Sleek Media
Smash Lord
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I can't get the technique where you activate the leaf shield and slide off the stage into a ledge grab to work. Any suggestions?
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Wood Man's Treehouse: A Leaf Shield Guide
- Thread starter ChopperDave
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ChopperDave
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Where are you having issues? The sliding part or the ledge grab part?
To slide, you have to have some horizontal aerial momentum. You can do this either by holding the control stick to the left or right after you activate LS, or smashing it to the left or right just before you touch down on the ground.
You generally need to use LS out of a double jump in order to give Mega Man enough time to get to his IASA frame before reaching the ledge. It's possible to Leaf Slide to the ledge from a Full Hop LS, but I find that the timing is really tight and I often miss the grab when I try to do this (and end up having to double jump or wall jump back up to ledge).
I think the easiest way to practice the timing is to do a full hopped rising fair to double jump to Leaf Shield activation to Leaf Slide to ledge.
Sleek Media
Smash Lord
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Thanks, I'll try that. It's been a while since I watched the video, and I was trying to do it out of a full hop with no aerial movement. It was hard to get him to slide, and when I did, he never grabbed the ledge. Guess that's why.
Kel
Smash Master
I actually use the skull shield for most matchups. I sometimes make exceptions and switch off if the character I'm playing against has no projectile (Mac, Marth, Sonic, etc.), but in general I find the skull down B to be much more useful than leaf shield.
Match ups such as Greninja, Shiek, and Megaman ditto are changed completely when the opponent cannot just mindlessly spam projectiles that keep you out of your perfect zoning range (right where the pellets end).
I prefer Skull Barrier over the other shields as I find it more useful to have a fox shine effect over the 2% damage while dodging effect you get from the others. If the leaf shield and plant barriers didn't lock you into the move for so long I could see them being more usable overall, but the recovery time you suffer from using the other down Bs isn't worth the trade off when you can just negate an opponent's projectiles and keep them in the perfect zoning space at the same time.
I feel like the OP was a little too harsh on Skull Barrier. You may want to reconsider your stance as I feel Skull Barrier is overall more useful than the other Down B options.
Match ups such as Greninja, Shiek, and Megaman ditto are changed completely when the opponent cannot just mindlessly spam projectiles that keep you out of your perfect zoning range (right where the pellets end).
I prefer Skull Barrier over the other shields as I find it more useful to have a fox shine effect over the 2% damage while dodging effect you get from the others. If the leaf shield and plant barriers didn't lock you into the move for so long I could see them being more usable overall, but the recovery time you suffer from using the other down Bs isn't worth the trade off when you can just negate an opponent's projectiles and keep them in the perfect zoning space at the same time.
I feel like the OP was a little too harsh on Skull Barrier. You may want to reconsider your stance as I feel Skull Barrier is overall more useful than the other Down B options.
ChopperDave
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Different strokes, different folks I guess. Check out @
Locke 06
's thread if you want some meta development for Skull Barrier. They've discovered some pretty neat stuff over there, like how SB negates Crash Bomber damage.
I'm still not a huge fan of the move, personally. Its startup lag is long, meaning you'll get punished hard if you mess up the timing or if your opponent approaches well. The slight push effect is more annoying to you than your opponent, as it can sometimes prevent you from landing grabs. (If SB had the push of Pit's Guardian Orbitars, that would make it much more awesome.) The reflect multiplier, at 1.2x, is pretty low. It's not nearly as good for edgeguarding as Leaf Shield and Plant Barrier.
The one thing I do like about the move is that it can make getting back to the stage easier against characters who might try to edgeguard you with projectiles, like Link and Duck Hunt. Not Samus though - her fully charged Charge Shot goes right through SB.
Other than that, I don't really see what SB buys Mega Man tactically. His lemons cancel almost all projectiles and at much lower risk. I've tried using SB in some matchups and it just doesn't feel as useful to me as the other two.
