Meta Knight: A lively and entertaining guide to the hero Dreamland deserves...

[DawnClutch]

Release Date: 2015

A detailed, entertaining guide brought to you by Dawn Media.

What's included?

1. INTRODUCTION
2. MOVE-SET
   1. GROUND ATTACKS
   2. ARIELS
   3. SPECIALS
      1. THE INTER-DIMENSIONAL CAPE
   4. GRABS AND THROWS
   5. MOVEMENT
3. OPTIONS
   1. COMBO GAME
   2. RECOVERY
4. PLAYSTYLE & MATCHUPS
   1. AGGRESSIVE / DEFENSIVE
   2. MATCH-UPS
5. ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
6. CONCLUSION

Introduction Sneak Peak:

INTRODUCTION
TL;DR: HE BAIR’LY WORKS

So, you’re either reading this because a.) you’re somewhat interested in this Meta Knight character in Project M; b.) you would like to learn some cool tech and want to honestly get some kick-ass advice for a kick-ass character; c.) you clicked on the wrong link; or d.) you want to lose tournaments. I am writing to you today, to help you, the reader, with the first two points. Sadly, I am not responsible for your loss in tournaments by reading this guide, and immediately attempting to do well with Meta Knight. And as for clicking on the wrong link, well, my hope for you, is that even though you might not have had any intentions of reading a guide over Meta Knight, you stay and read anyway. This guide is not just for Meta Knight mains, but for everyone who plays Project M. I firmly believe it is important that we try and learn as much as we can with the resources we have regarding any character in the roster. The more you know about one specific character, you can have a better chance either playing with that character, or even playing against that character.
So, my introduction is not going to try and formulate some kind of thesis I will follow through the rest of this scriptural endeavor. This introduction simply has one goal in mind: to get you to read everything after it. I will do my best to not just make this a list of numbers and match-ups, and in stead, I will do my best to make this guide interesting, exciting, and humorous along the way.
Alas, I have failed to introduce myself.
Of course, how insensitive of me. I am Jonathan Alvarez, though that name doesn’t have much meaning here. My tag, is Dawn.
Ever heard of me? Yea. Me neither.
Before you believe everything I tell you regarding Meta Knight, I’ll first go more into detail about who I am so that you have confidence that what I am telling you, isn’t entirely B.S.
I am best known in the Project M community for my Meta Knight, and my contributions to the Houston stream. Most larger tournaments in the Houston area are streamed by Dawn Media: a stream I have taken quite a lot of time setting up and perfecting. I am also known for my combo video, “IDC: A Meta Knight Combo Video.” As I am writing this, I am studying English: Creative Writing at the University of Houston.
So that’s practically everything you need to know. Now sit down, grab some coffee, and maybe your GC controller to practice that Dimensional Cape Drift. Let’s begin our journey into the heart of Dreamland’s hero: Meta Knight.

 

[9bit]

Interested to see how this turns out.

If you want, you can use stuff from my verbal diarrhea of a Recovery Guide I wrote up for the failed collaborative MK guide we were gonna make. It's got frame data and such.

 

[JABS]

Id love to see the contents of your research. Also if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to format the guide for you when you're finished with it. :D

 

[PD | Lewd]

My goal? Perfect DC drift by the time this is released.

 

[morpheusx3]

Ah damn it. I even went and got myself a cup of coffee, and then realized the guide was being released on the 24th.

Ah well, I guess I'll have to wait until then. Really looking forward to this!

 

[DawnClutch]

I've been working diligently on this guide for quite some time now, and as I've been working on it, I've been discovering new things with Meta Knight, and have been more ambitious to try and create something truly special for everyone in this community, and not just us Meta Knight mains. I'm deeply committed to bringing you guys the best I can possibly bring, and I'm confident that when I'm done with it, you guys will deeply enjoy it, and that's a promise.
All this to say, I most likely will not have the guide done by April 24th like I originally promised. I want to apologize to everyone who was looking forward to reading it on that date, but when you see the end product you will be glad I gave myself more time to polish things for you.
I can't give you an exact date (yet) of when I know it will be done by, but just know that I am continuing to work on this guide and I will get it done as soon as I can!
Thanks for your patience!

Best Wishes,
Dawn

 

[PD | Lewd]

I've been working diligently on this guide for quite some time now, and as I've been working on it, I've been discovering new things with Meta Knight, and have been more ambitious to try and create something truly special for everyone in this community, and not just us Meta Knight mains. I'm deeply committed to bringing you guys the best I can possibly bring, and I'm confident that when I'm done with it, you guys will deeply enjoy it, and that's a promise.
All this to say, I most likely will not have the guide done by April 24th like I originally promised. I want to apologize to everyone who was looking forward to reading it on that date, but when you see the end product you will be glad I gave myself more time to polish things for you.
I can't give you an exact date (yet) of when I know it will be done by, but just know that I am continuing to work on this guide and I will get it done as soon as I can!
Thanks for your patience!

