If Steve didn't have minecart, what do you think would replace it?
My two ideas are either a bow or a shield, the bow just shoots arrows, and he could attach them to blocks to set up a trap by breaking the block and having the arrows fall down, he has a limited supply of 64 arrows (I realized this should be a stack lol), so he can't spam it too much, the arrows will remain on the ground until Steve picks it up by walking next to it, opponents can use the arrows against Steve by picking them up (similar to Link's arrows), depending on how long Steve holds the B button, it does 5 - 20% (No this doesn't mean it's like charge shot, Steve is not able to move after doing side B until he shoots or gets hit, making the arrow not fire.) If Steve uses up all his arrows by hitting opponents and didn't miss once, they'll automatically refresh, if he missed at least once he has to go pick up the arrow (Better aim them right) they have an arc when firing, how far they go depends on the charge, if Steve chooses to he can also aim the bow in 8 directions by holding the b button down and moving the left stick in a certain direction. After firing Steve is unable to act until he puts the bow away, so he's vulnerable for a good half second, meaning reflecting the arrow if it's not too far can lead to Steve getting hit instead. (This move can lead to some funny times where arrows are everywhere lol, FD but arrows.)
The shield is simply a reflector, reflecting any projectile in front of Steve that the shield hits, behind Steve he's vulnerable, the shield has durability, taking 100% before breaking, Steve can repair his shield with 1 piece of iron and some wood, he has one at the start of the match, and if it breaks, Steve will do the blocking stance, but have no shield, if he does this you have a good opening.