-Ran
Smash Master
Contributors:
JackKieser - Proofreading.
UTD Zac - Proofreading
Status: 10% complete - Not to be finished.
Preface:
Whenever I started the MK temp Ban group months ago, I decided that the best method of increasing awareness of how GOOD Meta Knight was would be to write an extensive document detailing all of the information that was available. The goal was to create a stone solid article that would have few possible points of contention, if any at all. Every bit of information that I was going to place in the document was going to be the truth with evidence to back up each and every account. It was truly meant to be the end-all reference to Meta Knight's place in the Metagame.
Unfortunately, my attention wained from the subject, so I have instead simply decided to post the framework of the document to hopefully inspire someone else to finish the document. I personally just reached a point where I realized that the education of the layman isn't important when it comes to competitive Brawl. My view has shifted that only a handful of already informed individuals are in control of the current Metagame. By no means is this thread about banning Meta Knight, it is about detailing the strengths of MK relative to the Metagame that we play in. Do not post about banning MK. If anyone wants to pick up this document, they are welcome to. Please remember, anything that you read beyond this point is an unfinished document. At the same time, I feel that the document is just wasting away on my hard drive, so it wouldn't hurt to make it public.
-------------------------
Before I begin, I suppose I should come forward about the origin of this document. Originally, I planned to write a tutorial on how to become better at Brawl. The guide was meant to open the eyes of players into viewing Brawl in segments, rather than a single lump sum affair. Unfortunately, the further I broke down the game the more I realized how Meta Knights prominence was achieved so readily. You see, it was my goal to show players how to find their short comings in the game, yet I couldn’t help but end every single paragraph with the musing in the back of my mind that simply switching to Meta Knight would render a phase superficial.
Briefly the Phases of Brawl:
Character Selection - Counter Picking
Stage Selection - Avoidance of traps and gimmicks
The First Stock - Setting the Tempo with an early lead.
Edge Guarding - Denying your opponent the ability to get back on stage.
Recovering - The ability to return to the stage without incurring damage.
Punishment/Risk - Dishing out damage while being safe.
Taking a Stock - Either through brute force or a ‘gimp’.
Space Control - The ability to deny area.
Neutrality+ - The ability to return to a neutral or positive posture.
Defense - Maintaining the lead.
Offense - Building damage and making a comeback.
If we strip down Brawl to the essence of what every match is, the above is what we would derive. These eleven phases sum up the experience of a competitive level match as agreed upon by professional level players that I have held discussions with. Everything within a match hinges on a player executing each of those fundamental phases of Brawl at a level of proficiency. Thus, matches are won and lost based upon the grasp the players have of them. Yet, there is something mysterious about Meta Knight that allows him, almost without fail, to make players better if they decide to main him. I would like to submit that Meta Knight’s dominance stems from his ability to invalidate most of the areas of expertise in the game.
Even a layman could, without much deliberation, agree that of the above eleven, Meta Knight is ‘immune’ or highly resistant to six of the phases due to his various abilities: Character Selection, Stage Selection, Edge Guarding, Recovering, Punishment, and Space Control. At a glance, Meta Knight is beyond fifty-four percent of the states of the game. I shall now take the time to examine each of the eleven, in depth, and find just how many of the phases Meta Knight dominates, or ignores completely.
Which characters are selected can, in some cases, decide a match’s outcome before a single blow has been exchanged. In any fighting game, certain characters have qualities that make them perform better in particular match ups. The characters that are coveted as the best in the game are the ones that have the most matches in their favor due to the various abilities that they have. Typically, a character will have multiple match ups that aren’t in their favor, but Meta Knight as a character simply doesn’t.
The art of carefully picking a character and balancing the weaknesses and strengths of the match up is completely lost when someone is using Meta Knight. Though some match ups play out differently in terms of what moves are relied on, he is never dominated by another character. For many players, Meta Knight was once their secondary that evolved in the shadow of their primary character. They had picked Meta Knight as such, because they needed coverage from the poor match ups of their character; if a Pikachu player found himself playing against a Marth, he could switch to Meta Knight and instantly turn the match in his favor.
