• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Q&A "Worthy Opponents Indeed!" - Match-up Q&A Thread

MageyMage

Smash Rookie
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
8
mega man can camp you outside of your sword range with his pellets and more or less force you to approach from the air. When he is outside levin sword range he basically negates both your sword moves and your thunder/fire, because pellets stop everything. When you approach from the air, your only real options are Fair and Bair and Nair (with or without Levin sword), however hitting his shield with either means you burn your double jump, or get shield grabbed because of lag. He will then just back off again and continue his pellet and buzz saw spam. Mega man forces you to approach such that your options are so limited, and are beaten almost always by being shield grabbed regardless of spacing.

Charging to arcthunder is almost impossible, fire rarely travels the full distance cause the pellets gimp it midway. arcthunder usually stopped short by buzz saw or pellets, and our gab game is far worse than his.

Tome breaking and throwing we do have, and we can gimp him pretty good as well. But that's really all we have over him advantage wise. However, his lack of reflects doesn't mean anything when his projectiles ARE his reflects...without a cooldown.

When Mega Man spaces you at max or near max pellet range and mixing hops while shooting, it is a nightmare finding an opening that doesn't get you punished or reset back to square one. Believe me i do think outside the box, but the sheer amount of effort it takes to win does not suggest an even match-up. In a fight between an equally skilled Robin and Mega Man, my money would be on Mega Man because Robin is just far less safe and has to take so much risk for any reward. If Mega Man couldn't kill so easily for how well he racks up damage it would be a bit different, but as it stands he can kill at more or less the same percents you can, and gimp just as hard.

This is without custom moves however, don't know how things would change with them. And again, Mega Man is very beatable....just highly frustrating i feel like you just flat out have to work harder for the win.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
I haven't a lot of experience with Megaman at all, but maybe you can catch his metal blade? Doing so will prevent him from throwing anymore out for as long as you hold it, reducing his options for long range (longer than the pellets) pressure to Crash Bomber, which isn't nearly as difficult to deal with as the combination of both Crash Bomber and Metal Blade. Maybe this would make charging to Thoron easier, for one? Also, wouldn't short-hop Arcfire go over the pellets due to the angle at which it travels?

I think custom moves would be favorable for Robin for the most part. Robin can then use Speed Thunder, which while weaker, charges (and attacks) a lot faster, meaning you can get to Thoron more reliably. Arcfire+ and Distant Nosferatu are maybe also worth looking at. The downside to this is that in this case Megaman gets an actual reflector in Skull Barrior, but I'm not sure how reliable and therefore how meaningful that really is. Otherwise, Megaman doesn't seem to gain much of meaning from customs moves.

Again, though, I don't have much experience versus Megaman, so this is mostly theoretical.

Finally, what are peoples thoughts on stages with platforms? Would that be favorable or unfavorable for Robin vs. Megaman?
 
Last edited:

Mr. Johan

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
5,579
Location
Edmond, OK
NNID
Sonicboom93
Megaman's threat level is lowered a bit he's above us on a platform, with his only real options being Hard Knuckle, Nair, Flame Sword, and a down-angled Metal Blade. The problem is getting him up to a platform, as Megaman would waste no time going underneath a platform and setting up his tent.

With Robin on the platform, Megaman can up-angle Metal Blade, Flame Sword, Slash Claw, and Nair. He sacrifices camping options for his close-range arsenal, which is no slouch.

Platforms help a lot as long as we can get him up there first. I recommend Speed Thunder for it - it may not hit hard, but it still pops Megaman up, which might give Robin the moment he needs to capitalize.
 

MageyMage

Smash Rookie
Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
8
When he short hops pellets they will often catch the fire as its leaving your hands, leaving the flame at your feet or halfway. Also, firing arcfire when he is at his optimal spacing is practically impossible barring a backwards pivot, because the darn lemons interrupt everything with next to no delay between each one or separate barrages. In addition, I realized he is not locked to firing 3 at a time, he can fire one, two or all 3 at once for mixups, making it that much harder to maneuver around. Ofc he can run forward with the pellets too catching pivots. The issue is he makes one hell of a wall....but one that leaves so little breathing room and can easily reset back to neutral when you get aggressive. Our spells come out so slow (either to charge, fire, or both) that his lemons basically hardcounter them, and he loses nothing keeping them out at basically any range (he still has buzzsaws and his sticky bomb as well, though that is much less of a problem). When we DO get a spell flung...it usually gets negated, wasting your tome.

All of this was done on FD/Omega stages though, platforms could make the matchup easier. And customs might have the same effect, however for the first while we cant rely on customs because they are often disallowed, especially for the Wii U.

Like you said too Laggalot, mega man is no slouch with his aerials...and flame sword comes out FAST with good range, it puts marth to shame.

Against a Mega Man who is good with spacing and making few mistakes, I can't really see us breaking even in this match-up, unless stage choices with allowed customs tip the scales so to speak. My guess is still a 6:4, but maybe 55:45 in favor of megaman.
 

RhyRhychan

Smash Cadet
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
63
Location
Grovetown, Georgia
NNID
RhyRhychan
Can we talk about Bowser? Whats a good way to punish his Dair if he fastfalls with it from the top of the stage? It's really hard to punish. Not to mention his grab came can be strong, and hes fast for how much damage he can do. Any tips?
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
I've never had much trouble with Bowser. Arcfire and the thunder variants, particularly Arcthunder are a nightmare for him. Us them liberally. If you catch him in either Arc-spell, quickly follow up with a Levin aerial. He's got a tough time approaching you from the ground so expect an aerial approach a lot of the time. Even then, all he can approach you with semi-reliably is F-air, which is an attack you should respect. D-air is also an attack Bowser might throw out, but it is very unsafe on shield, which also answers your question on how to deal with that move. Don't attempt to dodge it, just shield, then attack with anything else. If I recall correctly, there's a fair bit of endlag on Dair, so that shouldn't be very hard.

Try not to fight Bowser at close range much if you can. He's got the advantage over you at that range. If you are forced to fight at that range, stick to fast attacks like the jab or tilts (speaking of which, I do believe up-tilt can juggle Bowser for a bit on lower %). If he's very roll-happy, feel free to throw out a Levin down-smash. That move punishes rolls like no other. Also consider having Thoron charged. Merely having it ready, not even using it, puts a lot of pressure on Bowser.

As I said before, there's a good chance Bowser will approach from the air. You're probably not beating his side-aerials with your own. Bowser's Fair has particularly good range and speed, while his back-air is just very dangerous to challenge (it's quite strong). The best position to be in against him, in my opinion, is just below and behind him. Your Levin up-air has great speed and range range and good power as well. Respect the possiblity Bowser will use down-air, and this attack is a great tool against him whenever he's in the air.

Finally, remember the rage effect. Bowser abuses it. If you let his % rise, he'll KO you back very easily.

Of course this is all just personal experience, but I've found this to work pretty well against the few Bowser's I beat in For Glory.
 
Last edited:

RhyRhychan

Smash Cadet
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
63
Location
Grovetown, Georgia
NNID
RhyRhychan
Two more people.. What are some tips to fight against a really up in your face falcon? That matchup gave me a bit of trouble. I was always trying to stop his approach with arcfires, and maybe even a random thunder, but I tried to get thoron must of the time. That was one of the people who knocked me out of my tournament yesterday, I hadn't fought against a good falcon before then. Also any tips for ness? I've been practicing a lot with my friend Milesg2g and he mains ness, I was able to beat it today! But what I find super hard to deal with is if your above him and they just spam up b.. How do you deal with it!? Its very hard to avoid, and if you can avoid it if you try to get in close to punish him while falling he can just move it to him and then hit you with an up b across the stage..Which hurts.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Falcon and Ness are two characters on which I could use some advice myself as I too have trouble with them, but I do feel like sharing some of my thoughts and experiences anyway.

