Fox (SSBM): Difference between revisions

'''Fox''' ({{ja|フォックス|Fokkusu}}, ''Fox'') is a playable [[starter character]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''.

Fox currently ranks 1st on the ''Melee'' [[tier list]], a moderate improvement from his already high 4th ranking in ''Smash 64'' and is his best placement in the series to date. He is emblematic of speed, possessing fast attacks that also give him excellent comboing and damaging abilities. Overall, he can dominate foes with his quick movement and overpowering offense in all areas of his game. He also boasts numerous approaching methods, giving him some of the best neutral game options among the entire cast. He has access to effective, long-distance recovery options in [[Fire Fox]] and [[Fox Illusion]]. He has KO options and setups at a wide variety of percentages, and his high falling speed makes him resilient to vertical KOs. His aerial game also includes several low-lag yet effective and powerful moves to complement his ground game, especially when [[SHFFL]]'d, and is incredibly effective at approaching and edgeguarding. The main reason for Fox's success, however, is his {{b|Reflector|Fox}} (also known as the "shine"), which is one of the most versatile tools in the game. Aside from its intended purpose, the Reflector activates on frame 1 (making it the fastest move in the game), has set knockback, and can be [[jump cancel]]ed; this allows for [[shine spike]] gimps, neutral stance resets, getup option mixups, and even combos when [[wavedash]]ing is incorporated.

Despite being ranked first, Fox is not flawless. One of Fox’s primary weaknesses is his rather short [[reach]], due to his lack of disjointed hitboxes outside of his Shine. As such, he gets outspaced by other top tiers, especially in aerial combat, though his fast movement can compensate for this. His high falling speed makes him very easy to combo and chaingrab off of a single conversion from the opponent, and his light weight can result in extremely early horizontal KOs if the player's [[DI]] is poor. Although he boasts long-distance recovery options, their linear paths makes it easier for certain characters like {{SSBM|Marth}} to predict his recovery path and [[edge guard]] or [[gimp]] him. Fox also has an extremely high technical learning curve, as most of his techniques require extremely nimble fingers and fast reaction time. Also, due to his aforementioned flaws, Fox is considered to be a glass cannon, where he could lose a stock if a single mistake is made, giving him a high cerebral learning curve. So while Fox has incredible fighting prowess and potential, many consider Fox to be arguably the hardest character to play as and master, requiring a lot of practice. Although Fox can rack up damage quickly, his combo game is rather unreliable, as many of his strings rely on tech-chasing and DI mixups rather than guaranteed hits. Fox also lacks a good combo finisher in his kit, as his shine spike is extremely situational and cannot be properly used to end his combos. Unlike other top tiers, such as {{SSBM|Falco}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, {{SSBM|Sheik}}, and {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, who can net a kill off of starting a combo at mid percents, Fox's best option after a combo is to create an edgeguard situation (usually with his {{Mvsub|Fox|SSBM|back aerial}}), which gives the opponent a chance to recover. As such, Fox relies on getting a kill confirm at high percents to net KOs if he can't successfully edgeguard or shine spike his opponents.

==Attributes==

==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]''==

===Aesthetics===

**{{nerf|This new taunt has much more ending lag (FAF 60 → 110), making it riskier to use.}}

===Attributes===

*{{change|Fox [[falling speed|fall]]s significantly faster (2 (60) → 2.8), to the point where it is now almost as high as his [[fast fall]]ing speed in the previous game. His increased falling speed aids his [[approach]] and pressure ability due to his very strong [[SHFFL]], and makes him harder to KO vertically, but makes him more susceptible to combos.}}

**{{nerf|Fox's [[fast fall]]ing speed is also faster (3.2 (96) → 3.4). However, the difference between his falling speed and fast falling speed is much lower (increase: 60% → 21.4%), which makes it more predictable when landing and gives him fewer options in the air.}}

*{{nerf|Fox's snout and the darker portion of his tail now have hurtboxes. This make Fox easier to hit.}}

*{{buff|The introduction of [[air dodge]]s has immensely benefited Fox as it gives him access to [[wavedashing]] and wavelanding and his fast jumping and falling speed allow him to make excellent use of wavedashing.}}

