List of semi-spikes (SSBB)

This is a list of semi-spikes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

List

Bowser

• Neutral attack 1st hit - A small portion of the first claw swipe has an angle of 30.
• Down smash - Spins in his shell on the ground. The first 6 hits are semi-spikes, though they cannot really be used as such because of the follow-up hits.
• Down aerial (landing hit)

Giga Bowser

• Down smash (first 7 hits)
• Back aerial - Unlike Bowser's, it retained its semi-spike angle in Brawl.

Captain Falcon

• Up aerial - Does an aerial flip kick. The hitbox at his foot at the end of the animation semi-spikes opponents.
• Knee Smash - Some lower hitboxes of the attack can semi-spike powerfully.

Diddy Kong

• Forward smash (1st hit in close)
• Monkey Flip - If used against enemies in The Subspace Emissary, it is a semi-spike.
• Rocketbarrel Barrage - Any opponents who are rammed into by Diddy will be semi-spiked.

Donkey Kong

• Cargo down throw - Throws opponent forward like a bowling ball.
• Konga Beat (weak waves)

Falco

• Down smash - Does a split kick. Same as Fox's down smash, but has slightly less power and ending lag.

Fox

• Down smash - Does a split kick. It is very fast with good power and decent reach. It can be very effective if landed near the edge. It has noticeable ending lag however, and its edgeguarding capabilities are rather limited.
• Back aerial sweetspotted - Fox spins around and kicks behind him. One of the most powerful semi-spikes in Brawl, being capable of reliably KOing under 150%. Its edge-guarding capabilities are limited however, as its short reach and short hitbox duration makes it difficult to land. It additionally has high ending lag, giving it high risk to use offstage. If sourspotted, it instead hits at the Sakurai angle.
• Reflector - Using the move to gimp is known as the shine spike. Unlike in Smash 64 and Melee, it has knockback scaling, though it's still extremely low and not noticeable until high percentages. Much more effective on characters with poor recoveries.

Ganondorf

• Forward tilt - Kicks straight forward. It is the second strongest semi-spike in Brawl at high percents due to its high knockback scaling, but its poor vertical reach limits its edgeguarding capabilities. However its power makes it effective at KOing near ledges.
• Up aerial - Does an aerial flip kick. The hitbox at his foot at the end of the animation semi-spikes opponents. Compared to Captain Falcon's up aerial, it is stronger and more useful. It is one of the best and most known semi-spikes in both Melee and Brawl, and it complements Ganondorf's already deadly edgeguard game.

Jigglypuff

• Down smash - Does a spinning split kick. Low start-up lag and good power for a semi-spike. It has noticeable ending lag though, and with its very short reach, Jigglypuff is better off using its Wall of Pain for edgeguarding.
• Down aerial - Does a drill kick. If it is sourspotted, the move can semi-spike.
• Puff Up - If an opponent hits it while it is shrinking, the attack is a OHKO semi-spike.

Kirby

• Down smash - Does a spinning split kick. When sourspotted, it semi-spikes the opponent with decent knockback. To sourspot, Kirby has to hit the opponent with tips of his feet. It has decent reach and fast startup, so it is usable for edgeguarding.
• Aerial Hammer (second swing) - A very powerful semi-spike, it is the second strongest semi-spike at low percentages and the third strongest at high percentages. However, landing it is very difficult since Kirby has to the land the second hit, not the first hit (which will knock the opponent out of reach for the second hit) and both strikes have noticeable start-up lag. If Kirby does land the second hit on a recovering opponent, it usually results in a KO.
• Stone - Side hitboxes upon landing semi-spike with decent power. Very slow start-up and very limited reach make it near impractical for edge-guarding with, however.

Link

• Neutral attack 3rd hit - A weak stab forward.
• Up throw - Slashes the opponent upward. Any bystanders hit will be semi-spiked.