With a rushdown Cpt. Falcon I feel like an offensive approach, of all things, might work rather well. Falcons are often grab-happy, so I like just throwing it out jabs to catch their approach. Might not work on more aware players, but I find it to work rather often. I feel like Elthunder is the most reliable of the Thunder spells, as it has good range, charges really quickly and has enough knockback to get Falcon off you for a bit. Falcon punishes rolls quite easily, so be careful with that. I feel that spotdodges and tilts are quite valuable in this matchup as well.

As for Falcon's aerials, don't bother challenging his up-air. You will not win. I do feel like Robin's neutral air is able to challenge Falcon's side aerials, however. Nair autocancels if shorthopped (no fastfall), and I find it a pretty OK way of fending off Falcon's aerial approach. Not so sure about Robin's side aerials. You can challenge Falcon from underneath, so long as you make sure you're not directly underneath him, but rather at an angle. All of Falcon's aerials are pretty strong, so always be wary of them. Beware Raptor Boost, so be conservative with moves that have long endlag. If you're feeling confident, Falcon's pretty vulnerable to an Elwind Spike, as his recovery is rather predictable.

Ness, I think is a matchup Robin has trouble with no matter what. For one, be very careful with when you use Arcfire, as Ness can use PK Magnet while Arcfire lingers on the ground. I think you might be able to use Arcfire when Ness is recovering by Double Jump. Having to activate PK Magnet might force him to use PK Thunder for recovery, which you can intercept if you're crafty... theoretically. Otherwise, save the fire tome for jabs. I also seem to recall that since the entire casting of Thoron is one big multi-hitting projectile, PK Magnet can only absorb a single hit's worth (though it will stop the whole attack, of course), which accumulates to only a minor amount of % recovered. Otherwise, be very careful when you throw out your Thunder spells. In fact, you might be better off just having it charged, not even using it. Remember to use your used-up tomes as projectiles. Perhaps waste Nosferatu for that if you don't think you'll be landing it. Just don't get sidetracked...

Speaking of PK Thunder, I once saw in a youtube video of some Ness vs. Robin tournament match that Robin's Nair clangs with PK Thunder (and I assume other aerials as well), so you might be able to break through the wall of Up-B's by doing that. That's also how you could intercept a PK Thunder recovery, though I imagine that's really difficult. Elwind should also be an option for attacking Ness from above... but since it launches you upwards, I suppose that would give Ness more opportunity to throw out more PK Thunders.

Finally, I want to quickly mention that if you can make PK Thunder clang with anything during recovery, you'll intercept it right then and there. Doing is seems to be quite difficult, though, and there's no reliable way of doing so that I know off, so I'll just leave it at a mention.
 

Delzethin

Character Concept Creator
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
3,966
Location
St. Louis, MO
NNID
Delzethin
I also seem to recall that since the entire casting of Thoron is one big multi-hitting projectile, PK Magnet can only absorb a single hit's worth (though it will stop the whole attack, of course), which accumulates to only a minor amount of % recovered.
I can confirm this. I was playing against a Ness online a while back, he got a couple good reads on me and magneted my Thoron a couple times, and I noticed he only recovered like 3% from it.
 
Last edited:

Demonstormkill

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
116
Location
London, ON.
3DS FC
3926-6919-7589
Villager... If you guys don't want to address this one now that's fine, maybe we can come back to it. Just posting my thoughts on the matchup while it's fresh in mind.

My impression is that it's tough:

- Slingshot keeps pressure on
- Several options to gimp Robin: fsmash(x2) from ledge, nair, dair(may spike), slingshot (if recovering horizontally), chopping tree, growing tree.
- Disgusting ledge camping game
- Pocket is very good against us -- helps against our tome/sword throws too.
- Lloid rocket is amazing for stage control, particularly when combined with slingshot. It absorbs Elthunder and forces a jump or block, putting us in a bad position.
- Godlike recovery. Some of them are very good at avoiding any extra damage while in up-B as well. (stalling beneath the stage, etc)
- Be very careful "punishing" his mostly safe fsmash. It may be a trap.

+ Our jab is pretty effective up close
+ Dtilt is also not bad, you can crouch under his slingshot and Dtilt the landing. Maybe stand and jab would be a better idea, didn't try that.
+ Our aerials out-damage his and when timed correctly can punish a predicted aerial, but you have to get it out before slingshot hits you. An early Fair can eat the pellet and hit him.
+ He has some trouble killing on-stage. One trick to watch out for is he can get sourspot Usmash (glanced by the fireworks) -> Uair or Utilt which kills early. (lol ok you probably shouldn't get hit by his USmash if you're not a scrub like me though)
+ Robin's Uair is a good move to have.
+ His grab seems suspect to me but I haven't had much success exploiting that yet, as they're usually careful with it.
(EDIT)+ Elthunder can destroy a ridden lloid rocket to gimp. If villager tries to stall with the rocket instead, an arcthunder aimed at it explodes on him for a KO.

Overall the main points are Lloid Rocket gives him stage control, and it's not easy to recover. He also doesn't do much that's all that unsafe, so the usual opportunities for Arcfire or Thunder damage don't often arise, and he moves around a lot making us more reliant on precise LS aerials to kill him. Fortunately, he lacks a reliable killing option on stage, but it doesn't seem to be enough to even the matchup.
 
Last edited:

JuniorTerra

Smash Rookie
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
1
I need help on how to deal with Duck Hunt. the other day I fought a really good Duck Hunt main who would not let me approach and when I did I was immediately grabbed and thrown away.
 

RhyRhychan

Smash Cadet
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
63
Location
Grovetown, Georgia
NNID
RhyRhychan
Powershields are your friend in that matchup, and short hops over his frisbee into arc fires to stop his running approach and keep him locked in shield. Once he's locked down you have more options like either seeing if he will drop his shield and dash attack or some other option, or grabbing him while hes in shield because he's expecting you to dash attack. You need to be warry of his smash attacks, they are really disjointed so make sure to guard it all. Your best position to be at is behind or under him if possible. Your upair can beat out just about anything he can dish out in the air, I am kind of hazy on everything he does since it has been awhile and what beats what.. but I think his fair can beat out ours... I'll have to add more later.
 

Vonzar the Soulrender

4th Dimensional Horror
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
819
How do you guys feel about the Link matchup? I play both Link and Robin pretty heavily, and I play against some Link players who say they find Robin frustration, the matchup seems pretty much 50/50 to me.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
I struggle to see how Robin could have a straight-up advantage over Link. Link's general reach on the ground surpasses Robin's (albeit slightly), and his projectiles are considerably more spammable. In fact, these projectiles make it nigh-on impossible to charge Thunder on the ground beyond Elthunder level. I think the biggest hurdle for Link on the ground is dealing with Arcfire.

Of course, now I'm making it sound like Link has the advantage, which I don't think is the case. Not necessarily, anyway. I believe Robin's advantage is mainly in the aerial game. Robin's Fair I believe is faster than Link's and his Bair I feel outranges Link's. Link's Uair wins against Robin's Dair, I'm sure, but I believe Robin has Elwind as an option, albeit a potentially risky one. As for Link's Dair vs Robin's Uair, in my experience they tend to trade if they are directly vertical from eachother, assuming Robin's timing is good. Robin wins at any other angle, though.

Both have their tools against eachother. I think it's pretty even as well. Though, you are saying that your opponents find your Robin frustrating. Frustrating, of course, is different from (relatively) difficult. I can believe that Robin can be played in a way where it would frustrate their opponent, though I really haven't had that experience.
 

Babatunde

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 20, 2013
Messages
309
Location
Nashville,TN
NNID
BABS!
3DS FC
2938-7558-8507
Robin: Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire. Hmph *Throws Book then kills you @ 110*
Opponent: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
 

Ultimastrike

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
226
Location
Georgia
NNID
Ultimastrike
3DS FC
0473-8335-5555
Robin: Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire Arcfire. Hmph *Throws Book then kills you @ 110*
Opponent: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Arcfire and Forget. Anyway, I think it's time we actually get serious and go in-depth with match-ups.