Locke 06
's thread if you want some meta development for Skull Barrier. They've discovered some pretty neat stuff over there, like how SB negates Crash Bomber damage.I'm still not a huge fan of the move, personally. Its startup lag is long, meaning you'll get punished hard if you mess up the timing or if your opponent approaches well. The slight push effect is more annoying to you than your opponent, as it can sometimes prevent you from landing grabs. (If SB had the push of Pit's Guardian Orbitars, that would make it much more awesome.) The reflect multiplier, at 1.2x, is pretty low. It's not nearly as good for edgeguarding as Leaf Shield and Plant Barrier.
The one thing I do like about the move is that it can make getting back to the stage easier against characters who might try to edgeguard you with projectiles, like Link and Duck Hunt. Not Samus though - her fully charged Charge Shot goes right through SB.
Other than that, I don't really see what SB buys Mega Man tactically. His lemons cancel almost all projectiles and at much lower risk. I've tried using SB in some matchups and it just doesn't feel as useful to me as the other two.
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digiholic
Smash Ace
I'm still having trouble pulling off leafstooling, or just air-footstooling in general. I can do it fine against a bot in training mode, but it's harder to do in the air. Got any tips for getting good at them?
ChopperDave
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When I want to go for a leafstool, I usually fire my Lead Shield / Plant Barrier up As soon as I see my opponent double jump. That usually seems to time it out well.
As for getting the footstool:
1) Watch your opponent's character, not yours. Think about when and where you would use your recovery move, and jump Mega Man there in anticipation. 90% of the time, your opponent will UpB more or less where and when you think he will. (There are only so many ways to reach the ledge.) If he surprises you by recovering differently than you expect, make a mental note of it and be prepared for that possibility next time.
2) If you do manage to get in the right place at the right time, mash dat jump button. Footstool works regardless of whether you've used up your double jump, and you can footstool multiple times. So if you're not confident in the timing you can just mash away until the footstool goes off.
Bowser D.X
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And I now feel stupid for swearing of LS. Looking forward to more.
ChopperDave
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You know what I'm finding strangely effective?
Running up to an opponent and (power-)shielding while Leaf Shield is up, then immediately dodging back or grabbing, depending on what they do.
There's actually very little someone can do about this. Jab/tilt? Blocked, eat a leaf or two. Projectile? Cancelled by leaf, otherwise blocked, now you grabbed. Dodge? Nope, eat a leaf, now you grabbed. Shield grab? Nope, eat a leaf while I dodge away (leaf shield don't care about your power shield frame advantage.)
If you time it right, you can run up, power shield, have a leaf hitstun them while you drop shield, then wallop them with a utilt.
Sometimes its the simplest stuff that works best, I guess.
Running up to an opponent and (power-)shielding while Leaf Shield is up, then immediately dodging back or grabbing, depending on what they do.
There's actually very little someone can do about this. Jab/tilt? Blocked, eat a leaf or two. Projectile? Cancelled by leaf, otherwise blocked, now you grabbed. Dodge? Nope, eat a leaf, now you grabbed. Shield grab? Nope, eat a leaf while I dodge away (leaf shield don't care about your power shield frame advantage.)
If you time it right, you can run up, power shield, have a leaf hitstun them while you drop shield, then wallop them with a utilt.
Sometimes its the simplest stuff that works best, I guess.
Kel
Smash Master
By the way, could you provide a source for fully charged Samus shot/ Lucario shot going through Skull Barrier?
Overswarm and I tested it yesterday and Skull barrier reflected both of those fully charged moves. We even damaged Lucario to over 120% just in case that had something to do with it, but it STILL reflected.
Maybe this was a patch thing?
Overswarm and I tested it yesterday and Skull barrier reflected both of those fully charged moves. We even damaged Lucario to over 120% just in case that had something to do with it, but it STILL reflected.
Maybe this was a patch thing?
Locke 06
Sayonara, bye bye~
ChopperDave
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Hmmm. I can't test today maybe we should try this in vs. on both versions to settle the question once and for all.
It may have gotten changed in the last patch, or may work differently in training mode for some reason.
