Normals

General Information

This is K. Rool’s fastest move, and a damn good one at that. Highest damage out of any Gentleman Jab in the game at 14.4% with a free tech situation if they’ve taken any amount of damage? Sign me up, hun.

This move can be thrown out to reset neutral in scenarios where opponents are just throwing out attacks, and is generally quite good at it. Considering the range and the minor disjoint on the palm of the hand, Jab 1 is pretty damn reliable. Once they miss a tech off of Jab 3, throw out Crownerang and it covers most getup options, including roll back. If they roll in, you can usually get a second Jab off.

This can also Jab Lock, because well...it’s a Jab. Doing Jab 12 into iDA is usually a kill confirm right there and then, and is our most reliable combo off of Jab Locks due to us...not really having much else to use. You can use DTilt to pop up the opponent and make them really panic as well, but iDA is the most consistent for damage.

Jab is true out of a Crown Slide from 0-30%ish, with Jab 1 creating a mixup situation and Jab 3 creating a tech situation. Both are very reasonable followups that can only be attained through the use of the tech. Definitely consider this play if you’re interested, as it’s very helpful. It’s good as a 0% combo if you want to abuse Jab 3’s tech situation.

On the ledge, you can hit the entire cast if you shield their getup attack with this for increased damage and to continue a ledgetrap. It's very useful, since doing this unstales your moves and forces the opponent to come back. For an in-context example, shield out of Blunderbuss Vacuum near the ledge if they’re stalling. Remember, there's 18 frames of endlag on Vacuum: they’ll try to getup attack as it's one of their only options.

DThrow Utility

Out of DThrow, Jab is useful for a number of reasons;

• Bury-stored Jab 1 can allow for a Regrab on Bury Popout if they don’t mash. Thus, this is by far the strongest mash deterrent available.

  • This works for a maximum of 3 reps, after the 3rd they just bounce up with no possible followup.

• At the edge, bury-stored Jab 1 can be used as a DAir or BAir setup, although it’s not the most reliable thing in the world. It can be done, though, and is very satisfying.

• DThrow to Jab from just away from midstage is a ledgetrap situation almost every time, if not you can usually push them into it. Plus, you get to unstale your moves, as all 3 hits count in the queue.

I would highly recommend doing DThrow Jab from around 75%, where you’re -5 against a TAS directional mashing machine but it usually works on the average human being.

General Information

This dash attack hits very hard and is reasonably quick, enabling some good kills near the edge. Being Frame 7 with armor on the same frame, this is one of the strongest moves in K. Rool’s moveset and can be seen as a budget Wonderwing in many circumstances. If the opponent is just clicking moves without much purpose, you can just DA and they cry.

It is ever so strongly recommended that you learn how to use Instant Dash Attack (iDA). I cannot stress enough how crucial this is to K. Rool’s success. To do it, immediately as you dash, C-Stick forward. You can also use this alongside a grab input to do a Dash Attack Canceled Dash Grab (DACDG), giving a significant range increase. Both of these techniques are extremely important for establishing K. Rool's unreactable burst range.

While a bit risky, Dash Attack is a decent approach option, since you can simply armor through almost anything the opponent has in response. This can stave off a lot of the projectiles the opponent throws at you, as well as most aerials, allowing for some nasty kills or at least advantage. It is a bit of a noob trap, though, since it can be simply shielded and staling makes it noticeably weaker. However, you usually don’t need to worry about this as long as you use your brain when playing the fat croc. You are still vulnerable on the head but it's reared back to a point where it's rarely a problem.

Against opponents who aren’t up to date on the matchup, Dash Attack makes for a solid crossup option. Usually they try to shieldgrab everything K. Rool has, and here it will naturally fail. Just note you’re…-37 if you use the late hitbox. Make sure you’re a touch far away while still being able to cross up to save frames. If you do it right, it can be pretty safe!

