SSBU/Steve/Setplay

Steve

Overview

Combos

Setplay

Tech

Strategy/Counterstrategy

Matchups

Resources

Juggling

Placeholder

Edgeguard

Edgeguarding with Steve is a whole different stance, one that takes time and practice to fully learn. You're best off if you stay within the block grid and avoid having to use elytra. The lynchpin to this whole operation is speed. Steve is deadly and versatile offstage, but is slow, so he needs more time to get ready, and can't quite extend out like other characters can very fast. As such, it's better to edgeguard to make the opponent move in awkward positions or when they have nowhere left to go. It's important to hide your power level as much as possible. A complicated setup that drains resources from the opponent kills just as much as a "random" runoff fair does.

For the most part, you're also going to want to figure out exactly where certain characters falter vs. Steve. It could be good old fashioned block gimping, or an exposed head meaning they're weak to dtilts from above, or not having the resources to go through steve on a block, and instead needing to risk going high. You also want to think about the angle they are sent. Strong hit back air, weak hit forward air, fthrow, and dsmash are all good ways to start low recovery edeguards, where Steve truly shines. Steve is good at edgeguarding because he can stall in certain spots and force the opponnent to act just based on that - And, when steve does commit, he can block cancel and have time to punish. Get creative and keep an open mind! And always remember - hit where they will be, not where they are...

Steve's Options

Offstage Building Dexterity

Building offstage can take a little getting used to due to the fact you have to account for the opponent recovering, as well as be very on point with your execution. Some options include bridging straight out as a mixup vs characters with slow airspeed so you can catch them by surprise with a forward air close the blastzone, or dropping low, than quickly jumping upwards to catch the high recovery you just baited. You can also use this to continue to sweep people offstage after a combo that ends in fair. Fastfall block place and see how they react. If you're on it, you can hit them again and push your advantage even more! Block movement can also be used to bait out aggressive options from the opponent. Especially with lower grade blocks, moving from dropping offstage to back by ledge is very quick and noncommital. If they try to swat at you and miss, you can very quickly get in position to punish with an anvil!

A major reason that offstage building dexterity is important is because Steve has the ability to... just stand there. Simply being in the area that your opponent likes to recover instead of constantly chasing can be a serious pain for them. The

A fast and easy way to set up offstage pressure low is to ledge slip with mining. You should end up two down and two out from ledge, as shown here: [1](https://twitter.com/Sonjo_SSBU/status/1535995379962896384)

To avoid the first block you place offstage being broken quickly due to offstage decay, you must move as soon as the block is placed. It can be horizontally or via jumping, just get off that block ASAP.

Redacious uses a special style of block movement that places 2 blocks 1 down from ledge. These can be used as a quick n' dirty block gimp for low, or as a way to delay recoveries to then react and anvil. If landing on top of the blocks, ledge will be prioritized unless they are facing away or landed on the block outside of ledge grab range

Block Gimping

One of Steve's strongest options in edgeguarding, and can be done either as a vertical wall or horizontal floor. Depending on the character, it can totally shut out their recovery. Reliant on the strength of the block and the stage. Depending on what you pick, they can "ride the wall" to avoid a lot of blocks. The counterplay to this is to drop an anvil to catch them getting close, and then building out from that. They can try and stall, but that's character specific and burns resources. Another way to counter wall riding is to make sure the start of the up b makes contact with blocks. If that happens, wall riding usually won't save them from being gimped. See matchup notes for specific information on how blocks interact with recoveries. Vertical walls can also block gimp certain characters like Donkey Kong, or delay recoveries like Bayonetta's to set up for an anvil followup

D-Tilt

Down tilt is a very good move to use when edgeguarding. Its falling property and long-lasting hitbox makes it great for 2 framing certain recoveries, and combining it with block cancelling makes it perfect for low commitment, relatively large area denial. You can also block cancel down tilt, and if it catches the opponent, combo the cancelled down tilt into a forward air for easy mode edgeguarding. Block cancel dtilt will always combo into a forward air, but it won't start hard spiking until a little after fair starts hard spiking. Otherwise, kb stacking happens to set up a stage spike situation/send at an angle similar to weak fair. Offstage dtilt true combos into powered minecart for kills at mid %, albeit with a big risk of whiffing. Try to get above opponents before the dtilt so it can fall on them. Also consider that the lower grade material you have, the less commital these dtilts are.