Best Wishes,
Dawn

I don't care how long it takes @ DawnClutch . I can tell by the amount of time and hard work you've put into this guide that it will be absolutely amazing. I just hope 3.6 doesn't come out the day after the guide is posted and change the entire moveset. Good luck Dawn!

 

[DawnClutch]

UPDATE: Since the release of 3.6, many parts of this guide need to be re-written. Thanks for your patience everyone! I'm still working on it.

 

[Narelex]

If you need any help with the guide I'm always up for MK stuff. Also Dawn have you had the chance to look at the MU thread yet?

 

[DarkRijin]

Just tried out MK (3.6b) tonight for the first time and did really well against my friend who always beats me really badly, even against his mains...so I am very interested in this guide and would like to give my support.

 

[Tealz]

Any updates on this guide? have been really looking forward to it!

 

[DawnClutch]

Any updates on this guide? have been really looking forward to it!

I've been inactive for a while, and I recently got back into the scene. With all of the changes that happened to MK, I would have to re-write most of it, which kind of makes the whole process a little overwhelming to say the least. I might get back to it if enough people are interested.

 

[bassoon titanium]

Do it. I actually went to the trouble of logging into this account again after months of not bothering to do that to tell you to please make this guide.

 

[Tealz]

On one hand I want this guide, but on another since you haven't been in the scene for awhile, you're not as well versed in the meta. Not even sure how reliable your guide would be anymore. It is just annoying that you said you were releasing a guide, and yet here we are 6 months later and still have an outdated guide. I know I am coming off as a bit harsh, mainly because I was really looking forward to this guide for the longest time and am upset that it still hasn't come out yet. It is not like I need this guide to drastically improve my gameplay. As of right now, I am pretty confident in my gameplay and knowledge about metaknight. What I would get from your guide would be another perspective into the mind of another MK player. I want to see how other people think of MK and how to optimally use him. If you are not committed to making this guide, then do not do it. I know I am giving off mix signals here, but you need to want to do this in order for you to make a quality guide. I also do not want a half assed guide to come out just because that person felt compelled to finish what was started. If you're not going to do it, I will in my own way. One of the upsides of your guide not coming out for me was that I needed to find all of MKs cool **** on my own. Because of this, I found out how to consistently edge cancel his IDC, knowing which special move to recover in each situation, using IDC in the neutral game, and so much more. I have put tons of hours into 3.6 MK, and I am afraid you are not going to be able to show what he is truly capable in 3.6 if you start now.

 

[DawnClutch]

On one hand I want this guide, but on another since you haven't been in the scene for awhile, you're not as well versed in the meta. Not even sure how reliable your guide would be anymore. It is just annoying that you said you were releasing a guide, and yet here we are 6 months later and still have an outdated guide. I know I am coming off as a bit harsh, mainly because I was really looking forward to this guide for the longest time and am upset that it still hasn't come out yet. It is not like I need this guide to drastically improve my gameplay. As of right now, I am pretty confident in my gameplay and knowledge about metaknight. What I would get from your guide would be another perspective into the mind of another MK player. I want to see how other people think of MK and how to optimally use him. If you are not committed to making this guide, then do not do it. I know I am giving off mix signals here, but you need to want to do this in order for you to make a quality guide. I also do not want a half ***** guide to come out just because that person felt compelled to finish what was started. If you're not going to do it, I will in my own way. One of the upsides of your guide not coming out for me was that I needed to find all of MKs cool **** on my own. Because of this, I found out how to consistently edge cancel his IDC, knowing which special move to recover in each situation, using IDC in the neutral game, and so much more. I have put tons of hours into 3.6 MK, and I am afraid you are not going to be able to show what he is truly capable in 3.6 if you start now.

I completely agree with you on all of these points. In fact, I don't think you were harsh enough. However, I have been back in the scene for quite some time, I still understand Meta Knight at a very deep, I would even say emotional level that I honestly believe not a lot of other Meta Knights have. In fact, I think I came back into the scene not just for the game and the wonderful friends I have made from it, but also for the passion I have for this character. I recently got 1st place at a local tournament, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOpBKkbgmq0) and I'm still top 10 in my local PR, so I think you won't have to worry about the reliability of this guide.