**{{buff|Fire Fox has a larger hitbox (3u → 4u).}}

**{{buff|Fire Fox travels further and faster.}}

**{{buff|Fox can now grab ledges from behind after dashing with Fire Fox.}}

**{{buff|Fire Fox has less landing lag (12 frames → 6/3).}}

==Version history==

Despite this, his tournament viability is not severely affected, as he is also ranked 1st on the [[PAL tier list]] (though recently, this has become more debatable).

|dsdmg=5% (startup), 1.5x damage for reflected projectiles

|dsdesc=Informally referred to as the Shine, it reflects any projectiles that hit it back at the opponent who fired them for 1.5x damage and knockback. This move has low base knockback, but is an extremely useful [[semi-spike]] as it can push opponents offstage while [[edgeguarding]], to prevent them from recovering. Due to the set knockback, it has guaranteed followups on much of the cast at any percentage. The move can be jump cancelled to avoid the ending lag, allowing Fox to quickly jump up off stage, and it also gives him access to the [[waveshine]] technique. Reflector is invincible and active on the first frame of the animation, and thus considered one of the best Down B's in the game (along with Falco's).

}}

*{{Sm|Armada|Sweden}} - One of the Five Gods; Armada initially developed Fox as a counterpick to the {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} matchup (instead of his usual {{SSBM|Peach}}), but his Fox eventually saw use against a variety of matchups and players. His Fox is often described as a perfect balance of aggressive and passive play, and he is the namesake of the "Armada Shine," a perfectly timed [[shine spike]] against an opposing Fox while charging their {{Mvsub|Fox|SSBM|up special}}.

*{{Sm|Chillin|USA}} - Widely credited as the inventor of the Fox metagame during ''Melee''{{'}}s early lifetime, Chillin was known for pioneering many of Fox's essential techniques, such as [[waveshine]] combos and falling {{Mvsub|Fox|SSBM|up aerial}}s, as well as taking sets off of {{Sm|Ken}}, the best player in the world at the time.

*{{Sm|Colbol|USA}} - One of the best Fox players in the world, known for placing 10th on the [[SSBMRank 2014]], and his 5th place finish at {{Trn|Apex 2014}}, which was one of the strongest placings for a solo Fox main at the time.

*{{Sm|Druggedfox|USA}} - Known for his heavy reaction and punished based playstyle. Among his significant results include 13th place at {{Trn|EVO 2016}}, 17th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2016}}, 9th at {{Trn|UGC Smash Open}}.

*{{Sm|Fiction|USA}} - Best solo Fox main in SoCal before switching to {{SSBM|Falco}} in 2021.

*{{Sm|Ice|Germany}} - While active, was known as one of the best players in Europe behind Armada and {{Sm|Leffen}}, and had numerous top eight finishes in North American tournaments, including 3rd at {{Trn|The Big House 6}}.

*{{Sm|KDJ|USA}} - Triple-mained with Marth and Sheik before retiring. Considered one of the strongest ''Melee'' players in the pre-''Brawl'' era.

*{{Sm|Leffen|Sweden}} - Widely regarded as one of the greatest Fox players of all time, and following his rise to dominance in 2015, became the first solo Fox main ever to become a consistent tournament threat. His 3rd place on the [[SSBMRank 2015]] was the highest ever finish for a solo Fox main on a global rankings. Known for his strong neutral game, consistent execution of [[ledgedash]]es and other advanced techniques, and his prowess in the {{SSBM|Peach}} matchup, especially vs. Armada.

Fox Illusion Move.jpg|Using [[Fox Illusion]] on Pokémon Stadium.

FoxReflectorMelee.jpg|[[Reflector (Fox)|Reflecting]] [[Charizard]]'s Flamethrower on [[Brinstar]].

FalcoClassicMode.jpg|Lying next to {{SSBM|Falco}} on [[Corneria]].

CaptainFalconClassicMode.jpg|Knocked back by {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}'s [[Falcon Kick]] on Corneria.

*In ''Melee'', Fox uses his tail as a support while firing his Blaster, but not in later games.

*Fox in ''Melee'' and {{SSBB|Meta Knight}} in ''Brawl'' are the only characters to have ever been in the SS tier.

==External links==

{{SSBMCharacters}}

{{EnemiesAdvSSBM}}