Guide to Ace Arwing Pilot Fox McCloud, Version 4.00 By: CunningKitsune Version 1.00 Created: Sunday, April 18, 2004 Last Updated: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 E-mail: MtGKid700@comcast.net AIM: CraftyKitsune Legal Stuff Copyright 2004-2006 Anthony Daniel Anastasia. This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Web sites currently authorized to possess this guide: Smashboards: www.smashboards.com GameFAQs: www.gamefaqs.com IGN: www.ign.com Neoseeker: www.neoseeker.com Super Cheats: http://www.supercheats.com/ Please inform me if you see any unauthorized sites with this guide. Contacting the Author If you wish to get in touch with me concerning this guide or any other meaningful topic related to SSBM, feel free to do so. If you send me an e-mail, include a relevant phrase in the Subject line (something along the lines of “About Your Guide”). Do not leave it blank and expect me to answer your e-mail, as I will not under any circumstances. If you do e-mail me, complete with subject line, I will do my utmost best to answer you quickly and to the best of my abilities. For future reference, you will probably have the most success speaking with me on Fox-related matters, since I play exclusively as him. I am a member of all the sites authorized to possess this guide, and my name is CunningKitsune on all of them, if you would rather get in touch with me via PM's or whatnot there. Constructive criticism and any additions or other observations concerning this guide are always appreciated. Thank you in advance for reading this, and I sincerely hope that it fulfills its purpose. About the Guide The principle aim of this guide is to enhance the reader’s abilities with Fox McCloud on a technical as well as psychological level. Nearly all of the content in this guide is centered on Fox as a one-on-one combatant; this is the format in which Fox best performs, in addition to being the definitive format for high-level tournament play. This guide also uses quite a bit of the modern SSBM lingo (shuffling, short-hopping, waveshine, etc.). Definitions of a good deal of the terms used in this guide are included, but others may be found on the internet. There is a very concise modern terms list for SSBM that covers virtually every aspect of modern SSBM lingo, in case you are still stumped (see item 2 in the "References" section). The first section of this guide, The Basics, is just that. It introduces Fox McCloud as a character and gives information on all of his moves. An exhaustive statistics list courtesy of Mew2King and co. is included. In addition, listed for each move is its respective frame data courtesy of SuperDoodleMan. I thank both of these players for the time and research that they have put into this game and the enormous amount of data that they have made available to the Smash community. The second section, Advanced Techniques, introduces you to the higher-level techniques that Fox and the SSBM cast can perform, as well as some unique to the vulpine himself. The Improving Your Game sub-section delves into the inner workings of playing Fox on a psychological level, as well as giving the reader insights into Fox’s play styles and how to optimize the performance of their Fox in battle. The sub-section on the shine gives statistics of, techniques with, and uses for the kitsune’s reflector in battle, including a section on the infinites. The third section, Character Match-ups, deals with Fox's match-ups against each and every character in the game, himself included. The information presented includes comprehensive analyses, assorted tips and tricks, and various sugges- tions for each match-up. This section is ordered by the current established Smashboards MBR Tier List in order to organize the information as relevant to the current tournament metagame and make the information more accessible to readers interested in higher-level play. The fourth section, The Casual Fox, is dedicated to Fox on non-tournament-level terms. It is a good stop for readers interested in Fox as an SSBM character, but not wanting to play him seriously at tournament-level. The fifth section of the guide references various useful links for most any player. The threads include such topics as mindgames, edge-teching, and DI. The sixth and final section of the guide simply gives credit wherever it is due and cites people directly related to and essential for the writing of this guide. Notes on SuperDoodleMan's Frame Data IASA = Interruptible As Soon As, meaning some of the animation can be cut off by doing an attack or something. Auto-cancel = After an air attack is done doing damage, there is often an animation of the character returning to their falling state, during which you can't do anything. Some attacks are such that that animation will not give any lag upon landing. Land fall special lag = After many "B" recovery moves, your character will flash black and not be able to do anything. When they land from this, even though the falling animation may be the same, the time it takes to recover on the ground is dependant on which move you did. Guide Outline I. The Basics A. Introduction to Fox McCloud 1. Pros and Cons B. Fox’s Moves 1. Ground a. Jab b. Straight c. Rapid Kick d. Fox Kick e. Back Kick f. Fox Tail g. Roundhouse Kick h. Flip Kick i. Fox Split j. Taunt 2. Running a. Jumping Side Kick 3. Air a. Flying Kick b. Tornado Kick c. Reverse Spin Kick d. McCloud Flip e. Drill Kick 4. Throws and Grab Statistics a. Knee b. Elbow Bash c. Skeet Blaster d. Star Blaster e. Floor Blaster 5. Special Moves a. Blaster b. Fox Illusion c. Fire Fox d. Reflector 6. The Physics of Fox An exhaustive list of statistics, courtesy of Mew2King and other contributors. II. Advanced Techniques A. Introduction 1. L-canceling 2. Wavedashing 3. Shield-grabbing 4. Short-hopping 5. Dash-canceling 6. Crouch-canceling 7. Dash-dancing 8. Jump-canceled Grabs, or Standing Dash-grabs 9. Fox Trotting 10. Triangle-jumping 11. Short-hop Laser 12. Waveshine 13. Boost Grab B. Improving Your Game 1. Introduction a. Knowledge is Power b. Going in With a Plan c. Crush Your Enemy’s Concentration d. Style: Aggressive e. Style: Control f. Style: Aggro-control 2. Mind Games a. Know Yourself b. Know Your Opponent C. The Shine 1. Introduction 2. Properties of the Shine 3. Using the Shine a. Reflecting Projectiles b. Winning Close-Range Priority c. Gaining Close-Range Control d. Shine Spiking e. Setting Up For a Combo f. Countering Shield Grabbing g. Edge-guarding h. Stopping Horizontal and Upward Movement 4. Infinites a. Infinite Jump-canceled Shine b. Infinite Down-wavedash Shine c. Drill Shine d. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 1 e. Inverse Drill Shine, Method 2 f. Wall Drill Infinite Shine g. Infinite Forward-Reverse Waveshine III. Character Match-ups A. Top Tier 1. Sheik 2. Fox 3. Marth B. Upper Tier 1. Peach 2. Falco 3. Captain Falcon 4. Samus C. High Tier 1. Jigglypuff 2. Dr. Mario 3. Ganondorf 4. Mario 5. Ice Climbers D. Mid Tier 1. Luigi 2. Link 3. Roy 4. Donkey Kong 5. Pikachu 6. Zelda E. Low Tier 1. Ness 2. Young Link 3. Yoshi 4. Kirby 5. Mr. Game & Watch 6. Bowser F. Bottom Tier 1. Mewtwo 2. Pichu IV. The Casual Fox 1. Fox’s Hidden Taunt V. References VI. Final Words I. The Basics A. Introduction Super Smash Bros. Melee is Fox's second visit to the Smash Bros. scene, and frankly, he has never been better. Although he has lost the stun capability of his blaster from the N64 version, he retains most if not all of his moves from the previous game, and then some. As a fighter, Fox is second to none in the hands of a very experienced, fast-paced player. His lightning quick moves, fast, effective finishers, and unparalleled ability to spam his projectile weapon combine to form a fighter who is more than capable of dealing with anything thrown his way. The new player, however, must be careful with Fox; more often than not, slow-moving or unwary players are caught off guard by the jerky, erratic nature of his moves. Also, there is always the natural tendency to continuously Illusion themselves right off the stage or fall off the edge in a Tornado Kick. Once he is well under your fingers, however, you will find that Fox can control any fight against any character using his incredible speed and versatility and more than a little blaster fire. The Smash community holds Fox as the most skill-intensive character in the game. You'll need fast fingers and a fast wit to use him well. Players in the U.S. love his speed, power, and blaster. Players in Japan love his fast-paced, flashy, almost show-offy moves and, more than anything, his god-like Reflector. Fox is not for you if: 1. You are a slow player by nature. 2. You have slow fingers. 3. You do not think quickly. 4. You do not like winning. It will happen a lot with Fox. 5. You do not want to use high-tier characters. Fox is currently second in the tiers behind Sheik. 6. You want to be decent quickly. That's why Sheik is here. 7. You think power beats speed every time. Yeah, better think about that again. 8. You like raw power instead of blistering speed. You should be Ganondorf, Bowser, or the like. 9. You hate characters with very sensitive controls. Barring that stuff, you should enjoy playing as the lightning quick Fox. With time, you will become nearly unstoppable with the vulpine. If you don't have all that much time, Fox has a simple solution for you: blaster spamming. Works every time. 1. Pros and Cons Pros: -Lightning speed on nearly every move -Little overall lag -Is a fast-faller -The shine -Fast L-cancels -Very short short-hops -Great at controlling the fight -Has a solid mind game -A perfect combo character -Very adaptive playing style -Fast, effective finishers -Fast foot speed -Infinites Cons: -Relatively light-weight -Fast-paced controls -Is a fast-faller -Many opportunities to self-destruct -Overall average priority -Recoveries can be caped or edgeguarded well -Low to medium range -Toughest character to play well B. Fox's Moves 1. Ground Jab Button: A Damage: 2-3% Speed: Very high Priority: Medium-high Range: Relatively short Start Time: Nonexistent Lag Time: Virtually nonexistent Knockback: Extremely low Total frames: 17 Hit frames: 2-3 IASA: 16 Window of the second punch: 3-31 Second punch starts: 6 (or later) This move has a very fast come-out time, but don't expect it to send the opponent flying across the arena or inflict great damage. Rather, the natural purpose of this move is, obviously, to lead into a Straight and series of Rapid Kicks. There are other (better) uses for this move, too. Because of its high speed and natural tendency to prep opponents for equally speedy attacks, the Jab is a necessity in close-range combat, where it can tie up foes' timing and virtually negate all slow, high-lag power moves. At medium to high percentages, the Jab and its compatriot Straight can pop opponents up into the air slightly, a position where you can easily up-smash them for the kill. At lower percentages, toss in a few Back Kicks to tack on damage and lift your enemy high enough into the effective diameter of the up-smash. Take advantage of the Jab and Straight's high speed and tendency to lift foes off the ground to grab and up-throw them and open the door to combos. You can also use the Jab out of a shuffled neutral- or down-aerial; this will get your opponent into combo position and will hit them before they can retaliate. Yet another use for the Jab and Straight is out of a waveshine (an advanced technique explained later) again as a form of prepping your foe for a potentially lethal up-smash if you feel that you will not be able to fit in the up-smash before your foe has a chance to shield. Regardless, be wary of your follow-up to a prep Jab; at times, enemy DI (particularly on the floatier characters and at higher percen- tages) can shift them out and away from your chosen follow-up, giving them the time that they need to return with a sex kick or whatever else that they may have in store for you. Of all things, you certainly do not want to give your foe a significant opening both to escape your potential combo and to return fire. If anything, the main use of the Jab and Straight is to break through your foe's defenses in close combat with pure speed, and then take advantage of that lapse to initiate Fox's excellent comboing abilities. For example, many times it will be the quick Jab that will stun your opponent long enough for you to slip in with a quick jump-canceled grab to an up-throw and a series of juggling up-aerials or an up-smash. Jabs are also handy to tie up an opponent's hands should he or she attempt to shut you out with a quick flurry of high-speed or high-priority attacks; a well-placed Jab there could cause them to input a bunch of "dead" buttons during the stun time and interrupt their flow long enough for you to turn the tide of the battle in your favor with a simple combo off of a jump-canceled grab, for instance. Jabs are also handy to knock your opponents out of their aerial "stunned" animation and make it somewhat easier for you to land a jump-canceled grab, which you can follow up as you see fit. Against fellow fast-fallers, a well-placed Jab to interrupt a hasty recovery jump could cause them to fall low enough to force an up+B recovery out of them and give you an opportunity for a quick dash-in shine (more than lethal in dittos as well as against Falco); Captain Falcon and most other characters as well can fall prey to the subsequent edge-hog and edge-guarding via ledge- hopped back-aerials. Still another use for the Jab is as a quite effective stand-in for the shine in match-ups against characters that cannot be caught in shine comboes per se. For example, should you land a drill kick on characters such as Game and Watch, Kirby, Jigglypuff, Falco, other Foxes, and Roy, try to fight your urge to shine instantly and instead throw in a Jab, which can put these fall-over characters in position for a follow-up jump-canceled grab or lethal up-smash (character- dependent, of course). Keep in mind that you should not exclude shines from aerials from these match-ups entirely; not only do they keep you perfectly safe from shield-grabs, but you can also play "wake-up games" with your opponent, so to speak. That is, try to predict and follow how your opponent gets back on his or her feet from the shine and punish accordingly with a dashed jump-canceled up-smash or jump-canceled grab. Switching shines and Jabs in said match-ups also prevents your opponent from catching on too quickly to your strategy and resorting to crouch-canceling, which can lead to some nasty turn-around situa- tions (see below). If you notice your opponent begin to crouch-cancel, take ad- vantage and start shining from aerials; due to their crouch-canceling, you can then follow the shine with a grab, should they not react fast enough, and follow from that, and the shine also prevents easy crouch-cancel counters on their part. If you plan to Jab into the Straight and a series of Rapid Kicks, try to initiate the series at a very close proximity to your target; this way, it will take longer for them to scroll or directional influence out of the Rapid Kicks. However, be wary that Jabs and Straights do not go well with crouch-canceling; when coupled with these moves' virtually nonexistent knockback, crouch- canceling puts you in a very bad situation that will allow your opponent his choice of retaliation. Be especially wary of characters that frequent their crouch-cancels, such as Peach (down-smash); Yoshi (down-smash); Samus(down- smash and down-tilt); Mario and Dr. Mario (down-smash); Sheik (down-smash and down-tilt, which