As for ROB, ROBin has advantage with Levin Aerials since ROB's aerial game against him is buns(except for UAir). What's more, Arm Rotor is punishable; just don't throw Thoron at it otherwise you'll eat it. The Spin Top can be helpful if you shield it, since you can get it with a dash attack for safety. If ROB gets it watch for when he throws it. As for Laser, it charges overtime. When the light's flashing he has a full laser. It's not as fast as Thoron, but it still can punish landing lag.

Once ROB's in the air try to keep him there. As for gimping him, it's a war of attrition. ROB refuels as long as he's on the ground. If he uses his fuel to recover, NAir and Elwind can help.
 

Silverfox117

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
91
Arcfire and Forget. Anyway, I think it's time we actually get serious and go in-depth with match-ups.

As for ROB, ROBin has advantage with Levin Aerials since ROB's aerial game against him is buns(except for UAir). What's more, Arm Rotor is punishable; just don't throw Thoron at it otherwise you'll eat it. The Spin Top can be helpful if you shield it, since you can get it with a dash attack for safety. If ROB gets it watch for when he throws it. As for Laser, it charges overtime. When the light's flashing he has a full laser. It's not as fast as Thoron, but it still can punish landing lag.

Once ROB's in the air try to keep him there. As for gimping him, it's a war of attrition. ROB refuels as long as he's on the ground. If he uses his fuel to recover, NAir and Elwind can help.
I agree we need to create a more indepth character match up thread. One where we could have one character to talk about at a time, and really rank the match ups.

My two cents on Rob. I love to use Rob a lot, and from my experience is that Rob is deadly in the air. Well at least in two directions. His fair and u-air is disgusting. Robin's bair might be able to to out range the fair, but i don't think its a safe option at all. His top game is scary. YOU HAVE TO PICK IT UP. You can't let Rob grab the top. His shield pressure and shenanigans are way too strong with the top. Most good Robs wont use the spin at all. Those are my two cents like all match ups arc fire is the answer. Honestly i feel like Robin is like melee peach with like every match up is a 50/50.
 

Dark Lady

A Red Witch
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
107
Location
Southern California
Alright, as far as match-ups go, here's my amateur player 2 cents.


"No problem. Let's go!":
Greninja
Olimar
Shulk
Ike
Sheik
Sonic
Little Mac
Marth
Lucina
Wii Fit Trainer
King Dedede
Meta Knight
Lucario
Charizard
Donkey Kong
Zero Suit Samus
Rosalina and Luma
Luigi
Bowser
Wario
Ganondorf
Zelda
Captain Falcon
Dr. Mario
Pac Man
Falco

"Quit ducking under my crap! >= (" :
Kirby
Jigglypuff
Mr. Game and Watch
Pikachu

"Ugh, projectiles." : (50/50)
Link
Toon Link
Duck Hunt
*Samus (I actually have a hard time vs. her. Might be a mental thing though.)
R.O.B
Ness
Mega Man
Pit
Dark Pit

"I hate you." : (45/55 or worse imo)
**Fox
Diddy Kong
Peach

Unsure:
Yoshi
Palutena
 
Last edited:

Ultimastrike

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
226
Location
Georgia
NNID
Ultimastrike
3DS FC
0473-8335-5555
Lol this isn't even a real list :v

But let's keep numbers out of it since I think Raziek and some others will decide that later on in the future. In the meantime, I think we should look at something each week like the Ganon Boards are doing. I thought it was something that could give us more insight. One thing we can already strike is Shulk; Raziek took care of that one.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
I agree with Ultimastrike. I suppose we should just start with Mario then? I think that's the easiest start for this discussion without too much distraction or time-wasting. It's also consistent with the Ganondorf boards.

I don't want to go hijacking the thread, of course, so I want to see if we can agree on this first before I start writing paragraphs.
 
Last edited:

Ultimastrike

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
226
Location
Georgia
NNID
Ultimastrike
3DS FC
0473-8335-5555
I agree with Ultimastrike. I suppose we should just start with Mario then? I think that's the easiest start for this discussion without too much distraction or time-wasting. It's also consistent with the Ganondorf boards.

I don't want to go hijacking the thread, of course, so I want to see if we can agree on this first before I start writing paragraphs.
Tbh you don't really have to write paragraphs. Just state things that are relevant to the MU. Like for instance:

Mario's Fireball approach annoys Robin due to the sheer spam of it(shielding is a solution, but we don't want to get grabbed to a UTilt combo).
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
I suppose we should just get started, then.

Some things to consider in the Robin vs. Mario matchup:


Pros:
- Robin generally outranges Mario in regard to standard attacks. Mario lacks range outside of his fireballs.
- Mario's recovery is straightforward and not particularly impressive. On top of that, if he's making a serious recovery attempt, he can hardly afford to try the laggy Fair, while I don't think Mario's Nair has a threatening range. I believe our own Nair, which has horizontal knockback, can gimp Mario relatively easily. I also think Mario is very vulnerable to Elwind spikes. Once Mario is offstage, it shouldn't be too difficult to take his stock.
- While Mario can reflect our projectiles, Arcfire is very unlikely to hit us upon being reflected, due to the angle at which it travels. This makes Arcfire a rather safe projectile.


Cons:

- Mario definitely outranges our grab, though (but so does just about every character out there)
- As stated above: Robin hates Mario's fireballs. They put a lot of pressure on Robin, which Robin has a lot of trouble with.
- While we can probably edgeguard Mario, Mario can do the same to us, probably better too. Between Cape, Fair spike, Bair for stagespike and probably also FLUDD, we are gimped very easily.
- Mario is faster than us, both in attack speed and overall movement speed.
- As already stated, Mario can reflect our projectiles. Beyond the aforementioned Arcfire, I believe our projectile game is largely shut down by this. They are probably only safe at point blank. Thoron, though... is probably out of the question. Too much opportunity for Mario to reflect it. We don't want to eat a reflected (Therefore powered-up) Thoron, so there goes another one of our options.

While we definitely have perks here and there, based on these points, I don't see this as a very good match-up for Robin. A lot of our options become useless or very dangerous against Mario and we seem to be quite vulnerable to many of his.

I gathered these points in a of couple minutes, so I'm sure I'm missing some or I'm forgetting aspects of points I did mention. By all means, add to this (perhaps I'll edit additions in later) or tell me if you disagree on something (which includes correcting mistakes. I'm not exactly a confident person).

By the way, how can/should we handle stages in this discussion? Also, should we also talk about custom moves or not? Maybe a quick mention of them and how they affect the match-up?
 
Last edited:

Meta651

Smash Journeyman
Joined
May 25, 2009
Messages
205
Location
Chile
NNID
Meta651
I don't think that Mario's Fireballs are such an issue, I think that they are just something annoying. Projectile wise we have the upper hand with Thunder variants and Arcfires, they have more range, cut more options and deal more damage than the Fireball.

Also, it's true that we need to be aware of the cape but this doesn't shuts down totally the thunder projectiles. Mario needs to time well the cape and if you play smart and not just spamming projectiles he shouldn't reflect with the cape. Also if this was true a lot of characters could give us trouble (G&W, Ness, Palutena, Fox, etc).

In a CQC situation I think we still have options, Ftilt is fast and have a strange good range, Dtilt is fast and Utilt is an excellent anti-aerial option that wins over Mario's Dair. Also we have stronger smash attacks and Mario is not a heavyweight but still he have faster smashes.

Offstage his Fair can spike and ruins us because our recovery is pretty much predictable but I think that if you recover low he's not going to risk losing a life because he can't reach the ledge, depends of the situation I think but is something that we need to be aware.

