[Rokrin]

META KNIGHT GUIDE
By: Phe-Gnome

This is a very unorthodox guide to using Meta Knight. Rather than going over every single technique, I will discuss the ones which I see as effective. I will also discuss techniques that were passed off as useless in other FAQ’s. I am not the best Meta Knight user in the world but I am knowledgeable enough to help you expand your move list.

Pros:
Incredible mobility
Has five extra jumps as well as 2 glides (regular glide and Shuttle Loop)
Has outstanding range on sword attacks for his size
Gimps easily due to flight
Down smash is quick, powerful, and unpredictable
Quick rolls and ground combat
Mach Tornado has great priority
Very little lag on attacks

Cons:
Light/easily KO’d
No projectile attack
Doesn’t deal great damage per hit, but makes up for it with speed
Doesn’t have much KO potential when opponent is at low damages
Extra jumps are very short
All specials leave him vulnerable afterwards

Playing as Meta Knight:
Meta Knight is one of the weakest characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He makes up for it with incredible speed and mobility though. Keeping your enemy off the stage, or gimping, is probably one of the best strategies you can use for Meta Knight since he has very low KO potential on the ground. This section of the guide will cover gimping and the best attacks to use to get the job done.

Gimping: For this approach you are going to use 4 or 5 attacks in particular. Feel free to throw whatever else you want in to rack up some damage but there are a few moves that are a must for gimping effectively.

The 1st attack(s) is the forward tilt A (attack). Meta Knight will do 2 attacks then 1 more that will slash the opponent into the air if you press A again. This is the set up for getting your opponent where they don’t want to be while fighting Meta Knight. Off of the stage. You can also accomplish this with your up smash although it is slower and more predictable than the latter.

The 2nd attack(s) is either forward A or neutral A while in the air. Since Meta Knight is a flying character you can actually fly off stage to assault the enemy and have enough recovery options to make a safe landing after attacking. Your forward A will do a series of 3 slashes blocking the enemy from coming back on stage. The neutral A will cause Meta Knight to do a flip which will also push the opponent even further away from the stage. Do this as many times as you need to since this move doesn’t always have enough lift to KO at low damages.

The last attack I will cover for gimping is the very versatile shuttle loop. This is one of Meta Knights most viable means of KOing even when not using the gimping strategy. Use this one with caution, as it sends you into a glide afterwards which can lead you to your death if too far from the stage. So how do you know when to use the shuttle loop instead of regular air attacks? It’s simple. When your opponent has moderate to high damage and/or you know you are close enough to the stage to make a safe landing after hitting your opponent.

Ground Combat: Not always the easiest way to play Meta Knight but he can be just as deadly on land as he is in air. You will need to use a much wider array of attacks using this approach.

The 1st attack I would recommend is the mach tornado. As I mentioned earlier, it has great priority (not many attacks can break it), is a recovery option, and annoys a lot of people. This is by no means a finisher, but an ok damage racker.

You absolutely, ABSOLUTELY MUST use dodging when playing on the ground. Meta Knight will get knocked into next week with virtually 1 hit when playing powerhouse characters such as Ike, Bowser, etc. so dodging is an important means of surviving.
Do a lot of short hopping to take advantage of Meta Knights air attacks even while on land. His air attacks come out quick and have moderate knock back.

This next move I will discuss is the dimensional cape. This heavily under-rated special will make your strategies less predictable. You could use it as a counter and even a recovery move if you master it. It has a nice amount of power behind it if your enemy is heavily damaged making this a great trick during sudden deaths. The best stage to master this special is the Temple from Melee. It is huge and has a lot of platforms. See how accurately you can teleport from one side of the stage to the other without touching the same piece of ground twice.

Now I will discuss ground finishers. Out of all of the finishers, your best friend is the down smash. It comes out quick, hits both sides, and packs a punch. This will be by far your most viable means of accomplishing a KO on ground. Your forward smash is more powerful but more predictable. You can also use shuttle loop as a finisher but if you miss you will be left vulnerable for a short moment.

SUMMARY:
This guide wasn’t created to pick one of the above strategies, but to combine them and hopefully create a comfortable playing style. An unpredictable brawler is a good brawler so having as much variety as possible is key. Hope everyone finds this at least mildly helpful. Feedback is appreciated.