SSBU/Simon/Strategy

Gameplan Summary
Simon's gameplan revolves around his oppressive neutral with his whip and projectiles. Using fast, precise whip strikes and to keep the opponent out and force them into a corner is Simon's main objective, as this is where he shines. By forcing his opponent to the ledge, he can begin ledgetrapping, keeping opponents there for potentially a long time or until the opponent loses their stock. Because of Simon's much less than favorable disadvantage, this gameplan must be carefully implemented, and Simon needs to make sure to keep as many bases covered as possible.

Neutral
Simon's excellent space control is thanks to his whip and set of projectiles, all of which are tools that he can use to lock off parts of the screen and punish opponents for committing in neutral. The tools below are the most common and useful ones, but the majority of Simon's arsenal can have a place, no matter how niche, in his gameplan. Effective ranges are described in terms of roll distances (Short: <1, Medium: 1-2, Long: 2+).

Because of Simon's above average range, he benefits a lot from dashing back after a poke. A lot of Simon players will land with an aerial, create space by dashing back, then anticipate an approach with, and for good reason as well.

Generally, Simon does not want to be in the air unless he has the advantage. That means don't be too tempted to chase after an opponent in the air. Instead, be more focused on catching the landing with moves like and. At most, throw out an if you can follow their drift, but don't commit to a double jump if possible. A good place for Simon to be is right under a platform; he can cover the sides with and  and the platform itself with  and. That being said, if Simon managed to be forced onto a platform with an opponent below him, he is in a bad position.

Advantage
Simon's advantage is just as oppressive as his neutral. In particular, his ledgetrapping is extremely good. Simon also has an exceptional combo and setup game, and, while he prefers to ledgetrap, in some situations, Simon can also opt to edgeguard and take stocks that way. This is more detailed in both the Combos and Setplay sections above, but a brief summary/guide will be given here. In advantage, Simon prefers using a slightly different toolkit than in neutral since his opponent now has to respect these specific tools, but Simon can still use the majority of his toolkit in this situation in particular. Instead of Effective Range, these tools are now sorted by situation: Ledgetrap, Edgeguard, and Juggle.

When ledgetrapping, it's important for Simon to cover as many options as possible. It's also important that Simon, when edgeguarding, is certain that the edgeguard will be successful, as a failed edgeguard usually means giving up stage control. This causes Simon's position to drastically change, as his advantage state is as good as his disadvantage is bad.

Antiair, Air-to-Air, and Juggling
Simon's catalog of moves to deal with aerial opponents is fairly decent. As mentioned earlier, is Simon's best juggling tool and directly-up antiair, but he has a lot more. As grounded antiairs, his and  are his go-to options, with the former used as a stationary antiair and the latter as a running antiair. More committal but rewarding, "hard read" options are his that goes straight up and his  that goes in an arc, but, especially in regards to the frame 30, these are much less safe options.

Simon's air-to-air game is also decent. At long distances, and  are his best options. Closer up, Simon's is an alright move to use at frame 8. For catching a prone opponent out of the sky, either as an antiair or an air-to-air, is a good option due to its speed and range, but make sure it hits, or else a brutal punish might be coming Simon's way.

However, in most aerial situations, it's likely that the main flaws of Simon's moves--how thin and fleeting his hitboxes are--will come into play. An opponent with good mobility will be very hard to hit with Simon's whip, so covering the landing with, , and even can work in that scenario.

Disadvantage

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Stages

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Tips and Tricks

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Counterplay

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