Meta Knight is the solution to Character Selection. Most characters require perfect execution against Meta Knight just to keep the match up even, while Meta Knight’s most basic tools apply to most of the cast. Even though Meta Knight isn’t always the best choice against a character, such as going King Dedede vs Donkey Kong, he is never a poor choice. The constant juggling of counter-picking is nullified when all you have to worry about is playing as one character who dominates all but a few of the competition.
Most characters rely on certain stage features to perform adequately, even high tier characters. No one would argue with you if you told them that Diddy plays his best on a stage with a level playing surface, or that Marth performs significantly better with platforms. Every character has certain aspects of stage design that they work best with. Stage selection for Meta Knight, on the other hand, focuses simply on avoiding stages his opponent does well on, since he operates optimally on almost every stage in the game; the worst case scenario when fighting Meta Knight is that he utilizes a stage’s features better than your character does.
With his multiple jumps and numerous methods of recovery, Meta Knight has no need to worry about the pressure that stage transitions or hazards can cause; it is quite easy for him to simply avoid them. Give Meta Knight platforms, and he’ll juggle his opponents better than they could hope to juggle him. Remove the ‘solid ground’ from a stage, and he’ll shark with his Up Airs, out of the reach of a counterattack. Pick a stage with smaller boundaries to kill him easier, and he’ll defeat you with aerial shuttle loops instead of going for a gimp.
In the event that Meta Knight wins his first match, his opponent is hard pressed to defeat him with the aid of a stage. Stages with Gimmicks, such as Rainbow Cruise, Brinstar, and Norfair, are all Meta Knight’s favored levels. All that remains is for his opponent to select a stage that is closest to his best stage (which MK is able to ban). In the event that he loses, Meta Knight is able to pick the above stages and will typically win, unless he is completely out-skilled by his opponent.
For most players, Counter Picking a stage after a loss is one of the most thought filled moments. For example, let’s observe a match between Marth and Rob. On the first match on a neutral, Marth defeated Rob, but knowing the limitations of Marth’s recovery, the Rob player decided to take Marth to Frigate. During the first segment of the stage, the right side of the level has a moving platform that ascends/descends into the air. There is absolutely no edge on that side for Marth to grab upon. Due to this, the Rob play can utilize the stage to get an early gimp on Marth who has an incredibly vertical recovery, but lacks the ability to govern his horizontal progress. This can lead to easy damage for Rob, a window to do a killing smash attack and even shocking gimps at low percent. Rob, given his recovery isn’t at a loss by not having the edge.
As said before, with Meta Knight it is simply a matter of denying your opponent their best stage in the striking process, and banning their best when it comes to their counter-pick. Stage gimmicks won’t work, nor will varied topography. While most characters are looking for aspects of stages that amplify the strengths of their character, Meta Knight remains neutral or better when cast in the light of a different stage.
Ask any top level player, and they’ll tell you that the first stock is the most important one in a match. It determines the tempo of the set, often times setting the players into the roles of attacking and defending. A commanding lead after the first stock allows a player to play exceedingly defensive, without having to approach their opponent. This opens up every defensive option they have, while providing their opponent very few opportunities to bring the game back in their favor. The further the difference in the stocks become, the more risky the loser has to become. Meta Knight as a character is designed to chip and poke away at any window given, while remaining safe.
Though Meta Knight lacks a chain grab to bring in early leads like Falco, his down-throw leads to a plethora of opportunities due to the pressure that Meta Knight can place on an opponent.
Everything that follows is nothing more than a framework to be actually written and added to. This is just brainstorming. Obviously, feel free to add what you needs to be done, and I’ll get to writing it soon.
The First Stock - Setting the Tempo with an early lead.
-Plethora of low percent combos.
-Tornado
-The ability to gimp.
-Ease of stuffing approaches with Shuttle Loop.
-Up air x 4 to tornado death.
Edge Guarding - Denying your opponent the ability to get back on stage.
-Up air to bait air dodge, to dair to send to low trajectory.
-Multiple jumps to continue to pressure the opponent.
-Aerial kill moves of Nair and Shuttle Loop.
-Insane ability to work off the edge [and deny it.]
-Multiple recoveries to avoid being countered.
-Invincible Nair kills most recoveries, or sets them up for a shuttle loop which finishes the job.
Recovering - The ability to return to the stage without incurring damage.
-Multiple jumps.
-Multiple high priority moves that override attacks.
