Galt
Smash Journeyman
Wake up, G&W players! Since my time with Melee is drawing to a close, and I don't intend to play Brawl for many reasons which should (but may not) be obvious, I've decided to focus on fun characters, which means, in part G&W. So I'm going to share with you my successful strategies and theories, and you can test and discuss at will.
A note about me as a player: I live in Austin, and fight Xelic and Chang-sta every week (usually more than once a week), and fastliketree if he decides to join us, and I've been to several tournaments (although admittedly, not nearly so many as most really competitive players). Since I'm a college student, and since we at UT have an organized Smash schedule, I fight many different players from week to week. So I have experience, and I know what I'm talking about.
Now, for the point:
1) This is an old, but rather effective, strategy of mine against people who don't know what to expect from G&W. For fastfallers only, mind you. By now, everyone should know that b-throw off the edge is a good move for any character, and this holds true for G&W. So, on fastfallers at low- to mid-percents, b-throw off the edge. Your opponent will naturally DI toward you, which sets him up perfectly for a keyspike, very easy. This should work very well on less experienced players. Then, on the second stock, b-throw off the edge again. This time, your opponent will remember, and will DI away from you, which sets him up perfectly for an f-air. And often, he'll be DIing away still, so you can get another quick KO. Third stock, he should be catching on, so watch his DI. If he DIs in, with the intent to meteor-cancel, f-smash him. If he DIs out, f-air as usual, or jump out and then return without attacking, depending on how you want to edgeguard.
2) You want to get grabs in as often as possible. I shouldn't need to tell you, but jab > grab works well. You should also often be looking for opportunities to grab out of d-tilt instead of d-tilt > f-air. And because of the way G&W's throws work, many people won't be able to read them well, so if you can predict your opponent's DI, throw in the opposite direction (assuming that, for some reason, you don't want to throw down or up).
3) F-airs are G&W's main approach, but they're also slow and predictable. There are two ways in which I like to change them up: a) space such that you stop just short of your opponent, because he'll think it's a mistake and will often rush you for a grab or counterattack, at which point you can easily L-cancel into jab > grab or d-tilt; b) short-hop at your opponent as you normally would for an f-air, only, when you would normally start the f-air, double-jump into a d-air instead: your opponent will generally try to rush you, or jump over you, and will run into your d-air either way.
4) Up-tilts juggle fastfallers very well. On characters like Falcon especially, you can camp with it. Don't be afraid to make your opponent come to you. If Falcon is behind you and you're both shielding, start an up-tilt, and he'll usually jump into it. During the juggle, your opponent will eventually manage to DI out. At this point, you should be able to follow up with a keyspike into the stage, which, depending on the percent and DI, may set up into another move.
5) Judgment strategies. Obviously on light characters, d-throw > hammer. But there are other uses. Characters like Marth, Fox, and Falco often recover vertically from below the edge. If you see this coming, walk off the ledge and throw a hammer behind you. I did this to fastliketree's Fox last week, with a 3-hammer, and even though he was at a low percent and didn't die, it still got a decent reaction from the crowd. A 6 or 9 or even an 8 will generally guarantee a kill, I think. Also, when trying to get back on the stage from the edge, try edgehopping with a hammer. The priority will cancel things like Marth's sword, and opponents who try to rush you will run into it. The hammer has really good priority, and stays out for a while, so don't be afraid to use it in the middle of nowhere sometimes; if only it had a little more range, it would be really deadly.
6) Nothing new here, but I want to really emphasize it: spacing is everything. Space your f-airs very carefully. Use retreating f-airs whenever you can.
Those are my strategies for the moment. If I think of more, I'll post them. If you have something interesting, feel free to share.
A note about me as a player: I live in Austin, and fight Xelic and Chang-sta every week (usually more than once a week), and fastliketree if he decides to join us, and I've been to several tournaments (although admittedly, not nearly so many as most really competitive players). Since I'm a college student, and since we at UT have an organized Smash schedule, I fight many different players from week to week. So I have experience, and I know what I'm talking about.
Now, for the point:
1) This is an old, but rather effective, strategy of mine against people who don't know what to expect from G&W. For fastfallers only, mind you. By now, everyone should know that b-throw off the edge is a good move for any character, and this holds true for G&W. So, on fastfallers at low- to mid-percents, b-throw off the edge. Your opponent will naturally DI toward you, which sets him up perfectly for a keyspike, very easy. This should work very well on less experienced players. Then, on the second stock, b-throw off the edge again. This time, your opponent will remember, and will DI away from you, which sets him up perfectly for an f-air. And often, he'll be DIing away still, so you can get another quick KO. Third stock, he should be catching on, so watch his DI. If he DIs in, with the intent to meteor-cancel, f-smash him. If he DIs out, f-air as usual, or jump out and then return without attacking, depending on how you want to edgeguard.
2) You want to get grabs in as often as possible. I shouldn't need to tell you, but jab > grab works well. You should also often be looking for opportunities to grab out of d-tilt instead of d-tilt > f-air. And because of the way G&W's throws work, many people won't be able to read them well, so if you can predict your opponent's DI, throw in the opposite direction (assuming that, for some reason, you don't want to throw down or up).
3) F-airs are G&W's main approach, but they're also slow and predictable. There are two ways in which I like to change them up: a) space such that you stop just short of your opponent, because he'll think it's a mistake and will often rush you for a grab or counterattack, at which point you can easily L-cancel into jab > grab or d-tilt; b) short-hop at your opponent as you normally would for an f-air, only, when you would normally start the f-air, double-jump into a d-air instead: your opponent will generally try to rush you, or jump over you, and will run into your d-air either way.
4) Up-tilts juggle fastfallers very well. On characters like Falcon especially, you can camp with it. Don't be afraid to make your opponent come to you. If Falcon is behind you and you're both shielding, start an up-tilt, and he'll usually jump into it. During the juggle, your opponent will eventually manage to DI out. At this point, you should be able to follow up with a keyspike into the stage, which, depending on the percent and DI, may set up into another move.
5) Judgment strategies. Obviously on light characters, d-throw > hammer. But there are other uses. Characters like Marth, Fox, and Falco often recover vertically from below the edge. If you see this coming, walk off the ledge and throw a hammer behind you. I did this to fastliketree's Fox last week, with a 3-hammer, and even though he was at a low percent and didn't die, it still got a decent reaction from the crowd. A 6 or 9 or even an 8 will generally guarantee a kill, I think. Also, when trying to get back on the stage from the edge, try edgehopping with a hammer. The priority will cancel things like Marth's sword, and opponents who try to rush you will run into it. The hammer has really good priority, and stays out for a while, so don't be afraid to use it in the middle of nowhere sometimes; if only it had a little more range, it would be really deadly.
6) Nothing new here, but I want to really emphasize it: spacing is everything. Space your f-airs very carefully. Use retreating f-airs whenever you can.
Those are my strategies for the moment. If I think of more, I'll post them. If you have something interesting, feel free to share.