This move also hits the ledge, check here to see who it works on. In MUs where it hits an opponent, it’s able to cover almost every getup option on reaction. Practice this if you can as it is extremely useful.

iDA also hits EVERYONE if you shield their ledge attack, making it an extremely good way to close out stocks. Practice buffering a dash out of shield to do it. In short, don’t be frame perfect as shielddrop is 11 frames, buffering dash requires 10 or lower frames left.

Combo & Kill Confirm Utility

Dash Attack can be used out of FThrow at 0% for a free 30%, immediately pressuring the opponent. The angle it sends the opponent at allows for a potential Crownerang setup as well, but it's not consistent. It’s also good to try and mix up FThrow -> Dash Attack with chase mixups if they're not in range: run a bit or tomahawk. With this you should be able to bait out a panic option and punish accordingly. I like to grab the landing and UThrow, and then go for more mixups after.

Practice buffering Dash out of DThrow. DThrow -> iDA is the best balance of kill power and “true”ness you can get with the move, and it hits most average opponents. If it doesn’t, slap em with a mash deterrent such as USmash. You should always be playing the reinforcement game with DThrow, so this option should be your middle ground if you’re not sure what they’ll do. If they’re simply too quick, go with UTilt for maximum consistency.

General Information

Easily one of the best FTilts in the game. Some K. Rools call this move “Klap”. It's disjointed on the hands, long as hell reach that's comparable to Ganondorf's FSmash, armor from F5, god I could go on. It even hits platforms when angled up. You're hard-pressed to find a move that works as well defensively as this one. Call it the neutral-resetter 5000. To top it off, FTilt also kills, pretty damn well too. The sweetspot usually kills at around 110%, although it can be earlier depending on the opponent.

FTilt is one of the most difficult moves to challenge in K. Rool’s kit, emphasizing perfectly how he was designed: unchallengeable on startup with high endlag. This move is only challengeable from the head or the back, both of which aren't feasible for most characters to hit since you're often spacing it. Against a mashing opponent, this move will force them to sit down and think. While it has noticeable endlag, it's perfectly justified.

Pivot Cancelling FTilt gives it much more range than it really deserves, so if you like an alternative to Dash Attack to unstale it, this has you covered. Additionally, it can be seen as safer thanks to having less endlag overall.

Angling with Armor

FTilt’s ability to be angled also means it can position armor differently. No other BSA attack K. Rool has is like this, and for good reason: it is deceptively abusable. By angling FTilt with the opponent’s attack patterns in mind, the armor can cover you more - hell, upward angled FTilt covers K. Rool’s face a lot of the time.

The reason this is important is because each FTilt angle’s utility changes with your armor. If angled down, you tank ledge attacks. Angled up, aerials have more issues hitting. However, your armor juts out a bit, making it tank moves with lasting hitboxes better but singular ones worse.

FTilt on the Ledge

This move has minor use for ledgetrapping because it 2-frames when angled down. However, there are better options than this. If you’re going for a 2-frame, going for DAir instead is recommended, due to it hitting opponents before they even get to the 2-frame part. However, FTilt DOES hit every ledgehang angled down, making it good in that aspect. Pivot Cancelling this usually ends in hitting them before they can react.

FTilt covers neutral getup, ledge attack and ledgeroll from roll distance on the ledge, and if angled up it can also cover some ledgejumps. It requires precise spacing, but is still pretty good. If you’re closer to the ledge you can angle down to stop stalling and cover a ledge attack. It’s difficult to get the hang of at first but it’s not a nightmare or anything.

On the note of the ledge, this hits a lot of characters if you shield their getup attacks. For details, look at the frame data here. Anyone on whom we have 12+ Frame Advantage gets klapped. If they’re further away after pushback, FTilt will sweetspot and kill earlier. Otherwise, iDA catches them. It’s a pretty good option select that should be kept in mind.

