The other topics are fairly outdated and I'd like to discuss stages and matchups most relevant to our current metagame. So with that said, what would you say are the best neutral and counterpick stages for Yoshi, and what would you say are his best and worst matchups?
My matchup list (with the rest of the reasons coming later):
Note: The number on the left is Yoshi's and the number on the right is the opponent.
Fox: 35/65
Fox is one of the fastest characters in the game and has incredible mobility. His shine combos are pretty easy to pull off on Yoshi because of Yoshi's giant nose, and he can kill Yoshi at ~84% with his U-air and (NTSC) U-smash on small-medium stages. Luckily, Yoshi is immune to getting shine spiked when recovering thanks to the super armor given to him from his double jump. In this matchup you're going to want to focus on getting a knockdown on Fox and some U-air chains to rack up a lot of damage. If he misses a tech you should always jab reset and follow up with DJC U-airs, U-tilt, or F-tilt at low percents and D-smash at higher percents. Another option for low percents is the Running Grab - > D-throw -> DJC N-air -> regrab -> D-throw combo, which will net him at least 30%. You can also combo Fox with B-air -> N-air at higher percents. On stages with platforms, you're going to want to platform dance and waveland on platforms to boost your mobility and try to land a F-air: two of those will knock down Fox from 0%, which will lead into combos and other good stuff. Do not constantly chase Fox in this matchup! He has greater overall mobility than you and will be able to bait your attacks easily. Analyze his movement patters and predict where he's going to go next. If you're at high percents expect him to try a shine -> U-smash or U-air, so keep your distance and play it smart. Use your eggs to help maintain stage control. On smaller stages he won't be able to escape them at all because you can angle them in so many directions it's ridiculous. They also deal ~10-12% so ECEs will force him to approach you so you can bait an attack.
If you're recovering and you DIed up, you can automatically get him offstage by using Egg Lay, provided he doesn't have edge invincibility yet or its duration is over. This, regardless of how fast the Fox breaks out, will put him in an unfavorable position and allow you to make it back on stage safely. You can also do a rising Egg Toss and immediately grab the ledge, but if he's edge hogging then this might not work well. If you're at ~60-80% he will try to hit you out of your super armor with B-air, but if you're above the stage already chances are you'll be able to counterattack immediately.
When edgeguarding, RECEs are your best friend but are hard to perform consistently, so if you have trouble with those then just throw eggs right beside the edge and act accordingly. If he's going for an illusion sweetspot always do an instant DJ edgehog. If he's recovering high then follow up with N-air or another killing move. If he's recovering low try to edgehog him before his Firefox reaches you (it'll break your super armor) or use D-tilt or D-smash.
The best stages for this matchup are Dreamland and Battlefield, in my opinion. Yoshi has the best platform mobility in the game and needs platforms to abuse this strength. The platforms also give you more options if you're recovering high. Final Destination is pretty good for U-air chaining but it's incredibly easy for Fox to play campy there, so I'd recommend not choosing it. Pokemon Stadium is a great Yoshi stage, but the low ceiling allows Fox to get some very early kills so I'd avoid that as well. Yoshi's Story is a good pick because it's small and limits Fox's movement, and you can get some incredibly early kills on him there with D-smash.
Falco: 30/70
In this matchup you'll always want to avoid recovering low. Falco's D-air gets rid of Yoshi's super armor at around 60% and his shine will always get rid of it no matter what percent Yoshi is at. Fortunately, Falco doesn't really benefit much from grabbing Yoshi, and most of the combos that work on Fox also work on Falco; this means U-air chains, U-tilt, F-air, and jab resets are your best friends. What makes this matchup worse for Yoshi than Fox is Falco's lasers and shine combos. If you get hit by D-air -> shine expect to receive a good 60-70% from it. Do not miss teching any of Falco's D-airs at higher percents! They will almost always lead into a spike off-stage, so if you're not too great at teching I recommend practicing. The lasers are a pain, but your best option here is to parry them since parrying is a nice, lagless way to nullify lasers. You can even give Falco a bit of his own medicine by tossing eggs at him while he's lasering. In this case, if he reacted poorly he'll get hit by the egg, and if not he'll shield it. This is a win/win situation because no matter what he does you briefly halted his barrage of lasers. It also helps that ~5 lasers = 1 egg in damage percentage, so if you're both trading projectile hits with each other you'll end up winning. Yoshi also has the luxury of the super armor from his double jump, so in most cases Falco's lasers won't mess up your approach as long as you're in your double jump animation.
The most essential part of this matchup is to zone Falco. Unlike Fox, Falco's ground mobility isn't very good so he needs to rely on lasers to close the gap safely. Push Falco towards the edge and restrict his options. If you're really close to him double jab him off the ledge. If he jumps; U-air him or B-air him and combo that into a kill move, if possible (U-air trades with his D-air). If he double jumps and lasers from the edge you can crouch under the first laser and D-tilt him or use the invincibility on your head from your dash attack to get him back off and set him up for a gimp.
