Working on a guide for choosing a main and need your help!

[WispBae]

Hello there!

With the Smash scene growing and many more new players still to come, I though I would make a little guide highlighting each characters strengths and specialties, to help anyone take their first step into competitive Smash, or for anyone contemplating picking up another to their personal roster!

The main dilemma I have is I don't main EVERYONE in P:M, nor am I a self-proclaimed Smash genius. So, I thought I'd ask you guys, the experts to your respective mains! If you could help me out by filling out a few lines of info for me, I'll be collecting the data and responses during the week and compiling them. Once it's all collected, I'll release the guide (somewhere on the boards, not sure yet...). So if you could take a few minutes to help, I would really appreciate it!

Pros: Strengths and advantages of this character!

Cons: Weaknesses and disadvantages!

Character Specifics to Learn: Techniques exclusive to only this character (example: Squirtle's shell abilities)

Similar To: Characters that play similar to this one or have a similar strategy.

Secondaries that Compliment: A secondary character that covers certain weaknesses the main has.

(Optional) Best video example of this character in action.

Cheers!

(Sorry if you see this thread posted in multiple character forums, I find the best way to gather info is to ask directly!)

 

[Ritsugamesh]

'Piece o' cake'
- Falco Lombardi

Pros: Amazing neutral game, very strong stage presence and great combo game, also has shine (best move in game imho)

Cons: Terrible vertical recovery, fast faller so gets comboed easily, mistakes very costly (usually a stock)

Character Specific Techs: SHFFLing both aerials (bair, nair, dair are best) and lasers for zoning and set ups. Wavedashing, dash dancing, L cancelling is HUGE, SDI & DI to keep stocks alive for maximum time.

Similar To: Fox, Wolf

Secondaries: Marth/Roy, Link, Mario, Diddy Kong, Sheik

 

[WispBae]

'Piece o' cake'
- Falco Lombardi

Pros: Amazing neutral game, very strong stage presence and great combo game, also has shine (best move in game imho)

Cons: Terrible vertical recovery, fast faller so gets comboed easily, mistakes very costly (usually a stock)

Character Specific Techs: SHFFLing both aerials (bair, nair, dair are best) and lasers for zoning and set ups. Wavedashing, dash dancing, L cancelling is HUGE, SDI & DI to keep stocks alive for maximum time.

Similar To: Fox, Wolf

Secondaries: Marth/Roy, Link, Mario, Diddy Kong, Sheik

For some reason, I read Sheik as "Shrek".... derp...

 

[Lizalfos]

Falco, while technical, is a great character for beginners. Falco has all the tools he needs to control the stage, and his combos are simple and practical.
Pros: The ability to make safe approaches with laser. Laser when spaced appropriately allows you to follow up with D-air, a grab, or even a shine. This, coupled with combos that work across the entire cast, works to make falco a consistently powerful character in any matchup. For Falco there are no unwinnable matchups. For a beginner this is great because it allows them to main a single character that can maintain a simple formula no matter the matchup. For me this was great cause the hardest thing for me was learning character specific combos.
Cons: Falco's recovery isn't good, thats what balances him from being so good onstage. Not all hope is lost because with proper DI (a skill you should learn no matter your main) you can position yourself to help your recovery.

Another downside is that Falco is the second fastest falling character in the game, meaning he is combo food for every character out there. Once again, proper DI and the ability to control the neutral and keep momentum in your favor are very important.

Tech: Falco has advanced tech skills that must be learned. L-canceling is a must for any character, but shine grabs, waveshines, short hop lasers, or even stringing together D-air into shine quickly take some practice. While this may be hard for new players, if they try to avoid learning tech they aren't good at they inevitably will plateau in their performance quickly. Any person can become consistent with enough practice and the payoff is phenomenal. Just remember that if you are going to your first tournament that nerves are a factor and you may fall apart if you don't stay calm, just remember that you have committed this to muscle memory and focus on what the other player is doing and what you can do about it to adapt.
Tip: Don't L-cancel into the ground, practice combos on the training room CPU or a Handicapped CPU in free for all, because the timing is different when the attack connects.

 

[Ritsugamesh]

Tip: Don't L-cancel into the ground, practice combos on the training room CPU or a Handicapped CPU in free for all, because the timing is different when the attack connects.

Can't remember where I read this (either here or on reddit) but if you want to practice how hitlag affects your aerials, using the starman in Training on the cpu makes them invincible to knockback but you will still feel all the hitlag from your attacks. I spent some time just SHFFLing through and it made a big difference in my confidence.

 

[Lizalfos]

Can't remember where I read this (either here or on reddit) but if you want to practice how hitlag affects your aerials, using the starman in Training on the cpu makes them invincible to knockback but you will still feel all the hitlag from your attacks. I spent some time just SHFFLing through and it made a big difference in my confidence.

Attacking the walls on Shadow Moses has the same effect too.

 

[Zekk]

Overall strong combo and neutral game

bad up B recovery