As for the guide itself, your words have knocked some sense into me. I'm going to finish this guide, and I will rewrite most of it for 3.6. You can expect much of the same that I have promised from the original 3.5 version I had been writing. The most important thing to me I think in this guide is quality, which I will do my best to hold an extremely high standard for. I want every sentence and every detail to be entertaining, and I want it to also look and sound great while being read. You can even click on certain words or moves and it will link you to an unlisted YouTube video demonstrating just what I'm talking about in the text if the text itself isn't good enough for you.

I have set a new date that I will do my absolute best to have this guide done by.

December 2015

Best Wishes,
Dawn

 

[Tealz]

I completely agree with you on all of these points. In fact, I don't think you were harsh enough. However, I have been back in the scene for quite some time, I still understand Meta Knight at a very deep, I would even say emotional level that I honestly believe not a lot of other Meta Knights have. In fact, I think I came back into the scene not just for the game and the wonderful friends I have made from it, but also for the passion I have for this character. I recently got 1st place at a local tournament, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOpBKkbgmq0) and I'm still top 10 in my local PR, so I think you won't have to worry about the reliability of this guide.

As for the guide itself, your words have knocked some sense into me. I'm going to finish this guide, and I will rewrite most of it for 3.6. You can expect much of the same that I have promised from the original 3.5 version I had been writing. The most important thing to me I think in this guide is quality, which I will do my best to hold an extremely high standard for. I want every sentence and every detail to be entertaining, and I want it to also look and sound great while being read. You can even click on certain words or moves and it will link you to an unlisted YouTube video demonstrating just what I'm talking about in the text if the text itself isn't good enough for you.

I have set a new date that I will do my absolute best to have this guide done by.

December 1st, 2015

Best Wishes,
Dawn

that's really good to hear, and am happy to find out about your passion for MK. I have that same connection with MK. I have played like 8 characters in PM since I started in 3.0, and MK was actually the first one. The problem was I knew next to nothing about tech skill at the time, and my movement was super poor. I ended dropping MK and picked up Roy because his introduction to the game was what got me into PM. Roy never sat well with me though. I do not know what it is, but I hit a major plateau with him. I have also played fox, falco, yoshi, pit, ness, link, marth, and dabbled in a few more, but I felt stuck with just about all of them.

Roy was my main while i played around with those other characters, but I decided to drop him and try to find a new character. The timing of this was around the middle of 3.5. I just went into a game against a computer and played random. After like 4 matches I got MK and remembered how he was my first main. This time, however, I had the tech skill to see his potential. Something clicked with MK that none of the characters had done with me before. MKs movement felt so natural to me, and I felt a really strong connection with him. Once I discovered this connection, I grinded and grinded MK in the lab through the rest of 3.5 and tons more in 3.6. I have not had fun breaking a character down like I did with MK, especially exploiting his IDC to the best of my ability. I found out quickly that this was my favorite move in MKs kit.

I guess I am somewhat fortunate that you did not finish this guide. By the time I rediscovered MK, I also found your newly released post about an upcoming MK guide. At the time, I thought this was perfect timing. Right when I found my new main I would have this massive guide to help me take this character to a whole new level. When you announced that it would be delayed until the end of 2015 (in May at this point in time), I basically gave up on this guide, and this tiny hope I had inside that you would somehow release it was the only reason why I kept coming back to this post every couple of weeks. After that announcement though, I decided to actually break down all of MKs kit by looking at his frame data and how his moves connected with each other since I did not want to wait for a guide that could possibly never be released. During this time, I discovered more about MK in just a month than I did with any other character throughout the duration of my entire smash career. It was because of this guide never getting released that I did this much work to discover so much about him. I have honestly never done this much research or practice with anything in my life than I did with MK. The best part was, I didn't even view it as working or tedious, for I found this whole process to be so interesting and exciting.

Like I said in my earlier post, at this point I will not be learning anything huge about my MK game, for at this point it is the finer details I need to polish up before I can become a dominant force in the SoCal community. I am so close to breaking out in one of these locals. Tournament after tournament I am putting up good fights against the PR players, and I get closer and closer to making an upset. With your guide, I am hoping to find just the smallest of information that I can incorporate into my gameplay. My goal with PM is to first become the best MK in SoCal, which I believe I only have 1, maybe 2 more people to pass in order to succeed in that. I still think Aero's MK is better than mine, and Babaganoush's MK might be better, but I am not sure about that. I think I am the best MK main though (those 2 players have secondary MKs). After that goal, I want to hit the SoCal PR, preferably above 15. The last goal is to become the best MK player in PM, which I believe to be is Plup right now. I feel like I am so close to achieving these goals! The main thing I have to work on is my movement and spacing. A few too many times I barely misspace and it costs me sets against the PR. If I can clean it up, I am sure I will be on the next PR.