General Information

Big ol' giant hitbox. Who thought to make this move F5 while killing at like 120% at the edge? The arm is intangible for a good while too, making it excellent at denying sword characters. UTilt covers platforms better than most tilts thanks to this, and the lingering hitbox makes it pretty good for forcing them off. The FAF is a bit higher than what would be desired though, so be careful.

UTilt is your go-to defensive option, as it’s your fastest attack that isn’t Jab. If the opponent is coming at you and overshooting, UTilt will tell them to back off. It’s great as a reactionary tool because of this. If you anticipate an overshot approach, go for it.

UTilt is also your crossup denial, as it’s F16 OOS and you can use the C-Stick to reverse it. It’s massively important to practice pivot UTilts with this in mind, though it takes a lot of practice, and I personally recommend using the Pro Controller to do this consistently. A lot of K. Rool’s OOS hinges on you being able to pull this off. Pivot Cancelled UTilt can be done forwards in a similar fashion. This is a very good burst option over iDA or FTilt as it's less committal, and the hitbox covers aerial opponents. While it lacks armor, the intangibility is great.

UTilt can be used with the Crownerang for a potential double hit, and a good situation after. If you Crown Slide, you can use it as a reversal option from the ledge or if the opponent is holding center-stage. Generally a good option regardless.

UTilt as an Anti-Air

UTilt’s ability to anti-air highly depends on the MU. You see, the hitboxes aren't as far horizontally as one would expect. You’re better off using FTilt against swordies and stuff in many circumstances, but don't discount this move because of that. Against characters like Incineroar though, this move is definitely a good option to throw out.

Once you’ve anti-aired with UTilt you’ll notice the knockback is sub-par. However, you’ll also notice that you can UTilt them again if they don’t jump. If they airdodge, you can grab. This is a pretty hilarious way to juggle opponents, and reading landings after it can lead to some nasty kills. Go for it from around 30% where the hit advantage is favorable. If you don't want to commit to UAir, try using UTilt instead, it's high enough to the point that I would call it an aerial.

UTilt for Killing

This is the typical way you'll be killing at the edge out of DThrow if it isn't FTilt or iDA: it's very consistent and is difficult to mash out of, recommended at 130% when the opponent is pretty much never mashing out. It also kills earlier on platforms. Kill%s can be found in the Kill Konfirm Kompendium.

This move hits the ledge for some reason, so check here to see who it works on. It is also true against every character who ledge attacks your shield, making it pretty consistent, albeit outclassed by FTilt and iDA.

General Information

This move has a slightly better bury time than DThrow, with much better follow-up opportunities. You can definitely Forward Smash out of this for an early kill. However, the move is rather slow and managing to find opportunities to land it are difficult. The main thing that makes DTilt so good on hit, is because of how unreactable it is. It’s slow, and nobody - not even me honestly - expects this thing to hit. Due to this however, opponents need time to react and start mashing into the move, thus why it kills so early.

It is important to understand that Rage and Stock Differences affect normal buries (emphasis on normal). Thus, DTilt’s hit advantage can vary widely. Personally, I recommend only using DTilt when you’re neutral or a stock or two down, as the advantage is favorable there. Otherwise, DTilt is minus on hit at 0. However, rage makes it ridiculous regardless.

Applications

Pivot Cancelling this, if you can reverse your tilts consistently, can be a very spicy move to surprise your opponent with. It’s a monumentally high risk burst option but it has by far some of the best reward as well. If you don’t get the bury, the quake will probably come in clutch. Just make sure to mix it up with grabs.

The best way to use this in the normal way would be to use it to punish careless approaches, such as dumb approach options and greedy grab attempts. The greedy grab part is great, as you can even cancel spotdodge with Down Tilt to punish some characters.

Emphasizing the absolute stupidity that are the hitboxes of this move, Down Tilt can bury from a platform above the opponent. We have a document on what characters this works on as well, and we highly recommend you check it out. This means you can heavily discourage the opponent from trying to attack beneath the ledge if you practice timing against moves. However, chances are you would have to focus on specific moves in specific matchups. You can drop down with Forward Aerial to combo. If you really want to, you can drop through a platform with Neutral/Forward Aerial, store the knockback, and get a combo started.