Yoshi's overall best moves in this matchup are D-tilt and D-smash. D-tilt is an automatic knock-down at any percent, restricting Falco's options and putting you in a favorable position. It also makes gimping Falco really easy if he already used his double jump to recover; in this case, you're just an edgehog away from taking out one of his stocks. D-smash will kill Falco at absurdly low percents because he has a relatively short recovery and it hits him in the worst direction possible for recovering: down and to the side.
For stages, I'd put any big stages as top picks. This means Dreamland is Yoshi's best stage for this matchup; just watch the top platform because Falco can get up there with a single full hop. Battlefield, Pokemon Stadium, and Fountain of Dreams are all also solid picks. Watch out for Yoshi's Story though, since Falco can shine you off the top and kill you pretty early. Final Destination is also a good choice if you can deal with lasers effectively.
Sheik: 35/65
I don't have too much experience with this matchup compared to some others, but this is what I got from it.
I actually think this matchup is 40/60 but Sheik's D-throw -> (insert move here) is too good. This is probably Yoshi's second hardest matchup overall. In this matchup, it's vital to not go super aggressive against Sheik or you will get grabbed. Spacing is key here so stay about D-tilt distance away from Sheik because that's where Yoshi truly shines in this matchup, in my opinion. At this position Sheik can't grab you or hit you with anything but needles, and since he can't use needles without getting punished because of the ending lag (unless multiple are stored and you get hit by them) he'll try to back away or jump, giving you the opportunity to approach. Also at this distance you can hit him with D-tilt, which will knock him down, restricting his options. Shield poking with B-air is preferred over DJC N-airs because the risk of getting grabbed is significantly lower. Avoid Sheik's F-tilt, F-air, and B-air. U-smash will beat out all of Sheik's aerials, and double jump retreating Egg Lays are great because they put him above you in the air where your U-air will comfortably beat out all of his options. B-air combos into U-air at mid-high percents and N-air can be used as an all purpose attack. Properly spaced F-airs work well too and can lead to jab resets. DJC U-air chains work well too at low percents but setting them up is considerably harder on Sheik. Sheik will try to bait some sort of attack to get a grab, so position yourself well and use some eggs to force him to approach you or platform dance to bait an attack you can punish well. D-smash and your great CC destroy Sheik and well-spaced F-smashes help you get some solid hits in, so use them when the opportunity arises.
Try your best not to get grabbed. Sheik can't kill out of the chain throw, but it'll still rack up a lot of damage. In my experience, I was able to DI upwards out of it at ~50%. Here's a picture of where you should DI:
It's a bit hard to get the exact angle of DI you need, but every single time I pulled it off successfully the Sheik player was unable to regrab me. If applicable, you can also try and DI onto a platform, but make sure to do a standing tech since it gives Sheik less time to jump on the platform and regrab you.
When edgeguarding, always edgehog so Sheik will be forced to experience the end lag of his recovery. If he has ~90% you can do F-air -> Yoshi Bomb for a kill after he lands on the stage. Other options include waveland -> B-air -> U-air and waveland -> U-tilt -> U-smash.
When recovering, make sure to either go really high or really low; mid-level is where Sheik will be most potent at edgeguarding. Recovering high is the preferred option, though. If you're recovering low, always do a rising Egg Toss because it will clank with Sheik's D-smash and let you grab the ledge. If you're recovering high use your air speed to trick Sheik, do a Yoshi Bomb from high up and grab the edge, or just simply land on the stage if possible. Sheik will actually have a hard time edgeguarding you if you're at ~80-90% because her aerials will barely break your super armor and allow you to react before she's out of end lag, and her needles don't break your super armor at all so the only thing she gains from them is damage.
Marth: 50/50
In this matchup you'll want to avoid Marth's tippered F-smash. If he can't land it on you you'll almost always stay alive for 150+% (at least if you have good DI). Marth also can outrange you with most of his attacks and combo you pretty well with F-airs. Against Yoshi, this is where Marth's strengths end.
Yoshi's biggest strengths in this matchup lie in his incredible gimping and edgeguarding power against Marth. A D-tilt on Marth at the edge will force him to use his recovery, and a CC D-tilt will take off a stock if he tries to sweetspot the ledge. Yoshi also can just jump out and try gimping Marth with D-air when he's trying to recover, and ECEs, RECEs, and simple Egg Tosses off the stage can lead into N-air or other attacks that will knock Marth further off the stage. You can even purposely take a hit from Marth's recovery with your super armor and N-air him back out again if he's not sweetspotting the ledge. Additional options include B-air, D-smash, Dash attack, down-angled F-smash, and backwards U-smash. Simply put, Yoshi has way too many options for edgeguarding Marth and making sure he doesn't get back on the stage it's ridiculous.
The biggest problem you'll encounter is approaching Marth, which is what I think makes this matchup even rather than being in Yoshi's favor (although once the Yoshi metagame evolves further I can see it being in Yoshi's favor). His wavedash and dashdance are great, and combined with his range, make it very hard to get close to him. Fortunately, his grab game against Yoshi is basically non-existant if you can DI his forward throw up, and he doesn't benefit much from any of his other throws. When he's on the ground, try baiting a move and use a retreating Egg Lay. This will get him in the air, where he doesn't want to be against Yoshi. From here you can try some DJC U-airs or a U-smash, depending on his percent. Try your best to keep him in the air, so Egg Tosses, another Egg Lay, F-tilt, U-tilt, and B-air are good options. You can also bait an F-air, eat it with your superarmor or CC, and counter with N-air or D-smash, respectively. You can also use the Dash attack's invincibility to beat out his F-air, and if you know he's going to F-smash you can use Dash attack, which clanks with his F-smash and gives you frame advantage, followed by D-smash. Another option includes F-smash, which has a good pullback and some invincibility on Yoshi's head. Additionally, Marth doesn't really have an answer to Yoshi's U-smash so try and beat out his aerial approaches with it at ~30+% when you can.
