October 8th, 2018 — 5:36am EST

Hello!!! I’m in an airplane right now and I’ve been contemplating putting thoughts down about some of the awesome characters of Melee doubles. This is going to be fairly objective, pretty unstructured, maybe a bit messy — but above all it’s going to highlight what I think are some of the strengths and weaknesses of what I see as Melee’s five support superheroes: Sheik, Peach, Jigglypuff, Falco, and Marth.

I’ll start by saying that supports in melee are not like “healers”. They are fighters whose jobs are to reinforce qualities of the team in what they individually excel at. You can make an argument then that all characters are supports in their own right, and sure — you might be right. My definition moreso encapsulates the idea that the character’s job is to augment that of their aggressor counterpart. But hey, roles are dynamic. Not one single playstyle suits all in every context. In my eyes there are five conventional supports and this is my guide/write-up on what makes them all great. Enjoy and learn lots!

Support superheroes:

Sheik — The all around.

The fast and deadly. Sheik is one of the fastest support with the most ease in killing by far. Sheik is threatening against opponents at all percents with the exception of fighting a low% Fox.

Sheik’s greatest strength is her dominance in edge guarding the entire cast. Sheik can threaten every character’s recovery in doubles, even Jigglypuff to an extent because of the high range bair and the strength of uair, fair and bair as kill moves.

Needles deserves its own section because of its diverse uses. Armada and Android have really shown the world what it means to use needles dynamically.

>First, needles is a high range projectile that’re hardly visible (surprisingly good quality since there are times people won’t be watching in doubles).

>Second, needles is a tool that ensures an advantage in neutral since it has such high hit stun.

>Third, needles can be thrown at a 45 degree angle in the air which can snipe recoveries, or save teammates.

>Fourth, you will always get value out of needles because you can charge it.

>Fifth, needles can combo into your teammates approach (UGS needle into Peach floated fair).

Team combos: Sheik is a team combo starter and combo finisher. Sheik dash attack and tilts send up at easy angles for combos. Grab is an individual combo starter with down throw. F and B throw are very easily combod off of with your teammate. Downside is her grabs take very long. Sheik can kill with four of her five aerials in a manner of ways, whether its gimping or getting the finishing hit.

Weaknesses: Sheik’s recovery is probably the easiest recovery to beat in a 2v1 situation since opponent-A can hold ledge, while opponent-B can stay on stage and use a kill move.

> it’s hard for sheik to get combos on characters below 40% so she has to resort to poking until knockdown percents.

____________

Peach — The tank, the landmine.

- It’s obvious why we call Peach the tank support of the game. She has the heaviest weight of all S tier supports paired with an amazing recovery. Unlike Sheik or Marth, Peach can stall during her recovery, buying time for your teammate to come help you out.

> The landmine: because of her weight she’s very hard to knock down on the ground, and she also has double’s deadliest tool out of crouch cancel, which is down smash, the multi hit move that racks up damage faster than any attack in doubles. It’s extremely hard to push Peach around as any character because of her CC, nair out of shield, and ability to float in zones that are hard to reach.

> Peach makes it very hard for any character to approach her because of all of the aforementioned tools. It feels like a lot of the time when fighting Peach you just need to leave the space Peach occupies altogether because she hits so hard and so efficiently. The space that Peach controls isn’t very big, but it’s extremely dominant.

- I think one of peach’s greatest strengths is that she is threatening against opponents at any %. 0% opponents can be knocked down by fair. They can also be multi hit by down smash. Mid % opponents are more easily comboable, and her launchers send at easy angles for her teammate to pick up on. High % opponents can die to almost all of Peach’s attacks.

Float: Float allows Peach to play neutral with her teammate in such a unique way. Characters can rarely stack with one another closely on the x axis without crowding the stage. The fact that Peach can float above her teammate lets her get easy trades, easily coordinated approaches with teammate, and is just such an oppressive and looming force in the neutral. I mentioned that Peach is deadly as hell on the ground. She’s also deadly in the air. Very dynamic.

> Float also helps her go WAAAY out there for deep edge guards. This means that she can also hard deny potential teams saves before opponent-A has the opportunity to save opponent-B.

> Conversely, she can go WAAAY out there to make teams saves. She also gets a two second window within her float to make the play, which is just so much time to make your play in the zone that almost no other characters occupy.

Combo game: Peach’s combos with her teammate can be ridiculously fast because of FC aerials and also down smash. Being hit at a Peach who is ready to team combo is terrifying since she can put out two aerials in one second, making her the perfect character to bounce opponents back and forth at low to mid %’s. Peach also hits hard enough that she can be a combo finisher.

> Peach’s weakness in the combo department is just that she can’t hit very high since her double jump takes a while. Armada seems to do just fine with it though since he sets up the team combo to alott time for him to jump to the zone in the air where he connects the combo and waits with his float to hit his attack.