You can also make the opponent pratfall with this, setting up for combos and tech situations that can be pretty surprising for the opponent. This greatly improves the potential for the Kremling Kombo, as a missed tech can go into this through spamming DAir until they stagger.

Parrying also confirms this off of a plethora of moves, as it grants 14 frames of advantage while the bury hitbox comes out at Frame 13-14. This can be crucial in sword MUs as their aerials typically have noticeable endlag when they hit the ground. Usually this is hard to punish, but parrying makes this much easier. If your parry game is strong, so are your DTilt confirms. Buffer this for best results. To practice, do it against Ike’s NAir or Marth/Lucina’s FAir.

Aerial DTilt: The Aerial Hitbox

There is a hitbox that comes out at Frame 13 that deals increased damage and knockback to airborne opponents. This makes it very useful for punishing ledgejumps, or those who short hop near you. It’s pretty odd, but oh well. This DTilt is great with DThrow from around 90%, where it starts to kill. If the opponent doesn’t mash, you can store knockback with the Stomp hitbox and get a guaranteed Sweetspot FTilt until around 105%. It’s a specific range, but you can push them into it through pummels and such.

Bury & Quake

After this, there’s a hitbox that replaces Frame 13: this specifically hits ledgehangs, and deals 12% in 1v1 with 80 Base Knockback. It’s very strong and will punish those on the ledge too long, or perhaps 2-frame them. If you learn the timing, this move is your best friend.

There is also a quake after the move hits the floor, dealing some solid damage and sometimes enabling follow-ups. The hitbox is absolutely enormous, hitting opponents from a surprising distance away. However, follow-ups from the quake are usually quite inconsistent (eg. DTilt Quake -> FAir can be airdodged out of). The best application for this aspect is on the ledge, to try and 2-frame them with the stomp hitbox, mostly covered by the quake. However, it can be used to punish slower approaches. The quake can also hit players from below platforms like the bury, which often confirms FTilt.

Combo & Kill Confirm Utility

Before we move on, it is important to understand something known as Spike Storage (SS in notation), with K. Rool’s DTilt. Few characters can make use of this (as only a few characters have a spike and a bury move), and King K. Rool makes by far the best use of it. With this, if you get a Down Tilt off from around 35%-55%, you can store a Down Aerial spike and that goes into a kill confirm. The spike strength is quite minimal at first glance, but since it’s a grounded spike we can get anything we want. There's also Bury Tech Situation Storage.

Down Aerial goes into this if you do it close to the ground, which leads to some of K. Rool’s most powerful kill confirms. It’s important to do DAir when you’re able to fast fall to get maximum hit advantage.

• The Kremling Kombo (DTilt -> stored DAir SS -> DAir -> FSmash)

  • Kills at 50% as long as DAir doesn’t pop opponents out. Without spike storage, it's still considered to be a Kremling Kombo.

• DTilt -> stored Jab -> Grab -> DThrow -> USmash

  • Kills at 80%ish with a forced mash due to s.Jab’s existence.

There are, of course, combos you can do with this as well;

• DTilt -> stored Jab -> iDA

  • Generally your 0% option. Sometimes Jab puts the opponent into a tech situation though, and if this is the case, DAir Lock into imagination.

• DTilt -> stored Jab / s.DAir -> Grab

  • Switch between these stored moves based on how high their % is. If they’re low, Jab. If they’re high, DAir for more hitfreeze and damage.

There are also two ways to confirm DTilt 100% of the time:

• Landing FAir prior to Tumble%

  • +14 on hit at 0 if it’s the early or middle hitboxes. If you get good at this it’s actually not too hard.

• Landing DAir prior to Tumble%, but after around 30%

  • This is pretty difficult to do but is usually a stock, especially if it’s JUST before Tumble%.

