Zelda vs. Ice Climbers Matchup

[DrLobster]

A Sheik main here. Been trying to find a stable counter to Ice Climbers, since that matchup is awful, and in the vain of finding a low-tier who can oddly counter/run-even with a high tier (i.e. Young Link against Jigglypuff), I'm inclined to think that the Zelda/Ice Climbers matchup may in fact run even, in part because of some matches I've played myself and in part due to The Lake's stellar performance at Fight Pitt IV. So, is this matchup as even as I think it is? Or naw?

 

[StaffofSmashing]

Really, it depends on how both players roll.

There is absolutely no way to successfully approach Zelda. She has a full shield, an explosion (which plays a huge part in the matchup), Fair and Bair, Dsmash, UpB, & FTilt.

On Ice Climbers, they need to be together to win unless you (somehow) do better with Sopo or Sona. They have Fair, Wavedash of God, Grab, DThrow-Dair, U & Fsmash, Bair, and Wombo Combo.

The deciding factor in this matchup is how long can the Zelda player keep Ice Climbers apart. Pretty long, actually. Nayru's Love, Sweetspot Airs, Uair, Dsmash, etc. The Ice Climbers though, have quite more mobility than Zelda. Zelda can only hit hard. Not Fast and Hard, but hard. Hard is good though, because the Ice Climbers together pose much of a threat to Zelda's game altogether. Though you can KO one easily if you know what you're doing.

That leaves this down to Zelda vs So__ and Oh my gosh you have to be a god to win on either side.

 

[DrLobster]

Yeah, that makes sense.

 

[ECHOnce]

> Nana is a lvl3 CPU
> Even when not desynched, Nana imitates actions Popo's actions with noticeable lag
> Wait for ICs to unsafely approach or drop shield
> Nana is defenseless before you
> You have Twinkle Toes
> 10/10 times Nana will eat an LK
> Other MU stuff
> ; u; Close MU with high tier

 

[X WaNtEd X]

Space out the ICs with double fair/bair shenanigans. They have a hard time getting in. Use dsmash a lot too, it's great for separating them. As soon as you get a hit, go balls off the walls for Nana. If you've practiced spacing Zelda's fair/bair properly you should be able to take Nana out in one or two hits. I think a big part of this mu is accuracy. It's really bad if you flub a Nana KO.

 

[BJN39]

Here's a recent video of the two (actually decent players) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RM-J9V8iP4

As you can see, for the most part, Zelda is actually pretty competent vs ICs, but then add in wobbling... ; u ;

 

[DrLobster]

Here's a recent video of the two (actually decent players) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RM-J9V8iP4

As you can see, for the most part, Zelda is actually pretty competent vs ICs, but then add in wobbling... ; u ;

Yeah, that's actually the video I was referring to in the OP lol

 

[Upke]

Zelda holds her own with ICs much better than most high tiers, but it's still clearly in IC's favour. Literally all they need is desync blizzard and ice blocks and Zelda loses. The reason Zelda might do well against ICs is because they don't respect her and are willing to play aggressive, but Zelda actually has great tools against ICs that aren't camping. Her fsmash on their double shield is sick, as are lightning kicks, similar to how good knees and FC fairs are. And fsmash connecting becomes a lot more useful than in other MUs because Nana will almost always get hit by the last hit. Nayru's Love is cute, but any ICs that can competently WD OoS will punish it with a grab which can mean death.

Yeah, I thought the ICs MU was pretty good before I played Fly, then I realised she can't actually do anything.