When edguarding, is there any reason to bair when you can fair?

[LovinMitts]

I see m2k bair a lot where fair was totally an option when edgeguarding. Is there any reason for that? Is it for the range? Like, I see him actually turn around to do it too. So he's actually preferring it over fair for that situation and I don't understand why.

And on another note:

Same question, but when on the edge, why bair when you can reverse fair? I can do it pretty consistently, so is there ever a reason not to? Is it possibly a range thing again?

 

[Metallinatus]

I don't know much about that stuff in Melee, but doesn't Sheik's Bair has more knockback than her Fair? For edgeguard, usually the more knockback, the better....

 

[Stride]

Bair stays out longer and is bigger (it reaches further horizontally, and on a given frame it reaches further vertically and covers more area overall), which allows it to cover more recovery options (or cover them more reliably). The move also ends sooner after the hitbox stops being active, which allows you to recover better from it (and therefore to go deeper for edgeguards) and to grab the ledge sooner after it (and therefore to continue an edgeguard sooner).

Bair is easier to consistently get to send behind than fair, and always does more knockback when it first comes out (although fair sends at a lower angle than bair, so despite having less total knockback will have more useful knockback in some situations). Bair also reaches much further offstage than the reverse part of fair does.

 

[Metallinatus]

Bair stays out longer and is bigger (it reaches further horizontally and covers more area overall on a given frame), which allows it to cover more recovery options (or cover them more reliably). The move also ends sooner after the hitbox stops being active, which allows you to go deeper for edgeguards since you can recover sooner (without getting stuck in the ending lag and falling too low or too far to get back).

Bair is easier to consistently get to send behind than fair, and always does more knockback (at least when it first comes out). Bair also reaches much further offstage than the back of fair does.

Oh, yes, those are all good reasons too....

 

[Koov]

Depends on the recovery option of the opponent but bair and nair cover more options due to their larger and lasting hitboxes. Take Falco's side b for example. A nair or bair can stop it but a fair won't. And if you mis-time it you'll be spiked into the shadow realm.