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Kel
Smash Master
OS and I tested it on the 3DS version. We both have the most recent update, so this sounds like the patch would be the deciding factor.
Locke 06
Sayonara, bye bye~
SanAntonioSmasher
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Great guide, this has been really helpful.
I recently figured out a nice LS tech that is making me rethink my approach to mega man. I'm sure someone has posted this somewhere, although I didn't see it in the AT discussion.
It is combining the leaf shield hop with z pick up metal blade. Stand on a metal blade (or landing onto one), then hold down, and quickly (I just slide fingers over the buttons in sequence) hit jump, grab, special move. In one quick short hop you get both a held metal blade and leaf shield.
I had been trying mostly lemons/blades, with occasional leaf shield and crash bomb. Now, I am focusing more on held metal blade and leaf shields. When you have both of these up, mega man is really dangerous.
With this tech you can get both really quickly. So, anytime I knock opponent away I rearm myself with a blade and shield instead of going for a followup that may or may not connect. The only exception is when they are at kill percents, because you have to take opportunities to end stocks.
I am now experimenting with using rush on stage for mixups and getting a LS up and MB into hand. There are many great tricks to do this fairly safely. The down side is you end up above your opponent with a MB and LS. I'm not sure yet how ideal that is, but I think it has some potential. I'll post later when I have more experience using it (might be very MU dependent).
I recently figured out a nice LS tech that is making me rethink my approach to mega man. I'm sure someone has posted this somewhere, although I didn't see it in the AT discussion.
It is combining the leaf shield hop with z pick up metal blade. Stand on a metal blade (or landing onto one), then hold down, and quickly (I just slide fingers over the buttons in sequence) hit jump, grab, special move. In one quick short hop you get both a held metal blade and leaf shield.
I had been trying mostly lemons/blades, with occasional leaf shield and crash bomb. Now, I am focusing more on held metal blade and leaf shields. When you have both of these up, mega man is really dangerous.
With this tech you can get both really quickly. So, anytime I knock opponent away I rearm myself with a blade and shield instead of going for a followup that may or may not connect. The only exception is when they are at kill percents, because you have to take opportunities to end stocks.
I am now experimenting with using rush on stage for mixups and getting a LS up and MB into hand. There are many great tricks to do this fairly safely. The down side is you end up above your opponent with a MB and LS. I'm not sure yet how ideal that is, but I think it has some potential. I'll post later when I have more experience using it (might be very MU dependent).
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ChopperDave
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Thanks for bumping the thread. This reminded me to update the OP. I went ahead and edited it for brevity here and there, and added or tweaked a few observations. I also rewrote the Skull Barrier section, as I think that it's shaping up to be quite useful in certain matchups. I'm still not quite sure it's the "better" pick against characters with projectiles, as the hitboxes from Leaf Shield and Plant Barrier are quite useful for other purposes. But it is definitely better than I used to give it credit for.
Sleek Media
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Skull Barrier is fast and has a weird "push box", but I haven't had enough time to mess with it to find any reason to run it over the other two shields.
ChopperDave
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Yeah, I still find LS better in most matchups, even against some projectile-heavy opponents. I use the move most for mixing up approaches, pressuring landings and techs, and making my recovery unpredictable. SB doesn't really give you much of that.
Like I say in the revised OP, I think SB is most useful against heavy projectile pressure, and particularly characters who use projectiles to kill (e.g. Samus), string into kill moves (e.g. Link), or punish landings hard (e.g. Greninja).
The SB push box is cute at best and really annoying at worst. Sometimes it actually pushes people outside your grab range, which is terrible. It's not strong enough to gimp or to push people into a ledge slip or anything, so I don't really see the point of it.
Sleek Media
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It's possible that Skull Barrier is just broken (doesn't always reflect, sometimes pulls instead of pushes, etc).
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D
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I was reading this thread last night, and decided to revisit Leaf Shield tactics. So I apologize for the long write-up.