DTilt on the Ledge

DTilt is a niche but extremely powerful option on the ledge. It can hit ledgerolls AND neutral getup if you space it correctly, with the quake hitbox making them stop stalling. The aerial hitbox catches ledgejumps up close as well, killing them. The stomp hitbox also hits the ledge up close, and you can check here to see who it works on. All of this is prime conditioning, and allows you to predict your opponents more easily later on.

DTilt also hits a lot of the cast if you shield their ledge attacks, and you can see who it works on here. The best way to set this up is through using Vacuum within ledge attack range, and shield; remember, 18 frames of endlag, which is as fast as a ledge attack coming out on its own! Then DTilt OOS and collect your W. Usually this makes your Vacuum Ledgetrapping better later, due to fear of this mixup.

Thanks to this, DTilt as a reactionary move on the ledge is extremely strong in the hands of a player with good reaction time. In some matchups against opponents who are bad in disadvantage (be it by character or themselves), this move becomes even sillier.

General Information

Even a seemingly simple move on K. Rool finds a way to be janky. As you can see, overall, the upward angled version deals the most damage. Note that only the damage of Forward Smash changes upon angling though, not the knockback values itself. The damage changes do end up increasing knockback overall, though, so expect it to kill around 10% or so earlier depending on the angle.

There is a sweetspot on the boxing glove that deals MUCH more knockback and is where the real power of the move comes in, which is assisted by having higher hitbox priority. This is why it will sometimes kill at %s as low as 70. It’s also a disjoint, so keep that in mind if you want to punish opponents a bit heavier than if you used FTilt. Note that FSmash’s sweetspot has more priority than the sourspot, actually making the sourspot a nightmare to hit. This is good for us, anyway. Combine the power and disjoints, and you can definitely see that using this as a mixup or defensive maneuver through pivoting is a good idea. I’d say practice before doing it, though, as once again, it's just really slow.

Overall, while this move is hard to use, there’s no way K. Rool would be in the same boat without it. Mastering the use of Forward Smash is very important.

Hard Punishing with FSmash

Catching someone jumping in with an upward angled FSmash is okay as a deterrent to aerial approaches, but is generally inferior to upward FTilt or UTilt, since they’re so much quicker. Most of the time, there's a better option than this move, but a hard punish is always cool if you can pull it off. Some players just drift over to you like drones, and this is where FSmash shines the brightest.

The big way to hard punish with FSmash is through exploiting fear. FThrow into tomahawk is one of K. Rool’s best mixups for this, as generally opponents do a panic airdodge. This can be punished with FSmash if you know how consistent they are with their options. It’s hard as hell, but definitely a thing. Regular or Reverse Crown Slide -> FSmash is a pretty good string too, usually baiting panic airdodges too.

Charging FSmash on someone trying to do a counter is a classic punish, but note that opponents who know how long a smash can be charged for will probably kill you if you just charge it. This move...isn’t kind if you get countered. Thus, if someone does a counter, just go for FSmash. Don’t do it to bait, that doesn’t work on remotely good players.

Outside of this, well, it’s our best shieldbreak punish, with fully charged u.FSmash having similar kill power to Bowser’s FSmash. Bowser’s FSmash fully charged kills Mario at exactly 12% at the edge of FD, while K. Rool’s u.FSmash fully charged kills at 19.02%. If the opponent is at Mid%, go for it. Or, DTilt -> FSmash if you don’t have time to charge it. Should kill around 15% later or so, maybe overestimating.

This move also hits the ledge: check here to see who it works on. This is a nice hard punish option for stalling, although it is extremely committal and can even be considered reactable at times. In niche circumstances, if you parry someone’s ledge attack, you can potentially buffer FSmash and hit them. You can see the frame data here, it’s everyone whose getup attack gives us 16+ frame advantage on shielddrop.