will set you up for a potentially lethal forward-aerial); and Mr. Game and Watch (down-tilt that will set you up for a follow-up of the player's choice, usually a forward- or neutral-aerial). Crouch-cancels from virtually all other characters also can lead to trouble for your Fox, so be wary of your opponent's style and take note of whether or not he makes frequent use of his crouch-cancel. Straight Button: A, A Damage: 2-3%, 3% Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Relatively short Start Time: Nonexistent; must closely follow use of Jab Lag Time: Virtually nonexistent Knockback: Extremely low Total frames: 20 Hit frames: 3-4 IASA: 19 Window of the kick-jabs: 1-20 Kick-jabs start: 6 The follow-up to the jab, which can lead into a series of Rapid Kicks. A one-two punch with a Jab and Straight can lead nicely to a powerful up-smash at 90-100%. The Straight is very much similar to the Jab, but with one excep- tion: when Fox Straights, he takes a slight step forward. If you time the rhythm of your Jabs and Straights, you can advance on your enemy very slightly with a Jab-Straight, Jab-Straight series (be careful not to press any other buttons during the waiting time for the Rapid Kicks; otherwise, you'll go into those instead of what you had intended to do, which is, for the most part, not really a bad thing). The step forward that Fox takes can also quickly put you in range of your opponent should your initial Jab very slightly miss him or her. You can also follow the Jab-Straight with a quick waveshine into a grab or most anything else Fox can do. Rapid Kick Button: A, A, A... Damage: 2-3%, 3%, 1%... Speed: High Priority: Low Range: Relatively short Start Time: Very slight (a few frames) during transition from Straight while Fox lifts up his foot Lag Time: Very slight (a few frames) as Fox replaces his foot Knockback: Extremely low Intermediary animation: 6 frames Hits: 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 31-32 1 full cycle: 36 frames A simple yet semi-effective way to add on damage, Rapid Kicks closely follow the Jab and Straight punches. Larger opponents can be caught in this move for upwards of 15% of damage, depending on where they are when you begin the series and their percentage when you first begin hitting them with it. For this reason, you should initiate the series as close as possible to the opponent so it takes longer for them to DI out of your flying feet. Opponents who habitually crouch-cancel and who do not react in time in between each of the Rapid Kicks can be caught in them for quite a while before they scroll or DI out and away from you. Also, be adept at very quickly executing the Jab and Straight (with two swift taps of the A button) to catch the opponent closer to yourself when you start the Rapid Kicks. When you see your opponent begin to crawl out of your Rapid Kicks, follow immediately into a down-tilt, grab, or other fast move so as to give yourself the best chance to cut off their re- sponse. Be sure not to Rapid Kick for long periods of time; your opponent oftentimes can escape from a set of Rapid Kicks before you are actually finished with it, and any number of their moves can cut through your low-priority kicks. Also, be aware that many characters, particularly lighter ones with lower falling speeds, can DI out before your first set of Rapid Kicks ends; this can result in Fox being hit with a sex kick as he is replacing his foot from the kicks. Players can also DI your initial Jab or Straight if they react fast enough, in which case your Rapid Kicks may not always be your safest option. If they can get out of range of the last few strikes of your final set of kicks, they will be ready to react before you thanks in no small part to the Rapid Kick's post- move lag. Be wary of this, especially at higher percents and while facing characters with slower falling speeds; in both instances, their amount of directional influence may allow them to hit you before you are out of your post-move lag. Truth be told, the Rapid Kicks hold very little weight in Fox's developed meta- game. Their effects are not powerful enough to secure a mainstay spot in his repertoire, and they are not the most effective of follow-ups to the quicker Jab, which is far more versatile than the Rapid Kicks could ever hope to be. At best, the Kicks can be an interesting add-on move for a variation in technique or style or to respond somewhat to crouch-cancelers. Be sure not to make these Kicks your principle follow-up to your Jabs and Straights as you have far more powerful options in jump-canceled grabs and up-smashes. Fox Kick Button: Left/Right tilt + A Damage: 4-9% Speed: High Priority: Medium-high Range: Medium; straight variation has longest range Start Time: Virtually nonexistent start-up; one of the fastest tilts in the game Lag Time: Very slight amount as Fox replaces his foot Knockback: Decent Total frames: 26 Hit frames: 5-8 A simple one-foot kick. Beginning Fox players tend to spam this move even more than the blaster, for some random reason. Regardless, it is Fox's regular kick and doesn't exactly excel at damage or knockback, in addition to leaving you open for a tiny bit as Fox withdraws his foot. Don't rely on this too much; quick Jabs and Straights are more reliable than this at low percentages (in addition to leaving you open for far less time), and the slight lag time afterwards will stop you from effectively pursuing foes at higher percentages (which is when you should use shuffled sex kicks). Fox's forward-tilt does come out rather quickly, however, and therefore carries a decent amount of priority with it. The forward-tilt itself is almost as fast in execution speed as your Jab, but with greater range and knockback, and it is because of this that the forward-tilt is a good defensive option when your opponent is at higher percents. You can often intercept an incoming attack with a well-placed forward-tilt, if you react in time. Remember that you can combine the forward- tilt with a reverse wavedash to further improve your defensive abilities. Remember that this single attack essentially consists of three attacks: a kick aimed about level with Fox's head, another nearly straight out in front of him, and yet another at a low angle near the ground. The angle in which you tilt the control stick for the attack determines which variant you will use (even a slight difference in the angle will change which variant you use); there is no clear-cut way to explain the angles, but with enough play you will "feel" where you need to tilt in order to execute a certain variant. In addition, each variant sends its foe at a different angle in the knockback, i.e., the high at a higher angle, the straight at a relatively straight angle, and the low at a relatively low angle (essentially a trip). The straight variant has the longest range of the three, and also has an interesting property to it. Since it pushes the enemy a good distance away, it can be used effectively to combat crouch-cancellers, a very important attribute for close-range melees involving characters that utilize crouch- canceling as a significant part of their game, such as Samus and Mr. Game and Watch. The upper variant is not really used as much as the other two variants. It does not have the crouch-cancel-stopping ability of the straight variant, and with the withdrawal time of the move factored in, you cannot reliably combo out of it to boot. The lower variant can be used as a form of edgeguarding (obviously because Fox's foot extends slightly below the stage) that can catch many opponents out of the air. A nifty technique in and of itself, but if you want other options for edgeguarding, you can go for the down-tilt to pop the opponent back into the air (where you can do more with them) or the vulpine's powerful shine (the shine will be discussed in great detail later). Ledge-hopped and shine-turned back-aerials are also very effective forms of edgeguarding in addition to powerful methods for dealing a quick and lethal off-stage hit. Back Kick Button: Up tilt + A Damage: 5-12% Speed: High Priority: Deceptively high Range: Medium Start Time: Nonexistent Lag Time: Virtually nonexistent Knockback: Decent Total frames: 24 Hit frames: 5-11 IASA: 23 This move is deceptively powerful and in itself is capable of KOing opponents at higher percentages (around the 130's). A natural follow-up to the hilarity that is Fox's down-throw (against foes not well-versed in teching or DI), it can also aid in juggling your opponent following an up-throw (against experienced foes), where it can hit them often two to four times before they float out of its reach, depending on their percentage and amount of DI. The Back Kick is a natural partner with the down-tilt and Jab, both of which throw your opponent into the air in their own way. An interesting property of the kitsune's up-tilt is that, although it appears that he only strikes above him- self, his up-tilt actually has the ability to hit both in front of and in back of him in a certain small radius. This is not exactly game-breaking, but it does improve your ability to juggle from the ground with this move. The up-tilt is quite an effective move, but sometimes it can get thrown aside in the usual Fox approaches of shuffled neutral- and down-aerials to waveshines or jump-canceled shines. Regardless, there are more than a few ways in which you can use it effectively. For example, the up-tilt makes a powerful anti- aerial weapon due to its strangely-high priority and its speed. It is sur- prising how well this single move disrupts approaches; simply turn your back to your enemy and let loose with a few well-timed up-tilts to catch your foe and ready him for a back- or up-aerial or up-smash. Another way to make use of the up-tilt is as a follow-up to a down-aerial that is DI'ed behind your opponent, preferably when he or she is shielding (note that an up-tilt from a down-aerial is not a stable combo, and as such it is best to DI to the back in order to avoid easy retaliation from your foe in the form of a shield-grab or other shield counter; the fact that he or she is shielding prevents the down-aerial from turning him or her around to face you and thus creating an opportunity to break out of your "combo"). From your position behind your opponent, your up- tilt can either catch them as they attempt to escape their shield, or it can eat away at their shield should they insist on holding it up for some time. If the up-tilt hits, you can follow (depending on the character and the percen- tage) with the usual up- or back-aerial, up-smash (turned around for the sweet- spot, if necessary), or more up-tilts to an up-smash or turn-around grab to the usual up-aerial juggling. It is of course entirely possible for your opponent to escape the shield in between your up-tilts, so be prepared for that possibility as well. You can apply this same up-tilt follow-up to a shuffled neutral-aerial that lands you at your opponent's back except without the fear of your initial move turning them around to face you (thus making it an ideal pressure move whether or not your opponent is shielding; remember that even this is not a stable combo, however, but rather a follow-up). If you want to get unnecessarily creative with your edgeguarding, you can actually get some use out of the up-tilt there, too (with good timing, of course; its priority alone will more often than not allow it to plow through a good deal of recoveries). Your best follow-up should you choose to go this unique route would be a back-aerial to send your opponent back out again, per- haps for good this time, or, if you are facing a floatier character, an up- aerial may allow you to deal the killing blow right then. Of course, you have better and more efficient forms of edgeguarding as discussed earlier (shine- spikes, the down-smash, and ledge-hopped back-aerials come to mind). Fox Tail Button: Down tilt + A Damage: 5-10% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Medium Start Time: Nonexistent Lag Time: Slight lag time after the attack while Fox swishes his tail back to its normal position Knockback: Significant Total frames: 29 Hit frames: 7-9 IASA: 28 One of Fox's longer tilts in both range and total frame time, this move pops opponents up into the air, readying them for an up-smash, up-tilt, or juggling via up-aerials. On less experienced opponents, i.e., those that do not know how to tech or DI, you can get an easy launch off of the down-tilt from a down- throw, but otherwise I would advise you to steer clear of that generally in- effective route as the up-throw, up-tilt, and up-smash are obviously far more powerful launchers. On a side note, keep in mind that the hit box for this move is in front of Fox, not on both sides of him. In other words, don't try to hit an opponent at your rear with this move; that's why the down-smash is here. The down-tilt, although not the most versatile or powerful of Fox's moves, has its own uses in battle. It can be used to circumvent spent shields as it creeps underneath toward your foe's feet, and it also functions at higher percents as a strange alternative vertical KO move. In addition, you can use the down-tilt for edgegaurding since Fox swishes his tail over the edge (keep in mind that this will rarely if ever hit sweet-spotting opponents, thus making it a sort of innovative punishment for a missed sweet-spot). With your opponent off of his or her aerial feet, you are free to push them into the open air yet again with a neutral- or back-aerial, or you may be able to kill right then and there with an up-aerial. With proper timing, a Fox Tail also can break up foolhardy, hasty charges, more often than not brought on by your blaster spamming, since the tail extends in front of the vulpine. Remember that the down-tilt is not fast enough to form true combos from your neutral- and down-aerial approaches; its short and front-facing hitbox also forces you to be in a certain position for it to connect. Regardless, you can still use the down-tilt as a sort of spacing fixer after a shuffled neutral- or down-aerial. For example, should you underestimate the distance between your- self and your opponent in your approach, a follow-up down-tilt could give you the range to connect and prep your opponent for an up- or back-aerial. You can also use this technique to deal with players who insist on constantly wave- dashing backward to deal with your approach. Roundhouse Kick Button: Left/right Smash + A (Left/Right C-Stick) Damage: 8-15% Speed: Relatively high for a Smash Priority: High Range: Medium-high Start Time: Noticeable start-up frames as Fox winds up Lag Time: Noticeable lag once the attack finishes; again, watch yourself at lower percentages Knockback: Significant, although not high for a Smash Total frames: 39 Hit frames: 12-22 Charge frame: 7 Although not as powerful an attack as his wing mate Falco's, Fox's forward- smash is relatively powerful and fast, always a good combination and can be used effectively as an edge-guarding tool. Avoid it at low percentages, however, as your opponent may be able to hit you while you are in the lag from flying past them (especially if they are crouch-canceling). Also keep in mind that because of the move's noticeable wind-up time and good amount of post-hit ineffective frames, the forward-smash is very exploitable by shield grabbers; considering Fox's built-in vulnerability to chain throws and juggles given to him by his fast-falling, chances are you would rather avoid falling into one of those. Overall, this is certainly not Fox's most desirable Smash; that honor belongs to the up-smash. However, it