Editing Ironman

An '''Ironman''' is a type of 1-on-1 match in which each player controls a team of different characters, fighting each other in a series of a 1v1 matches with one character at a time in a format similar to a [[crew battle]], and concluding when one player has defeated all of the opposing player's characters. The idea behind an Ironman is to test each player's ability to play a variety of characters, as standard tournaments don't require players to use more than one character (and indeed most players only use a single character or two in tournaments). The first publicized ruleset describing an Ironman match was by {{sm|g-regulate}} in a thread he posted on [[SmashBoards]] in 2007,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smashboards.com/threads/the-ironman-match.110560/|title=g-regulate's thread on his Ironman match ruleset}}</ref> where he stated he got the initial idea from {{Sm|Overswarm}}, though the concept of an Ironman match existed before this thread, with the first definitive creator(s) of an Ironman match being unknown.

Both players pick a set amount of different [[character]]s (typically between 5 to 10 characters, but can be any amount up to the number of available playable characters), with each character having a set amount of [[stock]]s, usually based on the game's [[tournament]] standard (e.g. in ''Melee'' they would have 4 stocks, while in ''Ultimate'' they would have 3 stocks). They then pick their opening characters before the battle, and either mutually agree to the opening stage or stage strike among the starter stages to decide it.

When a player loses all of their character's stocks, they pick another character and counterpick a legal stage. The winner of the prior game starts the battle with their character's remaining stocks from the prior game, and therefore [[self destruct]]s to match their prior stock count before the next game starts proper. An Ironman match ends once one player depletes all of their opponent's stocks for every character, with the surviving player being the winner.

This type of Ironman is functionally similar to a normal Ironman, but involves each player using the full roster instead of a set number of characters. It is occasionally done as a side-event at some tourneys, the most famous instance being {{Sm|Mango}}'s and {{Sm|Mew2King}}'s full roster Ironman at [[Smash the Record]]. This format presides mostly within the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' and ''Melee''; in the former it is a regular fixture of its competitive scene and is also known as a "[[Twelve character battle]]". Full roster Ironmans for the later ''Smash'' games are rare even in casual settings due to each game's increasingly large roster size. For example, ''Ultimate'' has 89 playable characters (86 if {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and the [[Aegis]] are each counted as one character), leaving each player with 267 stocks (or 258 stocks) if each character is given three stocks; such an event would take several hours to finish at least, and if done as an exhibition within a tournament, it would likely run well past its runtime.

The Ironman challenge is a challenge that originated in the ''Smash 4'' community based around [[online play]]. It is conceptually similar to a traditional Ironman in that it requires proficiency with many characters, but rather than being a 1-on-1 match between two players, it involves one player playing on a random matchmaking service such as [[For Glory]] or [[Elite Smash]]. There are 2 basic rules for the Ironman challenge:

In addition to these, there are optional rules to make the challenge even harder, such as stipulating that you are only allowed to play an opponent one time or that characters must be selected in a random order. It is particularly popular on [[YouTube]] and is seen as one of the hardest challenges to complete in all of ''Smash'', outside of actual tournament success.

==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''==

For a ruling specific to ''Ultimate'', with its introduction of [[clone]] characters known as "Echo Fighters" that are negligibly different from their parent character, Squad Strike and Ironman events (or gentleman agreement between players for casual matches) may ban players from using both an Echo and their parent character, deeming it an unfair advantage for players who happen to be proficient with a character that has an Echo and thus allow them to essentially use their main (or secondary) twice instead of having to use an actually different character they're less competent with. These Echo bans may not extend to {{SSBU|Lucina}}, {{SSBU|Chrom}}, and especially {{SSBU|Ken}} however, as a significant amount of players believe they are functionally distinct enough from their parent character to not inherently advantage players that play them, but where the line is drawn varies from tournament to tournament, if an Echo ban is in effect at all.

*[http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=110560 SmashBoards thread]

[[Category:Terms]]

[[Category:Competitive play]]