Hello. My name is AlMawile. I am a farly new member of the community. I've started competitive play in September, but I have always played with Toon Link even in my casual smashing days.



This guide will cover everything from the basics to combos and general strategies. I will cover things such as the use of his projectiles, what I like to call "Bomb Combos", and advanced techniques like Perfect Pivoting uses.



Before you go ahead and read this guide, keep in mind that this is all from my experience from 1v1 For Glory, watching people, and with some friends. I am by no means a tournament ready smasher. However, I have compiled some information that may be useful for beginner and intermediate players.



So that put aside, let's hop on to the ship and set sail!



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First, let's list the differences between Link and Toon Link:

He is smaller than Link, having a smaller hurtbox

He is faster than Link

He has a smaller sword

He is lighter than Link

He has a different boomerang

He has a different dash attack

His back throw is different than Link's

His bair and fair involve a sword rather than a kick

Toon Link is for those characters that prefer to play campy, but want a character than approach quickly, aggressively, and deal the damage needed.

Now it's time for the Pros and Cons:



Pros:

He is quite fast

His Bair and Fair have more priority than Link's

He has an amazing dair

His back throw is a very dangerous (and unexpected) kill move

Despite the nerfs from Brawl, he still keeps much of his combo potential, especially with bombs

He has a pretty good (and useful) Perfect Pivot

He has a zair

Three of specials are projectiles

Cons:

He is lighter than Link, making him easier to kill

His Dair is very predictable and punishable

His grab has punishable ending lag

Up special is highly punishable if used to recover

He doesn't get Link's new dash attack...

From this information, we can see that Toon Link is a very useful character, but if you do not navigate your ship wisely, you will crash.

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The Voyager's Swordsmanship

Now let's get into the specifics of moves and whatnot. The following will be information on all of his specific moves. (the information is from ssbwiki, so it will be updated soon)



Jabs and Tilts:

Jab: A three hit move. Two sword swings, concluding with a thrust forward. Does 3%, 2%, then 4%. Good against approaching characters. Dash attack : Slashes directly in front of him, dealing diagonal knock back. 8% damage. Good for starting combos at low percents Ftilt: Toon Link raises his sword and swings it to the floor, similar to Link's, but with less KO power. Sweetspot located at the centre of the blade, which deals strong horizontal knockback. 9% damage. Good for keeping opponents away if you land the sweetspot. Utilt: Quickly does a swipe overhead. Can hit on the left or right side of Toon Link. Can combo into itself at low percents, and then an aerial at higher percents. 5% damage. Dtilt: A sword swipe near the floor. 7% damage. Can be used for edge guarding.

Smashes:

Fsmash: Toon Link pulls back and swings his sword in front of him for 10% damage uncharged, 14% fully charged, and when "A" is pressed again, he does another slash for 11% uncharged, 15% fully charged. The first slash leads directly into the second, with good horizontal knock back. Great KO move. You can also use it to rack up damage, or to punish opponents. Usmash: A slightly delayed swipe above Toon Link, with very similar appearance and range of his up tilt, but with much more knock back and damage. 13% uncharged, 18% fully charged. On heavy characters on low percents, this can combo into itself. Dsmash: Slashes twice on the floor on both sides, slashing the direction he's facing first. The first attack combos into the second. 6% damage then 7% damage uncharged, 8% then 10% fully charged. Amazinf horizontal knockback. A great move for punishing rolls. Just be careful which way you are facing before using this move.

Specials (the good stuff):

Neutral special: Hero's Bow- shoots an arrow that can be charged. Has good knockback and damage fully charged. This move is your main spam toll for projectiles. Use this at varying charges for stage control and mix ups. Side Special: Boomerang- shoots a boomerang that comes back after hitting. This is a great projectile. It can be aimed up or down, allowing it to hit opponents approaching from the air. If the opponent is close to you, you can easily spam this and hit them multiple times. Up special: Spin attack- Toon Link spins in a circle hitting multiple times. Not so good in terms of recovery, but a great ground move. It can rack up damage quickly, and is great as an anti approach tool. In the air, t can KO at high percents, but you have better options. Down special: Bomb- Pulls out a bomb that can be thrown and causes between 5-9% damage. This is the anti-air tool. If an opponent is coming towards you from the air, throw a bomb up. It is great fr combos, which I will get into later.

Grab/Throws:

Grab: a tether grab with good range but high ending lag. Useful if you get the grab, but pitiful if you don't. Use it for punishes rather than an offensive tool. Pummel: Bashes the foe in the head with the hilt of his sword. 2% per hit. Pretty fast. Viable for racking up damage. Up throw: Brings the foe up and slashes. Great combo tool. Two hits, dealing 5% damage then 2%. Down throw: Brings the foe down and shoulder tackles them on the floor. 7% damage. Its vertical knock back allows it to be followed with a back aerial, but only at low percents for a reliable combo. Forward throw: Kicks the foe forward, dealing horizontal knock back. The direction the foe is thrown is too low for an aerial followup most of the time, but decent for comboing into a dash attack at lower percents. Two hits; 3% then 4%. Back throw: Rolls on his back with the foe and kicks the foe backward. A great KO option. 7% damage. Use it near the edge to get the reliable KO.