Lucas

• Down tilt - Does a rapid kick towards the ground. Similar to Ness's down tilt, but is slightly stronger (still can't KO at 999%, however). It is near impratical for edgeguarding, as it has very short reach and produces no noticeable knockback at realistic percentages.

Luigi

• Luigi Cyclone 1st hit - Weak and impractical, but still a semi-spike.
• Fireball

Marth

• Down tilt - Thrusts his sword forward across the ground. Fast, good reach, and decent power makes this a effective edgeguarder, especially against those who try sweetspotting the edge. It is even faster in Brawl than in Melee, and does not need to be tipped, but its shorter reach and Brawl's physics make it less effective.

Meta Knight

• Down aerial - Thrusts his sword below himself. Extremely fast and low ending lag, Meta Knight can WoP opponents with his down aerial, making it deadly for characters with poor and/or predictable recoveries. This, combined with its decent power and Meta Knight's multiple jumps, make it arguably the best semi-spike in Brawl, if not the most versatile. The sourspot of the attack is not a semi-spike however (its angle is 35).
• Aerial Shuttle Loop - Semi-spikes if the opponent is hit while Meta Knight is rising. Has very high base knockback but very low knockback scaling. Almost no start-up lag and very strong initial knockback makes it arguably the deadliest semi-spike in Brawl, as it is a near invariable KO if landed offstage or near the ledge. It's also great for stage spiking. Additionally, it's an excellent anti-edgeguard maneuver, as characters risk being semi-spiked away from the stage in attempting to edgeguard Meta Knight. It is a very effective edgeguarder, but is risky since it leaves Meta Knight in a helpless state after the move is finished. Most effective at edgeguarding opponents recovering from above, due to the nature of the attack and being less risky.

Mr. Game & Watch

• Down tilt - Opens a Manhole in front of himself. Has high base knockback, but very low knockback scaling. It is effective at edgeguarding, as it is fast, has good disjointed reach, and has a long-lasting hitbox.
• Down smash (sourspotted) - Swings two hammers on both sides. The sourspot is located at the handles. With high speed, power, and reach, it is effective at edgeguarding. Even though its sweetspot sends opponents vertically, it can still be effective at edgeguarding given how powerful it is.
• Chef - The frying pan semi-spikes with low power. It is not effective as a edgeguarder due to its short reach and slow start-up lag.
• Judge number 6 - Semi-spikes opponents with high base knockback, accompanied by flame damage. It is noticeable for being the only other Judge other than #9 that can be useful over other options. It is deadly to recovering opponents, but the random nature makes it difficult to land.

Ness

• Down tilt - Does a rapid kick towards the ground. It is a semi-spike, but an extremely weak one. Only noticeable at extreme percentages. It is impractical for edgeguarding, as it has very short reach and produces no noticeable knockback at realistic percentages.
• Dash attack - Pushes forward with PK sparkles in front of his hands. The hitboxes before the final hitbox send opponents on a weak horizontal angle.

Peach

• Forward smash (tennis racket) - When sweetspotted, it is the strongest semi-spike in the game. Otherwise, it is weak. It is unreliable for edge-guarding, due to its short reach and the random nature of Peach's forward smash, but is potentially deadly.
• Down smash - In Brawl, while it still semi-spikes, it was drastically weakened from Melee to the point where it can't even KO at Sudden Death percentages.
• Peach Bomber
• Vegetables

R.O.B.

• Down smash - At very high percents, the hitbox that sends the opponents vertically may not hit, semi-spiking the opponent.
• Robo Beam - Acts as a weak semi-spike on grounded opponents.

Samus

• Bomb - The explosion produces a very weak and impractical semi-spike.

Sheik

• Forward aerial - Quickly swipes her hand in front of her, semi-spiking the opponent. It still semi-spikes effectively in Brawl, but was noticeably weakened from Melee.
• Light Arrow - This attack semi-spikes opponents, while Zelda's version sends opponents diagonally.