-Multiple directional recovery moves: Tornado, shuttle loop, Drill Rush.
-The ability to Glide to the opposite edge.
-The crazy edge game he has once on the ledge.
-If MK can reach the ledge, he has recovered. Most characters are still in a tenuous situation on the ledge, not MK.
-The constant ability to gimp his opponent, even when recovering.
Punishment - Dishing out damage from poor choices or moves.
Taking a Stock - Either through brute force or a ‘gimp’.
-Down Smash.
-Nair.
-Offstage game.
-Shuttle Loop.
-Gimps
-Glide attack.
-Up Tilt.
-Uair.
Space Control - The ability to deny area.
-Tornado.
-Shuttle Loop.
-Rising Dair, falling Up air.
-F Tilt.
-Grab game to set ups
Neutrality+ - The ability to return to a neutral or positive posture.
-Very little lag in all moves
-Superior roll.
-Air dodge
-Recovery
-Glide
-Multiple Jumps.
Defense - Maintaining the lead.
-Ledge Stalling.
-Up B
-Tornado approaches
-Dair camping
-Shield camping.
-U air Stalling for DI
-Invincible Shuttle Loop
Offense - Making a comeback.
-You can’t ‘airdodge’ away from him, ever. Up air +Up air all day.
Summary Extreme Rough Draft.
Touch on the fact that everyone has to strive to improve in the areas above, but MK players are able to universally ignore most of the aspects of the game in most match ups. Though there are exceptions to the rule, most of them are only from doing a Meta Knight ditto.
Currently, 40% of the top 100 players use MK in some capacity. it should be evident to everyone why this trend has manifested, and why it will continue to occur. Players that are seeking a way to overcome their defeats, can switch to Meta Knight and remove vast portions of the game that they would otherwise have to practice heavily with on their previous character. Instead of having a weakness in those areas, they are able to prey upon the deficiencies of their opponents thanks to the panacea of Meta Knight.
---
DO NOT POST ABOUT BANNING MK. If you wish to discuss the article or add to it, feel free to do so. If your post so much as has the word 'ban' in it, you will compromise the integrity of this thread and result in it being closed.
JackKieser - Proofreading.
UTD Zac - Proofreading
Status: 10% complete - Not to be finished.
Preface:
Whenever I started the MK temp Ban group months ago, I decided that the best method of increasing awareness of how GOOD Meta Knight was would be to write an extensive document detailing all of the information that was available. The goal was to create a stone solid article that would have few possible points of contention, if any at all. Every bit of information that I was going to place in the document was going to be the truth with evidence to back up each and every account. It was truly meant to be the end-all reference to Meta Knight's place in the Metagame.
Unfortunately, my attention wained from the subject, so I have instead simply decided to post the framework of the document to hopefully inspire someone else to finish the document. I personally just reached a point where I realized that the education of the layman isn't important when it comes to competitive Brawl. My view has shifted that only a handful of already informed individuals are in control of the current Metagame. By no means is this thread about banning Meta Knight, it is about detailing the strengths of MK relative to the Metagame that we play in. Do not post about banning MK. If anyone wants to pick up this document, they are welcome to. Please remember, anything that you read beyond this point is an unfinished document. At the same time, I feel that the document is just wasting away on my hard drive, so it wouldn't hurt to make it public.
-------------------------
Before I begin, I suppose I should come forward about the origin of this document. Originally, I planned to write a tutorial on how to become better at Brawl. The guide was meant to open the eyes of players into viewing Brawl in segments, rather than a single lump sum affair. Unfortunately, the further I broke down the game the more I realized how Meta Knights prominence was achieved so readily. You see, it was my goal to show players how to find their short comings in the game, yet I couldn’t help but end every single paragraph with the musing in the back of my mind that simply switching to Meta Knight would render a phase superficial.
Briefly the Phases of Brawl:
Character Selection - Counter Picking
Stage Selection - Avoidance of traps and gimmicks
The First Stock - Setting the Tempo with an early lead.
Edge Guarding - Denying your opponent the ability to get back on stage.
Recovering - The ability to return to the stage without incurring damage.
Punishment/Risk - Dishing out damage while being safe.
Taking a Stock - Either through brute force or a ‘gimp’.
