What characters are solo-mainable?

[CursedKaiju]

I feel like Fox, Falco, Marth and maybe Puff and Sheik are solo mainable but I think thats it

 

[Dolla Pills]

If you ask me the only characters I can see winning super major (solo mained) are Fox and Puff (maybe Peach with some bracket luck), but really that's because the only people who I'm confident can go through a bracket with one character are Hbox, Mango (maybe), Leffen, and Armada if he avoids Hbox and Leffen which is pretty unlikely. However, I think you can do really well solo maining any character until like the DK range

 

[Ravengeance]

I think it depends on what level of Melee we are talking. If you mean like Super Majors you could argue only Fox and Puff as Leffen and HBox are the only ones solo maining and winning the big tournaments.
If Armada doesn't run into Leffen or Hbox he could go all Peach and win. If Mang0 doesn't run into Hbox or Armada he could go all Falco and win. M2K could have a shot at winning going only Sheik or only Marth. He wouldn't be the favorite to win but I don't think it's unrealistic to think he would have no chance.
I think the top 6 characters are all viable solo mains. I'd argue Falcon, Pikachu, Samus and IC's are viable as well. I don't think they will win an EVO or Big House but I think the potential is still there to get top 8 of the largest events. That's the line I personally draw. Once you get into the Doc/Luigi/Ganon range I think the viability is lost.

 

[iAmMatt]

I definitely believe that falcon can win a major. S2j has shown some promising stuff vs Armada as of late, and he's already shown that he can take out hbox. I think its only a matter of time before a falcon takes gf over one of the gods.

 

[KrispyKabbage]

Anyone with no huge weaknesses (Fox, Falco, etc).

 

[-ACE-]

I definitely believe that falcon can win a major. S2j has shown some promising stuff vs Armada as of late, and he's already shown that he can take out hbox. I think its only a matter of time before a falcon takes gf over one of the gods.

Same here. All it takes is for wizzy n0ne or s2j to have an insane day and have the gods have mediocre days. Wizzy 3-0'd hbox, it's possible. n0ne won SC7 recently and s2j won S@P9. Far from winning a major but they both beat top10 players.

 

[Henke]

I believe Fox, Falco, Marth, Puff and maaaaybe Sheik can be completely Solomained. I'm unsure about Falcon, but in recent tournaments he has showed potential, so I wouldn't count him off either. Every other character can probably only serve as secondaries and counterpicks IMHO.

 

[-ACE-]

Fox, falco, marth, puff, sheik, peach, Falcon...

Even pika, and climbers/samus are getting close. Yoshi and luigi are almost there.

Yes, I listed some characters that have certain things holding them back, but remember: every character is untapped, EVEN TODAY. No one is perfect. All humans make mistakes and have bad habits. Imagine a Pikachu better than Axe. It's hard to say how well he would do.

 

[CursedKaiju]

But what about for those that are just getting into the tournament scene? would you still tell them that puff and sheik are solo mainable?

 

[Joel_Tarkus]

Spacies, Jigglypuff, Peach, Marth. I think anyone else you might want to have another character for bad match ups. These are the only characters I believe wouldn't require you to play anyone else.

 

[-ACE-]

But what about for those that are just getting into the tournament scene? would you still tell them that puff and sheik are solo mainable?

Absolutely, without question. Fox is sheik's worst matchup and it's beyond doable. And sheik only BARELY loses to falco, puff, and marth is extremely evenish, however i think at tippy top level marth wins slightly (sheik obliterates marth at low and mid level). It is arguably easier to pick up peach for the IC's matchup, but that is not a game breaker either. Sheik vs climbers is a similar situation to the falco/puff situation i described yesterday. It's not as bad as people think. I'm not saying that sheik is completely one dimensional or anything, but typical "sheik stuff" basically works for all matchups. She essentially has the same ABC combos and techchases that are effective across the board. When a sheik runs into IC's however, they have to play the game quite differently. Very few people can make the adjustment and put in the necessary effort. Lack of representation skews a lot of peoples' opinions on matchups.

Puff is certainly solo mainable as well.

 

[iAmMatt]

But what about for those that are just getting into the tournament scene? would you still tell them that puff and sheik are solo mainable?

Yep. Solo maining a character early on in your melee career is a key factor in developing your playstyle and learning basic tech.