Always recover high. Marth won't be able to do anything if you do, and recovering low gives him options like D-air, tippered F-smash, and more.
Good stages against Marth are Pokemon Stadium, Dreamland, and Battlefield. Marth already has a hard time killing Yoshi without a tippered F-smash, so choosing bigger stages will make it even harder. In Pokemon Stadium you can kill him at ~100% with the guaranteed U-tilt -> U-air combo and U-smash (which even outranges his D-air). In any stage D-smash will kill him at around 60% and force him to recover, which, as explained above, will almost guarantee him losing a stock. Avoid Final Destination because it gives Marth plenty of room to dashdance and restricts your approach options due to a lack of platforms. Also completely avoid Yoshi's Story and always ban it if possible; his range combined with the small stage will make it considerably easier for him to kill you.
Jigglypuff: 50/50 (45/55 at worst; 60/40 at best)
I haven't played this matchup much, but I greatly enjoyed it when I did.
Jigglypuff is a character that relies heavily on aerials and her air mobility for approaching. Yoshi is one of the few characters that can fight her in the air, in my opinion. He has the second fastest horizontal air speed in the game (tied with Mewtwo and right under Jigglypuff), and his super armor helps trade with Jigglypuff's aerials. Since Jigglypuff is very lightweight, she'll die earlier than you so trades are in your favor.
Avoid rest at all costs. If you get hit with it at a low percent and you're on the ground you can DI down and double jump once you get off the stage; this will launch you up really high and allow you to recover. U-smash will beat out any of Jigglypuff's aerials and combos like B-air -> U-air will work great on her at ~60%. Well-angled Egg Tosses can also help rack up damage and lead into U-airs at higher percents, and Jigglypuff doesn't really have an answer to perfect or near perfect ECEs; just make sure you don't use them when she's too close. Unexpected Yoshi Bombs might work against her too and kill early. She doesn't have an answer to shield dropping either, so utilize that as much as you can.
For rest punishes, Shield drop->Yoshi Bomb is a pretty good option that kills at around 70%-100%, depending on whether the stage has a high ceiling or a low ceiling. (F-air, F-tilt, U-tilt) -> Yoshi Bomb is another combo that kills at around 55%-70%, depending on the stage you're on, and finally F-air -> (up angle) F-tilt -> Yoshi Bomb, kills at 20%-40% on stages with lower ceilings.
At low percents you can recover just fine against Jigglypuff; just watch where you're going so she doesn't Rest you while she's in a safe position. At higher percents she'll be able to hit you out of your double jump pretty easily. Fortunately, Jigglypuff can't gain or lose height very quickly, so watch where she's going and go in the opposite direction (Ex. If you're high up in the air and Jigglypuff is moving towards you, recover low).
For edgeguarding, Egg Tosses are the best option. They can be used to rack up lots of damage at low percents, and at mid-high percents Egg Toss -> U-air will kill very early. I've also found that trailing under Jigglypuff while she's recovering can work well. The threat of your U-air will force her away from you and keep you under her, which is where you ideally want to be at all times.
Yoshi's Story, Pokemon Stadium, and Final Destination are pretty good stages to choose in this matchup. You'll almost always be under Jigglypuff in Final Destination, so you can abuse U-smash and beat out her aerial approaches. Pokemon Stadium has a low ceiling so U-smash and U-air will kill her even earlier there than it normally does, and Yoshi's Story will also net you early kills. Avoid Dreamland because it'll take you a while to kill Jigglypuff there, and also avoid Fountain of Dreams because it just makes life harder for you since Jigglypuff is always in the air.
Falcon: 40/60
Captain Falcon is a really fast character, and in my opinion the main thing he has over you (and many other characters) is his knee. If you're great at parrying and can parry his knee most of the time, you might as well switch those matchup numbers. However, this discussion will not take parrying into consideration.
Your B-air is probably your best tool here since it leads to N-airs, U-airs, and even some U-smashes. B-air combos Falcon really well and sets him up perfectly for a kill at higher percents. I advise not to spam this attack since the Falcon player will likely catch on quick and work around it, but when you use it aim for his head since he doesn't really have any quick attacks that guard that area. You can also use it to shield pressure safely, as long as you space it well. Basically, B-air is an all-purpose attack in this matchup.
If you manage to get a knock down on Falcon and he tech rolls, you can almost always get a free Egg Lay on him and mess up his positioning even further, as well as racking up some more damage. U-smash is decent at comboing Falcon and is probably your weakest killing move against him unless he's at ~110+% and you're in a stage with a low ceiling. Using CC -> D-smash on his N-air beats out his approach and can net you a kill at higher percents. Grab -> DJC U-air chains also work well.