Space Control - The ability to deny area.
Neutrality+ - The ability to return to a neutral or positive posture.
Defense - Maintaining the lead.
Offense - Building damage and making a comeback.
If we strip down Brawl to the essence of what every match is, the above is what we would derive. These eleven phases sum up the experience of a competitive level match as agreed upon by professional level players that I have held discussions with. Everything within a match hinges on a player executing each of those fundamental phases of Brawl at a level of proficiency. Thus, matches are won and lost based upon the grasp the players have of them. Yet, there is something mysterious about Meta Knight that allows him, almost without fail, to make players better if they decide to main him. I would like to submit that Meta Knight’s dominance stems from his ability to invalidate most of the areas of expertise in the game.
Even a layman could, without much deliberation, agree that of the above eleven, Meta Knight is ‘immune’ or highly resistant to six of the phases due to his various abilities: Character Selection, Stage Selection, Edge Guarding, Recovering, Punishment, and Space Control. At a glance, Meta Knight is beyond fifty-four percent of the states of the game. I shall now take the time to examine each of the eleven, in depth, and find just how many of the phases Meta Knight dominates, or ignores completely.
Which characters are selected can, in some cases, decide a match’s outcome before a single blow has been exchanged. In any fighting game, certain characters have qualities that make them perform better in particular match ups. The characters that are coveted as the best in the game are the ones that have the most matches in their favor due to the various abilities that they have. Typically, a character will have multiple match ups that aren’t in their favor, but Meta Knight as a character simply doesn’t.
The art of carefully picking a character and balancing the weaknesses and strengths of the match up is completely lost when someone is using Meta Knight. Though some match ups play out differently in terms of what moves are relied on, he is never dominated by another character. For many players, Meta Knight was once their secondary that evolved in the shadow of their primary character. They had picked Meta Knight as such, because they needed coverage from the poor match ups of their character; if a Pikachu player found himself playing against a Marth, he could switch to Meta Knight and instantly turn the match in his favor.
Meta Knight is the solution to Character Selection. Most characters require perfect execution against Meta Knight just to keep the match up even, while Meta Knight’s most basic tools apply to most of the cast. Even though Meta Knight isn’t always the best choice against a character, such as going King Dedede vs Donkey Kong, he is never a poor choice. The constant juggling of counter-picking is nullified when all you have to worry about is playing as one character who dominates all but a few of the competition.
Most characters rely on certain stage features to perform adequately, even high tier characters. No one would argue with you if you told them that Diddy plays his best on a stage with a level playing surface, or that Marth performs significantly better with platforms. Every character has certain aspects of stage design that they work best with. Stage selection for Meta Knight, on the other hand, focuses simply on avoiding stages his opponent does well on, since he operates optimally on almost every stage in the game; the worst case scenario when fighting Meta Knight is that he utilizes a stage’s features better than your character does.
With his multiple jumps and numerous methods of recovery, Meta Knight has no need to worry about the pressure that stage transitions or hazards can cause; it is quite easy for him to simply avoid them. Give Meta Knight platforms, and he’ll juggle his opponents better than they could hope to juggle him. Remove the ‘solid ground’ from a stage, and he’ll shark with his Up Airs, out of the reach of a counterattack. Pick a stage with smaller boundaries to kill him easier, and he’ll defeat you with aerial shuttle loops instead of going for a gimp.
In the event that Meta Knight wins his first match, his opponent is hard pressed to defeat him with the aid of a stage. Stages with Gimmicks, such as Rainbow Cruise, Brinstar, and Norfair, are all Meta Knight’s favored levels. All that remains is for his opponent to select a stage that is closest to his best stage (which MK is able to ban). In the event that he loses, Meta Knight is able to pick the above stages and will typically win, unless he is completely out-skilled by his opponent.
For most players, Counter Picking a stage after a loss is one of the most thought filled moments. For example, let’s observe a match between Marth and Rob. On the first match on a neutral, Marth defeated Rob, but knowing the limitations of Marth’s recovery, the Rob player decided to take Marth to Frigate. During the first segment of the stage, the right side of the level has a moving platform that ascends/descends into the air. There is absolutely no edge on that side for Marth to grab upon. Due to this, the Rob play can utilize the stage to get an early gimp on Marth who has an incredibly vertical recovery, but lacks the ability to govern his horizontal progress. This can lead to easy damage for Rob, a window to do a killing smash attack and even shocking gimps at low percent. Rob, given his recovery isn’t at a loss by not having the edge.