 

[EmptyNess]

Solomaining is basically viable up until a top 30 level

 

[Vlade]

Regardless of what character you end up picking, you should solo-main anyway if you're just starting out or even if you're intermediate level. Constantly switching between characters is just going to stunt your growth as a player, you'll find that in the long term you'll benefit far more if you stick with the same character even when the matchup is bad. Learning a secondary to cover bad matchups is something only the high echelon of players should be considering.

 

[KirinKQP]

Out of all of the "viable" characters in Melee, I would say that Sheik, Captain Falcon, Doctor Mario and Luigi have the toughest time being solo mained. There are obviously some who do that, but from viewing major tournament results, those characters often don't place very high by themselves. Usually the players would have a secondary like Fox for example to help win certain matchups. A great example from viewing streams and tournaments is Wizzrobe; though his Falcon is kickass and has gotten very far, he does occasionally pull out his Fox.

 

[-ACE-]

Out of all of the "viable" characters in Melee, I would say that Sheik, Captain Falcon, Doctor Mario and Luigi have the toughest time being solo mained. There are obviously some who do that, but from viewing major tournament results, those characters often don't place very high by themselves. Usually the players would have a secondary like Fox for example to help win certain matchups. A great example from viewing streams and tournaments is Wizzrobe; though his Falcon is kickass and has gotten very far, he does occasionally pull out his Fox.

Best troll ever?

 

[KirinKQP]

Best troll ever?

Apologies, but I had no intention of implying of being a troll with that response. It was a biased response based on watching many players using various characters, perhaps it was even misinformation because knowledge on the matchups, neutral, punish game, etc. can prove me wrong on several levels.

 

[-ACE-]

Apologies, but I had no intention of implying of being a troll with that response. It was a biased response based on watching many players using various characters, perhaps it was even misinformation because knowledge on the matchups, neutral, punish game, etc. can prove me wrong on several levels.

Lol I'm only joking, but it's just funny to me grouping falcon and sheik in with luigi amd doc in terms of the difficulty they see being solo mained. Falcon has been making tremendous strides lately, with wizzy being one set away from taking a major. Plup/Swedish delight/shroomed have all had extremely good results with sheik, although they do often pick a different character against top level IC mains. But it doesn't mean sheik can't win that matchup. I think the matchup is rather tedious but sheik wins slightly. Luigi and especially doc have a MUCH harder time than falcon/sheik.

 

[Henke]

Spacies, Jigglypuff, Peach, Marth. I think anyone else you might want to have another character for bad match ups. These are the only characters I believe wouldn't require you to play anyone else.

Peach probably has too much of a bad matchup against Puff in order to be solomainable. AFAIK it's the second worst matchup among the top tiers, apart from Peach-ICs.

 

[JFB (JurgaBurgaFlintines)]

Marth is definitely solo-mainable. The only problem is that we Marth players tend to **** up sets against mid/high tier characters like Samus, Yoshi, Pikachu and Puff.

 

[-ACE-]

Peach probably has too much of a bad matchup against Puff in order to be solomainable. AFAIK it's the second worst matchup among the top tiers, apart from Peach-ICs.

It's true, the near perfect peach (Armada) had to pick up fox because of this. And the near perfect puff (hbox) is fine solo maining puff. This is part of the reason (along with matchup spreads) why I consider puff more viable and cannot agree with the numerous people that are putting peach (often a tier) over puff nowadays.

 

[XenoFalcon95]

In my opinion, if you take all of the best players into account, I can only really see spacies, puff, and maybe marth/sheik being able to be solo-mained and win a super major.

 

[-ACE-]

In my opinion, if you take all of the best players into account, I can only really see spacies, puff, and maybe marth/sheik being able to be solo-mained and win a super major.

Chu beat 2 gods and was very close to resetting the bracket on hbox the other day... I'm not sure why so many people think only top tiers have a chance.

 

[Victory.IsMyDestinySSB4]

Yes: Probably: Maybe: Doubtful: No:

 

[iAmMatt]

Yes: Probably: Maybe: Doubtful: No:

Pika is more solo mainable than samus? I disagree with this post, mostly due to samus's mu spread being more even than pika's.

 

[-ACE-]

Pika is more solo mainable than samus? I disagree with this post, mostly due to samus's mu spread being more even than pika's.