No matter what you do, avoid his D-air and knee. D-air puts you in the perfect position for him to land a knee and almost always knocks you down, limiting your options. If you do get hit by a knee at low percents, expect to be comboed unless you were in your super armor. Fortunately, Falcon doesn't get much from grabs against Yoshi until ~70%, so just DI them towards a spot that makes kneeing for him difficult (Ex. on top of a platform).
Falcon is a pretty easy character to edgeguard. Egg Tosses, B-airs, N-airs, D-tilts, Dash attacks, and D-smashes work wonders; just make sure to edgehog first. If he's going for a sweetspot you can throw an egg right over the edge and follow up with D-smash or F-smash. You can also jump out and meteor him with D-airs; even if he hits you with his recovery when he's far out, chances are he won't be making it back to the stage.
When recovering, always try to go high. Falcon has fewer options when you recover high, so use that to your advantage. If he's edgehogging you, aim high and use a Yoshi Bomb to grab the ledge if he got off it or if his edge invincibility wore out. You might be able to grab him with Egg Lay if you're high enough, still have your double jump, and he gets off the stage and tries to hit you again. If you succeed in this circumstance he'll be easy to gimp.
I'm actually not too sure about the best stages against Falcon aside from Fountain of Dreams because many of Falcon's best stages are also Yoshi's best stages. I've done pretty well on Pokemon Stadium and Battlefield, and Dreamland kind of works against you because Falcon has so much space to work with.
Peach: 20/80
In my opinion, this is Yoshi's worst matchup. Peach's N-air matches yours in speed and has great knockback. Pretty much all of her other aerials break your super armor early, and she can go really far with her float so recovering will be a pain. Parrying is Yoshi's best tool against Peach because it'll absorb her F-air, which is her main spacing tool, but since most Yoshi players can't parry consistently, I'll put it aside for this analysis.
Be very careful when using your double jump. For this matchup you have to play kinda campy and you can't do normal Yoshi stuff. Keep control and stay in the middle of the stage. If you use your double jump often and in a predictable manner, expect Peach to gimp you with her aerials. Short hop B-airs probably are your best spacing tool in this matchup and can lead to U-airs at mid to high percents. DJC N-air shield pressure works great, but I'd recommend it only if you can pull it off flawlessly. When she approaches with her float, try to counter with a U-smash, which will also beat her other aerials. If she's floating lower then F-smash might work because of the invincibility on your head combined with its pullback and range.
Also watch out for her FC (float cancelled) aerials and D-smash. An FC aerial can and will often lead to D-smash or grab. If you get hit by an aerial or D-smash while shielding you can simply roll away (and even through D-smash with the right timing thanks to your absurdly small hitbox). From my experience, grabs are almost useless in this matchup and they're laggy, so avoid using them, especially after an FC aerial (each FC aerial has only 4 frames of landing lag). Well-spaced Egg Lays can beat out all of her aerials and put her above you, but along with grabs they're also pretty risky and you can't afford risks in this matchup; use them only if you're sure you'll land them.
U-smash is your best killing move in this matchup by far. On larger stages it'll kill her in the early 100s and on smaller stages even earlier, so use it when the opportunity arises. U-air also has a lot of kill power, so try a U-tilt -> U-air combo to take out a stock at high percents. D-smash knocks her low so that's something you can use while she's trying to recover. Yoshi Bomb is great at killing as well but it has a lot of lag so use it as a mixup.
There's not a whole lot you can do to her when edgeguarding, especially if she's recovering high (no one but Jigglypuff and Pikachu/Pichu can, really), but Egg Tosses are great for racking up damage and Egg Toss -> U-air is a good combo that you can use if you're close enough. Just remember not to do the double jump edgehog if she's going to do her Up + B; it'll break your super armor. If she's this low, your best option is probably the Yoshi Bomb ledgestall because it will hit her and get her above you, which is where you want her to be, or kill her if she's at a high enough percent.
If you're at low percents when recovering you're good, but at mid to high percents is where the trouble starts. Always recover high and use your fast air speed to throw her off. If you're high in the air you can also do Yoshi Bomb -> grab ledge. If you're forced to recover low, your best and only option is to do a rising Egg Toss and hope you make it back.
Choose small stages when fighting Peach because it'll net you early kills. Pokemon Stadium is probably your best choice because you can kill her early from the top, and the sides are big enough for you to survive many of her attacks (just don't get gimped!). Yoshi's Story is another good pick but isn't quite as good because of the small blast zones from the sides. Battlefield in theory sounds like a good stage and is generally a good Yoshi stage, but I don't have much experience with this matchup on there. Avoid Dreamland at all costs because it's gigantic and will take you forever to kill her there. Final Destination is also a pain because there are no platforms to work with and Yoshi greatly benefits from them. Furthermore, avoid Fountain of Dreams because the moving platforms basically give her a moving D-smash, but I think it can work well on Peach players that don't pull too many turnips.
That's about all I have for this matchup. I didn't say how to effectively deal with turnips because the Peach players I've played against didn't pull too many. If anyone can help with this it'd be greatly appreciated!