Recovery: I mentioned the strength in Peach’s recovery, but its important that I highlight the weakness of it as well. While her recovery is pretty safe, it takes a long time for her to get back because of the nature of her floatiness and slow air mobility. On top of that, Peach is ridiculously bad at getting up from the ledge in a timely manner. Recovering as Peach can sometimes take up to 5 seconds, which is more than enough time for your teammate to get destroyed in a team combo.

> My painful advice would be to let go of your teammate. If they get destroyed while you recover, then they get destroyed. The worst thing imaginable is forcing your hand in trying to save your teammate and being hit off again for another 5 seconds. This is the reality of Peach. Sometimes you just gotta watch your teammate die while you recover.

_________________________

Jigglypuff — The glass cannon.

In the air Jigglypuff is the fastest, most mobile, and most punishing character in the cast. With mobility like hers and high range aerials it’s easy for Jigglypuff to poke her opponents at awkward times and be a nuisance throughout the game.

Jigglypuff is good against opponents at all %’s, but in my opinion excels most when fighting against mid % opponents because of her combo potential and offstage presence.

Combo game: Jigglypuff’s combo game in doubles is unlike every other supports. She’s more of a combo finisher than a combo starter by the nature of how she must play neutral paired with how her attacks send opponents horizontally (with the exception of uair and pound, which are two moves that aren’t used in neutral that often).

> Jigglypuff can carry opponents across the stage from her teammates launchers with bair and fair, and finish edge guards independently.

- Rest: the in-theory most broken attack in doubles. Rest can melt stocks and kill the entire cast at extremely low %’s. Rest can be incorporated into team play in so many ways.

> Vertical launchers lead into the alley-oop rest

> Grabs from your teammate can lead to easy rests

> Sleeping puff can be awoken by your teammate. Even by full screen projectiles!

Puff’s neutral: Puff has to play insanely safe for the entirety of her neutral game. Unlike in singles, its very easy to combo Puff with two players if you have her in a combo between the two of you. Puff also dies VERY early so one little mishap or overcommit can be fatal as Puff.

Overall I think Puff is the least balanced support among the five. She excels greatly at what she does, but lacks a lot of control on the ground in the same way as the others. That doesn’t mean she’s worse, in fact I think she’s amazing.

___________________

Falco — The harasser.

Falco’s playstyle in doubles is vastly different from that of singles. With the freedom to repeatedly shoot lasers from across the stage, and the best vertical movement in the game, Falco can elect to play from safe ranges while still having a strong punish game of his own.

Falco is good against opponents at any % because shine cannot be feasibly crouch cancelled. I also think he excels at keeping away high % opponents with his long attacks like bair and ftilt, paired with his full range harassing laser.

Laser: On the ground Falco can shoot lasers to control the flow of the neutral game. He can also disrupt combos that are happening to his teammate without putting himself at risk unless an opponent is already in his face. This means that 2v1-ing Falco’s teammate is almost impossible to do without being harassed.

> Laser can also be used to save your teammate from very safe ranges. Generally the best strategy is to save a dead teammate is to recover high in the air so that you can connect lasers on them during their special fall (after up B or air dodge). Most of the time if your teammate is far out recovering, the best strategy for your opponents will be to jump the Falco — and we all know how quickly Falco can die in a 2v1 situation. This is why Falco’s vertical movement is so powerful in doubles, because he can reach the top platform on any stage with a single full hop — something that almost all characters struggle to deal with.

> Conversely, laser can be used to snipe opponent’s recoveries in the same way.

Zone control:

Falco is great at controlling very far distances and keeping opponent’s at a mid range. The worst scenario for Falco is being approached on while you’re mid-laser and dying at low %, because there’s little to no chance that your teammate can save you. That said, Falco can shine stall during his recovery to buy just a little bit of time.

Combo game:

Just like in singles, in order for Falco to start combos he has to get up in his opponent’s face. This is pretty contradictory to everything I wrote above, as I pretty much have only highlighted his play from a far range. While it’s the only way to get meaningful hits in, it’s a risk that Falco players must take in order to rack up damage. This is the duality of Falco in doubles. He’s amazingly safe at far range, but in order to properly punish your opponents, you must approach and get in their face. Always be aware that you live life on the edge every time you approach. There’s no telling what can happen if you stay too long in a combo and get traded out to your death.

Overall, Falco is what I think to be the secretly best support. He has the best tools to control the neutral, prevent combos on your teammate, harass enemies, stay safe on the top platform — but this all comes at the price of the liability of dying off of one little scenario. There are very few players who successfully and consistently can play Falco at a high level in doubles.

____________________

bae

Marth — The oppressor.