Aerials:

Nair: Slashes on both sides mid-air. 8% front, 7% back. Come out fast. Great for approaching with a SHFF. Fair: Slashes forward with strong knock back. 13% damage. This and Bair are great combo tools, and can also be great KO options. Bair: Same as Fair, except with 11% damage. Uair: Raises his sword above him. 14% damage early, 11% damage late. A great move for juggling at mid percents, and a good KO move at later percents. It has a lingering hitbox, and a very dangerous one, but whiffing it against characters with good aerials is very punishable. Brawl. 16% damage. The initial hitbox is a strong Dair: Stabs directly downward and falls; a Stall-then-fall . Pierces through opponents, unlike. 16% damage. The initial hitbox is a strong Meteor smash . The move will have some ending lag when the sword hits the ground, because Toon Link has to remove it from the ground. In the air, the move goes down for a long time if there is no platform to land on, but does end and Toon Link can possibly recover, although it's nearly impossible. It is very good, but too predictable and punishable. Use it only when you know you can land the hit. Zair: Pulls out the hookshot to deal a little damage and knockback. Great option. One of the best for spacing. Use it against Aerial happy foes like ZSS or Sheik to keep them at bay.

Now that we have that covered, I will get into strategies, combos, and the neutral game.

(Note: do what I just said soon and edit the above info with more concise explanations).

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Bombs Ahoy! Strings and Combos



Grab and Throw combos:



Ground attack combos



Dash attack- Dash attack can combo into Dtilt, Ftilt, Fsmash, another dash attack, Up tilt or Up smash. it can also be followed up with a Fair at mid percents.



Utilt/Usmash- These can combo into each other at low percents. It is a very good way to rack up damage. Utilt is best on lighter characters, since it has less knockback. Usmash is best on heavier characters and fast fallers. It is the best way to rack up damage quickly, send them high in the air, and then follow with a Uair.



Dtilt- This can be followed up with a dash attack or an fsmash at low percents.



Ftilt- this can be followed up with a Boomerang, and then fsmash at low to mid percents.

Aerial combos



Nair- This is a good combo finisher and starter. It can really combo into anything if you follow the DI correctly. It can also end combos to start new ones.



Uair- Use this to juggle. It is mostly a combo finisher rather than a comboing move.



Fair- This is a great combo move. Use it after a Nair, or before. It can also combo into itself. Just follow them with Fairs.



Bair- The same as Fair. I also suggest using it with a RAR (reverse aerial rush).



Special move combos



Hero's Bow- This can be used with the Arrow Lock technique for some cool combos. If the opponent is close, use it to follow up with a dash attack.



Boomerang- Use this to combo when they are close up. It can combo into itself when they are close. Follow up with a dash attack, fsmash, or use the Slingshot or Perfect Pivot to get some cool combos. More on ATs in future updates.



Spin Attack- This can be used after a Uair as a follow up option, but not the best option if you miss it.



Bombs- The move this section was named after is a great combo starting tool! I call these Bomb combos. It is a way of seamlessly combining multiple combos into one using Bombs. However, you must know the advanced techniques for attacking while holding the bomb. If you don't time yourself, you will throw it instead of an attack. However, you can start great combos with them. If the opponent is in the air, throw up a bomb and use a Uair. It's great for multiple Fairs, since the small hitstun can be used to follow up with multiple Fairs. Basically, these combos utilize the small amount of hitstun given to continue combos that opponents would normally get out of. I will make a whole section later on these. Trust me, they work out very well.

Combo Quick List-

Uthrow>Uair Dthrow>Bair Fthrow>dash attack>Fair/Ftilt/fsmash/dashatttack Bair>Bair Fair>Fair Fair>Zair>Fair>Zair>Fair Bomb up>uair Bomb forward>dash attack Uair>spin attack Boomerang>boomerang>boomerang>fsmash Hero's Bow>arrow lock> fsmash Hero's Bow>dash attack

The list will be updated.



Now that we have combos covered, let's get into our general strategies, neutral game, and getting the KO! (note: update with what I just said)

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Navigating the Ship: General Strategy and the Neutral game

Now I will cover the neutral game and the general strategy you should be using while playing Toon Link.

Keeping the Neutral ​

Toon Link will be playing a campy and defensive game, while searching for opportunities for an approach and to start putting pressure.

The best way to do this is to use your projectiles. They will keep constant pressure on your foes, and varying the sequence of them will leave you unpredictable. Dodging your arrows? Throw out a bomb. Avoiding your up throw Bombs? Shoot a boomerang into the air. This will either keep them away, use their shield, roll, or approach from the air. If they shield, they will start to realize that your projectiles are eating away at their shield. If they approach from the air, they can easily be punished. If they roll, punish them.