How about the "probably" for jiggs? We have living proof that jiggs can beat any player on Earth lol

 

[X WaNtEd X]

Are we talking about solo maining in the current meta, or the future? I think right now Fox, Falco, Marth, Puff, ICs, and Falcon can win a major going solo. This is more based on the players rather than the characters. In the future, I think it will only be Fox, Falco, Marth, Puff, and Falcon.

 

[Silen]

...but that is not a game breaker either. Sheik vs climbers is a similar situation to the falco/puff situation i described yesterday. It's not as bad as people think...

I'm sorry to tell you, but falco/puff on dreamland is truly MeleeHell. I pop off like a madman when I beat puff on dreamland. I put it in its own tier of tediousness. Sometimes puffs just don't approach on dreamland, next thing you know you accidently fire a laser a little too close and get rested. #BanPuffForBeingLame2017

 

[-ACE-]

I'm sorry to tell you, but falco/puff on dreamland is truly MeleeHell. I pop off like a madman when I beat puff on dreamland. I put it in its own tier of tediousness. Sometimes puffs just don't approach on dreamland, next thing you know you accidently fire a laser a little too close and get rested. #BanPuffForBeingLame2017

 

[Sempai]

Sheik vs Jiggs is pretty rough.
I main Sheik and Marth bc I enjoy both of their playstyles but I still have a mediocre matchup vs the puff menace.

Spacies and Jiggs is my vote.

 

[Happens2u]

I think anyone in the top half of the tier list could do it. We've seen tons of good stuff from players all the way down to Yoshi who show each character's potential even in difficult matchups.

That said I feel the discussion is kind of pointless because if you look at it from a results standpoint the only characters that have won majors solo recently are Fox and Puff, but that's not indicative of who the best characters are or who is viable as a solo main.

 

[Captain Phobos]

Fox, Falco, and Marth are the one's I would suggest, but Sheik works just fine.

 

[iAmMatt]

I mentioned a few posts ago about falcon becoming more prominent from players like S2J and Wizzy, but I'd like to elaborate a little bit. I believe falcon is solo mainable because I don't think that a lot of his bad mu's are as bad as people make them out to be. Falcon's upair can outspace a lot of floaties' aerials and keep them in the air, which is where a lot of them don't want to be (peach, marth). Despite peoples' opinions of sheik being falcon's worst mu, I think they go even. It's incredibly difficult to grab>dthrow/upthrow a sheik as falcon and not get a good followup like a tech chase or a short combo. Sheik is the perfect combo weight for falcon, meaning he can zero to death her with ease, assuming falcon can chase her despite di.

 

[-ACE-]

OBVIOUSLY falcon is solo-mainable. It's not even a question.

 

[JFB (JurgaBurgaFlintines)]

Falcon is solo-mainable.

 

[X WaNtEd X]

I mentioned a few posts ago about falcon becoming more prominent from players like S2J and Wizzy, but I'd like to elaborate a little bit. I believe falcon is solo mainable because I don't think that a lot of his bad mu's are as bad as people make them out to be. Falcon's upair can outspace a lot of floaties' aerials and keep them in the air, which is where a lot of them don't want to be (peach, marth). Despite peoples' opinions of sheik being falcon's worst mu, I think they go even. It's incredibly difficult to grab>dthrow/upthrow a sheik as falcon and not get a good followup like a tech chase or a short combo. Sheik is the perfect combo weight for falcon, meaning he can zero to death her with ease, assuming falcon can chase her despite di.

Everyone read this post while listening to this:

https://youtu.be/MuAGGZNfUkU

 

[-ACE-]

Everyone read this post while listening to this:

https://youtu.be/MuAGGZNfUkU

Surprised smashboards allows that url lmao

 

[CursedKaiju]

so if peach and icies aren't solo mainable how many match-ups hold them back?

 

[Henke]

so if peach and icies aren't solo mainable how many match-ups hold them back?

Only one each, Peach struggles with Jigglypuff and ICs struggles with Peach. Otherwise I'd say the rest of the chart is pretty much good enough for them to not need a counterpick.

 

[1000g2g3g4g800999]

Peach isn't even ICs worst mu imo. Fox is. And if Chu has taken multiple games off of the best Peach and best player in the world, it can't be as bad as the MU making them unviable as a solo main implies.