is useful in its own right to plow through frontal defenses and still allow you time to pursue at higher percentages. The forward- smash is also a useful tool in conjunction with the reverse wavedash mind game. Your goal in this is to charge toward your opponent while watching their character very closely for signs of movement. If you see them begin to wind up an attack, immediately wavedash backwards and follow with a forward-smash right into their face. However, note that you may have to decrease your wavedash’s regular horizontal movement in order to connect fully with the forward-smash. You have two ways of going about this. You can wait a short amount of time be- fore air-dodging into the ground and thus perform a triangle jump, which will not carry you as far as a wavedash would, or you can change the angle of your control stick for the wavedash's air-dodge. You do this by tilting it slightly below one of the diagonal notches around the control stick instead of into one of them. Thus, your angle for a shortened wavedash should be between the down- ward-diagonal notch and the downward notch. This too will shorten your wave- dash; you will see the primary reason for doing this below. The forward-smash itself has its own form of a sweet spot; in this case, it is more like a "sweet time." The move is more powerful nearer to its initial attack point. For example, you forward-smash while your opponent is falling to earth from a jump. You have been forward-smashing (that is, been in the ani- mation of it) for about a quarter of a second or so when your opponent falls onto your forward-smash. You will notice that you will not get the “solid” hit of the forward-smash, but rather a “soft” hit (which is you essentially stepping on your foe) which produces far less knockback than a properly posi- tioned forward-smash would have. For the most part, you should not concern yourself with properly timing the forward-smash. Nearly 98% of the time, the timing takes care of itself. Although the forward-smash is not the most versatile or powerful of Fox's smashes, it too has its own (mainly situational) uses. As mentioned above, it is a handy edgeguarding tool against characters who lack good horizontal re- covery options (Dr. Mario for his utter lack of horizontal range and Captain Falcon for his easily-predictable recovery are some such characters). It can also be used on-stage as a way to punish missed techs, preferably resulting in your opponent being pushed off-stage where your ledge-hopped back-aerials can finish the job (this is particularly effective in the fast-faller match-ups and against characters whose recoveries can be exploited for easy kills). You can also make use of the forward-smash as a way to punish badly-planned approaches; simply wavedash back to space yourself correctly and let fly with the forward- smash. Again, keep in mind your vulnerability to being shield-grabbed with the forward-smash; it is best to play it safe and not make heavy use of this move unless the situation is entirely appropriate (this is especially so in edge- guarding). Flip Kick Button: Up Smash + A (Up C-Stick) Damage: 10-18% Speed: High, for a smash of this caliber Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium Start Time: Short in terms of a Smash Lag Time: Noticeable after the initial hit. You must wait for Fox to flip completely around back onto his booted feet before you can move again; time your follow-up to this move so that you begin it as soon as you can move again. Knockback: High Total frames: 41 Hit frames: 7-17 Head invincible (but not snout) on frames: 1-9 Charge frame: 2 This move, known to all competent Fox players, is the vulpine's notorious up- smash. Able to KO very consistently at relatively low percentages (an average of 90-100%), you will see this used as often as possible by any Fox player who knows what he or she is doing, and for good reason. It is fast, almost too fast when combined with its startling power. Remember that the up-smash changes its knockback power depending on which part of the circle created by Fox's flipping feet hits the opponent. Generally, the most knockback occurs between the outermost area (the perimeter of the circle) and the innermost area (slightly around Fox's body). If you hit the opponent too near Fox's body or on the very edge of the "circle" you will get essentially a "soft" hit, which will not produce as much damage and not nearly as much knockback as a properly positioned up-smash would. Rest assured, though, that it is not extremely difficult to position this attack; it will become a natural feeling for you with enough play. Of course, always try to achieve the proper positioning in order to increase knockback and give yourself more time to recover and resume the chase. Also, be aware that soft-hitting an opponent will not stun them for as long, and they may be able to recover and hit you back before the up-smash actually ends. If you are truly talented at positioning Fox, you can strike opponents in front of you with the diameter of this attack; chances are its stunning priority will win out and punch through their defenses. Enemies in the rear can also be hit by this attack, but this will nearly always result in a "soft" hit; the down-smash is best for covering both sides of your furry hide. For more craziness, try wavedashing out of the shine and into a killer up-smash. In addition, you can up-smash right out of the shield. To do this, you must, of course, be in the shield, and then jump and immediately smash up on the C-Stick. The C-Stick will cancel your jump, much like Z for jump-canceled grabs, and Fox will up-smash straight out of his shield. This is a very powerful technique indeed, and if you can show your opponent that you can do it consistently, it may make him think twice about his next move. You will find that you can pull off more than a few kills with the up-smash out of shield as an extremely powerful and effective punisher for all manner of technical mis- takes that your opponent makes, from botched fast-falls to slow aerial-to-shine transitions to shielded dash attacks to missed L-cancels and much more. You can also up-smash out of a run. This is not at all difficult to do, and may aid you in maintaining or beginning your combos or adding pressure onto your opponent. While you are running, simply quickly press up and “A” simultaneously (a jump-cancel; this must be perfectly synched, which is not exactly hard to do, but if you make a mistake, you will probably end up jumping), and you will perform a probably slightly charged up-smash. The same general effect is achieved when you jump-cancel into an up-smash using the C- Stick, but you are not given the ability to charge the up-smash easily while you are enroute to the spot you were running to (note that you can charge C- Stick smashes with the “Z” button, but it is extremely awkward to perform). The main use of the running jump-canceled up-smash is to catch your opponent out of the air right before he or she hits the ground and is given a window to get away from your combo. You can also use it to zoom in with a pre-charged up- smash during the lag from one of your opponent’s moves and begin some damaging juggling. In addition, a charged jump-canceled up-smash is an often-lethal finisher for your fast-faller chain throws, something to take into considera- tion for the ditto match and the Fox-Falco match-up. Remember that you can also up-smash out of a run via dash-canceling, that is, by pressing down while running to cut your speed and momentum and then immediately afterwards smashing up+A or up C-Stick. Note that if you use the C- Stick for this maneuver you can continue to hold down on the control stick, thus granting you a crouch-cancel that you can use to oppose other dash- or jump-canceled up-smashes or simply to shrug off retaliating hits. In terms of follow-ups and launchers, there is very little in Fox's arsenal that can stand toe-to-toe with his up-smash. As mentioned previously, the up- smash has more than its fair share of possibilities in battle. Jab to up-smash is great to tie up your opponent's timing while simultaneously opening him to a lethal hit. Waveshine to up-smash is a Fox favorite, particularly when done out of a dodge at very close range or out of a connected down- or neutral-aerial. The up-smash is also the finisher for Fox's infinites, which are discussed at the end of the guide. Like the up-tilt, a well-timed up-smash can do wonders to turn the tables on an approach, even one as speedy as your own shuffled neutral-aerial when spaced and timed correctly; although a risky endeavor, an anti-aerial up-smash can pay off in more than a few instances, especially when it leads to juggling or death right after breaking the opponent's advance. Mind-gaming into an up-smash from dash- or wave-dances is also a viable option, one that is made more effective by the up-smash's tendency to push shielding opponents away and out of easy shield-grab range (they will instead have to wavedash out of the shield to reach you, provided they are not a character with an extendable grab). Of course, a lone up-smash by itself can lead to up-aerial juggling or a back-aerial to edgeguarding, and it is the perfect companion to finish off a round of up-tilts from an up-throw or otherwise. In general, the up-smash is Fox's most versatile Smash in terms of power, speed, and utility. It is a very effective killing move that comes out quickly and sends the opponent airborne for a significant distance, opening him or her to all manner of often-lethal follow-ups and combos (provided the up-smash did not finish the stock then and there, that is). Fox Split Button: Down Smash + A (Down C-Stick) Damage: 9-15% Speed: Relatively high Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium-high; hits on both sides Start Time: Fast Lag Time: Oh, the lag time. After performing this painful attack, Fox must pick himself up and spin around to resume his forward fighting stance. Knockback: Decent Total frames: 49 Hit frames: 6-10 Legs invincible on frame: 6 IASA: 46 Charge frame: 2 A decent smash at higher percentages, the down-smash should be used sparingly as it has very noticeable recoil as Fox twists around to resume his fighting stance. Used as an edge-guarding tool, it sends opponents off at a hideous angle (especially effective on fast-fallers) if you can get Fox's foot to jut out over the ledge and into your foe's face. Indeed, you will find this move quite effective in dealing with opposing space animals at the edge (simply wait for the distinctive *ping* of their respective Illusions and time your down- smash to connect with them just as they reach the edge) as well as characters with easily-read recoveries. In addition, you can flow easily into this move should your opponent air-dodge your ledge-hopped or shine-turned back-aerial (going into a properly-positioned forward-smash is also an option there). Be wary with the down-smash, however. Granted, it is a Smash, but that does not automatically make it a killer move; on the contrary, the down-smash will rarely if ever kill someone (except during edgeguarding, of course), and the lag time is definitely not worth using it as a primary killing move as you would the up-smash. If you try this move at low and low-middle percents, you will get hit back, no questions asked, especially if you hit a crouch-canceling opponent. The down-smash is a good ender for a combo that has pushed your opponent to the edge of the stage since by then its knockback power will have increased, and it comes out faster than the forward-smash does to boot. If you need a fast reaction, the down-smash can also punish opponents that you see rolling behind you. Only try this at the high-middle and above percents as there the move will knock them off their feet long enough for you to recover and resume your stance. Taunt: "Come on!" Button: Up Control Pad Fox leans far back to the ground and beckons to the opponent with a curling finger and a "Come on!" as he motions toward himself with his head. Duration: 110 frames, or 1.833333... seconds (thanks, Mew2King!) "Come on!": 31 (thanks, SuperDoodleMan!) OK, so it doesn't do any damage; it's not even a move, technically. Nevertheless, there is nothing more annoying than hearing Fox taunt you from across the stage while blaster fire crashes into you over and over again. Besides which, mind games are always fun...and useful. See if you can irritate your foe into making a hasty, unorganized charge at you. You'll be surprised at how easy it is. 2. Running Jumping Side Kick Button: A Damage: 4-7% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Relatively high (horizontal distance) Start Time: Very fast Lag Time: Very noticeable after the initial effective moment as you fly past your target, but it doesn't take you too long to recover. Knockback: Enough to pop opponents into the air slightly. Total frames: 39 Hit frames: 4-17 IASA: 36 Not exactly the most powerful move, this kick does have considerable horizontal reach and does a decent job of plowing through a row of fighters. It is an average follow-up to mind games involving dash-dancing and wavedashing since it comes out pretty quickly, but you have far more effective options. If you do use it, make sure to do so when you can clear your opponent; you do not want to give them a chance to pivot around and smack you. Look out for shield-grabbing, too. For these reasons, it is generally better to perform multiple shuffled sex kicks instead of this move repeatedly; the kicks are far faster and have far less lag time than the Jumping Side Kick, in addition to being more powerful and allowing you far more effective follow-ups. Don't rely too heavily on the dash attack, especially at higher levels of play. Despite these taboos against the dash attack, it has its own unique uses. Since the dash attack is not nearly as safe as shuffled neutral- and down-aerials, you must be careful only to use this in relatively safe circumstances, much like the down-smash. For example, should you notice that your opponent is not prone to putting up his shield, you can often land a dash attack to begin juggling with up-tilts and up-aerials or simply get a larger launch (or kill) from an up-smash. Mind-gaming into a dash attack out of dash- and wave-dancing is also a somewhat viable option, and you can even launch opponents into the air after a shuffled neutral-aerial or two for juggling or the usual death by up-smash. A more off-the-wall way to use the dash attack is as a strange form of edgeguarding; the dash attack basically puts up a long-lasting hitbox at the edge which if it connects with your returning opponent will set them up for a forward-, down-, or up-smash (depending on percentage and DI, of course). Innovative, yes, but not as efficient and effective as other previously-dis- cussed methods of edgeguarding. If by chance you are facing a less-than-com- petent player, you can effectively juggle them on your foot with this move. You hit them once, and while they are in the air, you turn around immediately and do the same thing again. Watch out for the strange "anti-gravity" effect, though. Another often-neglected use for this attack is against boomerang-happy Link and Young Link players, strangely enough. Most starter Fox players would resort to the Reflector to bat away the Hylian heroes' weaponry; this is if you do not really care about advancing on your opponent or allowing them to advance on you since you have a moment of time when the projectile hits your Reflector that you are "frozen" there. The time is not significant, but could