I think that Mario shines because of his combo game, Utilt to Uairs and that gives us a lot of troble if he comes near, also if he's juggling us we have few options...Elwind, Dair and Airdodge?

Well I have almost 0% against Mario (almost all players around here in locals are using Diddy and Sheik) so this is just my view of the characters.
 
Last edited:

Ultimastrike

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
226
Location
Georgia
NNID
Ultimastrike
3DS FC
0473-8335-5555
I don't think that Mario's Fireballs are such an issue, I think that they are just something annoying. Projectile wise we have the upper hand with Thunder variants and Arcfires, they have more range, cut more options and deal more damage than the Fireball.

Also, it's true that we need to be aware of the cape but this doesn't shuts down totally the thunder projectiles. Mario needs to time well the cape and if you play smart and not just spamming projectiles he shouldn't reflect with the cape. Also if this was true a lot of characters could give us trouble (G&W, Ness, Palutena, Fox, etc).

In a CQC situation I think we still have options, Ftilt is fast and have a strange good range, Dtilt is fast and Utilt is an excellent anti-aerial option that wins over Mario's Dair. Also we have stronger smash attacks and Mario is not a heavyweight but still he have faster smashes.

Offstage his Fair can spike and ruins us because our recovery is pretty much predictable but I think that if you recover low he's not going to risk losing a life because he can't reach the ledge, depends of the situation I think but is something that we need to be aware.

I think that Mario shines because of his combo game, Utilt to Uairs and that gives us a lot of troble if he comes near, also if he's juggling us we have few options...Elwind, Dair and Airdodge?

Well I have almost 0% against Mario (almost all players around here in locals are using Diddy and Sheik) so this is just my view of the characters.
Fireballs we kinda all agree on since Mario can approach with them and get an easy grab. Another thing is that as far as cape goes, you don't entirely need to worry about it as much as you need to be aware. Like, try to pick up on his caping patterns and use it in a mix-up. Of course, you could also read his approach: Fireballs? Pop Thoron to punish the lag. Run-up? Roll/FTilt/DTilt. The only thing that could put pressure more than anything on Robin in this MU are SH AC DAirs. Other than that, Robin beats him through his FAir, BAir, and UAir range with the Levin Sword. Let's also not forget Z-Dropped Tomes or Down Throwed Tomes. These can help in set-ups to get Robin a clean kill, but if you're using it as a kill move, watch for cape. Arcfire, as Lag said above, is a safe move at long range. At mid Mario can punish the move with a DThrow>UTilt>UAir combo. As for recovering, using the Falcon Fade-out can help. Just be aware of where you're recovering from high or low.

Also, regarding stages Raziek's working on that. Just give him time.

As for customs, Fire Wall seems like a good choice here to help prevent Matio from getting in too early. Speed Thunder might be another choice as well since Robin's pressured by fireballs a majority of the time.
 
Last edited:

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Ok, so I maybe/probably exaggerated the threat of cape a bit. I guess I've had it reflect my projectiles one too many times. But I do feel it's a move that gets into use pretty easily, and making direct contact with cape (so being turned around by it) is something that I find makes Robin very vulnerable to a follow-up. I know from experience that it makes me a bit hesitant to try and punish the cape use. In all honesty though, once again, I've probably just got hit by that one too many times.

I believe customs favor Mario more than Robin, for the most part. Mario's other relevant Neutral-B is probably inferior in this match-up compared to default, because it doesn't apply such pressure, nor does it let Mario approach the way default fireball does. I do think Explosive Jump Punch can threaten us, though, because it gives Mario another KO option that I believe is stronger than uncharged Up-Smash, and also can be used out of shield more quickly. Don't know about alternative FLUDDs though.

The real gamechanger in my eyes right now is Gust Cape. Cape is annoying as is, but Gust Cape worries me, because it threatens our recovery so much more. Seeing how much the windbox can push a character away when combined with the turnaround effect (which I believe also reverses momentum on top of this), can we even recovery high at all without risking being blown off the stage? If we can't and so forced to recover low, that would make us that much more vulnerable to a Bair stagespike from Mario, wouldn't it?
 

Ultimastrike

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
226
Location
Georgia
NNID
Ultimastrike
3DS FC
0473-8335-5555
Gust Cape? I haven't had any experience with it, so I think I might play around with it later when I'm not playing FE7. I'll also see if I can get someone from the Mario boards to play and get an understanding.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Almost everyone seems to agree that Gust cape is basically an upgrade to default Cape. The direct hit does less damage, but that's its only con that I know of, and it's a pretty irrelevant one. Basically, it has an additional windbox on it that extends a decent bit ahead of it, and also gives Mario a little bit of lift in the air, like Cape has done in past games, so it also aids his recovery. Now, here's the problem: the Cape's pretty quick, the windbox is pretty easy to land, and if you hit with the cape itself, your opponent gets pushed after they get turned around, not before. Simply getting your momentum reversed by regular cape while recovering can be very dangerous as is. Being pushed even further away by the additional windbox makes this considerably more so.
 

Raziek

Charging Limit All Day
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
9,626
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia
NNID
Raziek
3DS FC
3866-8131-5247
I did a thing.
[collapse="Shulk Matchup"]Any and all further comment is welcome, but this initial post was created with the help of @#HBC | Ryker


Reference Vids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcmQmzpvMo0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu_4NC0g15w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_IwYnPrdMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ViasiJOQk


Robin vs. Shulk

Ratio: +1 Robin

Overview

Robin vs. Shulk is a weird matchup. Both are generally considered ‘zoning’ characters. Robin zones with the Levin Sword and a wide array of exceptional projectiles. Shulk does so more aggressively with the sheer length of his sword, and his mobility options through his Speed and Jump stances. When the two clash, it becomes largely about ‘who is where’ and ‘who swings first’. Robin is at advantage MOST of the time in this matchup, as Shulk has a very specific zone he wants to reach where he’s at maximum effectiveness, where Robin is happy to be pretty much anywhere BUT that zone. Shulk can also struggle to find consistent kills, limiting his ability to keep Robin from getting a lead and further extending it thanks to her zoning. Shulk, conversely, makes his money on finding immense profit in the small advantages. His explosive nature can turn extreme deficits back into real matches with a few correct reads in Buster or Smash.


Neutral

Shulk Side

There is a very small zone and you want to occupy it. This zone lies outside Robin’s aerial threat range and inside Shulk’s. Any farther back is too far and Robin can safely throw projectiles at you to make it difficult to get to this zone. Any closer and you will find that the Levin Sword does not appreciate your presence. Being outsped and outsafetied in comparison to Robin is not good for Shulk. Your plan in neutral is to find a way into this effective zone. You want to live in it, but it is hard to find your way there. To that end, you have a couple of things you can use, but first, there are some ground rules.


  1. Do Not Roll Forward.
Robin will eat you alive as Shulk’s forward roll is not very good. It does not go far enough and it will likely leave you still in front of Robin with your back turned inside of Robin’s zone of expertise. Pretty much the only exception to this is a roll in reaction to Arcfire. If you can roll through the projectile from close enough, you can get a punish.


  1. Stay Patient
Robin knows exactly where you want to be and is equally keen on making sure you don’t get there. It is better to be OUTSIDE the range of Levin Sword than inside. You can more easily avoid projectiles and stay safe when the sword is not a major concern. You have to bide your time, get in, and make it count. When you throw yourself at Robin, you either run into Arcfire/Arcthunder and lead yourself into a combo, or you get hit with a Fair or Uair and find yourself with a different entrance to the blender. Do not commit to things that will get you punished in neutral without defined cause.


  1. Not Getting A Hit Can Still Be A Win
Your job is to reach that sweet spot of range. If Robin backs up infinitely, this is functionally impossible. However, on every stage, Robin can only back up so far. You have a pair of awful rolls and slow offensive options. Your advantage is your range. Slowly advance. Every step Robin retreats puts her closer to the ledge and having to interact with the sweet spot you are looking for.