I was playing Anthers Ladder and got two incredibly simple kills with it, edgeguarding. Some things I noticed (as I believe have been mentioned):
If you're at the ledge with LS active, and they try a get up attack, rolling, jumping, or dropping, LS will prevent them from doing it. I punished a Ness with a back air two stocks in a row with this. LS active, and hold shield at the ledge. He tried to roll each time, and I caught him and backthrew.
Also, LS is hard to use against button mashers. Against fast jabs and smashes, I don't totally advise using it; I played a Mario, and any time I had it active and it connected, he'd just down smash.
I found that the most useful use for it ON-stage, is using Rush to cancel your momentum and land with no lag. Because typically, your opponent is close by, and expecting you to land with lag. Sometimes, I'd use it (against a Fox today) to regain control of the stage.
Use Rush, and as soon as after you land, you activate LS and you land with no lag, run in for a grab. So far, I've found no one is expecting it. I say it's most useful, because at mid-to-higher percents, it led to me getting a grab and forcing my opponent into uncomfortable landings and other shenanigans.
Interestingly, I've noticed my opponents, when offstage, air-dodging leafshield.
However, if onstage, I noticed roll spammers will still get a punish off. Which tells me they are button mashers.
Lastly, I was in the lab last night seeing what Leaf Shield is able to beat, and (I apologize if it's already been mentioned) I found some interesting things. I wanted to particularly use it against the more popular characters.
R.O.B.
In half to most cases, Leaf Shield canceled his Gyro outright. Presumably because of its large hitbox. But I found that to be interesting. I have not faced a ROB to test it in a match, but I will try if I get the opportunity.
King Dedede
I wanted to see how Leaf Shield dealt with D3's Gordo's. And in about half-to-most, it just reflected it right back at him. I say half-to-most, because in training, it kept reflecting them (few did still hit). I did face a D3 in For Glory, and I did get about two or three reflected Gordo's using Leaf Shield. But in the end (Because I was at high percents), I opted to reflect them with the Metal Blade.
Ness
Little use on Ness, aside from a possible gimp. But the hitbox of PKFire is too small for Leaf Shield to effectively stop it. And you really would have no use for it against PKThunder. But I was able to trade with a recovering Ness, which landed me the kill. But it was risky, in my opinion, and you should be ready to tech if need be.
C. Falcon/Ganondorf
Should be a no-brainer by now. The gimping is endless with these two. I did attempt to apply it to on-stage C.Falcon, but was thwarted by C. Falcon's DTilt. So, because of his speed, I'd advise against it, in this matchup.
Sonic
If Sonic is recovering low and near the ledge, this can gimp him. I got one off last night. Sonic was recovering low, and I activated Leaf Shield, after Sonic was hit, he fell doing his FAir animation, to his death. Other than that, I wanted to see if it beat out Sonic's Spin Dashes, which it mostly doesn't. I've found that occasionally, it'll clash, but that is it. It would probably not be advisable, considering Sonic's speed and ability to punish it.
Pikachu
This was pretty fun. Leaf Shield, in some cases, canceled Pika's neutral special. But it wasn't effective enough for me to consider it useful in a match against a live mate. But what I did find fascinating, is how Pika's Quick Attack interacts with Leaf Shield. I wanted to know this, because (I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else), but when Pika players are unable to get in, they will resort to neutral-B to Quick Attack to get in. So, in half-to-most, I've found QA will either clank or trade with Leaf Shield. But at most, it will stop QA in its tracks. Which can either be good or bad. Because if Pika tries to follow up with an UTilt, chances are he will get you regardless. But if you are shielding and it clanks/trades, you might be able to follow up where Pika lands. If I come across a Pika after work (I typically do anytime I'm in FG), I will try and use it.
Fox/Falco
This was necessary for me, considering this is a popular counterpick on FG, when people think they will beat your Mega Man. I was only interested in Fox's up and side special.