cost you your advance and thus your trademark game-winning pressure. If you dash attack into the boomerang instead of reflecting it, the collision will cancel your kick and send the boomerang back towards them, within which time you should have Fox- trotted or simply run right up to them and begun a nasty shine combo. The same maneuver can be done with Jabs and Straights, but owing to their already lightning-quick speeds, the collision cancel will do essentially nothing. The forward movement from the dash attack also allows you some advance on the Links as well, again making it a more effective form of dispatching the boomerang, and the longer hitbox on the dash attack removes practically any need of timing on your part as well. Do not forget that there is also a tiny bit of lag for Link and Young Link when they grab their returning boomerang; try to use that to your advantage, too. The dash attack also factors in to an advanced technique named the "boost grab" (discussed under "Advanced Techniques," appropriately enough). This grab when used with Fox doubles the distance of his running grab. 3. Air Flying Kick Button: A Damage: 7-12% Speed: Very high Priority: Relatively high Range: Medium-low Start Time: Very fast Lag Time: Without L-canceling, too high for a Fox player. With L-canceling, you can combo into all sorts of things. Knockback: Medium Total frames: 49 Hit frames: 4-31 IASA: 42 Auto-cancel: <3 37> Land lag: 15 L-canceled: 7 This kick is interesting in that Fox's foot stays out for quite a while, giving the move a large chance of hitting a foe (Fox's "sex kick"). Average damage and very fast come-out time comprise this move, Fox’s basic aerial attack. Note that the damage that this move inflicts decreases with the amount of time that Fox has his foot out; thus, the strongest attack will occur at the very beginning of this move. Shuffled (short-hopped, fast-fallen, L-canceled) neutral-aerials are one of Fox's two key approaches, the other being a shuffled down-aerial. The sheer speed with which the neutral-aerial comes out coupled with its good priority allows you an extremely powerful advance that is difficult to break should you apply enough pressure on your opponent. Their best solution to your approach is a backward wavedash to reposition themselves and space for either a jump-can- celed grab, forward-smash, or other fast, high-priority attack; your answer to this is to make your shuffle as crisp and clean as possible in order to create the least possible down-time. You can then follow your shuffle with a quick Jab to reach out and cut off your opponent's response while also opening them to a jump-canceled grab or an up-smash. The beauty of the shuffled neutral-aerial approach is its complete safety and versatility. A shine or Jab (preferably shine) after one of these will do one of a few things: it will either prevent shield-grabbing (scoring a hit with the shine on those who attempt to shield-grab and setting up for all manner of follow-ups); allow you to escape and reset the confrontation should your oppo- nent continue to hold up his shield throughout your shuffled neutral-aerial and shine sequence; or allow you more follow-ups and combos should the neutral- aerial connect on an unshielding opponent. Should you connect with the shine (again, preferred over the Jab for its speed and your ability to jump-cancel it quickly and not get shield-grabbed as you would if you were to Jab a shield, although you could stagger a Straight a bit after the Jab to catch attempts at grabbing), you have your choice of any number of often-lethal follow-ups thanks to your waveshining. Up-smash out of a waveshine after a shuffled neutral-aerial is a favorite of Fox players due in no small part to its dual stun and kill characteristics that cause even a single connected aerial to lead to very damaging juggling (or infinites, if you prefer that route); another major follow-up after a connected neutral-aerial to waveshine is a jump-can- celed grab that can lead to juggling or simply a lethal up-aerial. Keep in mind that shining after a shuffled neutral-aerial should not be your constant muscle-memoried reflex; for example, at higher percents, should you connect with the aerial, cut out the shine entirely and instead follow your opponent's trajectory with a dashing jump-canceled up-smash to finish him while you have the opportunity (especially effective against floatier opponents). You can also chain your shuffled sex kicks on heavier characters, your first kick knocking them forward and your subsequent kicks catching them out of the air and sending them sailing once again. However, you must follow your foe's DI and switch off between sweet-spotted and non-sweet-spotted hits for it to be most effective. Tornado Kick Button: Towards Tilt + A (Towards C-Stick) Damage: Usually 5-18% (varies depending on number of hits) Speed: Relatively high Priority: Medium-low Range: Medium Start Time: Very fast Lag Time: The Tornado Kick doesn't L-cancel as well as Fox's other aerials; regardless, without it, you are facing a considerable amount of landing lag time. Knockback: Very low Total frames: 59 Hit frames: 6-8, 16-18, 24-26, 33-35, 43-45 IASA: 53 Auto-cancel: <5 49> Land lag: 22 L-canceled: 11 A rapid series of aerial kicks that can add on a decent amount of damage. If you don't L-cancel this, you will find yourself facing considerable lag time once you land. This move is known to inexperienced Fox players everywhere as one of the two main causes of self-destructs; because of Fox's sensitive controls, the unwary player attempting to edgeguard can slide off the arena in a Tornado Kick with even the slightest touch of the control stick or "A" button. Stick to the sex kicks for far more effective aerial combat; the Tornado Kick stops on its own accord and carries very little knockback other than the very first kick in the series, which has decent knockback and stun. This means that a quick-witted foe could hit you right when you finish the move, as chances are they haven't gone anywhere, particularly at low percents. The sex kicks also have far cleaner and faster L-cancels, still another reason why they are superior to the forward-aerial. Regardless of its generally low knockback, the forward-aerial's one redeeming factor is its very first hit, which carries with it decent knockback and stun. In order to use the forward-aerial most effectively, you must shuffle it to make better use of that one strong hit, meaning you must fast-fall and L-cancel right after the first hit connects. That first hit sets your foe up rather nicely for a good deal of your follow-ups thanks to its horizontal knockback, including a dashed jump-canceled up-smash, which can lead further into juggling or a lethal up-aerial. Once your sex kicks begin to send your foe too far away for you to combo or pursue effectively, begin gradually switching off to shuffled forward-aerials; these will keep your foe within a manageable comboing distance, or enough so for you to tack on enough damage to make your finisher of choice lethal. Overall, a shuffled forward-aerial's uses are akin to those of a sex kick's; you simply receive less knockback, a smaller hit box, and a shorter move duration. In exchange, however, you get better aerial comboing at higher percents, which could lead quickly into an up-smash for the kill. However, other than these instances, you will find that Fox's forward-aerial does not play nearly as crucial a role in his gameplay as his other aerials do. Reverse Spin Kick Button: Away Tilt + A (Away C-Stick) Damage: 8-15% Speed: Very High Priority: Medium Range: Medium Start Time: Very fast Lag Time: Significant without L-canceling. Not as cleanly L-cancelable as the neutral-aerial, but still somewhat fast. Knockback: Medium Total frames: 39 Hit frames: 4-19 IASA: 38 Auto-cancel: <3 24> Land lag: 20 L-canceled: 10 The backwards partner of the Flying Kick, this has the same significant stay- out time and fast come-out time (essentially Fox's "reverse sex kick"). If you can begin juggling your foe (usually with the aid of an up-throw or short- hopped up-aerial), you can combine this kick with fast-falls and effectively bounce your foe through the air and out of the arena. In addition, you can finish juggling or aerial combo strings with a well-placed back-aerial to send your foe off-stage (at times, you may have to shine-turn into the back-aerial in order to hit with its sweet-spot; see the bottom of the next paragraph for instructions on the shine-turn). Along with the neutral-, up-, and down- aerials, the back-aerial constitutes the backbone of your aerial assault. You can short-hop into this move if you feel it is necessary; just watch your timing on the lengthy L-cancel. Remember for all aerials that you can jump right out of a shield or shine and into the aerial of your choice; you do not want to waste precious frames waiting for your shield or shine to lower com- pletely to launch another attack. In addition, the reverse sex kick functions in an edgeguarding/edgehogging capacity. If you grab the edge to make it more difficult for your opponent to return and you see that he is going to land squarely on the stage anyway, you can perform an interesting form of edgeguarding with a bit of quick reaction time and finger work. To do this, you must drop from the edge, and then immediately jump back up (so that it appears as if you jumped up from the ledge) and use a back-aerial to knock your opponent away yet again. You can repeat this as many times as you wish as long as you can grab the ledge again after each attempt. Of course, doing this requires that you can anticipate the trajectory of your opponent's comeback, so you may need to vary the length of your drop and jump in order to hit them with the strongest hit time of the back-aerial. Against larger characters and characters with easily-predictable recoveries, a connected ledge-hopped back-aerial often means death when followed up with more ledge-hopped back-aerials. However, depending on your opponent's proximity to the stage, you may have to adjust your tactics with the edgeguarding back-aerial. For example, when close to the stage, your opponent may opt to air-dodge your back-aerial hoping both to avoid that hit and return to the stage; you can combat this by forcing an early air-dodge toward the stage, DI'ing toward the stage, fast-falling and L- canceling your back-aerial, and following with a down- or forward-smash to send your foe out again (remember to wait for the air-dodge's invincibility frames to end, if necessary). When your opponent is above and away from the stage, you can take this opportunity to earn an easy kill by jumping toward your opponent, activating your shine (stalling the jump-cancel a bit if you need to compensate for your timing), turning around in the shine so that your back is facing your opponent, and jump-canceling the shine into a back-aerial. For many characters, the speed and angle at which the back-aerial comes out is tough to handle, and if you force an air-dodge, so much the better; simply return to the stage and continue edgeguarding with a down- or forward-smash (or up-smash, if you can get a lethal one to connect). McCloud Flip Button: Up Tilt + A (Up C-Stick) Damage: 9-16% Speed: High Priority: Medium Range: Relatively close-range Start Time: Fast Lag Time: Fox flounders about on the ground for a bit trying to right himself if you don't L-cancel this. This is especially obvious when short-hopping this. Knockback: Relatively high Total frames: 39 Hit frames: 8-9, 11-14 IASA: 36 Auto-cancel: <7 26> Land lag: 18 L-canceled: 9 Another member of Fox's four most feared moves, it is the McCloud Flip that gives the vulpine his incredible aerial knockout ability. This move, which has increased greatly in power since the N64 version, easily kills even the heaviest of opponents, Bowser and Ganondorf included. Those two heavyweights can usually be killed with little trouble at around 110-120% with the McCloud Flip on stages with an average ceiling height. On low-ceiling stages, such as Flat Zone and, appropriately enough, Corneria and Venom, the percentage decreases to around 90-100%. A fun trick is doing the Flip in a short hop, allowing you to begin some very damaging juggling or even unorthodox edgeguarding. Remember to fast-fall once you commence juggling in order to fit in follow-up Flips for the kill before the enemy hits the ground. Although it is possible to use a shuffled up-aerial as a launcher, out of a shield or otherwise, its main purpose is (obviously) as an often-lethal juggler. Your two main launchers for up-aerial juggling are the up-throw and the up-smash, both of which are often preceded by a waveshine (remember that you can also up-smash out of shield for the launch, too). The up-aerial is also a viable option from the ledge; simply ledge-hop into it, making sure to fall the correct distance so as to connect with its powerful sweet spot. You can often kill from the launch that this gives you if you can turn the con- frontation around with a well-placed back-aerial or another up-aerial (as appropriate). If you want to get creative with your off-stage kills, you can drop from the ledge and jump up into your opponent with an up-aerial; an inno- vative kill, but it can sometimes be risky against certain recoveries, es- pecially those with high priority. The anatomy of a sweet-spotted hit on the McCloud Flip is quite strange. Usually, the most powerful hits occur at the tips of Fox's feet (or the tip of the target's body), where you will usually get one clean stroke. If the first stroke of the move hits on your enemy's body, you will usually get one hit and then a finishing stroke. The sweet spot is quite consistent, though. Usually, you only get the "slap" of a failed McCloud Flip if you fall away from the target too fast (such as in fast-falling) or are way too far away for the second stroke to hit. Holding up during the move seems to help clarify these failed sweet spot issues. However, be aware that opponents can DI the initial hit up and escape the more powerful second hit if you are not close enough to them. Drill Kick Button: Down Tilt + A (Down C-Stick) Damage: Usually 1-16% (varies depending on number of hits) Speed: High Priority: Medium-low Range: Close-range Start Time: Very fast Lag Time: Significant if not L-canceled; if L-canceled, there is virtually no lag time. Knockback: Nonexistent Total frames: 49 Hit frames: 5-6, 8-9, 11-12, 14-15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24 Auto-cancel: <4 31> Land lag: 18 L-canceled: 9 A move that sends Fox spiraling downwards at his opponent in a flurry of kicks, the down-aerial itself has no actual knockback and therefore is best used to set up combos and follow-ups focusing on the Jab and the shine as starters. The other feasible use for the down-aerial is as part of one of Fox's "infinite shine" techniques. Note, however, that the down-aerial is not a spike as Falco's is; if you try to use it as such, you will drill yourself through your opponent and into the abyss. The two moves that truly combo from Fox's down-aerial are the Jab and the shine; in conjunction with these two moves, you can start off a powerful combo that can lead to death or heavy damage via juggling (or an infinite to death, if you are able to go that route). Thanks to the down-aerials quick, extended hit frames and good L-cancel speed, you can switch it in and out with the shuffled neutral-aerial as your primary approach. Once you pin your opponent, shielding or not, in the down-aerial, you have more than a few options available to you. If you DI behind a shielding opponent, you can take chunks out of their shield or prep them for juggling with repeated up-tilts; a re- peated down-wavedash shine also does wonders to destroy shields and force an escape attempt. Should you run into the front of a shield or otherwise land on top of your opponent in the down-aerial, make sure to shine in order to stop any attempts at shield-grabbing and open him or her to a potentially-fatal up- smash or grab. If you notice that your opponent constantly attempts to shield- grab, not holding up his or her shield past the shine, you can sub in a Jab to prep for an up-smash to the usual juggling. Even at the front of a shield, re- peated down-wavedash shines can make opponents be cautious about attempting to do anything out of the shield lest they get caught by the shine and are dragged into one of Fox's characteristic lethal follow-ups. Out of a down-aerial to shine, you can switch things up against opponents who insist on holding their shields up throughout your entire assault by grabbing directly out of the shine (explained later). For players who jump out of their shields, you can jump-can- cel the shine into a neutral-aerial or a falling up-aerial, both of which could lead to death by edgeguarding (given the right environment) or a vertical kill, respectively; if you anticipate correctly the angle of their jump, you can also connect with a back-aerial. The highest-level use of Fox's down-aerial is as a part of one of his infinite shine techniques, all of which are discussed in detail near the end of this guide. 