Past that, there’s the information on which MArts to use. Start the match with Speed or Jump, typically. Speed increases the range from which you can punish. Jump gives you the ability to better traverse her Arcfire traps. Do not use Buster in neutral unless you are desperate for a comeback or you are at a high enough percent that taking more percent hardly matters to you. Robin can string together multiple moves and trap your landing fairly easily, so it usually isn’t worth doing.


Robin Side

As the ‘Shulk side’ assessment would suggest, Robin wants to be everywhere Shulk doesn’t. In this case, you want to be either close enough to swing with the Levin sword (or your dominant jab, if grounded), or far enough to safely charge a Thunder spell or position yourself to throw out Arcfire.


When at ‘long-range’, Robin holds a clear advantage. Shulk has no projectiles, so if he insists on STAYING at long-range, he’ll eventually get hit by something. He can only really choose to stay at this range if he’s trying for a time-out (and is already ahead), or you’re on a transitioning stage and he’s waiting for a more favorable position, or simply waiting for you to break one of your tomes. (Which you can then throw at him and start zoning with the other one. Ha!)


‘Mid range’ is where Shulk has closed the gap enough to swing with Fair, Nair, or Bair from outside of Robin’s range. If he’s in Speed or Jump, this range is larger, and also notably increases the distance from which he can threaten to grab you. This situation is one Robin wants to exit immediately, usually by getting closer. Retreating is fine if space permits it, but recklessly giving up stage control will see you end up on the ledge and in ‘Shulk time’.


From a frame data perspective, Robin wins the aerial fight pretty much outright.


(Robin) vs. (Shulk)

Nair: 9 vs. 13

Fair: 12 vs. 14

Bair: 9 vs. 18

Uair: 10 vs. (Functionally irrelevant)


Shulk competes in the air battle by abusing his range advantage. He does so by starting Nair from a safe distance and floating inwards, or using his Fair and Dair pre-emptively in a manner that maximizes its range. Thanks to the buffs he received in 1.04, Fair has less landing lag and is safer as a zoning tool. It is still possible, however, to close the gap with a well-timed shield and punish Shulk’s landing, so he cannot carelessly float it out.


Shulk’s Bair can be used due to its insane range, but he telegraphs using it, and he must do so from a range that is almost considered ‘long range’. If he’s doing it, unless you’re trying to out-disjoint it (you won’t), you shouldn’t have trouble closing the distance or retreating to shoot projectiles at him.


Once you’re in ‘close range’, your goal is to harass Shulk with LSFair, Nair, and LSUair. If you can get close enough, the Jab/Grab mixup. Most of the damage you’ll be getting is going to be Fair strings, Arcfire follow-ups, juggles, grabs, or tech-chases off of Nair knock-downs. Bair is reserved largely as a punish tool against Shulk due to its low range. However, it CAN hit him standing, which is extremely important.


It’s also extremely important to realize the potency of LSUair as a neutral tool. Properly auto-canceled, it’s difficult for Shulk to punish, and it prevents him from jumping out of sticky situations. He’s very floaty and LSUair can be expected to start getting kills at around 130 on the ground, and as early as 105 if you catch him high in the air. (Excluding MArts modifiers and rage effect. Results may vary. Some restrictions may apply.)


When it comes to the grounded battle, Shulk is not threatening on the ground unless he’s close enough to grab you. His Jab is 5 frames (slower than our 4 frame jab) and is extremely punishable on block. All his tilts are either relatively laggy, or not adequate for ground combat. His F-tilt is relatively easily punished if blocked (unless in Buster), D-tilt can be freely rolled into, and U-tilt, though excellent at stuffing aerial approaches, is not a button he should use if you’re both grounded, as it likely just won’t hit you.


His Smashes seem threatening at first, but are actually extremely easy to deal with as long as you don’t have a ton of bad roll/spot-dodge habits. F-Smash is unsafe if shielded outside of buster stance. If he’s in Buster, the push-back becomes too much to reliably punish if it was well-spaced. D-Smash can simply be shielded or jumped out of, and jumping out earns you a free Nosferatu or LSUAir/LSBair on his recovery time. U-Smash is a bit safer, but lacks the hitbox needed to threaten Robin in a grounded fight, leaving it relegated to hard reads on Shulk’s part.


Dealing with MArts


Buster/Smash


Buster and Smash can be treated in much the same manner. If Shulk is in Buster, you focus on the safe stuff. Well-placed Arcfires, retreated aerials, spend a lot of time in your shield. Buster means Shulk gets a bigger pay-off for hitting you, and it makes his attacks a little bit safer on shield. Your goal is to make sure he regrets activating it by getting easy damage through safe confirms, and finding your way out of the juggle if he manages to find a grab or push you to the ledge. Note: Be wary of shield damage on his Smash attacks. They CAN break your shield.


If Shulk is in Smash mode, things get a lot more volatile. He’s basically only going to enter Smash because he’s trying to kill you. Knowing that, the list of things that are dangerous changes, to a degree! Nair and Jab become less threatening. Fair/Bair, his grabs and his smashes get a lot MORE threatening.


Most of the time if Shulk goes into Smash, I just straight up leave. Don’t take risks. It’s not worth trying to fight him if you can die from a stray hit, but he won’t die himself. Wait it out. However, you will almost certainly EVENTUALLY have to fight him. (Due to lack of space to retreat to) Once again, stick to low-risk options and just keep him away from you until it wears out. B-throw will send him quite far if you can find a grab, as will any aerial or Fire Jab. Be wary of how early he can kill you OFFSTAGE in Smash stance. Also: BE WARY OF VISION, ESPECIALLY if he is running Power Vision. It will kill you HILARIOUSLY early.


Shield


This one is easy. Just don’t fight him. Every single problem Shulk has approaching from the ‘long-range’ situation becomes exacerbated if he enters Shield. Toss Arcfire and Elthunder and laugh at him. This stance should never really be threatening unless you’re being careless and letting him hit you or get too close. Be aware, that he’ll also be surviving an obnoxiously long time in this stance. Save your kill moves for after it wears off. If ever you find yourself boxed in in the corner, know that he still can’t move very fast, as this is where he’ll struggle to keep you. If you CAN get past him, you have the entire stage available to retreat to.


Speed


Speed sees Shulk trade Jump height and damage for immensely increased ground speed and air speed. This MArt is one of the harder ones to deal with, as this makes it much easier for him to close the distance and find his way into that ‘advantage time’ by grabbing you. The decrease in jump height means Arcfire controls more effective space, so be sure to put it in his way. Just be wary of him anticipating it and jumping over with Fair. Otherwise, your best bet is to stay patient and rely on the safety of retreating Nair/Jab to prevent him from freely dashing in on you.


Jump


This MArt’s effectiveness is extremely stage-dependant. It lets him navigate Arcfire much more easily, but the reduced Dash speed means he’s basically forced to commit to an aerial approach, which means he has to COMMIT. If there’s platforms in the way, like on Battlefield, this Art’s effectiveness is greatly reduced since those block him from jumping in with an aerial at some ranges. Speed is more likely to be the one you’re dealing with most of the time due to its ability to let him threaten to grab you. His aerial approaches become more threatening, so take care not to simply let him grab you, out of fear. If Shulk has to come down for a high position, chances are his goal is to Nair the back of your shield so he can get down safely. If he does so, the safest course of action is simply to roll forward (and away from where he is landing).


Advantage Time

Shulk Side


Shulk’s redeeming factor in what would otherwise be a poor match-up is his ability to gather insane profit from a small advantage.