In regards to his side-special, it interacts with Leaf Shield the same way Pikachu's does. However, Fox is a little easier (in my opinion) to predict. Where Pikachu can use QA from any which direction -- grounded or in the air -- Fox can only do it horizontally. I will give you a scenario that I had on Anther's today:
Fox was recovering from the side of Smashville, while I had Leaf Shield active. First few times, he went directly at me. Small percentage of the time, he landed behind me, definitely confused, leaving me with a grab. Half-to-most, he was hit by LS and fell below, only into another side-special animation to his death. If they try and go a little below you, to the ledge, there's a chance LS can still hit them, while active, and put them backwards or forwards.
In addition to this, LS does nicely against Fox's up special. I Leafstooled a Fox on FG last night, and just plain confused a player on Anther's today. It will almost do what it does to Falcon; knock them out of the special, leafing you to safely footstool. Or, it just hits them and confuses.
Link/Tink
Lately, for some reason, this has been a tough matchup for me. And admittedly, Leaf Shield is not fully the answer. But I did find it useful, in the following way: I took a stock off of a VERY, VERY spammy Link, last night. And I figured (Because we were down to 60 seconds) that if he wants to camp me at the ledge, I will stay on the other side. So I went to the other side, and took out Leaf Shield, which easily cancels all of Link/Tink's long-range options. This forced the Link to approach me, after about little bit, which led to me eventually winning, with 5 seconds left on the clock.
Bottom line, it is Mega's longest ranged projectile, and against Link that does nothing but throw arrows and boomerangs, it was super effective to negate that. But fighting a roll-and-projectile-spammy Link/Tink still exists, when they have to get in.
In addition to that, it takes awhile to start up, so as mentioned earlier, jumping and activating, or canceling the lag with Rush is the way to go.
Villager
Lately, I've been facing a lot of Villager counterpicks. Naturally, I wanted to see how this matchup could possibly play out. I played two Villagers last night, and used Leaf Shield in one of the matchups (after using it in the lab).
So, obviously Leaf Shield destroys his Lloid Rocket. But after the rocket launches, so does a Metal Blade and even a lemon. So, I didn't think it was that much helpful. However, I faced two Villagers last night, as previously stated. One camped the ledge, and the other one was more aggressive. The one that camped the ledge, via snapping the ledge, and then releasing and using the slingshot, only to return back to the ledge, Leaf Shield was great. LS out-ranges the slingshot, so it was very safe to use. I forced the Villager to approach me, and I won very easily.
The more aggressive VIllager just pocketed my Leaf Shield, the multiple times I took it out, and it negated the usefulness of it, the rest of the match.
Duck Hunt Dog
If you face a campy/run-a-way DHD, Leaf Shield can be safe to activate and throw. I faced a not-too-good but campy DHD and just spammed Leaf Shield. My opponent stopped spamming and ended up just getting wrecked the regular way. But good to keep in mind to how it works with his projectiles.
Samus
Not worth using against her. Trying to out-camp Samus is a bad idea. Leaf Shield won't work on her full charge shot, and lemons explode her missiles. Just get in and zone her. However, I did knock Samus out of her recovery this morning, using Leaf Shield, and the opponent fell to his death. But I don't know that it's really worth it, as I think Samus' up special would come out and hit Mega Man faster than LS would prevent her.
Pit/Edgy Pit
Not really useful. Pit/DPit's extra jumps won't allow you to really get a gimp. And Leaf Shield does out-prioritize his arrow, but most Pit's don't really spam those. So it's not worth it, really.
Pac-Man
So this was interesting. SOME of Pac-Man's fruit would not penetrate Leaf Shield. Primarily, the large ones. Pardon me for not knowing the names, but the green one was negated by LS. The paralyzing one was also negated. And the other one or two large ones were also negated. The key, obviously, got through, every time. Where it's useful? Not fully sure. I haven't faced a Pac-Man in awhile to experiment with, but the ones I have, don't really spam Pac's projectiles.
That's all for now. Didn't try it on Robin, Olimar, Wii Fit Trainer, or even Greninja, as I don't typically run across those. But I figure most of this is known by now, but I figured I'd try and put my own two cents in.
Thanks!