4. Throws Fox executes his throws quickly (within half a second of the beginning of the throw), so be ready with follow-up attacks. Fox also has a short reach, so compensate for that by using dash-grabs, jump-canceled (for added speed) or non-jump-canceled (for added range) whenever possible. Of course, all buttons listed are while Fox is holding on to the opponent. Generally, stick to the up-throw for all-purpose comboing and juggling use and the forward and back throws to get your foes off the arena. The down-throw is flashy, but it is teched and DI'ed far too easily to be feasible in a higher-level fight (al- though is has its uses). Grab Total frames: 30 Grab frames: 7-8 Running Grab Total frames: 40 Grab frames: 12-13 Knee Button: A... Damage: 3% Speed: High Fox knees his opponent while they are stuck in his grip, pure and simple. Use this to add on damage and create a farther throw. Be careful not to get too knee-happy though, or your foe will rotate out of your grip before you get to the fun part. Kneeing also gives your opponent time to input DI, so it may benefit you to forego kneeing and instead get right on to the usual up-throw so as not to jeopardize your follow-up. At stage edges, however, a few knees could give your forward- or back-throw enough power to send your opponent a decent distance, giving you time to set up your edgeguard. Elbow Bash Button: Towards Damage: 3% Speed: High Fox's forward throw isn't very powerful; its most common use is to get the opponent off of the arena, where they are vulnerable to shine spiking and edge- hogging and -guarding. When combined with the speed of a jump-canceled grab, you can often slap unwary opponents across significant portions of the stage; after a while, many will dodge or use an escape move (such as Bowser's Whirling Fortress) to avoid your grab, but you can easily adjust and either wait for the dodge to punish or wait for and follow the escape move. Skeet Blaster Button: Away Damage: 7% Speed: High Fox's back throw is flashy, but not very powerful. Yet again, its primary use is to get opponents off the edge and into the open air, where you are better able to control them with blaster fire, edge-hogging and -guarding, and shine- spiking. Star Blaster Button: Up Damage: 7% Speed: High Fox's most useful throw, the up-throw gets your opponents into the air and ready for juggling or a deadly up-aerial as a finisher. It can also be used multiple times, with Fox hurling opponents into the air, blasting them, and catching them again during their descent (Fox can chain his up-throw on fast-fallers, which can often mean a single grab leading to a lost stock or a significant chunk of damage). Combo this with the up-tilt for repeated beatings or the up-smash for a big hit (both of which are common in nearly all match- ups, but since fast-fallers can be hit multiple times by both the up-tilt and up-smash, particularly if they miss their tech, the two moves are especially powerful there). At lower percentages, the up-throw can be used in combination with the up-tilt and up-smash until usually around 30-40%, and possibly 50% on the larger characters. Mix in Jabs and Straights to tie up returning enemies and lower their defenses for another up-throw. Remember that your enemies can DI your up-throw quite well, so be ready to follow them and catch them out of the air with a jump-canceled grab or a jump- canceled (charged, if possible) up-smash, or even a shuffled up-aerial, if you can manage it. Not kneeing opponents in your grip and progressing quickly and smoothly from the initial grab to your up-throw both can make DI'ing the up- throw more difficult. Be careful with the up-throw on floatier characters such as Marth and Luigi. The green plumber's sex kick is very potent, and his slower falling speed may allow him to regain his stance in the air as you are traveling up to meet him. Be aware that his sex kick, like all others, comes out very quickly, and due to the unique interworkings of Luigi's slower falling speed and Fox's faster fall- ing speed, he may be able to hit you with it multiple times on your descent. Marth is also a risk to use the up-throw on. His slower falling speed also will allow him to regain his stance in the air, and virtually all of his aerials possess more than enough priority to bite through any of yours. His Counter too can be activated in the air, and it will bat you away and end your combo. If you can work around these things, however, you will find that Marth is quite vulnerable to your up-aerial, and dies quite easily to it, in addition, so do not completely phase out the up-throw from your reportoire in the Marth match- up; at early percents, you can often tack on a good 50% or so from a single grab thanks to two or three up-aerials. To beat the Counter, simply take note of when your opponent begins to put it in his style and either wait for it or draw it out by jumping up toward Marth and feigning an up-aerial. Most players will find it difficult to react in time with Marth's aerials, however, so you should be safe for the most part in going for up-aerials from an up-throw. The up-throw is, after all, one of Fox's most powerful assets. Floor Blaster Button: Down Damage: 4% Speed: High Ah, the down-throw, bane of non-techers and non-DI'ers everywhere. This is a natural starter for the down- and up-tilts should your foe fail to tech or DI it, and both tilts can throw opponents into the air as you prepare to juggle them. For the ditto match, you will need to know how to tech or DI out of the down-throw yourself so as not to fall prey to otherwise easily-avoidable combos like the down-throw to up-tilt, down-tilt, or up-smash, all of which can lead to lethal up-aerials themselves if the initial hit does not kill you. It is not at all difficult to tech or DI out of a down-throw, however, and it is a skill necessary for you to get out of these aforementioned combos. There are indeed two ways to get out of the down-throw, one in which you actually tech (that is, hit L or R as soon as you hit the floor and either roll away or stand up immediately), and another in which you simply DI (directional influence) to the right or left as the down-throw begins. Actually teching out of the down-throw requires some timing abilities. If you perform a down-throw in Training Mode on 1/4 speed setting, you will notice that you bounce slightly when Fox down-throws you. You must press L or R right when you hit the floor from that bounce, and that is the timing for actually teching a down-throw (except it is done in normal 1 speed in the game, of course). You'll need to roll away from your tech (using the control stick in the desired direction at the same time that you press L or R), because if you tech and stand up immediately, you give Fox the time that he needs to pull off a quick Jab or waveshine where he stands (which is not all that difficult), both of which are more than capable of being strung into the very combo that you were trying to avoid in the first place. Remember that you are not perfectly safe even if you tech-roll his down-throw; Fox can follow where you tech and hit you during your post-roll lag with a jump-canceled up-smash, if he reacts quickly enough, in which case he will lead that into an enormous juggling combo or finish you with an up-aerial, if the up-smash hasn't already killed you. This is in fact a sufficient reason to "test" opponents with the down-throw; should you notice a habit of theirs in terms of teching, i.e., al- ways teching in the same place or direction, you can score easy up-smashes. You can also DI left or right out of the down-throw and possibly away from any stationary moves that the Fox had planned for you if you did not tech or DI his down-throw (the up-tilt and up-smash are the most likely candidates for this, both of which can be strung into a very damaging juggling combo leading up to an up-aerial finisher). DI stands for "directional influence," and it is influencing the trajectory you are sent when hit by an attack by pressing the control stick in the desired direction. Basically, you simply hold left or right throughout Fox's down-throw, and you will pop out in the direction that you pushed. Be warned that it is far easier for Fox to punish you for this than it is for him to punish a tech-roll; you are not given any moments of invinci- bility using DI, and you do not travel as far, either. This makes it a cinch for Fox to catch you with the tip of his tail in his down-tilt if you did not DI enough, or even jump-cancel an up-smash very quickly and hit you with that. As always, he will lead you into a juggling combo and finish you off if you are not careful. Of course, all of this can be applied to the player whom you are down-throwing as well. All of the above is well known by experienced players of the game. If you are facing even a slightly experienced player, expect them to always DI or tech out of your down-throw. Be sure to follow their techs to the best of your abilities with a quick jump-canceled up-smash; this will put them in the best position for you to set up the juggling you had in mind. Your best alternative, however, is to stay away from the down-throw for the most part. You will not always be able to predict correctly the direction of their tech, and if you miss, they may be able to hit you while you are in the post-move lag from your up-smash. Be aware of this throughout all of your higher-level matches, and be sure to rely far more on your up-throw than any of your other throws as you grow in your experience. You will find that it can be chained into juggling combos and, especially, lethal up-aerials, far more often than you think. It is also possible to "throw-spike" an opponent with the down-throw. You must of course be facing out into open air when you grab them, and ideally you will grab them out of the air either right above the edge of the arena or above nothing. You will know whether you did this correctly once you down-throw. If you did, the throw will essentially meteor-smash them downwards to their death in a gigantic spike. Generally, though, this technique is far too random and impractical to be used consistently. Enemy directional influencing also throws the down-throw off. Unless you are facing a very inexperienced player, drop this from your routine entirely. 5. Special Moves (Ground or Air) Blaster Button: B... Damage: 1-3% a shot Speed: High Priority: None Range: Very long range (projectiles tend to do that), but the lasers themselves disappear after 34 frames (a little more than half a second). Start Time: Fast; Fox pulls out his trusty Blaster very quickly. Lag Time: Little, if firing when grounded; none if short-hopped (the Blaster auto-cancels). Knockback: None Ground frame data: Total frames (single shot): 23 Shot comes out: 12 Air frame data: Total frames (single shot): 36 Shot comes out: 10 Other data: -Repeated shots fire every 10 frames. -Laser lasts 34 frames -Auto-cancels upon landing The third member of Fox's most feared moves, Fox's blaster is a spammer's delight, simply put. Combined with his lightning running speed and the fast come-out and withdraw time of the blaster, Fox can snipe opponents from afar, forcing them to come to him in a blind haste. Although they do not stun, unlike Fox's N64 blaster, the lasers cannot be out-prioritized by any move in the game except for, of course, a shield of some kind, and with simple button timing you can keep Fox firing for a virtually limitless amount of time. A well-known fact in the Smash community is that the vulpine's blaster was too powerful for the current tournament stage set, which included Hyrule Temple. The quick fox and his equally quick blaster were practically made for that large stage, and Fox players became very adept at scampering about the stage, sniping their opponents to high percents. Because of this (and multiple other camping issues), it was agreed upon very early to ban Hyrule Temple from standardized tournament play. The Blaster is a handy gauge for your opponent's skill level, also. At the beginning of the match, wavedash backwards and begin blasting your opponent (including Ness, but probably not Fox or Falco, as everyone and their brother knows about their Reflectors). Watch carefully how they react; if they charge toward you (which is mostly the only thing most characters can do), you know they have some competence in the game and should plan accordingly. Watch for them to roll towards you, also, in which case you can anticipate the length of their roll and knock them out of it (remember that there are periods of vulnerability before and after the roll that you can take advantage of). If they shield, chances are you're playing a not-so-smart player, but don't let your guard down nevertheless; a blind, unplanned charge with Fox will usually end in you getting hit hard. Plan your advances accordingly, and use the vulpine's Blaster to force your foes to you lest they take too much damage. You should be wary around characters such as Ness, Falco, and other Foxes as they all have simple ways to combat the Blaster (however, you can take advantage of the lag created by these characters' anti-projectile methods, the PSI Magnet and shines, respectively, with a simple technique covered two paragraphs down). As a side note, Fox's blaster shots cancel Sheik's needles, so do not be afraid to start a projectile war with her as it is certainly a plus to make the ninja come to you. Your blaster cannot stop all of the needles from a long-charged attack, however, so be wary. Despite the loss of Hyrule Temple and its massive spamming potential, you can still spam the Blaster on most medium and large stages due to your foot speed. Captain Falcon, with his faster foot speed, may be able to keep you from consistently spamming the Blaster, but nearly every other enemy can be sniped out with ease. You can augment your other attacks during the match with the Blaster to increase their comboing potential. Around 30-40% on most opponents is a good comboing percentage for Fox, and with the Blaster