As said before, with Meta Knight it is simply a matter of denying your opponent their best stage in the striking process, and banning their best when it comes to their counter-pick. Stage gimmicks won’t work, nor will varied topography. While most characters are looking for aspects of stages that amplify the strengths of their character, Meta Knight remains neutral or better when cast in the light of a different stage.
Ask any top level player, and they’ll tell you that the first stock is the most important one in a match. It determines the tempo of the set, often times setting the players into the roles of attacking and defending. A commanding lead after the first stock allows a player to play exceedingly defensive, without having to approach their opponent. This opens up every defensive option they have, while providing their opponent very few opportunities to bring the game back in their favor. The further the difference in the stocks become, the more risky the loser has to become. Meta Knight as a character is designed to chip and poke away at any window given, while remaining safe.
Though Meta Knight lacks a chain grab to bring in early leads like Falco, his down-throw leads to a plethora of opportunities due to the pressure that Meta Knight can place on an opponent.
Everything that follows is nothing more than a framework to be actually written and added to. This is just brainstorming. Obviously, feel free to add what you needs to be done, and I’ll get to writing it soon.
The First Stock - Setting the Tempo with an early lead.
-Plethora of low percent combos.
-Tornado
-The ability to gimp.
-Ease of stuffing approaches with Shuttle Loop.
-Up air x 4 to tornado death.
Edge Guarding - Denying your opponent the ability to get back on stage.
-Up air to bait air dodge, to dair to send to low trajectory.
-Multiple jumps to continue to pressure the opponent.
-Aerial kill moves of Nair and Shuttle Loop.
-Insane ability to work off the edge [and deny it.]
-Multiple recoveries to avoid being countered.
-Invincible Nair kills most recoveries, or sets them up for a shuttle loop which finishes the job.
Recovering - The ability to return to the stage without incurring damage.
-Multiple jumps.
-Multiple high priority moves that override attacks.
-Multiple directional recovery moves: Tornado, shuttle loop, Drill Rush.
-The ability to Glide to the opposite edge.
-The crazy edge game he has once on the ledge.
-If MK can reach the ledge, he has recovered. Most characters are still in a tenuous situation on the ledge, not MK.
-The constant ability to gimp his opponent, even when recovering.
Punishment - Dishing out damage from poor choices or moves.
Taking a Stock - Either through brute force or a ‘gimp’.
-Down Smash.
-Nair.
-Offstage game.
-Shuttle Loop.
-Gimps
-Glide attack.
-Up Tilt.
-Uair.
Space Control - The ability to deny area.
-Tornado.
-Shuttle Loop.
-Rising Dair, falling Up air.
-F Tilt.
-Grab game to set ups
Neutrality+ - The ability to return to a neutral or positive posture.
-Very little lag in all moves
-Superior roll.
-Air dodge
-Recovery
-Glide
-Multiple Jumps.
Defense - Maintaining the lead.
-Ledge Stalling.
-Up B
-Tornado approaches
-Dair camping
-Shield camping.
-U air Stalling for DI
-Invincible Shuttle Loop
Offense - Making a comeback.
-You can’t ‘airdodge’ away from him, ever. Up air +Up air all day.
Summary Extreme Rough Draft.
Touch on the fact that everyone has to strive to improve in the areas above, but MK players are able to universally ignore most of the aspects of the game in most match ups. Though there are exceptions to the rule, most of them are only from doing a Meta Knight ditto.
Currently, 40% of the top 100 players use MK in some capacity. it should be evident to everyone why this trend has manifested, and why it will continue to occur. Players that are seeking a way to overcome their defeats, can switch to Meta Knight and remove vast portions of the game that they would otherwise have to practice heavily with on their previous character. Instead of having a weakness in those areas, they are able to prey upon the deficiencies of their opponents thanks to the panacea of Meta Knight.
---
DO NOT POST ABOUT BANNING MK. If you wish to discuss the article or add to it, feel free to do so. If your post so much as has the word 'ban' in it, you will compromise the integrity of this thread and result in it being closed.
