Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Meta Knight (SSBB)/Neutral special

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Overview

The hitbox of the move, without the tornado graphics shown.
The ending hitbox, that produces all of the knockback.

Known as Mach Tornado, Meta Knight spins around very quickly, creating a yellow-orange tornado around himself. This attack consists of many hits. Anyone nearby will be slashed multiple times and get trapped in the tornado, while being damaged continuously. The maximum damage the move can do is around 21%. The move can be extended by repeatedly pressing the B button; this also allows Meta Knight to rise while using the move, and apparently increases the move's priority, with it becoming weak again towards the end. The final hit does moderate vertical knockback, and it can also Star KO if the opponent is very close to the upper blast line. The move lacks transcendent priority, unlike most of Meta Knight's other moves, though this actually makes it harder to grab him out of it. The move still grants Meta Knight a lot of protection, and he can use it to go through non-transcendent projectiles. It can even be used as a "followup" to air camping.

Mach Tornado can also be used as a recovery move while rising. It gains decent vertical distance and great horizontal distance, while being difficult to attack Meta Knight out of it, due to its large hitboxes being able to clash with ground and aerial attacks alike. However, Meta Knight cannot grab the edge while using the move - he will simply bounce off instead. He also cannot grab the edge during the first few helpless frames after using the move.

A well-known way to use Mach Tornado for a Star KO is to use multiple up aerials while rising and then using Mach Tornado. This is easier to do against floaty characters. However, the move leaves Meta Knight helpless after it is used.

Overall, Mach Tornado is known as one of the best moves in all of Brawl, being an extremely effective damage racker and a very useful recovery option due to not only giving a large amount of horizontal distance and some vertical distance, but also because of the protection it gives. There are ways to stop the move, including transcendent projectiles such as Falco's Blaster, and moves such as Meta Knight's forward smash and Snake's up tilt. Even then, however, the move is considered difficult to counter at close range.


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Attack data

  • Startup: frames 1-11
  • Hits on frames: 12-58
  • Cooldown (grounded): 59-87
    • Cooldown will always be 29 frames. Landing lag adjusts to this. This means that if the move ends in midair and Meta Knight freefalls for 10 frames, the landing lag will be 19 frames. The botched up landing lag lasts for 30 frames.

List of attacks that can easily outprioritize Mach Tornado

A list of attacks that easily win against Mach Tornado. This is not a full list of every move that wins against Mach Tornado; only the ones that are most useful to the character are listed. This list is tested against the middle timing of the tornado, where the priority is at its strongest. Attacks in bold are the most useful ones to beat Mach Tornado. [1]