Confirming FSmash

FSmash’s main confirm is with DTilt. If you can manage to hit this, the opponent better prepare themselves for a nasty punish, as it’s a kill confirm at 125% with TAS reaction time and mashing, at neutral stock difference and no rage. This is impossible for a human to get out of usually, due to people usually not reacting until ~10 frames into the bury. If we factor human capabilities and reaction time, FSmash can be safely considered true at 75%. This is usually a kill confirm.

FAir can confirm FSmash for damage at extremely precise %s, but it’s so specific that it’s not really used. To do this you have to land with FAir frame perfectly JUST before it sends into tumble. Outside of this, Crown is your main confirm. It’s difficult - like everything else here - but it can work just as they start being launched.

FSmash’s Blindspot

Buuut, there’s an issue with Forward Smash. Up close, there’s a blindspot. Thus, you can occasionally use the move and just not hit with it. It’s pretty nasty, so keep it in mind when using it. There's not much you can do to prepare for this, so cry for buffs or something if it whiffs. Maybe a god will hear you...

General Information

Here we have a strange clusterfuck of a smash attack. While it looks like it does everything, it actually does one good thing, then tries to do many other things that aren’t too practical. It’s probably one of the weirdest moves in the game. Bad players will say this move sucks, while good players often say it's alright.

USmash has many, many hitboxes. It is technically a multihit move, and you can get the “self-combo” if you hit at an early %. It’s...not very good, though.

Hit 1 is a strong, single hit that affects only aerial opponents (programmed to do so). It kills at around 100%, give or take a bit. It’s a very strong move, and if someone is just mashing on a platform you can throw it out and get some free damage. Being F6 makes this move extremely strong, albeit one of the heaviest commitments in the game. There’s also a late hitbox on F10 that does practically nothing, but combos into the rest of USmash at Low%s so it isn’t all bad. If only the knockback was fixed...

Then there's Hit 2, which is a clusterfuck that makes me sad. I did manage to get a Jab Lock into Forward Smash combo once using the weird spike hitbox. Nobody is teching this when it happens, since it’s completely unexpected. It’s useless for spiking anyone off-stage bar putting them in weird situations, so don’t bother trying to land it. Overall this part has some fringe uses when it hits by mistake, but only on stage. Off-stage, this move will never, ever gimp anyone. If it were stronger, perhaps it could be used.

Then there is Hit 3, which...doesn’t kill for some reason. It’s not necessarily bad thanks to the armor and stuff, it’s just...weak. Deals some nice damage, puts them off-stage, but if it killed it would be far better.

USmash Shieldpoking

Luckily, this entire mess of hitboxes actually makes it super good at shieldpoking, so there’s that. It's rare to see USmash fail to shieldpoke if done directly under an opponent, which makes it somewhat safe platform pressure.

An interesting application for this is using it out of a falling FAir/BAir on platforms against shields, and immediately USmashing. This will either force the opponent out of shield for them to get hit, or get dicked by USmash’s many hits to force a shieldbreak or poke. USmash covers many OOS options thanks to the armor, and will always do something thanks to shieldgrabbing being less common. You can never lose in this situation, as you can get a Grounded Spike off on an opponent who refuses to drop shield that gets hit with the weird spike hitbox, leading to some free damage or even kill. If that doesn’t hit, the plank or Hit 2 Late can send people at some very weird angles that are ripe for Crownerang abuse. The platform pressure potential of this move is nothing to scoff at solely because of how many hitboxes the move has, which all deal shield damage.

Kill Confirming with USmash

The early hit of USmash can be used out of Down Throw to combat mashers and generate 50/50s, as it only works ON mashers. This is extremely useful as it kills at around 90-100% with the tipper hitbox on the crown. With this in mind, you can use FSmash or s.Jab as potential mixups for those trying to not get hit by the Up Smash. This is exceedingly important and a mainstay in King K. Rool’s meta. For Kill%s, go here. You need to know and use this, there is no negotiation.