that goal is no- where near out of reach. Note that you can short-hop, fire off Fox's laser, and then fast-fall in order to make yourself into a moving turret (abbreviated SHL for "short-hop laser" or SHB for "short-hop blaster"). This technique, whose uses are covered in more detail under "Advanced Techniques," makes use of the Blaster's ability to auto-cancel, that is, remove any and all lag, upon landing. This allows you to weave in and out of your opponent's range all while tacking on damage and allowing yourself lag-free frames to respond however you deem necessary. Fox Illusion Button: Left/Right Smash + B Damage: 3-7% Speed: Actual execution is very fast, but pre- and post-move lag keep it from being truly fast. Priority: Low Range: The Fox Illusion sends you across a far horizontal distance and cuts through opponents. You can control the distance incrementally by pressing "B" again as you are moving when you want to stop. Start Time: Large for Fox. Obviously not a melee move. Lag Time: A little lag at the end as Fox steadies himself Knockback: Below average; sends opponents into the air Total frames: 63 Fox starts moving away: 21 Hit frames: 22-25 Time to press B and stop Fox: 20-24 Can grab edge as early as frame 29 Land lag: 20 Land fall special lag: 3 This move sends Fox towards the opponent at a blindingly fast (albeit low- priority) speed. The Illusion is a good surprise move for unwary players or even as an escape method, but be aware that it begins with a significant start- up animation lag time, and it ends with lag, as well. Be sure to position your- self while using this move to land far enough away from your opponent to com- pensate for the lag. Hitting "B" as you are moving shortens the Illusion incre- mentally. Also, the Illusion is the preferred means of recovery if you are level with the stage; it is surprising how many easy KO's a Mario or Dr. Mario can score with a quick flip of his Cape on a Fire Fox recovery (this recovery can also be Caped with good timing, so be wary). With good timing (and the aid of the distinctive "ping" sound made at the start of the Illusion), an opposing Fox or Falco can shine you out of this, but should they miss, they will be sent flailing into the air where you can return the edgeguarding favor with a back- aerial or a lethal up-aerial. Remember also that this attack, even though its actual execution speed is fast, carries very little priority itself. Even a precisely-timed jab or tilt can cut through it and stun or kill you. The Illusion can function as a means of escape, a recovery move, a follow-up to mind games, or as a way to keep opponents on their toes. Mix this move in at long distance with the Blaster and stir in some melee attacks to keep your foe guessing, and use it frequently enough so as to remind your foe to listen for the distinctive "ping" sound as the move begins lest you pop them into the air. Another use is to eliminate dash-dancing, especially against characters with more lag on the ground. It is difficult to follow this move with anything very consistently due to its ending lag time, so do not expect it to be a very good starter for combos. You have shuffled sex kicks, the shine, and the up- throw among other things to begin your combos. Do not spam this move, obviously; it has both pre- and post-move lag to it, in addition to a verbal cue (the distinctive "ping" sound) and a relatively low ability to be comboed out of, which is obviously the backbone of most of your plans as Fox. In a nut shell, use it sparingly, and try as you progress to phase it out of your game. You will find that you will play far faster and more unpredictably without it. Your primary use for the Illusion is obviously as an alternate (often preferrable) recovery move to the Fire Fox, but you can also use it to add a certain element of innovation to your gameplay and also as a surprise means of escape from tight situations. Fox can also stall infinitely on the ledge with his Illusion. First, you must of course be hanging on a ledge. Next, press back (away from the stage) on the control stick or C-stick. Now, you must quickly hit toward and B to activate your Illusion as close to the ledge as possible (note that being very close to the edge is essential to executing this technique correctly as you must cut down on your frames spent away from the ledge in order not to lose your invin- cibility frames). When performed correctly, this will allow you an innovative means to stall on the ledge if you so desire. However, this technique is some- what more difficult (if not impossible) on some of the more awkward locales in the game, such as Battlefield's unnervingly small ledges. Fox's Firefox stalls overall are far more versatile than the Illusion stall, but that should not stop you from trying to add a little spice to your Fox's technical gameplay every now and then. Fire Fox Button: Up tilt + B Damage: 7-14%, plus more depending on how much the starting flames hit. Speed: Medium Priority: Medium-low Range: Pretty long; good enough to be Fox's principal recovery move Start Time: Medium-length beginning time as Fox charges up Lag Time: Very, very little once you land. Knockback: Average Total frames: 92 Hit frames: 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 43-72 Other data: -When to aim: 42 -Can grab edge during first part as early as 16 -Can grab edge during moving part as early as 73 (if firing straight into a wall, if you go downward at the edge, Fox will stop firing to grab it) -Grabs edges from both sides -Land lag: 6 -Land fall special lag: 3 Fox's other means of recovery, the Fire Fox is a bit of a gamble to use since it can be Caped and edge-guarded pretty easily, not to mention that its priority enables many attacks to plow right through it; a player well-versed in timing can even grab you out of it, assuming that they are positioned correct- ly. Regardless, the Fire Fox has considerable range and is more versatile than the Fox Illusion as a recovery move. You should try to aim for the edge of the stage most often with this move to compensate for its relatively low priority, but watch for your foe to perform a reverse short-hop or a reverse wavedash to an edgehog; obviously, your aiming for the ledge then will lead to a loss of one of your stocks. It is your call on whether to aim for the ledge or above it, but always keep in mind the Fire Fox's vulnerability to other attacks and the possibility of a Caping by Mario or Dr. Mario (on a side note, Dr. Mario's White Sheet extends slightly below the stage, so be wary of this as you recover in a match against him). Whichever route you take, do not aim it straight at your foe. Unless they are spaced out at the moment, they can and will cut through your Fire Fox with a properly-timed attack, which is not exactly a very difficult task. Indeed, the default response of many opponents once they see you charging the Fire Fox is to time a forward-smash or other such attack with the Fire Fox's charge time; should you aim straight for them, you have probably lost your stock right there, and if you did not choose to aim at them in that instance, they still have the option of chasing you through the air or antici- pating your landing point and dealing with you there. Your best responses to such tactics are 1) to vary your recoveries (even Fire Foxing when level with your opponent if you can condition them always to anticipate an Illusion when you are level with them) and 2) to use DI while falling from an upward Fire Fox to curve in and out, sometimes away (as you would do to grab the edge from your fall and avoid anything your opponent throws at you from the ledge, for the most part) and sometimes toward. Again, you must use a combination of variation and repetition for the most unpredictability in your recovery. The structure of certain stages can aid your ability to sweet-spot the ledge with the Fire Fox without rising above the ledge itself. Stages with smoothed or sloped ends, such as Final Destination and Dream Land, can use up some of the forward momentum of your Fire Fox and enable you to grab the ledge without rising above it and making yourself far more vulnerable than you would like to be. For example, you are playing on Final Destination and are knocked off the left side of the stage. You use your second jump and activate your Fire Fox when you are a small distance below and to the left of the edge (a south-west position, in essence). You need to recover to the stage, but do not want to open yourself to your foe by rising above him or the stage. What you would do in this case is aim the trajectory of your Fire Fox at a slight upwards angle into the side of Final Destination. Thanks to its smoothed sides, the stage will use up the Fire Fox's forward momentum and thus shorten its traveling distance, enabling you to rise up to the ledge and grab it. You can then return to the stage safely and without worry of opening yourself to your opponent by rising above the stage. You can use this same technique to rise upwards and slightly over the ledge by decreasing your trajectory towards the stage by a small amount; this will cause the stage's side to use up less forward momentum and make you poke slightly over the ledge in your Fire Fox. It is your call when to use either of these two methods, but you must still be wary of Capings (particularly by Dr. Mario) and enemy down-tilts. Note that this same technique may also be used against flat-sided surfaces, although obviously with a change in the angle of the Fire Fox. There are a few rather situational tricks that you can pull with the Fire Fox, too. You can perform a "levitating" Fire Fox, using the move while jumping from a run. You will float towards the enemy while engulfed in flames, catching them on the embers and hitting them with the upstroke of the move. This is situa- tional, however; it should only be used if the opponent is assured of returning to the stage in order to add on damage. For mind games, jump and Fire Fox your- self into the ground at a sharp angle. You will bounce at an equally sharp angle and land either behind your enemy or directly in front of him. In either case, make use of the Fire Fox's virtually nonexistent recovery time and up- smash or shine them (another rather situational tactic). There are also a couple of infinite stalling tricks with the Fire Fox, but they do require some quick coordination on your part. The first variation is a simple stand-alone Firefox stall on an edge. To do this, you must first be grabbing the ledge. You then press back to fall away from the edge but immediately cancel your backwards momentum by quickly performing a Fire Fox. If done correctly, you will grab the ledge again immediately after the Fire Fox's start-up and thus be given the temporary invincibility that grabbing a ledge provides. Another method of performing this tactic is dropping straight down from the edge (not away from it) and jumping again immediately after, activating your Firefox when you feel that you are even again with the ledge (you should not hear Fox's second jump sound effect, ideally); you will grab the ledge again and can repeat as needed. If you do either of these methods quickly enough, you can stall for the rest of the match, but it takes very good coordination and is rather situational to boot; in addition, most tournaments ban this sort of stalling trick (Peach's "wall-bombing" is another example of a stalling trick). It is possible for your foe to counter this tactic by somehow grabbing the ledge, possibly by a reverse wavedash or reverse short-hop, but if you do it quickly enough, this will not be possible. Another flashier variation on the above tactic is incorporating a jump-canceled shine before your Firefox. This has been dubbed the "ShineStall" by SWF's TheCape and the "Infinite Lube Stall" by SWF's noob-lube69. The general idea is the same as above, that is, you must drop from the ledge to begin the stall. However, after dropping, you then shine and jump-cancel that into your Firefox which will allow you to grab the ledge again and continue the cycle. In effect, you will create a veritable wall of damaging flames and shine-spikes that can make it nigh impossible for many characters to return safely without being tied up by your flames or getting shine-spiked right at the ledge. Although situational, both of the above stalls have their own applications that can come in handy in certain match-ups, largely dealing with stalling through recoveries and attempts to sweet-spot. For example, should a returning Marth attempt to sweet-spot, simply stall on the ledge with the Firefox and by the time that he has used his up+B, you will still be invincible and will be holding onto the ledge, causing the Marth to fall to his doom and netting you a stock. Stalling on the ledge also forces your opponents to go above you for their recoveries; you should then be able to predict accordingly where they will be heading and send them out yet again, if not for that stock's final time. Reflector Button: Down tilt + B Damage: 5% Speed: Highest possible (1 frame, or 1/60 of a second) Priority: Very high Range: Close-range, but reaches out a bit on either side of Fox with slightly more range on the back end. Start Time: Instantaneous Lag Time: Again, if you reflect something or don't jump-cancel it, the Reflector has a small amount of lag time. Knockback: A set distance for each character (dependant on traction) Total frames: 39 (or more) Hits on frame: 1 Reflects: 4-(release+1) Jump cancel-able: 4-(release+1) Lag upon release: 19 (Shield) Hit lag: 3 Reflection lag: 19 Other data: -Stun time for each character: The second number is if they "land." It happens always from an aerial re- flector and sometimes from a land one if it hits their back. Captain Falcon: 33...9 Donkey Kong: 33...10 Fox: falls Kirby: falls Mr. Game and Watch: falls Bowser: 32...11 Link: 33...9 Luigi: 34...11-9 (much more likely) Mario: 34...9 Marth: 35...9 Mewtwo: falls Ness: 34...9 Peach: 35...9 If you Reflector the first frame in the air from a jump, you will fall enough to jump-cancel from the ground on frame 6. So a cycle could take as little as 8 frames. Here it is, the fourth, deadliest, and most powerful member of Fox's most feared moves. Contrary to beginning-player belief, the vulpine's Reflector is not used solely to deflect projectiles, although that is a big part of it. By now, those inexperienced smashers must be thinking, "What can you possibly do with this crazy thing other than reflect stuff?" The list goes on and on and on; this move more than any other sets Fox apart from his wing mate Falco (and virtually every other character) in the tiers. An entire section will be devoted to the uses of this powerful move, which include winning priority wars, killing at very low percentages, destroying your foe's plans of projectile spamming, setting up for a combo, and the infamous infinite shine techniques (Fox's Reflector is affectionately known as the "shine" in the Smash community; ask any seasoned player and they will know what it is). The insanity increases once you master L-cancelling, fast-falling, and wavedashing, all of which will be discussed later. To start, know that you can cut the Reflector animation short by simply jumping up out of it and that you can turn around while in the Reflector (the use of this will be shown later). If have read most of everything up to this point and have a good grasp of the terminology of SSBM, you have already been exposed to a great deal of what the shine can do. The exclusive shine section, however, delves even deeper into the uses of this