Keeping the neutral will differ only slightly from character to character. I will go into detail about matchups later on in this guide.

General Strategy​

So now that we have gone over keeping the neutral, we should have a pretty good idea on how to manage with Toon Link. So how do we start approaching with Toon Links combos, strings, and attacks?

The beginning of the match should consist of projectile pressure and punishing approaches. You can use a Zair against air happy opponents to keep the spacing ideal. Grounded opponents can be punished with smashes, tilts, or jabs.

After you get the initial punish, you can start applying pressure with your powerful attacks. Start using your aerials against them, and some combos. Grab them and throw them around. Punish their air dodges and ending lags on moves (and landing lag). Then, quickly get the KO. Delaying it and halting the pressure will result in a comeback, which is not good for you.

KO options include the Back throw, Uair, Fsmash, Dsmash, and sometimes bair or fair. Back throw is my favorite, since most don't expect it, and it's just fun to use. Uair is great to finish a juggle and take the stock quickly. Your smashed are best against characters with vertical recoveries, since they will have a hard time doing so, and probably fall to their death. Bair and Fair are good as an edgeguard KO, and on certain stages.

What if you are in a tough spot? The best way to slow down or halt the opponents momentum is either a well placed Dair (very situational) or a bomb. The bomb can switch the momentum very quickly, since you can follow up and reverse the pressure. If you are trying to recover, recover with your tether. Up special should only be used if your Zair fails for some reason, or if you are in a rolling state without the second jump.

Now we will cover individual matchups. (note: update with what I said)

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Know the Seas! Group and Individual Matchups.

Now I will go into group and individual matchups. (Note: Characters may be in more than one group)





Projectile Happy Dudes

These guys will be using the same playstyle as you: keeping pressure by using

projectiles while playing defensively. Use your projectiles to override theirs, in which you time them in a way that yours hit before theirs do. You can approach from the air and pelt them with bombs from above. Try to punish the projectiles these guys use as much as possible.



Anti-Projectile and Reflectors

These guys can be funny to fight with (in that you are ruining their strategy of reflecting/absorbing your projectiles) or it can be a complete nightmare. These guys can send your arrow right back at your face. Most of them can be punished, but keep watch. Some can absorb your projectiles, and Villager can store it for later use. Punish them with the larger than average hitbox of your bombs, or just play more aggressively with your combos, and use projectiles when they can't reflect, absorb or store.



Heavy and slow but Hard Hitters

These guys will mostly play a combo/punish game. They will approach slowly, maybe from the air, and then come in with a hard hit. These guys are easy to punish due to their lack of speed, and projectiles nearly cripple most of them. Just punish them and apply high amounts of projectile and aerial pressure, and you should be able to deal with these guys easily.





Them.... The Smash Track and Field Team

These guys.... are going to give you a hard time. They are fast, and have low ending lag on almost all of their moves, so they will give you a challenge. But they are not impossibly hard. If you use your projectiles properly, you can keep them at bay. Most of these dudes like the air, so send out a bomb or an air boomerang. A Zair or Fair would work well too. After racking up projectile damage (or failinf at it) approach through the air with SHFF Nairs, since it is the safest option. Your dash attack will work here. Punish their grabs and dash attacks, and you will be ok.



Swordsman

Slowly but Surely/Other...

These guys are those dudes that have interesting tricks up their sleeves. These guys need to be dealt with individually, but generally, figure out how they will use their unique abilites and play like that. Most of them will crumble to projectiles, though some can punish them. Just know the character well and punish them.



I will now go into individual matchups, which will be added daily.



In this section, I will be covering combos. Toon Link has great combo potential with his throws, projectiles, and dash attacks. Most of these combos only work from low-mid percents, but you will be racking up enough damage by these that you will bring their percent high enough for a KO.First I will cover combos with throws.Potential combo starting throws:Down throw- Dthrow's trajectory has been changed from Brawl, making it harder to combo with. However, at low percents, it can still combo. This throw can combo into a Back aerial. If you follow the DI right, yo can get in one or maybe even two more Bairs, but those are situational and need practice to get. This combo doesn't work at mid or high percents though, because the trajectory will make them go a little too far for a combo.Forward throw- Fthrow is another low percent combo starter. Fthrow can be followed with a dash attack. I will explain dash attack combos later in this section.Back throw- On heavier characters, this can possibly combo into a dash attack, but not usually. Back throw is mainly a kill move, so save it for that.Up throw- This is the best combo starting throw. At low percents, it can comboed into a SH Nair. The don't go high enough for a Uair yet. At mid percents, this can guarantee a Uair, which racks up damage quickly. At very high percents, this can KO, but Back throw does the job better.These guys have high priority moves. Some of them have projectiles, some are fast, some will punish you hard. You just have to punish them back. Keep proper zoning and spacing, and you should fight them based off their other attributes.