Samus: 55/45
Ganondorf: 50/50
As stated previously, I'll get back to this later with plenty of reasoning behind my numbers. Feel free to contribute.
My matchup list (with the rest of the reasons coming later):
Note: The number on the left is Yoshi's and the number on the right is the opponent.
Fox: 35/65
Fox is one of the fastest characters in the game and has incredible mobility. His shine combos are pretty easy to pull off on Yoshi because of Yoshi's giant nose, and he can kill Yoshi at ~84% with his U-air and (NTSC) U-smash on small-medium stages. Luckily, Yoshi is immune to getting shine spiked when recovering thanks to the super armor given to him from his double jump. In this matchup you're going to want to focus on getting a knockdown on Fox and some U-air chains to rack up a lot of damage. If he misses a tech you should always jab reset and follow up with DJC U-airs, U-tilt, or F-tilt at low percents and D-smash at higher percents. Another option for low percents is the Running Grab - > D-throw -> DJC N-air -> regrab -> D-throw combo, which will net him at least 30%. You can also combo Fox with B-air -> N-air at higher percents. On stages with platforms, you're going to want to platform dance and waveland on platforms to boost your mobility and try to land a F-air: two of those will knock down Fox from 0%, which will lead into combos and other good stuff. Do not constantly chase Fox in this matchup! He has greater overall mobility than you and will be able to bait your attacks easily. Analyze his movement patters and predict where he's going to go next. If you're at high percents expect him to try a shine -> U-smash or U-air, so keep your distance and play it smart. Use your eggs to help maintain stage control. On smaller stages he won't be able to escape them at all because you can angle them in so many directions it's ridiculous. They also deal ~10-12% so ECEs will force him to approach you so you can bait an attack.
If you're recovering and you DIed up, you can automatically get him offstage by using Egg Lay, provided he doesn't have edge invincibility yet or its duration is over. This, regardless of how fast the Fox breaks out, will put him in an unfavorable position and allow you to make it back on stage safely. You can also do a rising Egg Toss and immediately grab the ledge, but if he's edge hogging then this might not work well. If you're at ~60-80% he will try to hit you out of your super armor with B-air, but if you're above the stage already chances are you'll be able to counterattack immediately.
When edgeguarding, RECEs are your best friend but are hard to perform consistently, so if you have trouble with those then just throw eggs right beside the edge and act accordingly. If he's going for an illusion sweetspot always do an instant DJ edgehog. If he's recovering high then follow up with N-air or another killing move. If he's recovering low try to edgehog him before his Firefox reaches you (it'll break your super armor) or use D-tilt or D-smash.
The best stages for this matchup are Dreamland and Battlefield, in my opinion. Yoshi has the best platform mobility in the game and needs platforms to abuse this strength. The platforms also give you more options if you're recovering high. Final Destination is pretty good for U-air chaining but it's incredibly easy for Fox to play campy there, so I'd recommend not choosing it. Pokemon Stadium is a great Yoshi stage, but the low ceiling allows Fox to get some very early kills so I'd avoid that as well. Yoshi's Story is a good pick because it's small and limits Fox's movement, and you can get some incredibly early kills on him there with D-smash.
Falco: 30/70
In this matchup you'll always want to avoid recovering low. Falco's D-air gets rid of Yoshi's super armor at around 60% and his shine will always get rid of it no matter what percent Yoshi is at. Fortunately, Falco doesn't really benefit much from grabbing Yoshi, and most of the combos that work on Fox also work on Falco; this means U-air chains, U-tilt, F-air, and jab resets are your best friends. What makes this matchup worse for Yoshi than Fox is Falco's lasers and shine combos. If you get hit by D-air -> shine expect to receive a good 60-70% from it. Do not miss teching any of Falco's D-airs at higher percents! They will almost always lead into a spike off-stage, so if you're not too great at teching I recommend practicing. The lasers are a pain, but your best option here is to parry them since parrying is a nice, lagless way to nullify lasers. You can even give Falco a bit of his own medicine by tossing eggs at him while he's lasering. In this case, if he reacted poorly he'll get hit by the egg, and if not he'll shield it. This is a win/win situation because no matter what he does you briefly halted his barrage of lasers. It also helps that ~5 lasers = 1 egg in damage percentage, so if you're both trading projectile hits with each other you'll end up winning. Yoshi also has the luxury of the super armor from his double jump, so in most cases Falco's lasers won't mess up your approach as long as you're in your double jump animation.
The most essential part of this matchup is to zone Falco. Unlike Fox, Falco's ground mobility isn't very good so he needs to rely on lasers to close the gap safely. Push Falco towards the edge and restrict his options. If you're really close to him double jab him off the ledge. If he jumps; U-air him or B-air him and combo that into a kill move, if possible (U-air trades with his D-air). If he double jumps and lasers from the edge you can crouch under the first laser and D-tilt him or use the invincibility on your head from your dash attack to get him back off and set him up for a gimp.
Yoshi's overall best moves in this matchup are D-tilt and D-smash. D-tilt is an automatic knock-down at any percent, restricting Falco's options and putting you in a favorable position. It also makes gimping Falco really easy if he already used his double jump to recover; in this case, you're just an edgehog away from taking out one of his stocks. D-smash will kill Falco at absurdly low percents because he has a relatively short recovery and it hits him in the worst direction possible for recovering: down and to the side.
