SSBU/Sora/Strategy

= Intro =

While everything may not be covered due to a lack of sufficient data or proper theoretical approach to the game, this page will give a general gameplan of what Sora can and should do, as well as counterplay to these options.

= Gameplan =

Mixing Sora's options is "the key" to being successful with him. All moves have their roles, but some moves are less used (like and  due to their inflexible nature.

Advantage
(See the advantage page for additional info)

Disadvantage

 * Sora's disadvantage is not great, as his floaty, slow double jump means he cannot escape out of juggles and the opponents advantage states as other characters can. In addition, because he is floaty, he falls to the ground slower and is easier to keep in disadvantage. His Aerials, although by no means slow, aren't that fast to escape out of pressure and are not always great to land with. While Sora does have a frame 7 counter that can be used against predictable strings, as it does not cover behind him you may find yourself in 50 / 50 situations where you are forced to use an Airdodge and potentially get frame trapped to escape a situation. Sora's Magic, however, can be used to stall himself in the air in case he wants to mix up the time at which he falls at. Going to ledge can sometimes be the best option instead of trying to force yourself out of an opponents advantage state and return to the stage, as he can use drop down Up Air or Fair, or Drop Down or Jump into Magic to potentially take his turn at the ledge.


 * When it comes to getting pressured in shield, Sora has a frame 9 option out of shield in Aerial Sweep. Otherwise, Sora players might use Nair and Up Smash, but both of which are frame 11 and typically will be harder to true punish with.

Stages
Sora has no "bad stages". There is strengths for Sora in stages even with slant layouts or no platforms. A lot of official tournaments have ceased to run slant layouts for a number of reasons, in Sora's case, it is mostly just going to hurt his combo game, but it does open some of his other tech options more like the super slide (Link in the tech tab). The priority of the stages mainly play into Sora's core strengths where you take into account his overall mobility (base attributes and specials) along with his combo game. There are a lot of cases where you should pick stages based on the matchup instead of Sora's strengths as a character, but that does require research that won't get covered in this page. It will get more covered (WIP) in the matchups page.


 * Once you get used to moving with Sora, try interweaving Magic and Combos into your gameplan as you see fit. Don't force it all at once, take it slow and enhance your gameplan instead of changing it.


 * If you need to cycle out Thundaga, be careful that you only cycle when you are in a safe space (offstage or when the opponent cannot dash into you), as bad Thundagas will be punished by good opponents.

Counterplay

 * Just zone him lol
 * If you have characters with good horizontal hitboxes, such as or, you can place active attacks to preemptively cover where Sora wants to get in with Nair. In addition, if your character can quickly get in and do safe, quick shield pressure like , Sora can quickly get overwhelmed and it may be difficult for him to create space and get his Neutral started.