Shield stab

Marth using his down tilt on a shielding Pit, effectively shield-stabbing him on the third hit.

A shield stab, also called a shield poke, is the event of finding a damageable portion of a character slightly outside of their shield and striking it, therefore bypassing their attempt to shield. This is an extremely useful technique, as it can be used to strike an otherwise defended enemy.

Some characters are easier to shield stab than others. For example, Mr. Game & Watch's shield is small compared to his body size (in SSBM), and Captain Falcon and Pit are too tall for a spherical bubble to cover properly. A character that is short and/or round (such as Kirby or Olimar) can be hard to shield stab for similar reasons.

If a character sees an incoming shield stab attempt, they may be able to shift their shield to cover up the area by slightly tilting the control stick (tilting too far too quickly will cause a roll or sidestep). This gets harder as their shield weakens and shrinks.

There are certain moves that are overall better at shield stabbing due to their combination of power and speed. These moves are usually multi-hit moves (such as Meta Knight's Mach Tornado) or quick long range moves (such as Marth's down tilt).

While shield stabbing can be useful, in some cases it can actually be a problem if the attacker is trying to get a shield break; in fact breaking a shield and leaving the target open for a fully-charged smash or super-powered special move might be preferred over hitting a shielding opponent with a basic attack. Since shields can get rather small before they break, this means attackers trying to get a break need very good aim if they want to hit the shield as opposed to the target.

It should be noted that Yoshi, due to his unique shield (encasing himself in an egg), cannot be shield stabbed.

Examples of moves that are well known for the excellent shield stab properties

• Kirby: Up tilt (SSB64)
• Marth: Down tilt (Brawl and Melee).
• Peach: Down smash (Melee more than Brawl)
• Game and Watch: Back air (Brawl more than Melee), neutral aerial (Brawl)
• Meta Knight: Mach Tornado, down tilt, Drill Rush, forward tilt