For stages, I'd put any big stages as top picks. This means Dreamland is Yoshi's best stage for this matchup; just watch the top platform because Falco can get up there with a single full hop. Battlefield, Pokemon Stadium, and Fountain of Dreams are all also solid picks. Watch out for Yoshi's Story though, since Falco can shine you off the top and kill you pretty early. Final Destination is also a good choice if you can deal with lasers effectively.
Sheik: 35/65
I don't have too much experience with this matchup compared to some others, but this is what I got from it.
I actually think this matchup is 40/60 but Sheik's D-throw -> (insert move here) is too good. This is probably Yoshi's second hardest matchup overall. In this matchup, it's vital to not go super aggressive against Sheik or you will get grabbed. Spacing is key here so stay about D-tilt distance away from Sheik because that's where Yoshi truly shines in this matchup, in my opinion. At this position Sheik can't grab you or hit you with anything but needles, and since he can't use needles without getting punished because of the ending lag (unless multiple are stored and you get hit by them) he'll try to back away or jump, giving you the opportunity to approach. Also at this distance you can hit him with D-tilt, which will knock him down, restricting his options. Shield poking with B-air is preferred over DJC N-airs because the risk of getting grabbed is significantly lower. Avoid Sheik's F-tilt, F-air, and B-air. U-smash will beat out all of Sheik's aerials, and double jump retreating Egg Lays are great because they put him above you in the air where your U-air will comfortably beat out all of his options. B-air combos into U-air at mid-high percents and N-air can be used as an all purpose attack. Properly spaced F-airs work well too and can lead to jab resets. DJC U-air chains work well too at low percents but setting them up is considerably harder on Sheik. Sheik will try to bait some sort of attack to get a grab, so position yourself well and use some eggs to force him to approach you or platform dance to bait an attack you can punish well. D-smash and your great CC destroy Sheik and well-spaced F-smashes help you get some solid hits in, so use them when the opportunity arises.
Try your best not to get grabbed. Sheik can't kill out of the chain throw, but it'll still rack up a lot of damage. In my experience, I was able to DI upwards out of it at ~50%. Here's a picture of where you should DI:
It's a bit hard to get the exact angle of DI you need, but every single time I pulled it off successfully the Sheik player was unable to regrab me. If applicable, you can also try and DI onto a platform, but make sure to do a standing tech since it gives Sheik less time to jump on the platform and regrab you.
When edgeguarding, always edgehog so Sheik will be forced to experience the end lag of his recovery. If he has ~90% you can do F-air -> Yoshi Bomb for a kill after he lands on the stage. Other options include waveland -> B-air -> U-air and waveland -> U-tilt -> U-smash.
When recovering, make sure to either go really high or really low; mid-level is where Sheik will be most potent at edgeguarding. Recovering high is the preferred option, though. If you're recovering low, always do a rising Egg Toss because it will clank with Sheik's D-smash and let you grab the ledge. If you're recovering high use your air speed to trick Sheik, do a Yoshi Bomb from high up and grab the edge, or just simply land on the stage if possible. Sheik will actually have a hard time edgeguarding you if you're at ~80-90% because her aerials will barely break your super armor and allow you to react before she's out of end lag, and her needles don't break your super armor at all so the only thing she gains from them is damage.
Marth: 50/50
In this matchup you'll want to avoid Marth's tippered F-smash. If he can't land it on you you'll almost always stay alive for 150+% (at least if you have good DI). Marth also can outrange you with most of his attacks and combo you pretty well with F-airs. Against Yoshi, this is where Marth's strengths end.
Yoshi's biggest strengths in this matchup lie in his incredible gimping and edgeguarding power against Marth. A D-tilt on Marth at the edge will force him to use his recovery, and a CC D-tilt will take off a stock if he tries to sweetspot the ledge. Yoshi also can just jump out and try gimping Marth with D-air when he's trying to recover, and ECEs, RECEs, and simple Egg Tosses off the stage can lead into N-air or other attacks that will knock Marth further off the stage. You can even purposely take a hit from Marth's recovery with your super armor and N-air him back out again if he's not sweetspotting the ledge. Additional options include B-air, D-smash, Dash attack, down-angled F-smash, and backwards U-smash. Simply put, Yoshi has way too many options for edgeguarding Marth and making sure he doesn't get back on the stage it's ridiculous.
The biggest problem you'll encounter is approaching Marth, which is what I think makes this matchup even rather than being in Yoshi's favor (although once the Yoshi metagame evolves further I can see it being in Yoshi's favor). His wavedash and dashdance are great, and combined with his range, make it very hard to get close to him. Fortunately, his grab game against Yoshi is basically non-existant if you can DI his forward throw up, and he doesn't benefit much from any of his other throws. When he's on the ground, try baiting a move and use a retreating Egg Lay. This will get him in the air, where he doesn't want to be against Yoshi. From here you can try some DJC U-airs or a U-smash, depending on his percent. Try your best to keep him in the air, so Egg Tosses, another Egg Lay, F-tilt, U-tilt, and B-air are good options. You can also bait an F-air, eat it with your superarmor or CC, and counter with N-air or D-smash, respectively. You can also use the Dash attack's invincibility to beat out his F-air, and if you know he's going to F-smash you can use Dash attack, which clanks with his F-smash and gives you frame advantage, followed by D-smash. Another option includes F-smash, which has a good pullback and some invincibility on Yoshi's head. Additionally, Marth doesn't really have an answer to Yoshi's U-smash so try and beat out his aerial approaches with it at ~30+% when you can.
