with buster they go nowhere so much nowhere in fact that they can counter attack almost like crouch canceling but they don't need to crouch, they have more time to counterattack and allot of characters can punish almost every one of shulk's moves in buster when there below 30% very easily.So i don't like to switch to buster until they are around 30% or above

I think we can all agree that shield and smash aren't great options at the start because for you wont be doing much killing or getting allot of it yourself in the first 17 seconds of the match

That leaves speed and jump, I'll talk about jump first because I think green is a better color than blue in general. so I don't think jump is a very good option because it's best used for recovery and followups witch your not going to be doing much of when both players are at 0% also you take more damage and all that matters in the very beginning of a match is damage.

now speed this is pretty good if your good with combos and you predict what your opponent will do but you do so little damage in this form that the longest shulk combo i have ever seen does a measly 20% or so when on fsmash does the same thing in base form so although this improves your approaches and you can hit allot easier, you need to work super hart to tack on good %.

So that leaves the question which art will have the best result. In allot of situations it depends on your personal preference and the person your playing against for example if they shield allot when you run at them you may want to use speed and pivot grab. and if they throw out allot of projectiles you may want to use jump to get over them. But if it is the start of a new match on for glory with a new person what do you do? As much as this goes against the very spirit of shulk time I think it may be base form shulk until around 30%.

 

[Player-3]

buster vs characters its easy to get in on speed vs everything else

 

[Sol0ke]

Usually speed, sometimes nothing.

 

[Nammy12]

Speed to get in.
Once I'm in I switch to buster.

 

[Zephil]

Speed is love, Speed is life.

Also I disagree to the idea of starting with Buster.

Normally the beginning of the match is all about analyzing your opponent and also Shulk don't have many reliable low % combos as other chars and if you use Buster at the beginning is more beneficial for those chars than for Shulk.

IMO Buster is recommended only when Shulk is above 50% but not before.

 

[andrewc1]

hold on I had a revelation what if you switched to shield so whenever an opponent attacks you can counterattack like how they do when your in buster, it sounds dumb but it may be legit.

 

[Berserker.]

The thing with buster is that I feel that trying to use aerials in buster mode at early %'s will get you punished most of the time IF you connect the hit. The landing lag will be noticed and the hitsun will be miniscule to the point that any character can punish your landing even if you hit them with buster N-air. His grounded tilts are fine to use in buster since they don't really have to deal with the same issue as his aerials in buster stance, unless you're against heavier characters. This all wouldn't be much of a problem at mid percentages

 

[Masonomace]

I think we can all agree that shield and smash aren't great options at the start because for you wont be doing much killing or getting allot of it yourself in the first 17 seconds of the match

You'd be surprised what Shield & Smash can do in the beginning of the match for you, but for versing certain characters you can get away with using the lesser-used MArts: Jump Shield & Smash.
A perfect example of when Smash is completely okay to use at the start without raising some eyebrows is against because:

• Smash mode entirely bypasses / cheats Lucario's Aura system
• Lucario's damage early on is below par much like Smash mode is
• Even if your damage is literally cut in half, you're dealing slightly less damage than Lucario does
• Your Smash-augmented aerials still power through Lucario's Fullcharged Aura Sphere
• Most combos (not all of them) out of his throws are altered to the point he can't follow-up from them anymore, at 0%. .
• Lucario's range & air-game are poor versing Shulk's superior air-game & range

 

[Berserker.]

Smash is very unsafe on shield though plus it deals pitiful damage. Combined with the fact that your mobility is still subpar like vanilla which makes it ultimately not recommended to use against any character at a start of a match. Just reserve smash at the right percentage against Lucario (As long as it's below aura percentage)

 

[andrewc1]

This is all great stuff I'm learning so much, this is way more complex than I originally thought it was.

 

[Deleted member]

I use Speed when I start the battle. Speed gives me an opportunity to rush in and start some combos.

I do see the appeal of starting off with Buster; you basically get a ton of damage in the start of the battle. Still, it is not the best strategy depending on your opponent. With Speed, you can get in close quarters or take in the time to analyze what your opponent might do; Speed is a safe approaching tool for Shulk in the beginning.
With Buster, it is not wise to use it at the beginning because it tells me that you are about to go guns blazing at the beginning, which I would respond with distancing myself and playing more defensively. It can also be a double edged sword since if you are wide open, you will be the one taking the damage.

 

[MarioFireRed]

I personally don't use any art at the start of a match in most match-ups. I like seeing how my opponent plays and their habits with their characters before I choose which art to go with during the match. Granted I still use Jump, Speed, and Buster much more often than I do Shield or Smash in 95% of my battles.

The only exception to this "first-time" versing an opponent is if they have a rushdown or projectile character. In that case I go ham with Speed and see their reaction.

 

[RegularFriend]

I usually start with speed because I think I have the most options in that form as far as approaching goes. Sometimes I start in jump though against ZSS since ive found that she can deal with ffnair really well.

 

[Seraphim.]

Speed or Vanilla to see what habits my opponent has that I can take advantage of. If it's doubles or vs someone I play regularly I'll use Buster.

 

[CosmicFuzz]

I go for a neutral start to see what my opponent is going for or speed if it's a rush down character. Rarely do I use Jump for anything but recovery.

 

[EvilShadow777]

Shulk has enough range to space using buster safely. His jab, ftilt, dtilt, nair, and fair all give him good, sage boxing and anything with openings you can punish with backslash, grabs, or a smash.

You will be somewhat slow and will take extra damage if hit, but you can cancel buster with a few taps please quick and then switch to speed for safe trading.

Starting buster is sometimes a great idea and even if it doesn't pay off the fact Smash let's you kill earlier than most means even a small chunk of % as an opening can be a game changer later.

Regardless of all of that though, most of the time I open with speed. It's very safe and only requires 2 taps and after creating an advantage racking up hits with buster can still be an option.

 

[Kraryo]

Like many others, I usually opt for Speed when I'm not sure what Art to start with because it is the least match-up dependent. Jump's aerial mobility and jump height can help to bait foes into doing a punishable action, but Shulk's going to be really feeling it against heavy hitters. Vanilla is perfectly fine in to beat approaches, though it kind of relies on the opponent having a poor to non-existent projectile game. Even with weaker damage, Speed rarely feels like the wrong option.

 

[Berserker.]

Alright, as useful as this disccussion was, you can continue it on the meta game thread