Toon Link

• Forward tilt
• Dash attack - Fast and has good reach, but it is very weak and the semi-spike is only noticeable at very high percentages.
• Down smash - The first strike is a semi-spike with high base knockback but the second strike is often landed afterward which has vertical knockback instead. At very low percentages, the much higher base knockback of the first strike can override the knockback of the second strike and results in a surprisingly powerful semi-spike, that may even KO depending on the location and character it was landed on.
• Forward smash - A small amount of the first swing has an angle of 10 degrees.
• Down aerial (landing) - Both the wind and the impact of landing are semi-spikes.
• Back throw
• Up throw - Slashes the opponent upward, semi-spiking any bystanders, like Link's.
• Spin Attack - The multi-hits are semi-spikes, though they exist only to suck in targets for the rest of the attack.

Wario

• Down smash
• Back throw - Any bystanders will be semi-spiked.
• Slow edge attack
• Wario Bike (wheelie)

Wario-Man

• Down tilt - Very fast and powerful.
• Down smash
• Forward throw
• Back throw (only to bystanders)
• Slow edge attack
• Wario Bike (wheelie)
• Wario Waft (fully charged)

Wolf

• Down throw - A throw that semi-spikes opponents with surprisingly high knockback scaling for a throw. It can be very deadly if Wolf grabs the opponent on the edge as the throw has bizarre properties that negates the opponent's momentum, thus making it very difficult for some characters to recover.
• Forward smash - First hit only, it is extremely weak and only noticeable at extreme percentages.
• Blaster (melee portion only) - The melee hitbox of the blaster produces a weak semi-spike but the opponent is almost always hit with the projectile afterward, thus cancelling out the knockback of the first hit.
• Reflector - Semi-spikes with extremely low set knockback. Despite 1 frame startup lag and intangibility, it's too weak to be effective against most characters in most situations. However, it can be especially effective at gimping characters with very poor or slow recoveries (most notably Falco).
• Wolf Flash - The weaker hitbox can semi-spike opponents powerfully.

Yoshi

• Down tilt - Sweeps his tail along the ground. Has very low knockback scaling. It is fast with decent reach, and can be useful for edgeguarding. Less useful in Brawl compared to Smash 64 and Melee.
• Down smash - Does a tail smack in front of himself, then behind. Pretty decent power and usefulness.
• Egg Lay - Using the move against enemies in The Subspace Emissary makes it a semi-spike.

Zelda

• Forward smash - Like the up smash, parts of the first hits act as semi-spikes to keep targets trapped in the attack.
• Up smash - Parts of the first hits act as semi-spikes, though the minimal SDI capacity makes it difficult for it to be a deciding blow.
• Down smash - Very fast and it has good power for a semi-spike. Its short reach limits its edgeguarding capabilities but can still be effective. Much stronger in Brawl than it is in Melee.
• Neutral aerial - Works in the same way as the up and forward smashes.
• Nayru's Love (first five hits)

Other

• Hitting someone with a thrown Star Rod.
• Suicune's Aurora Beam is a semi-spike that OHKOs any opponent. When considering items, this is by far the most powerful semi-spike in Brawl.
• Master Hand's open hand crush has two hitboxes; if the player is hit by his palm, they will be sent horizontally on a semi-spike trajectory with powerful knockback. If the player is just outside his palm, it instead results in considerable vertical knockback. Crazy Hand has a similar attack, though it is weaker and deals 10% less damage.
• If the opponent is grabbed by the player and another opponent attacks the player that grabs the opponent, the opponent that was being grabbed will be sent horizontally on a semi-spike trajectory.
• Several enemies in The Subspace Emissary have moves with these properties, and are usually extremely dangerous. Powerful ones include an Autolance's stab, the final hit of an Armight's combo, a Ticken's charge, and Tabuu's Golden Brackets attack.

See also

• List of semi-spikes (SSB)
• List of semi-spikes (SSBM)