Always recover high. Marth won't be able to do anything if you do, and recovering low gives him options like D-air, tippered F-smash, and more.
Good stages against Marth are Pokemon Stadium, Dreamland, and Battlefield. Marth already has a hard time killing Yoshi without a tippered F-smash, so choosing bigger stages will make it even harder. In Pokemon Stadium you can kill him at ~100% with the guaranteed U-tilt -> U-air combo and U-smash (which even outranges his D-air). In any stage D-smash will kill him at around 60% and force him to recover, which, as explained above, will almost guarantee him losing a stock. Avoid Final Destination because it gives Marth plenty of room to dashdance and restricts your approach options due to a lack of platforms. Also completely avoid Yoshi's Story and always ban it if possible; his range combined with the small stage will make it considerably easier for him to kill you.
Jigglypuff: 50/50 (45/55 at worst; 60/40 at best)
I haven't played this matchup much, but I greatly enjoyed it when I did.
Jigglypuff is a character that relies heavily on aerials and her air mobility for approaching. Yoshi is one of the few characters that can fight her in the air, in my opinion. He has the second fastest horizontal air speed in the game (tied with Mewtwo and right under Jigglypuff), and his super armor helps trade with Jigglypuff's aerials. Since Jigglypuff is very lightweight, she'll die earlier than you so trades are in your favor.
Avoid rest at all costs. If you get hit with it at a low percent and you're on the ground you can DI down and double jump once you get off the stage; this will launch you up really high and allow you to recover. U-smash will beat out any of Jigglypuff's aerials and combos like B-air -> U-air will work great on her at ~60%. Well-angled Egg Tosses can also help rack up damage and lead into U-airs at higher percents, and Jigglypuff doesn't really have an answer to perfect or near perfect ECEs; just make sure you don't use them when she's too close. Unexpected Yoshi Bombs might work against her too and kill early. She doesn't have an answer to shield dropping either, so utilize that as much as you can.
For rest punishes, Shield drop->Yoshi Bomb is a pretty good option that kills at around 70%-100%, depending on whether the stage has a high ceiling or a low ceiling. (F-air, F-tilt, U-tilt) -> Yoshi Bomb is another combo that kills at around 55%-70%, depending on the stage you're on, and finally F-air -> (up angle) F-tilt -> Yoshi Bomb, kills at 20%-40% on stages with lower ceilings.
At low percents you can recover just fine against Jigglypuff; just watch where you're going so she doesn't Rest you while she's in a safe position. At higher percents she'll be able to hit you out of your double jump pretty easily. Fortunately, Jigglypuff can't gain or lose height very quickly, so watch where she's going and go in the opposite direction (Ex. If you're high up in the air and Jigglypuff is moving towards you, recover low).
For edgeguarding, Egg Tosses are the best option. They can be used to rack up lots of damage at low percents, and at mid-high percents Egg Toss -> U-air will kill very early. I've also found that trailing under Jigglypuff while she's recovering can work well. The threat of your U-air will force her away from you and keep you under her, which is where you ideally want to be at all times.
Yoshi's Story, Pokemon Stadium, and Final Destination are pretty good stages to choose in this matchup. You'll almost always be under Jigglypuff in Final Destination, so you can abuse U-smash and beat out her aerial approaches. Pokemon Stadium has a low ceiling so U-smash and U-air will kill her even earlier there than it normally does, and Yoshi's Story will also net you early kills. Avoid Dreamland because it'll take you a while to kill Jigglypuff there, and also avoid Fountain of Dreams because it just makes life harder for you since Jigglypuff is always in the air.
Falcon: 40/60
Captain Falcon is a really fast character, and in my opinion the main thing he has over you (and many other characters) is his knee. If you're great at parrying and can parry his knee most of the time, you might as well switch those matchup numbers. However, this discussion will not take parrying into consideration.
Your B-air is probably your best tool here since it leads to N-airs, U-airs, and even some U-smashes. B-air combos Falcon really well and sets him up perfectly for a kill at higher percents. I advise not to spam this attack since the Falcon player will likely catch on quick and work around it, but when you use it aim for his head since he doesn't really have any quick attacks that guard that area. You can also use it to shield pressure safely, as long as you space it well. Basically, B-air is an all-purpose attack in this matchup.
If you manage to get a knock down on Falcon and he tech rolls, you can almost always get a free Egg Lay on him and mess up his positioning even further, as well as racking up some more damage. U-smash is decent at comboing Falcon and is probably your weakest killing move against him unless he's at ~110+% and you're in a stage with a low ceiling. Using CC -> D-smash on his N-air beats out his approach and can net you a kill at higher percents. Grab -> DJC U-air chains also work well.