When he reaches the sweet spot we talked about earlier, then Fair, Nair, and tilts become terrifying for Robin and any hit can lead into more or a potential grab. Once you’ve found a hit, begin looking to grab Robin or find a way to open her up to aerial strings. Any time you land a Nair and a lot of Fairs, you will find yourself with frame advantage on the ground near to Robin. Her options are very limited there. Her likely course is to either jump, roll, or jab. Jab is good. Frame 4, scary move. However, the first two hits can be shield grabbed (from close range), while the fire ender can be punished with shield drop FSmash for Christ’s sake. Do not spot dodge that move though (as I can attest as you see me do it repeatedly in the above videos since I haven’t shaken the muscle memory). If she jumps, she likely will not make it high enough to get out of a grab and even if she could, Utilt or Fair tend to light that up. Probably her best option is to roll, in which case, you want to chase the roll down. Either stand your ground and punish with DSmash or grab if she rolls through you or chase it down with grab, dash attack, or USmash if she rolls away.


Now, the tricky part is that once you’ve gotten to your sweetspot and then found the hit, your next follow-up is likely to put Robin outside of your sweetspot again. She is likely above and in front of you, as that is the safest place for her to be. This is fine with you. Due to her powerful aerials and favorable airspeed, you want to trap her landing more so than go up after her. Catch her with a grab on landing or a tilt, shield if you think she’s going to throw an aerial (do not let her hit you with her command grab in this scenario). Experiment. The options here are just so terribly plentiful I cannot possibly cover them all. If you’re having trouble with trapping landings, post on the boards and we’ll see what we can do about it. Note: When under Robin in such a position, that’s a good time to switch to Buster or Smash (percent depending) or even Jump so that you can go deep for an edgeguard if you get them off stage. She can’t do much to you in this scenario until the you reset to neutral. One last thing on this scenario though, don’t use UAir. It’s a hell of a hard read for an early kill, but it’s just too easy to be avoided and that lag can easily tip the scales and give Robin an opening. I’m not really feeling that.


The final advantageous position to discuss is the edge guard. When Robin is offstage, she’s hell on Earth to kill. Her sword means that committing to a Fair must be done early lest you recieve a shocking reprimand from Robin’s own Fair. However, if you do throw that Fair, she can likely air dodge on reaction and you will have to jump back to safety lest you find yourself in the absolute perfect location for an Elwind spike. If Robin is air-dodging prematurely, this can be punished with a down air as long as you have good timing and have not committed to a different aerial before she airdodged. However, NOT swinging still leave you vulnerable to her swinging back. If you can get behind her (and some wonky postitions between her and the stage), Bair can be effective, but it’s hard. Finding a Fair or Bair offstage can easily mean you get a stock, but don’t go too hard and get killed yourself because without your double jump, you’re toast. Your real advantage comes from trapping her at the ledge. Being near the ledge when Robin has to get back on stage means you are instantly in your perfect place AND Robin’s options are limited. Simply standing outside of Robin’s ledge attack range is threatening. You fought for all this space, do not give it up freely.


Robin Side


Okay, so basically every time you hit Shulk with ANYTHING you enter ‘advantage time’. This is a result of Robin’s ability to string together numerous aerials, and her ability to trap Shulk’s landing options exceptionally easily. Shulk’s aerials are SLOW. Because of this, when you hit him and he’s forced to leave the ground, he almost never gets to swing BACK at you. He’s forced to take the hit and try to find a way out of the situation. He’s extremely floaty, which means you DESTROY him if he ends up above you. LSUair bullies essentially every single option he has except Vision. That’s REALLY BAD for him. Like Little Mac, he’s basically forced to commit to a counter-option in order to get down safely. So every time you get in range to swing Uair at him, he has to pick one of the following options:


  1. Vision

  2. Air-dodge

  3. Dair

#3 might as well not even be a real option, we out disjoint Dair SUPER hard. Vision is a strong option that can turn the tables if it connects, but not only can you space Uair such that the vision will trigger but not HIT you, you can also simply wait, bait it out, and punish him afterwards. If Shulk air-dodges, Uair -> Bair is a frametrap if your spacing is correct, and if he air-dodges into the ground it’s a free grab, putting you at advantage time once more.


When it comes to off-stage, most of what you’re going to be doing is tacking on additional damage with Fair/Elwind, going for the Nair gimp, or going for a ledge trump trap with Bair/Uair. Elwind spikes are not particularly viable in this match-up due to how Air Slash clanks with Elwind, and the fact that you need to get extremely close to him to even attempt it.


If you’re on-stage and he’s on the ledge, you’re mostly just going to want to wait and react. Once again, his laggy aerials means he has to pick a vulnerable defensive option that you can follow up on. D-Smash catches him if he tries to simply hang there or do the quick-stand or ledgeroll, while SHUair covers ledge-jump. If you prefer a safer distance, you can throw Arcfire directly onto the ledge to force him to take action to avoid it and punish his defensive choice then.


Disadvantage

Shulk Side


You start the game at a disadvantaged situation. You spend 70% of the game at a disadvantage. Your strength in the match-up is what you do with the 30% you aren’t at disadvantage. But I digress, here’s a look at what you can do to mitigate the disadvantaged situations.


  1. At Range
In case you haven’t noticed, Shulk does not have a projectile. Conversely Robin, oozes top tier projectiles like some primordial tar pit of good character traits. Each and every one of them is great at making your life miserable. This includes Elwind. ****ing Elwind. That **** puts Robin in helpless and it still makes you respect her at range. Let’s go over each one that matters.


a.) Arcfire

The big one. Arcfire is free pressure and there’s little you can do to directly punish the correct use of this move. As mentioned before, if Robin uses this at a poor time, you can roll through it and get close enough to punish.Equally poor for her is if she uses it in a scenario where you can go over it and Fair her. Against a good player, those times are few and far between. For the most part, a victory over Arcfire is one in which you don’t get hit and Robin backs up closer to the ledge. Change your mindset because that scenario is great and you can’t go thinking it isn’t. You have to weave around Arcfire. If it falls short of reaching you, wait for it to end and then move forward either on the ground or with a short hop, being wary of Robin’s ability to move forward and possibly circumvent your sweetspot by closing the gap. If it lands behind you because you spot dodged or rolled, look out for Robin. Nair, Fair, Dash Attack, and Dash Grab are all very threatening and if she is in range for those, you need to find your opportunity to shorthop a retreating Fair or Nair to gain your space as that means you are close to Robin. If she is still in lag, feel free to light her up with a grab, tilt, or dash attack. If Arcfire hits your shield, figure out how deep you are into it. Robin is coming to throw something safe at your shield for even more pressure and to land her right in her own sweetspot. If you’re deep into Arcfire, you have to shield the entire move and hold that mix-up. If you aren’t, you can roll out of the later hits after it ignites. Time will get you used to it. One final trick is that while in Speed (or any nonshield form if the situation lines up sometimes) Dash Forward -> Shielding will oftentimes ignite Arcfire, but your momentum will carry you close enough to Robin (and out of the Arcfire) so you can shieldgrab her.


In the worst-case scenario, you get hit by Arcfire. DI away from the point where it ignited. Sometimes it ignites HIGH and you can DI out of the later hits before Robin can close the gap to claim her free follow-up. But if you DO not get out, be aware of the situation and stay ready to switch your DI for the incoming Uair/Fair.