I was playing Anthers Ladder and got two incredibly simple kills with it, edgeguarding. Some things I noticed (as I believe have been mentioned):
If you're at the ledge with LS active, and they try a get up attack, rolling, jumping, or dropping, LS will prevent them from doing it. I punished a Ness with a back air two stocks in a row with this. LS active, and hold shield at the ledge. He tried to roll each time, and I caught him and backthrew.
Also, LS is hard to use against button mashers. Against fast jabs and smashes, I don't totally advise using it; I played a Mario, and any time I had it active and it connected, he'd just down smash.
I found that the most useful use for it ON-stage, is using Rush to cancel your momentum and land with no lag. Because typically, your opponent is close by, and expecting you to land with lag. Sometimes, I'd use it (against a Fox today) to regain control of the stage.
Use Rush, and as soon as after you land, you activate LS and you land with no lag, run in for a grab. So far, I've found no one is expecting it. I say it's most useful, because at mid-to-higher percents, it led to me getting a grab and forcing my opponent into uncomfortable landings and other shenanigans.
Interestingly, I've noticed my opponents, when offstage, air-dodging leafshield.
However, if onstage, I noticed roll spammers will still get a punish off. Which tells me they are button mashers.
Lastly, I was in the lab last night seeing what Leaf Shield is able to beat, and (I apologize if it's already been mentioned) I found some interesting things. I wanted to particularly use it against the more popular characters.
R.O.B.
In half to most cases, Leaf Shield canceled his Gyro outright. Presumably because of its large hitbox. But I found that to be interesting. I have not faced a ROB to test it in a match, but I will try if I get the opportunity.
King Dedede
I wanted to see how Leaf Shield dealt with D3's Gordo's. And in about half-to-most, it just reflected it right back at him. I say half-to-most, because in training, it kept reflecting them (few did still hit). I did face a D3 in For Glory, and I did get about two or three reflected Gordo's using Leaf Shield. But in the end (Because I was at high percents), I opted to reflect them with the Metal Blade.
Ness
Little use on Ness, aside from a possible gimp. But the hitbox of PKFire is too small for Leaf Shield to effectively stop it. And you really would have no use for it against PKThunder. But I was able to trade with a recovering Ness, which landed me the kill. But it was risky, in my opinion, and you should be ready to tech if need be.
C. Falcon/Ganondorf
Should be a no-brainer by now. The gimping is endless with these two. I did attempt to apply it to on-stage C.Falcon, but was thwarted by C. Falcon's DTilt. So, because of his speed, I'd advise against it, in this matchup.
Sonic
If Sonic is recovering low and near the ledge, this can gimp him. I got one off last night. Sonic was recovering low, and I activated Leaf Shield, after Sonic was hit, he fell doing his FAir animation, to his death. Other than that, I wanted to see if it beat out Sonic's Spin Dashes, which it mostly doesn't. I've found that occasionally, it'll clash, but that is it. It would probably not be advisable, considering Sonic's speed and ability to punish it.
Pikachu
This was pretty fun. Leaf Shield, in some cases, canceled Pika's neutral special. But it wasn't effective enough for me to consider it useful in a match against a live mate. But what I did find fascinating, is how Pika's Quick Attack interacts with Leaf Shield. I wanted to know this, because (I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else), but when Pika players are unable to get in, they will resort to neutral-B to Quick Attack to get in. So, in half-to-most, I've found QA will either clank or trade with Leaf Shield. But at most, it will stop QA in its tracks. Which can either be good or bad. Because if Pika tries to follow up with an UTilt, chances are he will get you regardless. But if you are shielding and it clanks/trades, you might be able to follow up where Pika lands. If I come across a Pika after work (I typically do anytime I'm in FG), I will try and use it.
Fox/Falco
This was necessary for me, considering this is a popular counterpick on FG, when people think they will beat your Mega Man. I was only interested in Fox's up and side special.
