Falco (SSBM)

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|char=Falco}}

==In [[~~Competitive~~ play]]==

==In [[competitive play]]==

===[[Character matchups (SSBM)|Matchups]]===

Falco is one of two characters in the game to have no disadvantageous matchups whatsoever, along with {{SSBM|Fox}}, but has more even matchups than most other top tier characters. Falco has seven even matchups, [[soft counter]]s three characters, [[counter (matchup)|counter]]s seven, and [[hard counter]]s eight. He has the tools to beat every character, though he is particularly vulnerable to [[chaingrab]]s from characters such as {{SSBM|Marth}} and {{SSBM|Peach}}, and is very easy to [[gimp]] and [[edgeguard]]. These disadvantages give him some trouble against characters who have effective edgeguarding tools, such as {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, Marth, and Fox. He tends to do well against characters who do not have the tools to properly respond to his [[combo]] openers, such as {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, and does very well against characters with a lack of reliable horizontal finishers and/or edgeguarding ability, such as {{SSBM|Young Link}}. Overall, Falco's matchup spread is among the best in the game.

====Current metagame====

~~Falco's even matchups are now being called into question~~, ~~with him being argued to win a handful of these matchups instead.~~ Falco is ~~one of~~ the ~~only characters in~~ the ~~game~~ that ~~can be argued to have a winning~~ matchup ~~against Fox. His lasers allow him to restrict Fox~~'s ~~movement, and~~ his ~~shine followups on Fox are generally easier to execute than extended combos from Fox~~ against Falco. ~~However~~, ~~Fox edgeguards Falco much more easily, and the advantages that~~ Falco's ~~lasers provide diminish as players improve and learn counterplay against it. At the top level~~, ~~though~~, ~~both characters can usually heavily damage (if not KO) the other as soon as they force an opening; because of~~ this, ~~opinions on the Fox-~~Falco ~~matchup are still split. Falco is now considered to~~ win against ~~the Ice Climbers as well; he can easily separate them with his shine, forward smash, and down aerial, and his jump height allows him~~ to ~~easily reach high platforms that~~ the ~~Ice Climbers can't contest~~.

Overall, Falco is known to have perhaps the most balanced matchup spread among all the top tiers, as he has no matchups that are considered overwhelmingly difficult, but also has only one matchup that's solidly in his favor (against {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, where Falco is his most difficult matchup). While the other top tiers have at least one losing matchup, Falco's worst matchups are considered less disadvantageous than those of Fox, Jigglypuff, Marth, or Sheik. Despite this, Falco doesn't win against any other top tier (besides Captain Falcon) to the same degree either.

On the other hand, some of his even matchups are now considered ~~losing~~. Marth was long thought to have an even matchup against Falco, owing to Falco's superior neutral game offsetting Marth's range and slightly stronger punishes. Despite this, Falco mains have been struggling to defeat Marth players of similar level in recent times, as he is punished far harder for making a mistake and can easily be gimped at low percentages by Marth. This suggests that the risk-reward of interactions in the matchup is against Falco, and many now consider Marth to be a soft counter to him. Peach and Jigglypuff are also notoriously difficult matchups in practice at the highest level due to how hard it is for Falco to combo them.

Some of Falco's even matchups are now being called into question, with him being argued to win a handful of these matchups instead. Falco is one of the only characters in the game that can be argued to have a winning matchup against Fox. His lasers allow him to restrict Fox's movement, and his shine followups on Fox are generally easier to execute than extended combos from Fox against Falco. However, Fox can KO Falco at zero with a [[shine spike]] near the ledge, and the advantages that Falco's lasers provide diminish as players improve and learn counterplay against it. At the top level, though, both characters can usually heavily damage (if not KO) the other as soon as they force an opening; because of this, opinions on the Fox-Falco matchup are still split. Most players consider the matchup to be even or very slightly in Falco's favor. Falco is now considered to win against the Ice Climbers as well; he can easily separate them with his shine, forward smash, and down aerial, and his jump height allows him to easily reach high platforms that the Ice Climbers can't contest.

On the other hand, some of his even matchups are now considered worse than previously thought. Marth was long thought to have an even matchup against Falco, owing to Falco's superior neutral game offsetting Marth's range and slightly stronger punishes. Despite this, Falco mains have been struggling to defeat Marth players of similar level in recent times, as he is punished far harder for making a mistake and can easily be gimped at low percentages by Marth. This suggests that the risk-reward of interactions in the matchup is against Falco, and many now consider Marth to be a soft counter to him. Regardless, Falco is still considered to do better vs. Marth than Fox does, especially on {{SSBM|Final Destination}}, due to his superior combo ability and access to lasers in the neutral game.

Peach and Jigglypuff are also notoriously difficult matchups in practice at the highest level due to how hard it is for Falco to KO them at high percents. It is not uncommon to see these two characters living to above 150 percent vs. Falco, as he no reliable [[kill confirm]]s on them. His combo game is also weaker on these characters, because his shine deals too much knockback at mid percents to follow up on. Many Falco players switch to playing Fox against these characters, especially vs. Jigglypuff, as Fox has a much easier time KOing them. However, these matchups are still usually considered even, and are complicated by a lack of reliable data compared to Fox in these matchups. Falco requires a very defensive and laser-heavy style of play to perform well against these characters, and his weaknesses are compounded in these matchups, because one mistake can lead to an edgeguard situation and a stock loss.

Characters who have seen more success since 2010, namely Yoshi and Pikachu, also have improved matchups against him. Falco is no longer considered to have an overwhelming advantage against them, due to advancements in those characters' punish and edgeguard games against fastfallers. Despite this, he still is considered to have the upper hand, with most believing that those matchups remain in his favor.