She only has 6 uses of Arcfire and each use of Jab3 takes one of those. I’m not necessarily saying count the uses (but you should definitely count the uses), but when that red book breaks, you have a great time to find an advantaged situation.


b.) Thunder/Elthunder/Arcthunder/Thoron


Step one is to ascertain which Thunder tome you are dealing with by the charge time as that will determine how scared you should be, its travel time, and how long she has to charge before reaching the next level. For a general rule, you can deal with each level in the same way although they have slightly different traits. Thunder is a nuisance, but that’s all. Don’t really worry about it. Elthunder will disrupt you a lot if you’re hit as it has real knockback. Try to avoid it, it’s also very simple to avoid, but you can also clank or counter it. Arcthunder is a *****. She’ll abuse you and tell you to like it. If you’re hit, go ahead and start preparing your DI. If you shield it, HOLD THAT BUTTON!!! Unlike Arcfire, you cannot roll out of Arcthunder. Thoron is also a rude customer, but there’s not much to say. Hold shield until it’s over if you must, but preferably don’t ever get hit with it by jumping over it. If Thoron is charged, you should super not be using those rolls that you probably shouldn’t be using anyway. Landing is also a pain as air dodging a perceived aerial, can oftentimes just lead you to getting a face full of lightning.


We’ll cover Elwind in the recovery section, but let me just point out that almost every scenario that occurs with it offstage, Robin can use when above you onstage and if it hits, she will find purchase and you will find yourself back in a disadvantaged state.

  1. Inside Robin’s Melee Range
Crickey, what a mess. How’d you get here? This is not where you want to be. There’s really scary things here like a frame 4 jab and autocanceled aerials. Let’s see how to get out.


First, this is the one place that rolling is even somewhat acceptable. Roll back, never forward (that gets you downsmashed), but if you see an opportunity to roll out of Robin’s zone, then do so.


Second, if Robin throws rising Fair, Nair, or Uair out of a shorthop, THERE IS A FRAME 4 JAB COMING IF SHE LANDS. For those of you who don’t speak capslock, that means that she will hit you if you try to retaliate with any of your grounded options. This is your time to drop your shield and short hop a Fair. Also note that, depending on the spacing, you may can get out of this pressure by using UpB out of shield either before the Fair/Nair/Uair comes out or after it hits your shield. That move is not to be underestimated.


Third, her jab is also very good. If not spaced perfectly, you can shieldgrab the first or second jabs, but the fire jab is VERY punishable (shield drop FSmash punishable). As long as you’re wary of the extended hitbox on the final hit, the wind jab is also fairly punishable after shielding it. If it is well spaced, you kind of have to wait for Robin to stop jabbing, but you don’t know if it will be after jab 1, 2, or 3. It can be reacted to, however, so play it and you’ll get a feel for it. Also, a word to the wise, don’t spot dodge this jab.


And finally, Arcfire. Wait, you thought this move was only good at range? You’re underestimating how stupid it is. At any point from just outside your shield grab range, Robin may opt to use Arcfire. If it hits your shield at this range, you’re in for a bad time. If she called you out, it’ll catch your roll and lead into a Fair or Uair. If it hits you while close, you’ll get one of those or an Upsmash. You beat it by timing a spot dodge or rolling through her, same as always.


  1. Above Robin
This sucks. Uair takes your lunch money, tells you you’re free to go, then gives you a wedgie when you turn around. It can kill you ridiculously early in a plus KB form. You only have three options to avoid it: airdodge, double jump, dair or counter. All four of them SUCK A LOT. Air dodge is beaten by Robin not swinging or Robin grabbing/bairing the recovery. Counter is beaten by good spacing or not swinging and punishable by whatever meanness strikes her fancy. Double jumping just delays the inevitable most of the time. Your increased mobility if in Jump or Speed might help you find the ground, but if you’re in Buster or Smash, you NEED to be cancelling that form or you are going to get destroyed. I can’t really help you here. Go to the ledge if you can. Mix up your landing with platforms. Do what you can. This is probably the absolute worst position to find in the match-up. Best of luck.


Also, a word on Dair. This move is not a GOOD choice while above Robin. BUT it CAN force Robin to change the timing on her Uair. Throw it out once in a while to keep her honest and it may allow you to air-dodge through and avoid the grab waiting to grab your landing in the future.


NOTE: Charging Backslash can definitely help you find the ground, although whether you’ll be hit for it or not is up in the air.


  1. Recovering
If jump is up, switch to it and forget that ***** as you sail over her pretty little head. If it’s not, buckle in. Your options are not that bad, but one mistake and Air Slash will not save you. Your double jump is precious. Defend it. Swat her with Fair if she decides to get cute with her Fair, Nair, or Uair. Go low unless you can get cleanly over her without risking UAir or you took Charging Backslash. If you’re not close enough to the ledge, don’t let her take your double jump with Elwind, that will kill you, but the hit won’t (unless you didn’t Fair her and she somehow spiked you with it in which case you deserve it). Just DI back in after getting hit with the second blade and use your double jump and UpB to find the ledge. If you ARE close enough to make it with Air Slash, there’s not much Robin will do about it since Air Slash clanks with Elwind and her aerials require her to be level with you rather than above you.


Getting off the ledge can be a pain, as all of your options are fairly slow. Ledge-drop double jump fair, ledge-hopping over Robin, quick-stand, ledgeroll and ledge attack all have their own associated risks, so getting back is tricky, much like getting down. If she tries to Arcfire the ledge, make sure you go low enough, but don’t be afraid to simply let go of the ledge and up-B to re-grab it. Similarly, if you’re ledge-ejected, DON’T DOUBLE JUMP unless you fancy a mouth full of steel. Uair/Bair both trap your double jump very well, but since Up-B eats Elwind blades, you can simply drift down and re-grab the ledge without much threat.


Robin Side


Disadvantage time in this match-up is when Shulk grabs you, gets you off-stage, or gets you to the ledge. Robin struggles at fighting those directly below her (since Dair is buns), so you’re basically trying to ‘get away’ and get back to neutral any time that happens.


If Shulk lands a grab and wants follow-ups, he’s going for either U-Throw or F-throw. U-Throw puts you above him, F-throw pushes you towards the ledge. U-throw U-tilt is a nasty trap. You’re forced to either Air-dodge or jump away from it. Air-dodging can get you re-grabbed easily, so I usually opt simply to jump out of this situation due to Shulk’s difficulty chasing it. At that point he’s basically hoping to pressure you towards the ledge by putting Nair/Fair in your way, or attempting to trap your landing with U-tilt.


DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LAND INTO SHULK. Just don’t do it. You’re going to get hit by U-tilt, grabbed, or worse, hit by one of his Smashes. Just let him have his space. He earned it fair and square. Don’t make things worse by letting him hit you again.


Off-stage Shulk really only has two tools that threaten you. Fair and Bair. Most of the time, you’re going to deal with Fair, since Bair is obvious (he has to jump out facing backwards) and slow. If you have a good enough reaction time, Fair is extremely easy to deal with. It’s 14f start-up, which is completely reactable given the constraints placed on the situation. Our Fair is 12 frames, which means if we get it out at the right time and range, it can stuff his. That means that for best results, Shulk has to swing BEFORE he’s close enough for us to swing, so it’s very easy to predict when he’s going to go for it and simply air-dodge it. You should really only get hit by it if you’re in a position where you CAN’T really air-dodge it. (You’ve gone too low, air-dodging would leave you too low, etc.) OR he’s in Jump and you just DIDN’T REALIZE HE COULD JUMP THAT HIGH.


Robin is floaty enough that you can basically just tumble back towards the stage, save your double jump, and react to what he commits to edge-guarding you with. If he tries to cover the low option, jump, Elwind, you’re back on stage, goodjob. If going high is less of an option, that’s when it gets a bit dicier, since you have to either hit him with Fair, or weave around the Fair/Dair/Bair mix-up. Not impossible, but less trivial.[/collapse]
 

Minato Arisato

Smash Ace
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Messages
716
Location
Iwatodai
NNID
ShinyBachuru
3DS FC
1392-5292-2267
Ugh, this pits my two favorite characters against each other. It's almost like picking which child Iike more.

