Mindgame: Difference between revisions

Predicting an opponent's option is the most basic example of a mindgame. It involves observing an opponent's behaviour and discerning habitual patterns in their play-style, then predicting these actions and [[punish]]ing them. Successfully predicting a player's action is commonly referred to as a '''read''', and furthermore, there are two types of reads: a '''soft read''' and a '''hard read'''. The relationship between the types of reads is a matter of risk versus reward; a soft read occurs when a player punishes an opponent's options while covering other options (often resulting in sub-optimal punishment), whereas a hard read occurs when a player specifically reads a single option with its optimal punishment but at the expense of not covering other choices the opponent could have made. An example of a soft read would be covering tech options. For example if an opponent is put into a tech chase, he or she only has four options: tech-rolling towards the player, tech-rolling away from the player, a neutral tech, or missing the tech on purpose. By dash dancing near the opponent, a player effectively covers three of the four options: the neutral tech, the missed tech, and the tech roll towards the player, (since these three can be punished upon reaction). An example of a hard read would occur if in the scenario described above, the player picked one tech option and charged a smash attack in the location the opponent would end up after picked that said tech option. Such a example of a hard read occurs in the GIF to the right.

[[File:PowershieldFsmash.gif|thumb|Bad laser spacing is a commonly baited habit in competitive play.]]

Another example of a mindgame is baiting, also known as luring, which is a slightly more complex form of predicting and punishing. It involves tricking an opponent into putting themselves in a vulnerable position. This is done by recognizing and remembering an opponent's reaction to a particular situation and inducing that situation in order to punish their reaction. In other words, this is punishing a player's habits.  

{{SSB4|Rosalina & Luma}} can bait opponents in a unique manner, as seen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8MRChI5_Pc here]. As Luma can still be controlled regardless of Rosalina's state, she can [[shield]] herself long enough to break her shield, baiting the opponent into attacking her while she is in a dazed state. Luma can then punish the opponent as the opponent comes to attack Rosalina.

[[File:MangoDD.gif|thumb|Here, [[Smasher:Mango|Mango]] (Fox) uses dash dancing to pressure [[Smasher:Armada|Armada]] (Peach) into trying to take back stage control. Armada was pressured into trying to hit Mango out of the dash dance, but was unsuccessful and punished.]]

[[File:ZhuPressure.gif|thumb|Here [[Smasher:Zhu|Zhu]] uses neutral aerial-shines to successfully pressure [[Smasher:Mew2King|Mew2King]] into doing a hasty shield grab.]]

Sometimes, situations occur where an opponent does not cover an option because it is known by both players to be inferior to other options, or is otherwise thought to be something "they would never do". Recognizing that the opponent doesn't expect something can make it notably more effective. A common example is Ike's forward smash; while it should generally never be used without a read or a setup, successfully throwing it out when the opponent doesn't expect it can result in a surprise hit.

A tomahawk is mindgame performed when a player nearby an opponent does a [[jump]], typically a [[short hop]], and simply lands back on the ground without using an attack. The intent is to make the opponent believe an aerial attack is coming and cause them to raise their [[shield]] (making the technique a bait). The jumper then has a free move on the shielding opponent, most commonly a [[grab]].