exceedingly powerful move. 6. The Physics of Fox Don't let the word "physics" scare you; it simply refers to each character's innate weight, traction, falling speed, and other similar properties. Obviously, Fox, being the little guy that he is, can be killed easily and quickly while in inexperienced hands. Players who have not mastered his more advanced techniques tend to spam one or two moves, and wonder why their button mashing leads them to repeatedly Illusioning themselves off the stage. The truth is, Fox can be very difficult to KO effectively. He is a fast-faller, one of a few characters, including Falco and Captain Falcon, who fall at an accelerated rate compared to the other fighters. This can work for or against you. If Fox is knocked upwards, his fast falling may allow you to live for another hit or two. On the other hand, if Fox goes flying horizontally too far, he will plummet out of reach of the ledge, which chances are your opponent will be hanging onto. You can increase Fox's falling speed by holding down on the Control Stick at the peak of his relatively short jump (a "fast- fall"). Experienced players use Fox's fast-falling to their advantage, plummeting quickly to earth to avoid being juggled and greatly increase their comboing speed. As a Fox player, you must acquaint yourself with using his fast, jerky moves in order to increase your already blinding speed. Once you can implement the more advanced aspects of Fox into your game, such as L-can- celing, fast-falling, short-hopping, and wavedashing, you will not be surprised when you can get an opponent well above 100% (or remove a stock) within the first 30 seconds of the match. If you do not know yet, Fox is overall the fastest character in the game, and his speed will let you live for quite a while if used properly. Below are tons of statistics pertaining to Fox and virtually everything that he does (note that 1 frame = 1/60 of a second; thus, there are 60 frames in a second). I give an immeasurably huge amount of thanks to Mew2King and those who helped him for finding, recording, and compiling all of these statistics and many, many, many more. Thanks a lot, Mew2King and co.; this section could not exist without you guys. Thanks are also in order for SuperDoodleMan for his frame data cited below each respective move in the above sections as well as his contributions here in the form of frame data for Fox's ledge maneuvers, jump, air- and ground-dodges, roll, dash-to-run frames, and turn-jump threshold. Ground Dodge Rating: 63.6363...%; 14/22 frames; dodge starts on second frame; invulnerable 2-15 out of 22 [SDM]. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Air Dodge Rating: Starting Time: 3 frames. Invincible Time: 26 frames (frames 4-29); invulnerable 4-29 out of 49 frames [SDM]. RANKING: Same as every other character except Peach, Zelda, and Bowser. Roll Rating (both rolls): 51.612903225806451%; 16/31 frames; both rolls start on fourth frame; Invulnerable 4-19 out of 31 frames [SDM]. RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others). Clobbering Item Attack Starting Speed (Beam Sword, Home Run Bat, Lip's Stick, and Star Rod): A-5 frames; forward tilt + A-12 frames; dash A-6 frames Item Throwing Speed: A/Forward + A-7 frames; Back + A-7 frames; Up + A-6 frames; Down + A-5 frames; Aerial A/Aerial Forward + A- 6 frames; Aerial Back + A-7 frames; Aerial Up + A-6 frames; Aerial Down + A-6 frames; Dash + A-4 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Fire Flower and Ray Gun Shooting Speed Starting Time: 10 frames. RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others) Home Run Bat Smash Attack Speed: 30 frames. RANKING: Group G, seventh best in game (among others) Running Stopping Speed: 18 frames. RANKING: Best in game along with Falco. Running Turning Speed: 30 frames. RANKING: 16th in game. Item Pick-up Speed (using A): Pick-up Speed: 2 frames. Total Time: 7 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others) Barrel, Crate, and Party Ball Pick-Up Speed: 24th in game Weight: 75. Weight measures how far characters are knocked horizontally. Mario = 100 (average). RANKING: 22nd heaviest. Walking Speed: 1st in game. Running Speed: 2nd in game. Falling Speed: 3rd highest in game. Fox has the highest acceleration speed while falling. Fast-fall Falling Speed: 48. RANKING: 3rd fastest in game. Traction Rating: 237 (69.3%). RANKING: 12th in game. Wavedash Length: 13th farthest in game. Ducking Rating: 17th in game. Crate Carrying Speed: 26th (slowest) in game. Landing Recovery Time From a Jump: 4 frames. RANKING: Group B, second best in game (among others). Jumping Speed: 4 frames. RANKING: Best in game (among others). Every second jump takes 1 frame. [SDM] Airborne on frame 4; air time: 35 frames; earliest fast-fall: 18; fast-fall air time: 27 frames; short-hop air time: 21 frames; earliest fast-fall: 12; short-hop fast-fall air time: 15; second jump earliest fast-fall: 21. First Jump Height: 7th in game. Second Jump Height: 6th in game. Total Jump Height: 6th in game. Shield Release Recovery Time: 15 frames. RANKING: Group B, second best in game (among others) Ledge Attack Horizontal Range (0-99%): 4th in game. Ledge Attack Power (0-99%): 8% (6% at close-range). RANKING: Group C, third best in game (among others) Ledge Attack Power (100-999%): 8%. RANKING: Group D, fourth best in game (among others) Ledge stand (<100%): Total frames: 34. Invincible frames: 1-30. Ledge stand (>100%): Total frames: 59. Invincible frames: 1-55. Ledge roll (<100%): Total frames: 49. Invincible frames: 1-34. Ledge roll (>100%): Total frames: 79. Invincible frames: 1-62. Ledge attack (<100%): Total frames: 54. Invulnerable frames: 1-21. Hit frames: 25-34. Ledge attack (>100%): Total frames: 69. Invulnerable frames: 1-53. Hit frames: 57-59. Ledge jump (<100%): Total frames: 51. Invulnerable frames: 1-14. Soonest fast- fall: 34. Ledge jump (>100%): Total frames: 51. Invincible frames: 1-19. Soonest fast- fall: 39. Horizontal Aerial Moving Speed: 26th (slowest) in game. Horizontal Aerial Falling Distance: 25th in game. Super Scope Shot Rapidness: One shot every 6 frames; 10 shots per second; lasts 5-6 seconds if shot nonstop. RANKING: Group A, best in game (among others) Rapid Attack Speed: 7 frames apart in rapid A (last hit takes 8 frames) between a set of 5 kicks. Total time until set of hits repeats: 36 frames. Average speed: 7.2 frames apart, 8 1/3 hits per second. Blaster Schematics: 10 frames apart; the first shot is 12 frames (exactly 6 shots per second). Aerial blaster shots are also 10 frames apart; the first shot is 10 frames. Grabbing Range (Relative approximations): 12th in game. Grabbing Release Power: 2% (this is how much damage a character receives when he or she escapes your grab due to another character hitting you) Grabbing Speed: Grab-7 frames. Total Time-30 frames. Dash Grab-12 frames. Total Time-40 frames. Grab-Attack Starting Speed: 5 frames. RANKING: 2nd in game (among others) Horizontal Projectile Speed Rating: 1st among selectable characters. Projectile Lasting Time: 34 frames. RANKING: 3rd shortest in game. Forward/Backward Throw Power Rating: Forward: 28th place. Backward: 50th place. Both rankings are out of 61. Vertical Throw Power Rating: 18th place. Ranking is out of 30. Forward Smash Rating: 22nd place. Fully-charged Forward Smash Rating: 21st place. Dash becomes run at frame 12. Turn-jump threshold: 17. Fox's Shine Distance along the Ground If your opponent is holding no direction, then their own weight and traction determine how far the shine will send them. If they are holding down, their distance will be shortened, and they will stay on their feet. Character No Direction Holding Down Dr. Mario............13 ft.............6 ft Mario................13 ft.............6 ft Luigi................33 ft............15 ft Bowser...............12 ft.............5 ft Peach.................8 ft.............4 ft Yoshi................12 ft.............6 ft Donkey Kong...........9 ft.............4 ft Captain Falcon........9 ft.............4 ft Ganondorf............10 ft.............5 ft Falco................----..............5 ft Fox..................----..............5 ft Ness.................14 ft.............6 ft Ice Climbers.........25 ft............11 ft Kirby................----..............6 ft Samus................12 ft.............5 ft Zelda.................8 ft.............4 ft Shiek................10 ft.............5 ft Link..................7 ft.............3 ft Young Link...........----..............5 ft Pichu................----..............5 ft Pikachu..............----..............4 ft Jigglypuff...........----..............5 ft Mewtwo...............----.............10 ft Mr. Game and Watch...----..............8 ft Marth................15 ft.............7 ft Roy..................----..............7 ft ---- = Character will fall to the ground. All tests were done on Final Destination. Other surfaces and/or inclines will affect distances. Credits: element_of_fire for making this list. II. Advanced Techniques A. Introduction The Smash community regards Fox McCloud as the most difficult character to master at high levels of play. His unparalleled speed, incredibly fast jump time (4 frames, or 1/15 of a second), and fast-paced controls can push even the most skilled Melee player to the limit. Although Fox's basic moves are powerful when combined with his speed, it is his advanced aspects that make him such a powerful character. The following techniques form the basis of nearly everything that the vulpine can do, and they can also be applied for the most part to every other character with slight adjustments for timing. In this section, you will learn how to perform these critical techniques and how to apply them to your game. Once you have mastered them, you will quickly see why many players hold Fox in such high esteem. With his controls and these tech- niques well under your fingers, your Fox will become a potent, unstoppable (and admittedly show-offy) force. 1. L-Canceling What it is: Cutting short the recovery animation of an aerial attack, allowing you quickly to begin another attack. How to do it: Press L, R, or Z ("L" for most players) when landing from an aerial "A" attack. Specifically, you "land" when you begin to see dust clouds forming around your character's feet. Pressing L, R, or Z at this time will stop the recovery animation and return your fighter to his or her fighting stance, ready to launch another attack. Again, keep in mind that L-canceling is only applicable to aerial "A" attacks, not special "B" attacks. In addition, remember that in order to get the cleanest L-cancel possible, you may have to press your canceling button of choice extremely slightly before your character hits the ground, particularly if you are fast-falling your aerial of choice. This is to compensate for the small amount of time that you spend in actually pressing the button itself; you will find that at high-level play, even a few frames here and there can be of great importance to your character's well- being, as well as your win-loss ratio. Uses: L-canceling is the defining technique for high-level Melee players. Using it will greatly speed up your character and open many doors to comboing. In combination with the lightning-quick Fox, L-canceling can be downright deadly. So many uses exist for L-canceling that it is nearly impossible to name them all. Of course, the technique's primary use is to cut off the lag time after an aerial attack. You will quickly notice whether you have done the technique correctly; it is most noticeable with Link's Sword Plant (his down-aerial), which has massive recoil lag as Link yanks his sword from the ground. Bowser's back-aerial also possesses a tremendous amount of lag when not L-canceled correctly as Bowser tilts himself back onto his feet. If you are unsure whether you are L-canceling correctly, try it first with these characters' moves and then move on to Fox's naturally fast moves. As you progress to higher levels of play, you will find that you can easily pick out missed L-cancels even with someone as fast as Fox; indeed, these missed cancels can often decide an entire stock, or even the match itself. L-canceling also factors into an immensely powerful technique (and with Fox, an essential one) named "shuffling," which stands for "short-hop, fast-fall, L- cancel." Shuffling broken down appears as such: 1) Short-hop with X, Y, or the control stick 2) Your choice of an aerial "A" attack 3) Fast-fall by pressing down on the control stick at the peak of your short- hop (critical for proper shuffling to reduce empty air time and to allow a fast flow into the L-cancel) 4) L-cancel (pressed earlier than you would at first think to compensate for Fox's extremely quick fast-fall) With the aid of shuffling, you can string together moves you never could other- wise and open even more options for attack. In fact, a lack of shuffling with Fox costs you your two chief approaches, both of which are capable in them- selves of comboing into Jabs, waveshines to up-smashes or grabs, and even tran- sitions into infinites. For techniques and combos involving shuffling and L- canceling, see the description text under each of Fox's respective aerial "A" moves in section one. 2. Wavedashing What it is: An unorthodox method of movement in which you "glide" along the ground. While in this movement, you can use all of your attacks. With most characters, wavedashing is as fast as running. How to do it: Air-dodge diagonally into the ground immediately after jumping. The game converts your motion in the air to horizontal motion, resulting in a strange movement where you essentially "glide" across the ground in a cloud of dust. Try it first with Luigi in Training Mode, set on a slow speed (start with 2/3 or 1/3 if you need to). You will know you did it correctly when you see Luigi go sailing smoothly along the ground. Once you are comfortable with the technique, move on to Fox. Note, however, that Fox jumps much faster than Luigi does, so you will need fast fingers to wavedash correctly (if you wait slightly too long with Fox to dodge into the ground, you'll do what is called a triangle jump, a variant of wavedashing which has its own uses and merits and will be discussed later). All told, the sequence of button inputs for a wavedash reads as follows: 1) Jump with X, Y, or the control stick 2) Air-dodge 3) Position your air-dodge at an angle into the ground using the control stick; it is the angle at which you put the control stick for the air-dodge that de- termines the length of your character's wavedash. Uses: The wavedash is another member of the group of advanced tactics that make Fox such a powerful character. With this technique, you open a wealth of options for mind games, one of the vulpine's specialties, and even some possibilities for comboing. Most players use wavedashing for "offensive defensive" movement, essentially. While wavedashing, you are able to use any attack as if you were still standing on the ground. This allows you to cover your retreats with fast Jabs and Straights or even Fox Tails or up-smashes if you are feeling particularly evil. If you want, you can drive your foes further back with forward wavedashing, and then sprint away and blaster spam them to higher percentages. During close battle, you can wavedash backwards to avoid an incoming strike and then immediately wavedash forward into an up-smash, Fox Tail, or other pre-juggling move. You can also edge-hog using wavedashing by wavedashing off the edge facing towards the ledge. Fox will immediately grab the ledge; this is far faster than doing