No matter what you do, avoid his D-air and knee. D-air puts you in the perfect position for him to land a knee and almost always knocks you down, limiting your options. If you do get hit by a knee at low percents, expect to be comboed unless you were in your super armor. Fortunately, Falcon doesn't get much from grabs against Yoshi until ~70%, so just DI them towards a spot that makes kneeing for him difficult (Ex. on top of a platform).
Falcon is a pretty easy character to edgeguard. Egg Tosses, B-airs, N-airs, D-tilts, Dash attacks, and D-smashes work wonders; just make sure to edgehog first. If he's going for a sweetspot you can throw an egg right over the edge and follow up with D-smash or F-smash. You can also jump out and meteor him with D-airs; even if he hits you with his recovery when he's far out, chances are he won't be making it back to the stage.
When recovering, always try to go high. Falcon has fewer options when you recover high, so use that to your advantage. If he's edgehogging you, aim high and use a Yoshi Bomb to grab the ledge if he got off it or if his edge invincibility wore out. You might be able to grab him with Egg Lay if you're high enough, still have your double jump, and he gets off the stage and tries to hit you again. If you succeed in this circumstance he'll be easy to gimp.
I'm actually not too sure about the best stages against Falcon aside from Fountain of Dreams because many of Falcon's best stages are also Yoshi's best stages. I've done pretty well on Pokemon Stadium and Battlefield, and Dreamland kind of works against you because Falcon has so much space to work with.
Peach: 20/80
In my opinion, this is Yoshi's worst matchup. Peach's N-air matches yours in speed and has great knockback. Pretty much all of her other aerials break your super armor early, and she can go really far with her float so recovering will be a pain. Parrying is Yoshi's best tool against Peach because it'll absorb her F-air, which is her main spacing tool, but since most Yoshi players can't parry consistently, I'll put it aside for this analysis.
Be very careful when using your double jump. For this matchup you have to play kinda campy and you can't do normal Yoshi stuff. Keep control and stay in the middle of the stage. If you use your double jump often and in a predictable manner, expect Peach to gimp you with her aerials. Short hop B-airs probably are your best spacing tool in this matchup and can lead to U-airs at mid to high percents. DJC N-air shield pressure works great, but I'd recommend it only if you can pull it off flawlessly. When she approaches with her float, try to counter with a U-smash, which will also beat her other aerials. If she's floating lower then F-smash might work because of the invincibility on your head combined with its pullback and range.
Also watch out for her FC (float cancelled) aerials and D-smash. An FC aerial can and will often lead to D-smash or grab. If you get hit by an aerial or D-smash while shielding you can simply roll away (and even through D-smash with the right timing thanks to your absurdly small hitbox). From my experience, grabs are almost useless in this matchup and they're laggy, so avoid using them, especially after an FC aerial (each FC aerial has only 4 frames of landing lag). Well-spaced Egg Lays can beat out all of her aerials and put her above you, but along with grabs they're also pretty risky and you can't afford risks in this matchup; use them only if you're sure you'll land them.
U-smash is your best killing move in this matchup by far. On larger stages it'll kill her in the early 100s and on smaller stages even earlier, so use it when the opportunity arises. U-air also has a lot of kill power, so try a U-tilt -> U-air combo to take out a stock at high percents. D-smash knocks her low so that's something you can use while she's trying to recover. Yoshi Bomb is great at killing as well but it has a lot of lag so use it as a mixup.
There's not a whole lot you can do to her when edgeguarding, especially if she's recovering high (no one but Jigglypuff and Pikachu/Pichu can, really), but Egg Tosses are great for racking up damage and Egg Toss -> U-air is a good combo that you can use if you're close enough. Just remember not to do the double jump edgehog if she's going to do her Up + B; it'll break your super armor. If she's this low, your best option is probably the Yoshi Bomb ledgestall because it will hit her and get her above you, which is where you want her to be, or kill her if she's at a high enough percent.
If you're at low percents when recovering you're good, but at mid to high percents is where the trouble starts. Always recover high and use your fast air speed to throw her off. If you're high in the air you can also do Yoshi Bomb -> grab ledge. If you're forced to recover low, your best and only option is to do a rising Egg Toss and hope you make it back.
Choose small stages when fighting Peach because it'll net you early kills. Pokemon Stadium is probably your best choice because you can kill her early from the top, and the sides are big enough for you to survive many of her attacks (just don't get gimped!). Yoshi's Story is another good pick but isn't quite as good because of the small blast zones from the sides. Battlefield in theory sounds like a good stage and is generally a good Yoshi stage, but I don't have much experience with this matchup on there. Avoid Dreamland at all costs because it's gigantic and will take you forever to kill her there. Final Destination is also a pain because there are no platforms to work with and Yoshi greatly benefits from them. Furthermore, avoid Fountain of Dreams because the moving platforms basically give her a moving D-smash, but I think it can work well on Peach players that don't pull too many turnips.
That's about all I have for this matchup. I didn't say how to effectively deal with turnips because the Peach players I've played against didn't pull too many. If anyone can help with this it'd be greatly appreciated!
Samus: 55/45
Ganondorf: 50/50
As stated previously, I'll get back to this later with plenty of reasoning behind my numbers. Feel free to contribute.
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