I sort of ranted a ton in this, haha. the TL;DR would be if it wasnt for you not releasing the MK guide, I do not think I would've fallen in love with MK as much as I am now. Would still love to see your guide though so I can improve upon my MK!

 

[DawnClutch]

that's really good to hear, and am happy to find out about your passion for MK. I have that same connection with MK. I have played like 8 characters in PM since I started in 3.0, and MK was actually the first one. The problem was I knew next to nothing about tech skill at the time, and my movement was super poor. I ended dropping MK and picked up Roy because his introduction to the game was what got me into PM. Roy never sat well with me though. I do not know what it is, but I hit a major plateau with him. I have also played fox, falco, yoshi, pit, ness, link, marth, and dabbled in a few more, but I felt stuck with just about all of them.

Roy was my main while i played around with those other characters, but I decided to drop him and try to find a new character. The timing of this was around the middle of 3.5. I just went into a game against a computer and played random. After like 4 matches I got MK and remembered how he was my first main. This time, however, I had the tech skill to see his potential. Something clicked with MK that none of the characters had done with me before. MKs movement felt so natural to me, and I felt a really strong connection with him. Once I discovered this connection, I grinded and grinded MK in the lab through the rest of 3.5 and tons more in 3.6. I have not had fun breaking a character down like I did with MK, especially exploiting his IDC to the best of my ability. I found out quickly that this was my favorite move in MKs kit.

I guess I am somewhat fortunate that you did not finish this guide. By the time I rediscovered MK, I also found your newly released post about an upcoming MK guide. At the time, I thought this was perfect timing. Right when I found my new main I would have this massive guide to help me take this character to a whole new level. When you announced that it would be delayed until the end of 2015 (in May at this point in time), I basically gave up on this guide, and this tiny hope I had inside that you would somehow release it was the only reason why I kept coming back to this post every couple of weeks. After that announcement though, I decided to actually break down all of MKs kit by looking at his frame data and how his moves connected with each other since I did not want to wait for a guide that could possibly never be released. During this time, I discovered more about MK in just a month than I did with any other character throughout the duration of my entire smash career. It was because of this guide never getting released that I did this much work to discover so much about him. I have honestly never done this much research or practice with anything in my life than I did with MK. The best part was, I didn't even view it as working or tedious, for I found this whole process to be so interesting and exciting.

Like I said in my earlier post, at this point I will not be learning anything huge about my MK game, for at this point it is the finer details I need to polish up before I can become a dominant force in the SoCal community. I am so close to breaking out in one of these locals. Tournament after tournament I am putting up good fights against the PR players, and I get closer and closer to making an upset. With your guide, I am hoping to find just the smallest of information that I can incorporate into my gameplay. My goal with PM is to first become the best MK in SoCal, which I believe I only have 1, maybe 2 more people to pass in order to succeed in that. I still think Aero's MK is better than mine, and Babaganoush's MK might be better, but I am not sure about that. I think I am the best MK main though (those 2 players have secondary MKs). After that goal, I want to hit the SoCal PR, preferably above 15. The last goal is to become the best MK player in PM, which I believe to be is Plup right now. I feel like I am so close to achieving these goals! The main thing I have to work on is my movement and spacing. A few too many times I barely misspace and it costs me sets against the PR. If I can clean it up, I am sure I will be on the next PR.

I sort of ranted a ton in this, haha. the TL;DR would be if it wasnt for you not releasing the MK guide, I do not think I would've fallen in love with MK as much as I am now. Would still love to see your guide though so I can improve upon my MK!

I also love IDC. I named my combo video after it. Haha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1UAUhSEeU8

 

[Tealz]

it was actually your combo video that got me to experiment with IDC so much

 

[DawnClutch]

Just wanted to let everyone know that progress is coming along great! I'm super happy with what I have so far and I'm very excited to be able to show it to you guys by the end of the new year! Even after release, there's still more that will need to be done regarding matchups, and from there this guide will become a community collaboration.
Thanks for all of the patience so far!
Dawn

 

[Tealz]

i cant wait for this! I have also been watching a lot of your recent matches and have learned quite a bit! keep up the good work!

 

[DawnClutch]

i cant wait for this! I have also been watching a lot of your recent matches and have learned quite a bit! keep up the good work!

Here's a preview of one page. If you click on the name of the move, it automatically directs you to an in-depth video where I show and explain all of the uses for each move, and go in-depth with the hit-boxes.