DThrow USmash occasionally requires you to get a dash in to do it. I’ve personally mastered a QCU (Quarter Circle Up) input for this, buffering dash out of DThrow and then immediately getting USmash. There’s a doc here on who requires it by my good friend EyeDonutz.

USmash Ledgetrapping

This move has minor ledgetrapping utility, with the entire move covering a surprising amount of options when spaced correctly. The rising hitbox covers jump, and the plank and weird spike hitbox will cover neutral getup, ledgeroll (when spaced), and ledge attack. Most character-exclusive options use attacks when getting up as well, and the belly armor will eat those as well. This should be used on reaction, so practice reacting a bit more to start making use of this sleeper option. Just be careful of Getup -> Counter, as this will completely forfeit stage control in that case and potentially result in Belly Armor dying.

The Issues with USmash

The problems with this move though? Many. The spike is actually one of the weakest in the game, although it can lead to some stupid things off platforms if you catch them. Lasts 1 frame, with only 5 knockback growth. In other words, you’re hitting with this by mistake. In which by the time the opportunity is gone, you just realized what had happened. The hitbox is also inaccurate, not covering his head at all.

The plank literally does nothing and kills at 162% at the edge of FD, according to SmashWiki. It won’t save you from not getting punished for a whiff, it doesn’t even deal much damage or hit aerial opponents. Simply don’t bother. This’ll only hit by mistake against a very bad player, or when the opponent doesn’t mash Down Throw.

Overall, the initial aspect is amazing thanks to the intangibility - and to a lesser degree the belly armor - but the rest of it is just weird jank that won't actually benefit you bar some fringe scenarios. Only use for the initial part, never anything else. The initial part is among the best parts of K. Rool’s anti air capabilities, as it is a very good hard punish on challenges. It has kill confirms, it has everything. Just...don’t rely on the other hitboxes to do your job.

General Information

This is why you’re using King K. Rool, isn’t it? This move stops a ton of things, but overuse is a big no-no. This is one of the strongest DSmashes in the game by a long shot, making it among K. Rool's best. This move is absolutely disgusting and even using it randomly can lead to some early stocks being eradicated due to its very high knockback growth. At Low%s it’s pretty bad, but still can reset neutral. This move is absolutely ludicrous, and warrants a lot of respect.

The start of the move has K. Rool bounce into the air and avoid any mid to low level moves before killing them at 75%. K. Rool leaves the premises on F4, so any grabs, low-mid attacks and such will miss. However he can still be grabbed, as he doesn’t get immunity to them. It’s just stupid hard to do it and missing is death. Ergo, it's not uncommon to see a DSmash punish overextensions by taking someone's stock at 50%.

This move also lets out a quake that can fling the opponent into the air, much like DTilt. This has minimal combo potential, but can deter approaches solely because you can FTilt out of it if they fail to react fast enough. This does give it some edgeguarding potential if you fail to space at the ledge for the actual slam. It’s like DTilt’s only with a bit more hit advantage.

DSmash is generally used as a hard punish for overextending. It’s very powerful, but also quite laggy, and will only really work if the opponent tries to challenge it. The power and potential of this move is nothing to sniff at, although at the same time it can promote some bad habits. Use it as a hard punish, for edgeguarding in highly specific scenarios (or if you’re confident and want style points), during combos or in kill confirm scenarios only. That’s a lot of scenarios? Yeah, I didn’t say the move wasn’t amazing.

DSmash at the Ledge

This move is also great for punishing getup attack or ledge rolls at the edge as well, also functioning as a 2-frame punish. If the opponent is on the floor and tries to roll, this move can also kill there. The belly armor is absolutely ridiculous, and can be used to challenge attacks such as Chrom and Ike’s Aether during recovery if you’re really good at timing it; practice a little, you’ll get it eventually. Any character that doesn’t ledge snap when recovering also dies immediately to this move, like Terry if he doesn't space Rising Tackle correctly.

This move also hits the ledge because it’s busted, so check here to see who it works on.