Meta Knight (SSBU): Difference between revisions

As a likely balancing factor for their combo potential, Meta Knight's normals suffer from carrying some of the worst hitboxes in the game, often being significantly smaller and less active than their animations suggest. This not only makes his range deceptively short, but also makes landing attacks unusually difficult and unintuitive, demanding more precision to perform combos and take stocks than most other fighters. His lightweight status combined with his fast falling speed makes him susceptible to both combos and early KOs, and while he can work his way toward zoners with his small size, quick ground speed and [[Mach Tornado]], his approach options are fairly predictable. His grab game, while better than most other swordfighters, is still mediocre: his grab range is some of the worst in the game, none of his throws reliably KO below 160%, and none of them have significant damage output or combo potential outside of [[Meta Knight (SSBU)/Down throw|down throw]]. Finally, his best combo tools are very susceptible to DI and [[staling]], due to their low base damage (with some such as up aerial able to drop to as low as 2% per hit [even with the [[1v1 multiplier]]]), and repeated usage in many situations, forcing him to mix up his combo routes and keep track of the opponent's trajectory.

*{{Sm|Abadango|Japan}} - The greatest Meta Knight player of all-time. He was one of the first notable Meta Knight players, playing him in the early months of competitive ''Ultimate'' and placing placing 25th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}. He dropped him in mid-2019 but brought him back into his roster in mid-2022, where he used primarily Meta Knight to place 2nd at {{Trn|Kagaribi 8}}, defeating several of Japan's best players at that time, which remains the best tournament performance from a Meta Knight player. Alongside his 3rd-place finish at {{Trn|VCA 2022}}, his results helped improve Meta Knight's perception in the community, though he eventually dropped Meta Knight once again in mid-2023. Nevertheless, he remains the only Meta Knight player ever ranked in the top 50.

*{{Sm|Metara|Japan}} - One of the best Meta Knight players in the post-pandemic metagame and the best since Abadango dropped the character in 2023. Although inconsistent, he has seen some of the best Meta Knight performances of all-time, including winning {{Trn|Ruyubura! Part 2}}, the first ranked event won by a solo-Meta Knight player, placing 13th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 13.5 "U-22"}} defeating {{Sm|Yaura}}, placing 17th at {{Trn|UltCore Fourth}} defeating {{Sm|Raki}}, and upsetting {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}} at {{Trn|Kagaribi 10}}. He was ranked 134th on the [[LumiRank 2023]] as the first and only solo-Meta Knight player ever ranked globally on a year-long ranking.

*{{Sm|Yei|Costa Rica}} - The best player from Central America in the early metagame and in the early years of the post-pandemic prior to {{Sm|ShinyMark}}'s rise. He is known for his mastery over many characters but primarily played Meta Knight during this time. He was best known for nearly winning the Mexican invitational {{Trn|Smash Vertex}}, where he defeated {{Sm|Maister}}, placing 2nd at {{Trn|Smash Legends 3}} defeating {{Sm|ShinyMark}}, and placing 5th at the {{Trn|SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals}} defeating {{Sm|Chag}}. He played more {{SSBU|Palutena}} as time went on and was ranked 85th on the [[UltRank 2022]] as a Palutena and Meta Knight main before entirely dropping Meta Knight in 2023.