 

[Sartron]

Here's a preview of one page. If you click on the name of the move, it automatically directs you to an in-depth video where I show and explain all of the uses for each move, and go in-depth with the hit-boxes.

What's wrong with all the frame data? Startup is 23 frames, hitbox is active for 2 frames, endlag is 23 frames.
also http://smashboards.com/threads/meta-knight-hitboxes-and-frame-data-3-6.338971/ is readily available for you to cite

 

[DawnClutch]

What's wrong with all the frame data? Startup is 23 frames, hitbox is active for 2 frames, endlag is 23 frames.
also http://smashboards.com/threads/meta-knight-hitboxes-and-frame-data-3-6.338971/ is readily available for you to cite

Yea, I've been using your data religiously for this, there's still some things I need to change and fix. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Tealz]

HOW DARE YOU TEASE ME WITH THIS!!!! I WAS ALREADY EXCITED ENOUGH

Here's a preview of one page. If you click on the name of the move, it automatically directs you to an in-depth video where I show and explain all of the uses for each move, and go in-depth with the hit-boxes.

 

[AccountForDawnsGuide]

Hype

10char

 

[DawnClutch]

Happy New Year everyone!

Status Update:

It's almost done! I'm just going to tease a little more just to get everyone as excited for this guide as I am!
This thread has over 2,000 views, which is exciting to know that this many people are interested in my guide. Everything for this guide is pretty much done, and I'm only working on polishing things up at this point! Much thanks to Sartron for taking the time to look over an early copy of the guide to make sure all of the frame data and technical details are correct. Currently I'm out celebrating the new year, so I can't guarantee a release by this weekend, however... I can guarantee you that this guide will be on here on Smashboards by next week! I mean it this time everyone!
Because I've worked extremely hard on this guide, in terms of quality, production value, and overall content, I'm excited to announce that you can help support me by officially purchasing the book in either hardcover or paperback! THAT'S RIGHT! THE FIRST EVER PROJECT M GUIDE THAT YOU CAN BUY A PUBLISHED HARDCOVER BOOK OF! This physical copy comes personally signed by me, along with an exclusive letter to the reader detailing the work and progress that went into this guide over the last year. Of course, you can still download the full digital version of this guide completely free when it's released next week! This was a public service I did for the love of this game, and ultimately this character. I look forward to seeing what everyone is capable of achieving with Meta Knight in 2016 with the help of this guide!
Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone who has helped contribute to this thread in some form or another. You are the reason this guide is happening. I'm super excited for this, and I hope everyone is too.

Best Wishes,
Dawn

 

[Zarkdion]

Are you kidding? Like, seriously, are you kidding? I no longer know what is truth versus fiction anymore. If you're not kidding, where can I pre-order? If you are kidding, how many times can I call you a cruel and heartless MK fan before I get IDC'd?

 

[smashbro29]

Can you legally use Nintendo's art asset on your book?

 

[DawnClutch]

Are you kidding? Like, seriously, are you kidding? I no longer know what is truth versus fiction anymore. If you're not kidding, where can I pre-order? If you are kidding, how many times can I call you a cruel and heartless MK fan before I get IDC'd?

I am not kidding. I'm not taking pre-orders. Haha. I'm going to get a few shipped to me first, make sure they look good, sign them, and then ship them out. All you need to do is pay me through PayPal and I'll ship it right out to you. Cost shouldn't be anymore than $20-$30 depending on if you want either paperback or hardcover. When it's released I'll be posting links and more info. But yes, this is totally real.

 

[DawnClutch]

Can you legally use Nintendo's art asset on your book?

Yes, because it's personally being published for me only, and I'm just "giving" it to people who are generously "donating" just the amount each book costs.

 

[Zarkdion]

In that case, I can only really do two things in response:

1. Call you insane to your face for having the... audacity isn't necessarily the right word... chutzpah to do this.
2. Get my wallet.

 

[smashbro29]

Yes, because it's personally being published for me only, and I'm just "giving" it to people who are generously "donating" just the amount each book costs.

Well played, though I'd run that by an actual lawyer first.

 

[ACAL Squall]

Can't wait for release

 

[AccountForDawnsGuide]

Happy New Year everyone!
I can guarantee you that this guide will be on here on Smashboards by next week! I mean it this time everyone!

Welp

 

[DawnClutch]

Welp

Coming out tonight. Finalizing just a few things, but it's all done. Super excited.

 

[standardtoaster]

New thread for this was made. http://smashboards.com/threads/meta-knight-a-lively-and-entertaining-guide.428601/