Nah. It's not really like that. Robin shall forever be number one in my book.:smirk:
 

Silverfox117

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
91
Okay I got some decent points on this Mario vs Robin discussion here. I went to a local tournament and almost everyone was a Mario main, and I figured out a few things.(I won :D)

Mario's fireballs are annoying getting Thoron would be tricky, but not impossible. If you get Thoron though a good Robin shouldn't be hasty to use it. Cape is troublesome, and a reflected Thoron hurts, but it also makes the Mario feel uneasy, and the Mario would be play more careful.

Cape is a weird thing. It shouldn't change the way we play the match up, but it is definitely something to look out for.

Fludd is still a joke.

Mario's aerials don't beat ours, and fair isn't that bad. Mario will get the lead quick, but a single arc fire combo would definitely be enough to close the gaps, and that is the thing. Mario could only combo at early percentages we could combo an opponent to death with arc fire and arch thunder.

Mario's back throw kills earlier than our does.

Mario's smashes our scary and his u-air and u-smash will make it very difficult for us to make it back on stage. Mario won't try to gimp Robin if you recover low which is something you should be doing anyway. The match up is at its worse when Robin needs to get back on stage, but that is how all Robin's match ups are like tho. I recommend arc fire on edge and then recovering.

Robin's D-Smash is just as fast as any of Marios smashes, and probably better then any too.

I feel the match is a 55/45 in Robin's favor due to the fact Robin can kill Mario so much easier and gimp him easier too. Like half of my kills during that tourney was fast fall nair, and Mario is dead. Arc fire keeps Mario away and if you do hit him with one that is like a free 25+ percent. Mario can't keep up with that. Mario does have tools to fight back which is why I won't say this is completely in our favor.

I don't play with customs and the tournament didn't include customs, so I don't know how the match up fairs with customs on.
 
Last edited:

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Well, this discussion died out rather suddenly (and I've not exactly been helping these past few days). I don't know what I could mention about the Mario vs. Robin matchup that hasn't already been mentioned, and what we have produced so far is... not really much, is it? I do want the discussion here to continue, though. Hopefully we can get something going again soon.

Anyone happen to have any ideas on how to proceed?

I do wonder though, are we aiming for something like what Raziek posted under the spoiler tag? I like what's done there, though the information does kind of repeat itself a lot. And for that matter, if we want to do something like that for Mario vs. Robin, I feel we don't have enough information on the matchup yet. And I imagine it's also a matter of who can, should and wants to write it? Assuming we are aiming for something like this, of course.
 

Mr. Johan

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
5,579
Location
Edmond, OK
NNID
Sonicboom93
Retreating Fair and Jab are your friends in the Mario MU. Never try to approach with your aerials unless you are confident you can get away with it, otherwise Mario's gonna intercept you with Uair. Always keep him at arm's length.

Everyone in this game experienced a decrease in the cooldown on all their moves, and for Mario, it's painfully obvious. Emphasis on pain. he boasts the fastest overall movekit in startup and cooldown, so if you shield a hit, expect another hit coming at you to block any punish. Mario's Dair has so little cool down he can throw out an Nair right after in a short hop, it's nuts. Your shield game needs to be on point.

I try not to bother with grabs, Robin's is too shortranged to grab Mario's -20 frame startup moves and the punish is severe if you miss. If I'm not retreating Fair, I'm using Jab - more range, leads into Fire Jab, and the quickest Wind Jab, at worst, resets back to neutral against Mario's own short range.

Dthrow combos into Utilt chain up to about 30%, Dthrow -> Utilt -> UpB for a little longer, and Dthrow -> Uair is a reliable frame trap for a good while. Always expect the Dthrow coming when Mario grabs you and figure out the best time to jump or something to get away. However, Mario has no aerial KO moves aside from Fair spike, so as long as you keep jumping around and abusing Fair and Nair, Mario's going to be waiting a while to KO you, with Bair killing at the edge of BF at around 140. Avoid FD/Omegas at all costs, otherwise your landing options are nonexistent and all Mario needs to do is catch your landing and bop you with frame -10 Usmash. Dsmash is a late killer, and Fsmash kills pretty early on the sweetspot, so watch it.

Freaking Elthunder kills Robin at 120% when its caped back at us, so if you're going to be using Thunder, be prepared to jump away or shield at a moment's notice. Arcthunder is my charge of choice - its slow initial acceleration gives Robin time to react to a potential reflection unless it's fired point blank and Mario reads it. As for caping our recovery, Robin's so floaty that you can coast back down to the stage even when reflected back. Just be prepared for a Usmash on the way down - another good reason to not go to FD/Omegas. Also for some reason, Robin's Fair still hits Mario even when its caped; dunno if it was just specific spacing or something about Fair itself, but I had two separate occasions, one in the air and one while landing, where Mario tried to cape Fair only to get hit by it anyway. Something to keep in mind.

Mario's looking for grabs, so shieldgrabbing is a viable entryway for that - if he's particularly shield/dash shield happy, Nos him for it.
 

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Also for some reason, Robin's Fair still hits Mario even when its caped; dunno if it was just specific spacing or something about Fair itself, but I had two separate occasions, one in the air and one while landing, where Mario tried to cape Fair only to get hit by it anyway. Something to keep in mind.
This has me rather intrigued. I imagine you are talking about a Levin Fair and not a Bronze Sword Fair? For some reason I have this hunch that the longer-lasting hitbox of the Levin Sword might be the cause of this (though in all honesty, I really can't explain why this could at all be the case). I find this very interesting.
 
Last edited:

Mr. Johan

Smash Hero
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
5,579
Location
Edmond, OK
NNID
Sonicboom93
It was actually Bronze Fair.

http://www.twitch.tv/stockcancelgaming/v/3643900

@47:00

Looks like it was just spacing. Fair goes under and up, so if a Mario is falling and caping you to get back on the stage himself, Fair, rising or falling, will punish him for doing so while giving you yourself more leeway to get back to the stage.

Likewise, if Mario's wanting to cape you and ruin your recovery, if you can't avoid it, Levin Fair him for it. He gets sent a ways, you should still have your double jump, and you can recover back.
 
Last edited:

Laggalot101

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Oct 23, 2014
Messages
122
Location
Netherlands
3DS FC
1418-6741-7161
Now that Raziek's guide on stages in relation to Robin has been out for a little while, how about talking stages for a bit? I agree with the contents of Raziek's guide, but the question now is how this affects our match-up with Mario (assuming we still want to continue our discussion on the vs. Mario match-up). I'm just going to share my thoughts on Battlefield for now, which appears to favor Robin.

What does Mario get from Battlefield? There's a few things. Like Robin, Mario gets more landing options. I feel this isn't quite as much of a plus for Mario as for Robin, though, as Mario doesn't really struggle with landing in the first place. Second (and probably more significant) would seem to be follow-ups. As we all know, Mario is a master of aerial follow-ups and combo's due to his aerial mobility and attack speed, and having platforms underneath him helps him chase down Robin in the air. The last thing is that it may make it easier for Mario to score KO's. Mario kinda struggles with KO's outside of up-smash. With the platforms, particularly the top-middle one, he has more potential at KO'ing Robin at the top though up-airs, up-tilts and maybe up-B. Of course, the reverse is also true; Mario can get KO'd earlier himself too, but Robin doesn't struggle with KO's quite as much as Mario does. So I'd say this is a bit is a bit more of a boon to Mario than to Robin.

I think there's one significant disadvantage here for Mario, though. Fireballs don't provide nearly the same pressure as without platforms. Also, due to Mario's poor range, his up-smash does not hit the lower platforms when he's standing on the ground. This means he can't reliably KO us from below, which is great for us.

When you pit this against the advantages Robin gains from Battlefield (in accordance to Raziek's guide), I am inclined to say that on Battlefield, Robin has an advantage over Mario.

This is all theoretical. I don't know exactly if what I have written here is sound, but at least to myself, this all seems pretty reasonable and logical. And to be honest, I really don't like seeing this discussion die, so hopefully this can become an interesting subject, at least for a little while.
 
Top Bottom