Stage spike
A stage spike refers to when one is knocked against part of the stage and falls straight down in a similar fashion to a meteor smash. Stage spikes can be used as an edge-guarding technique or as a guard break technique, depending on who is doing the stage spike. One example is Marth using his Dolphin Slash below the stage to knock a recovering opponent into the stage and KO them. This can be teched out of, but it's very difficult to do so. Another example is Captain Falcon's Falcon Dive, it is safer to use since Captain Falcon can use the move again after he succesfully grabs an opponent. A stage spike can also be performed by some moves on opponents who edgehog.
Applications
Stage spikes are mostly useful for characters with no true meteor smashes (for instance, Meta Knight and Squirtle). However, they are great for all characters. For instance, Marth has two meteor smashes. In the above example, the opponent would almost certainly be above or to the side of Marth, so his Down aerial is useless as a meteor smash. By using the Dolphin Slash, he knocks the opponent up and into the bottom of the stage, causing them to bounce off and die as if they were meteor smashed, as well as allowing Marth to recover. Donkey Kong also has a technique which is carry an opponent and then toss him or her there with his forward throw.
Self-stage spiking
Self-stage spiking involves a failed recovery move. Self-stage spiking occurs when the player tries to recover, but instead, in addition to missing the ledge, ends up hitting part of the stage, bouncing off, and then falling down as if they were spiked. Ness and Lucas, as part of their PK Thunder attacks, are particularly prone to self-stage spiking.
Examples
See also
- Meteor smash - an attack that deals downward knockback but can be recovered from through meteor cancelling in Melee and Brawl.
- Semi-spike - an attack that hits the opponent at a low horizontal angle that hinders recovery opportunities.