In regards to his side-special, it interacts with Leaf Shield the same way Pikachu's does. However, Fox is a little easier (in my opinion) to predict. Where Pikachu can use QA from any which direction -- grounded or in the air -- Fox can only do it horizontally. I will give you a scenario that I had on Anther's today:
Fox was recovering from the side of Smashville, while I had Leaf Shield active. First few times, he went directly at me. Small percentage of the time, he landed behind me, definitely confused, leaving me with a grab. Half-to-most, he was hit by LS and fell below, only into another side-special animation to his death. If they try and go a little below you, to the ledge, there's a chance LS can still hit them, while active, and put them backwards or forwards.
In addition to this, LS does nicely against Fox's up special. I Leafstooled a Fox on FG last night, and just plain confused a player on Anther's today. It will almost do what it does to Falcon; knock them out of the special, leafing you to safely footstool. Or, it just hits them and confuses.
Link/Tink
Lately, for some reason, this has been a tough matchup for me. And admittedly, Leaf Shield is not fully the answer. But I did find it useful, in the following way: I took a stock off of a VERY, VERY spammy Link, last night. And I figured (Because we were down to 60 seconds) that if he wants to camp me at the ledge, I will stay on the other side. So I went to the other side, and took out Leaf Shield, which easily cancels all of Link/Tink's long-range options. This forced the Link to approach me, after about little bit, which led to me eventually winning, with 5 seconds left on the clock.
Bottom line, it is Mega's longest ranged projectile, and against Link that does nothing but throw arrows and boomerangs, it was super effective to negate that. But fighting a roll-and-projectile-spammy Link/Tink still exists, when they have to get in.
In addition to that, it takes awhile to start up, so as mentioned earlier, jumping and activating, or canceling the lag with Rush is the way to go.
Villager
Lately, I've been facing a lot of Villager counterpicks. Naturally, I wanted to see how this matchup could possibly play out. I played two Villagers last night, and used Leaf Shield in one of the matchups (after using it in the lab).
So, obviously Leaf Shield destroys his Lloid Rocket. But after the rocket launches, so does a Metal Blade and even a lemon. So, I didn't think it was that much helpful. However, I faced two Villagers last night, as previously stated. One camped the ledge, and the other one was more aggressive. The one that camped the ledge, via snapping the ledge, and then releasing and using the slingshot, only to return back to the ledge, Leaf Shield was great. LS out-ranges the slingshot, so it was very safe to use. I forced the Villager to approach me, and I won very easily.
The more aggressive VIllager just pocketed my Leaf Shield, the multiple times I took it out, and it negated the usefulness of it, the rest of the match.
Duck Hunt Dog
If you face a campy/run-a-way DHD, Leaf Shield can be safe to activate and throw. I faced a not-too-good but campy DHD and just spammed Leaf Shield. My opponent stopped spamming and ended up just getting wrecked the regular way. But good to keep in mind to how it works with his projectiles.
Samus
Not worth using against her. Trying to out-camp Samus is a bad idea. Leaf Shield won't work on her full charge shot, and lemons explode her missiles. Just get in and zone her. However, I did knock Samus out of her recovery this morning, using Leaf Shield, and the opponent fell to his death. But I don't know that it's really worth it, as I think Samus' up special would come out and hit Mega Man faster than LS would prevent her.
Pit/Edgy Pit
Not really useful. Pit/DPit's extra jumps won't allow you to really get a gimp. And Leaf Shield does out-prioritize his arrow, but most Pit's don't really spam those. So it's not worth it, really.
Pac-Man
So this was interesting. SOME of Pac-Man's fruit would not penetrate Leaf Shield. Primarily, the large ones. Pardon me for not knowing the names, but the green one was negated by LS. The paralyzing one was also negated. And the other one or two large ones were also negated. The key, obviously, got through, every time. Where it's useful? Not fully sure. I haven't faced a Pac-Man in awhile to experiment with, but the ones I have, don't really spam Pac's projectiles.
That's all for now. Didn't try it on Robin, Olimar, Wii Fit Trainer, or even Greninja, as I don't typically run across those. But I figure most of this is known by now, but I figured I'd try and put my own two cents in.
Thanks!