Wolf (SSBB)/Down throw

Hitbox visualization showing Wolf's down throw.

OverviewEdit

Wolf throws his opponent below himself and slashes them in a similar fashion to his down aerial, shortly before throwing them away from him. Both the slash and the throw deal 6% each, dealing a total of 12%, making down throw Wolf's most damaging throw by a large margin. This naturally makes it a solid throw to rack up damage. The throw itself launches opponents at a completely horizontal angle, having the sharpest semi-spike angle out of any throw in the game.

At lower percents, the throw does not put opponents into tumble, with the throw launching opponents horizontally and forcing the opponent into their landing animation once hitstun ends, provided that the opponent is touching the ground. The throw itself has a considerable amount of ending lag, limiting Wolf's followup options. At lower percents, it essentially resets neutral with both Wolf and his opponent recovering at a similar time, granted that they land on the ground. At around mid percents, Wolf does have a considerable frame advantage but he lacks any guaranteed followups in open space, due to his options either being too slow to hit the opponent or because they lack the range needed to hit the opponent. Wolf can get guaranteed followups if he down throws an opponent near a wall (where he can even chain grab using his down throw) although this does require a wall. Without a wall, Wolf lacks any guaranteed followups against almost the entire cast with a few exceptions. Against Bowser, Charizard, Donkey Kong and Ganondorf, Wolf can get a guaranteed down tilt after a down throw in open space at certain percents (although the percent window is very small on Charizard, Donkey Kong and Ganondorf) and against Bowser specifically, Wolf can also get a guaranteed jab or forward tilt depending on the percent. Against the rest of the cast however, Wolf gets nothing guaranteed.

Usually, Wolf's main option after a down throw at lower percents is to go for a mixup, either going for an attack or a dash grab, which can lead into another down throw to reset the situation, which is naturally quite strong due to down throw's high raw damage output. Attacks can be shielded but Wolf can beat shield with a dash grab. The opponent can spot dodge the grab but Wolf can beat the spot dodge with an attack (ideally a charged smash attack) so the opponent is put into a 50-50 situation. There are instances however where an opponent can potentially use certain attacks to beat both an attack and a grab so Wolf players do have to be weary of his opponent's options before attempting to go for a mixup (and Wolf can naturally shield/dodge any attacks if the Wolf is predicting an attack). If the opponent ends up off stage after the down throw, they have a bigger frame advantage and Wolf always lacks any followups against his opponent.

One situation where Wolf can get guaranteed followups on open ground however is when the opponent has RCO lag. If Wolf's opponent has RCO lag when they are being down thrown, they will have much more landing lag after the down throw, giving Wolf significantly more time to followup. This can allow Wolf to land guaranteed Smash attacks on his opponent, which can build up a chunk of damage and put Wolf's opponent in a disadvantageous spot (such as off stage or above Wolf). This is a rare situation however and if Wolf attempts a Smash attack followup against an opponent who does not have RCO lag, he will be left in quite a punishable spot.

When the opponent reaches around 49%-67% depending on their weight, down throw will put them into tumble, which alters the throw's functionality quite a bit. When used away from the edge, the down throw will almost instantly put the opponent in a tech situation. The extremely low launch angle on down throw means that the opponent is guaranteed to hit the ground and they have a very short window to tech the down throw. This naturally means that down throw can consistently set up tech-chases which can be beneficial for Wolf if he reads the opponent's tech option correctly. Wolf can potentially land a Smash attack or another down throw to reset the situation if he guesses correctly although he will get nothing if he guesses incorrectly and possibly even be put in a punishable situation.

If Wolf uses down throw near an edge in this situation, the opponent will be sent off stage at an extremely low angle, ending up below and away from the stage. While Wolf naturally does not get a tech chase in this sitaution, it does give him good positional advantage, as his opponent ends up off stage in a rather awkward spot, putting him in a solid spot to potentially edgeguard his opponent, especially at higher percents. Down throw itself is not a particularly strong KO throw, not KOing Mario from the edge of Final Destination until around 178% without DI or momentum canceling (although its extremely low angle make DI and momentum canceling relatively ineffective against it), in addition to being a completely unviable KO option from center stage, as the opponent can simply tech the down throw once they hit the floor. It can be used as a KO throw at very high percents although it will typically not KO on its own, with Wolf potentially needing to successfully edgeguard his opponent for the KO. Characters with poor recoveries may not be able to make it back on stage if they are down thrown off stage at a high enough percent, so down throw can be quite effective against characters with very poor recoveries, such as Olimar, Ivysaur and Ganondorf.

The main downside with using down throw to get the opponent off stage however is that Wolf does have to grab the opponent quite close to the edge. As a rather extreme example, if Mario is down thrown at 200% from just a short distance away from the ledge, he will land on stage and have the ability to tech in order to completely avoid flying off stage. Wolf can potentially punish his opponent in this situation but this does require a read from the Wolf player, especially if Wolf initiated the down throw a considerable distance away from the ledge. Even missing the tech to get off stage can work to avoid a potential followup, and characters with strong momentum canceling options can immediately utilise them to survive, as the opponent has no hitstun after sliding off stage after missing the tech.

Wolf's down throw is Wolf's best throw overall due to its high damage output, solid mixup potential at lower percents and its solid potential to set up tech-chases/edgeguards at higher percents. With that being said however, Wolf's down throw is far from being one of the best throws in the game. While it can potentially chain into itself, it lacks guaranteed chain grabbing potential (unless a wall is present) due to its ending lag being too high and it is not strong enough to be a solid KO throw either, especially since the throw often cannot get the opponent off stage at higher percents unless used at the edge. Down throw is a useful move for Wolf overall, but it is also not a defining tool in his kit, unlike Falco's down throw for example.