Meta Knight (SSB4)/Down aerial

Hitbox visualization showing Meta Knight's down aerial.

Overview

Meta Knight does a quick slash beneath him. This move is similar to his up aerial in both appearance and function. It has the least startup of any down aerial, as well as decent range. The sweetspot of the slash is also a semi-spike, making it deadly offstage, and is relatively easy to land, as it takes priority over the sourspot, providing Meta Knight with a very quick and effective edge-guarding tool.

The move's speed makes it an effective out of shield option, and it grants Meta Knight a useful combo-breaker and great defense against juggles. It can be used to pressure grounded opponents and cover Meta Knight's aerial approach. However, it is unsafe to use close to the ground, as it has high landing lag, the highest of all his aerials.

Hitboxes

ID	Part	Damage	SD	Angle	BK	KS	FKV	Radius	Bone	Offset			SDIx	H×	T%	Clang	Rebound	Type	Effect	G	A	Sound	Direct	Stretch
0	0	6%	0		30	108	0	3.5	0	0.0	-6.5	2.5	1.0x	1.0x	0%							Slash		0.0	-6.5	-4.5
1	0	6%	0		30	108	0	3.0	0	0.0	-6.5	3.5	1.0x	1.0x	0%							Slash		0.0	-4.5	6.0
2	0	6%	0		30	108	0	3.0	0	0.0	-6.5	-5.5	1.0x	1.0x	0%							Slash		0.0	-4.5	-8.0

Timing

Initial autocancel	1-3
Hitboxes	4
Ending autocancel	26
Interruptible	28
Animation length	29

Landing lag

Animation length	22

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Hitbox

Autocancel

Interruptible

Meta Knight's moveset

Neutral attack · Forward tilt (1 · 2 · 3) · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack · Edge getups
Neutral special (def · c1 · c2) · Side special (def · c1 · c2) · Up special (def · c1 · c2) · Down special (def · c1 · c2) · Final Smash