Marth is the fastest support in the game with the most dynamic set of attacks that have high range. I label Marth as the oppressor because his job in doubles is to be as dominant and oppressive in neutral as possible. If I had to say what Marth’s objective role is in doubles, it would be to ensure that his team is acting in neutral at an advantage as often and as dominantly as possible. If your team is playing neutral at an advantage throughout the set, you’re doing your job.

Marth is good at fighting opponent’s of all %’s, but struggles killing opponent’s at high %. Marth’s move selection against low % opponent’s is also very limited because of crouch cancel — and he’s generally responsible for racking up percent until mid %’s.

Marth is excellent at being oppressive in neutral, but he lacks kill power that the other characters have. In order for Marth to be deadly you need to create situations where he can find kills (tippering your opponent in neutral at 80% every time isn’t gonna cut ✂️ it). Those deadly situations come from trapping opponents in the corner.

Marth’s speed and range need to be used in their fullest together to threaten your opponents in a multitude of ways. In my opinion his job in the neutral changes on whether Marth is in front or back in the given scenario.

Back line:

Marth’s relative distance to his teammate and the opponents is the most important concept in order to succeed. As I said, Marth must use his speed and range to make plays. As a back liner it is your job to MAINTAIN the space that your team’s established. While this sounds silly because you aren’t actively in the front, your job is to anticipate and react with the goal in mind to MAINTAIN the dominance in neutral via stage control:

> Trades: Marth can be quick to punish an opponent for hitting your teammate. In a scenario where your teammate is knocked down or hit away, Marth should aim to step forward and take his place as the front liner. Using high range moves like dtilt or fair work best in fighting for space.

> Zone control: Marth can swat away aerial approaches with his fair and uair, and regulate the top platform from the ground by sharking with uair. Grounded opponent’s can almost always be outranged by down tilt.

> Moving with the team: in the situation where your frontliner gets an opening you should follow their advance behind them. You shouldn’t be the one to leap frog over your teammate and cut off his offense. Again, your job is to ensure neutral is dominated by your team. Take a step forward and be on the lookout for all of the above objectives^

I should note, a lot of Marth’s attacks don’t lead to literal follow ups. That’s why I’m so often highlighting that Marth’s objective is stage control and being a dominant force in the neutral. Winning a situation as Marth doesn’t always mean doing a lot of damage. It’s about how you seize the macro sense of the game and establish control

Front:

- Marth’s job as the front man isn’t the coolest job on earth. Marth’s goal must be to play a game of inches until you find openings. The more space that you can get, the better. But don’t be stubborn, if it’s a losing situation then you need to back off. Backing off can either mean taking a step back and holding the front line, or retreating altogether and handing off the front to your teammate.

Combo game:

Marth is a teams character made to set up for his team. Generally his moves either are long pokes that send out on the x axis, or combo starters that send up. Marth has the luxury of having different hit boxes on his attacks that can send horizontal or vertical.

As a combo finisher Marth is generally weak without committing very hard, as kills in the air only come from down air or up B. Typically though Marth finishes combos by slapping the opponent off stage and converting to a ledge situation:

Edge guard: Marth is excellent at killing off stage against the fast fallers, but falls short in that regard against floaties. Often times Marth is defaulted to being the team’s ledge holder — as he has weak kill power on stage, but also for the fact that he can dair from the ledge or dip low and reach for back air. Just be sure that there’s a safe route back to the ledge or stage after you’ve committed.

>Also, you want to finish edge guards in as few moments as possible. This means occasionally making a hard read, even if there are safer setups. For example, going for a counter edge guard on Fox opponent-A will give opponent-B too much time to make a play to stop the edge guard. Sometimes you’ve just got to spike ‘em.

Marth is the most easily combod character in the game in a 2v1 situation. It’s SO important that you aren’t putting yourself at risk of being ping pong combod back and forth between two opponents. These situations usually happen when there’s overcrowding at the ledge. I think Marth is amazing 1v1 at the ledge, but as soon as one other person is there it becomes hectic. Make the macro plays! Use your court vision!

Everything I’ve said so far as Marth is different from the other supports in that all of his plays are relative to your teammate. This is why objectively I think Marth is the worst on this list, but his potential to make plays is so high that it can outweigh everything.

At the end of the day Marth’s neutral is flat out better. But his punish can be worse, which can make your team fall behind. This can be very stressful and make you want to force plays. Just know that when you succeed at reinforcing the neutral, your opponents will feel a similar level of stress. Marth in doubles is about creating a vacuum tight chokehold on your opponents and allowing winning situations to come your way.

Thanks so much for reading, and be sure to drop a follow at my TWITTER and tune in to my STREAMS!

Cheers everyone.

💖 Kevin “PewPewU” Toy