a normal backwards jump to grab the ledge and is very useful, so use it well. Wavedashing is also used for spacing and positioning; for example, you can wavedash back from an opponent's advance to space correctly and then answer with a down-tilt, forward-smash, or something of the like. This is very handy for opponents who tend to get too aggressive, almost to the point of blindly launching attacks and not thinking of their foe's possible answers. Wavedashing is also a very handy tool in the ever-important mind games depart- ment. Especially with a fast faller and jumper like Fox, the strange movement that wavedashing grants you can be used to fake out your opponent and make them flinch, allowing you to rush in unopposed and do some serious damage. The most common way to do this is to run as quickly as possible at your opponent, making it seem as if you are making a hasty, poorly planned attack. When they wind up an attack to smack you, the proverbial baseball, away from them, immediately wavedash backwards. While they are still in the lag, wavedash or run forwards (if running, you might need to fox trot, yet another technique that will be discussed later) and hit them with any attack; a jump-canceled up-smash works wonders as a powerful punisher in such instances. A fast dash-grab or jump-can- celed grab is also an effective choice. Once you learn how to work with wave- dashing and its myriad of mind games, you should observe every character's moves and memorize what their start-up frames look like. If your eyes are fast enough, you can see what attack your enemy is about to use during your headlong dash and determine its lag time and how much time you will have to hit them back. Wavedashing is also used to combat L-canceling. If an opponent comes down on you with an aerial attack and L-cancels it, you are not given enough time to hit back. Wavedashing solves this. If you see your enemy about to use an aerial attack on your head, wavedash to either side before they land. This will clear you of their attack and let you hit them back. Be sure not to triangle jump, as that usually will not move you far enough away to avoid being hit. Wavedashing in combos is not entirely necessary, but does show that you have some serious skill. Players do this to position themselves better for follow- up strikes. The idea behind this is that since every character's start-up dash animation has some amount of lag to it, you can wavedash instead to move instantly and continue attacking, useful for such things as properly positioning yourself for that properly-timed up-smash that will lead to more juggling. On a side note, wavedashing is an essential part to reaching the epitome of Fox technical skill; it is a member of the feared "infinite shine" combos. In theory, a flawless player could do one of these forever (up to 999%). In order to be truly infinite, however, you would need either to invert the process (since no stage extends forever) via a method known appropriately enough as the inverse infinite shine or start an infinite next to a suitable wall to keep your opponent pinned. More than anything, the infinite shine combos are the vulpine's greatest chance to flaunt his technical abilities as well as your own, but a majority of Fox players find that his other advanced techniques are far more practical in battle and still carry the power and synergy needed to take home a victory. Regardless, being able to wield an in- finite or two can do nothing more than improve your game and give you yet another tool with which to take off stocks; as such, the final part of the shine-exclusive section examines Fox's infinites in deeper detail, providing analysis and instructions on each of them. 3. Shield-grabbing What it is: Simply put, it is grabbing out of your shield. How to do it: While in a shield, simply press A. This causes your character to grab directly out of his or her shield without having to take the time to lower it. Uses: This technique is simple to do and extremely useful. Indeed, this tech- nique in itself separates the low-level Smash players from the intermediate; it limits your opponent's options and forces him or her to know how to L-cancel, fast-fall, space, and follow up correctly since if he does not (particularly with L-canceling), you can shield his attack and then quickly shield-grab him. Once grabbed, you follow up with the usual up-throw to up-smashes, up-aerials, and up-tilts as you see fit, tacking on easy (and at times significant) damage. Know this technique well, and use it whenever at all possible. 4. Short-hopping What it is: As the name implies, it is hopping a small distance above the ground. How to do it: There are two ways to short-hop: with the control stick and with the X/Y buttons. I suggest you begin with the X/Y buttons. To short-hop with them, you must tap the button extremely quickly and release just as quickly. The game judges whether or not you short-hop based on how long your finger stays on the button, not on how much force you put into pressing it. Thus, you must be able to get your finger (probably your thumb) off of your button of choice very, very quickly or flick the control stick as quickly as possible. Common opinion holds that it is easier to fast-fall if you short-hop with X or Y. Short-hopping with the control stick is a bit more complicated. It works best while in a run since you already have the stick tilted towards where it needs to go for you to short-hop. To short-hop with the control stick, you must move it with more than a little bit of pressure at a slight angle above the respec- tive side angle of the shape around the stick. You can fast-fall also if you quickly snap down the stick from its short-hopping position, but watch your timing. You can also short-hop from a standstill position, but it requires an awkward position and movement of the control stick; overall, it is much easier to short-hop using X and Y. Again, remember that short-hopping is judged based on how quickly you release your jumping mechanism of choice; as such, do your best to flick the control stick as required by your short-hop to give yourself greatest chance at pulling off the short-hop. Uses: Short-hopping is used strictly for comboing, or at times for edge- guarding and Fox’s short-hop laser, or SHL (see later on in this section). The idea is that if you jump a shorter distance off the ground, you can get to the ground far faster than from a normal jump and then execute another attack in a shorter amount of time. All told, short-hopping functions in edge-grabbing (short-hopping off-stage to grab the ledge, also accomplished by wavedashing), comboing (as a member of the shuffling technique), and even in mind games, to a certain extent ("empty" short-hops and short-hops after which you wavedash backwards are examples of this). 5. Dash-canceling What it is: Canceling the forward movement of your dash by crouching, allowing you to fake out the opponent or use an attack other than your running attack at a moment's notice. How to do it: While dashing, simply crouch (press down on the control stick). This will slow or completely stop your forward movement. Uses: Though certainly not as versatile as L-canceling or short-hopping, dash-canceling does have its merits. Mastery of this technique with Fox will give you more options to mess with your opponent's head and his game, in addition to allowing you to utilize your ground attacks in a faster manner, therefore increasing the amount of pressure you can apply with your onslaught. One of dash-canceling's uses is in mind games, especially with a fast runner like Fox. You can charge headlong towards your opponent, effectively feigning a hasty, random, almost last-ditch attack. However, when you see the start-up frames of their retaliatory attack or anticipate such an attack, you can dash- cancel your dash and end up directly in front of them (spaced as necessary, of course), ready for a long-distance down-tilt to sweep them into the air, or a powerful forward smash, or, if you are really daring, a down-smash underneath their shield. You can also dash-cancel so as to position your opponent in the furthest possible effective diameter of Fox's up-smash. If you can pull this off, the up-smash should plow through their defenses, out-prioritizing their retaliatory strike and sending them airborne. Keep in mind only to do this if you see or anticipate them going into their own attack; otherwise, your oppo- nent will shield the effective moment of the up-smash and shield-grab you or otherwise space you out with a forward-smash from a reverse wavedash or some- thing of the like. Speaking of shield-grabbing, you can use dash-canceling to trick your foe into putting himself into a shield, thinking he is ready to grab you out of your dash. What a surprise awaits him, however, when you screech to a halt out of range of his grab and ready to sprint forward into your own grab. A more situational use of dash-canceling is to interrupt the opponent's own dash with a down-tilt or forward-smash in Melee's version of chicken. If you find yourself hurtling towards your enemy who is also flying towards you, dash- cancel your dash and quickly judge the distance between yourself and your enemy. Then sweep them off their feet with a down-tilt or simply roll over them with a forward-smash. You can also run through your opponent to his backside, dash-cancel, and then forward-smash or dash attack in the opposite direction (especially handy should your opponent be in his or her shield since many players' natural reaction to an enemy behind them is to short-hop out of the shield with a back-aerial). A dash attack connected here could very well lead to fatal juggling or a lethal up-smash. Dash-canceling is also used to allow ground attacks at fast speeds. Normally, you can only use ground attacks while standing still, walking, or wavedashing. Dash-canceling allows you to use your dash to get to the enemy and then quickly launch into a ground attack once you have reached him. You can use this to apply continuous pressure to the other guy, hunting him down incessantly with the fox's fast running and then dash-canceling into any attack you wish, whether it is a simple Jab to throw them off their feet, a down-tilt to prep them for juggling, or an up-smash for the killer blow. Note that a wavedash at the end of a dash (spaced correctly from your opponent and where you anticipate your wavedash to put you) also provides the same general effect. 6. Crouch-canceling What it is: Crouching (holding down on the control stick) when you are hit, increasing your defenses and greatly reducing the attack's normal knockback and stun. How to do it: Hold down on the control stick when hit or while being hit. Uses: Fox isn't exactly the bulkiest or heftiest of characters; therefore, his natural tendency is to be knocked off of the stage very easily and frequently. Crouch-canceling partly solves that problem. With it, you can increase the vulpine's resilience to enemy strikes and greatly increase his lifespan. When coupled with Fox's already outstanding evasion abilities, crouch-canceling can keep you in the game more than long enough to hit back and finish your foe. However, be careful with crouch-canceling around ledges; granted, it can poten- tially save you from a strike meant to get you off-stage, but on certain moves, the downwards DI of the crouch-cancel can in fact amplify the effects of that move and make it even more difficult for you to return (keep in mind your fast- falling) and at times can even cost you a stock. Crouch-canceling is more situational than anything; if you are hit, hold down on the control stick to reduce the knockback, plain and simple. The only practical technique you can use with crouch canceling is what has been dubbed the "crouch-cancel counter," or "CCC," which conveniently works quite well with Fox. What this triple-consonant acronym means is using an attack out of your crouch-cancel to take advantage of your own reduction in received stun time and knock-back and your opponent's lag from his or her connecting hit. A down-tilt as a counter works wonders to prep for juggling or an up-smash; a quick up- smash is also a potentially-lethal option; even shines and Jabs from crouch- cancels are problematic for opponents and can lead to their usual well-known follow-ups. 7. Dash-dancing What it is: Constantly turning around in the start-up animation of your dash, allowing you to quickly jet in either direction at any time you choose. How to do it: Quickly tap the control stick back and forth; you should see Fox as if he is split between running in two separate directions, his head appearing in one direction and then disappearing quickly only to reappear facing the other. Uses: Dash-dancing functions in mind games for the most part but can also add fluidity and a certain sense of preparedness to your game. Since dash-dancing allows you to jet off in any direction at any time, you can frequently use it to fake out the opponent or prepare yourself for the direction of your foe's directional influence if you knock them to a certain height. Nothing in the world is funnier than the look on someone's face when they first see you dash-dancing. To them, it will appear as though you are just randomly hitting towards and away on the control stick and creating a screwed-up animation. Little do they know that you have something else up your sleeve. You can slightly vary the lengths of your individual dash-dance animations and allow yourself to essentially dash-dance across the level. The value of this technique is that you are slowly advancing on the opponent, pushing them back, while simultaneously opening up the dual options of fight or flight. The fight component comes in when you can make them blink and think that you are going to charge at them. More often than not, they will unleash some random attack, trying to catch you off guard. If your eye can catch the start-up frames of their attack, you can immediately judge the type and length of the attack and whether it has any lag time for you to take advantage of. If it does, plow in with a shuffled neutral-aerial and string together an improvised combo, one that hopefully includes plenty of juggling via fast-fallen up-aerials and per- haps some air time courtesy of the up-tilt. If the attack is a decently fast one (meaning there is not much lag time for you to leech off of) you can im- mediately dash-dance away and continue your charade until they either come after you, in which case your quick speed should prevail more often than not, or they flinch again, hopefully with a higher-lag move. If you sense your opponent losing his concentration, see if you can perform a Fox Illusion toward him for a little innovation that could lead to a back- or up-aerial. You can also combine dash-dancing with the wavedash and triangle jumping in yet more of the vulpine's mind games. These tricks take into account three things, all of which depend on the type of attack being used and who is using it. These criteria are priority of the enemy attack, its speed, and, of course, its lag time. As mentioned before, dash-dancing can psych the opponent out into thinking you are going to do something that you really will not do. Instead, you will do something seemingly random that will throw them for a loop if it succeeds. The trick is yet again to get your foe to blink, this time using a combination of sudden reverse wavedashing and dash-dancing. Use the dash-dancing to get your foe on his toes, and when you see an opening, charge forward. Your enemy should be ready with a retaliatory attack; other