Falco (SSBM): Difference between revisions

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@@ Line 264: / Line 264: @@
 |char=Falco}}
-==In [[Competitive play]]==
+==In [[competitive play]]==
 ===[[Character matchups (SSBM)|Matchups]]===
 {{SSBMMatchupTable|falco=yes}}
 Falco is one of two characters in the game to have no disadvantageous matchups whatsoever, along with {{SSBM|Fox}}, but has more even matchups than most other top tier characters. Falco has seven even matchups, [[soft counter]]s three characters, [[counter (matchup)|counter]]s seven, and [[hard counter]]s eight. He has the tools to beat every character, though he is particularly vulnerable to [[chaingrab]]s from characters such as {{SSBM|Marth}} and {{SSBM|Peach}}, and is very easy to [[gimp]] and [[edgeguard]]. These disadvantages give him some trouble against characters who have effective edgeguarding tools, such as {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, Marth, and Fox. He tends to do well against characters who do not have the tools to properly respond to his [[combo]] openers, such as {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, and does very well against characters with a lack of reliable horizontal finishers and/or edgeguarding ability, such as {{SSBM|Young Link}}. Overall, Falco's matchup spread is among the best in the game.
 ====Current metagame====
-Falco's even matchups are now being called into question, with him being argued to win a handful of these matchups instead. Falco is one of the only characters in the game that can be argued to have a winning matchup against Fox. His lasers allow him to restrict Fox's movement, and his shine followups on Fox are generally easier to execute than extended combos from Fox against Falco. However, Fox edgeguards Falco much more easily, and the advantages that Falco's lasers provide diminish as players improve and learn counterplay against it. At the top level, though, both characters can usually heavily damage (if not KO) the other as soon as they force an opening; because of this, opinions on the Fox-Falco matchup are still split. Falco is now considered to win against the Ice Climbers as well; he can easily separate them with his shine, forward smash, and down aerial, and his jump height allows him to easily reach high platforms that the Ice Climbers can't contest.
+Overall, Falco is known to have perhaps the most balanced matchup spread among all the top tiers, as he has no matchups that are considered overwhelmingly difficult, but also has only one matchup that's solidly in his favor (against {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, where Falco is his most difficult matchup). While the other top tiers have at least one losing matchup, Falco's worst matchups are considered less disadvantageous than those of Fox, Jigglypuff, Marth, or Sheik. Despite this, Falco doesn't win against any other top tier (besides Captain Falcon) to the same degree either.
-On the other hand, some of his even matchups are now considered losing. Marth was long thought to have an even matchup against Falco, owing to Falco's superior neutral game offsetting Marth's range and slightly stronger punishes. Despite this, Falco mains have been struggling to defeat Marth players of similar level in recent times, as he is punished far harder for making a mistake and can easily be gimped at low percentages by Marth. This suggests that the risk-reward of interactions in the matchup is against Falco, and many now consider Marth to be a soft counter to him. Peach and Jigglypuff are also notoriously difficult matchups in practice at the highest level due to how hard it is for Falco to combo them.
+Some of Falco's even matchups are now being called into question, with him being argued to win a handful of these matchups instead. Falco is one of the only characters in the game that can be argued to have a winning matchup against Fox. His lasers allow him to restrict Fox's movement, and his shine followups on Fox are generally easier to execute than extended combos from Fox against Falco. However, Fox can KO Falco at zero with a [[shine spike]] near the ledge, and the advantages that Falco's lasers provide diminish as players improve and learn counterplay against it. At the top level, though, both characters can usually heavily damage (if not KO) the other as soon as they force an opening; because of this, opinions on the Fox-Falco matchup are still split. Most players consider the matchup to be even or very slightly in Falco's favor. Falco is now considered to win against the Ice Climbers as well; he can easily separate them with his shine, forward smash, and down aerial, and his jump height allows him to easily reach high platforms that the Ice Climbers can't contest.
+On the other hand, some of his even matchups are now considered worse than previously thought. Marth was long thought to have an even matchup against Falco, owing to Falco's superior neutral game offsetting Marth's range and slightly stronger punishes. Despite this, Falco mains have been struggling to defeat Marth players of similar level in recent times, as he is punished far harder for making a mistake and can easily be gimped at low percentages by Marth. This suggests that the risk-reward of interactions in the matchup is against Falco, and many now consider Marth to be a soft counter to him. Regardless, Falco is still considered to do better vs. Marth than Fox does, especially on {{SSBM|Final Destination}}, due to his superior combo ability and access to lasers in the neutral game.
+Peach and Jigglypuff are also notoriously difficult matchups in practice at the highest level due to how hard it is for Falco to KO them at high percents. It is not uncommon to see these two characters living to above 150 percent vs. Falco, as he no reliable [[kill confirm]]s on them. His combo game is also weaker on these characters, because his shine deals too much knockback at mid percents to follow up on. Many Falco players switch to playing Fox against these characters, especially vs. Jigglypuff, as Fox has a much easier time KOing them. However, these matchups are still usually considered even, and are complicated by a lack of reliable data compared to Fox in these matchups. Falco requires a very defensive and laser-heavy style of play to perform well against these characters, and his weaknesses are compounded in these matchups, because one mistake can lead to an edgeguard situation and a stock loss.
 Characters who have seen more success since 2010, namely Yoshi and Pikachu, also have improved matchups against him. Falco is no longer considered to have an overwhelming advantage against them, due to advancements in those characters' punish and edgeguard games against fastfallers. Despite this, he still is considered to have the upper hand, with most believing that those matchups remain in his favor.