Dtilt on ledge is best for when you don't have time to set up blocks or anvil but still want to pressure someone's low recovery. At lower %s (0-30ish) it can combo into fair fair (jab fair on floatier characters) for a kill. If you don't want to risk it you can do weak fair after the dtilt instead. Make sure to time the dtilt earlier, so you can run off instead of being caught in lag and punished if whiffed. Especially after their double jump is gone, down tilt at ledge puts the opponent in a terrible position. Follow up with gold cart to force an option you can then read

If you *do* have time to set up blocks, and the opponent is at a % where dtilt will send into tumble, you can set up blocks one out from ledge for a tech trap. If they miss it, they're as good as dead. This setup actually works better with higher grade materials, so consider using it in MUs like cloud where you really need to worry about having stone walls

Doing a turnaround dtilt at mining ledge slip distance will allow you to snap to ledge after the block breaks, meaning you set up to ledge trump if you miss your attempt to spike a recovery.

Down Smash

Combined with block cancelling and its angle, should pretty much always be death if it connects. However, its horizontal hitbox means you need to be somewhat accurate with when you use it. Down smash is faster than dtilt and can break the block steve is on, making it better for cancels (Especially on higher grade, more commital blocks), but lacks the coverage of dtilt. It's best when you can afford to throw out kill move after kill move, or when the opponent has burned their vertical resources like double jump and would get killed no matter the % if hit by it.

N-Air

Limited use due to its low speed. Ideal as a follow-up for spikes/whiffing a spike to have a spammable hitbox that can gimp weaker recoveries.

SFAir/SBAir

"Nair 2". Unsure how much use they'd have due to their low range, but worth listing for further research.

Forward Air

AMAZING tool for edgeguarding, due to its speed, spike, and TBC. Fine amount of endlag, ideally used as a punish for Steve being able to get close to someone while they recover above him or as a runoff mixup to spike inattentive players. FAir is also more of a precision tool than a coverage tool. Play to them coming to your fair, don't try to fair to them! Weak forward air sends at a decent angle to set up edgeguards (Roughly the same one as strong back air) but has far less damage and kb than back air. If you want to try for a raw FAir spike, make sure to conserve your double jump, stay within the block grid, and stay above your blocks. Messing up can mean gimping yourself or putting yourself in an awful situation. Raw fair spikes should be reserved for when you catch an opponent lacking anyway.

Runoff TBC FAir can be used to spike ledgehangs or attack recoveries trying to go straight up. Requires some timing because wall riding avoids the hitbox

Back Air

Best reserved for when the opponent is being very obvious, BAir is quite laggy offstage in exchange for damage and coverage. Generally, you won't be using it here unless they're recovering high and are exposed, at which point PBR/TBC back air is noteworthy since it can make it possible to still hit someone after they try to go high above a Steve on block offstage. Other options are faster and better at targeting weak points of recoveries. Onstage, weak back air is great to catch high recoveries, but doesn't send at a very low angle. Strong BAir sets up well for edgeguards. Weak BAir is the first 2 active frames of the move, and strong BAir is the last 3 active frames

Rod Dropping

If Steve sets up a 2 high above ledge and grabs, fishing rod will drop straight down about the same arc as dtilt and snag opponents. From here, you can F-Throw. Since they don't get their double jump back, it is a good subsitutute for low recoveries that beat out D-Tilt.

F-Throw

Sets up extremely well for edgeguards, especially around the 90-100% range. Can also be done off a platform tech chase, but that generally sends at a worse angle since it starts higher up

Down Air

Anvil is a good tool to use due to its damage and the fact it goes straight down, but is rather thing and often misses if done raw. Some characters' up b hard lose to anvil, which makes it a checkmate in some cases. Best reserved for checkmate situations to close out stocks or when you know the opponent will be still for a moment beneath ledge. A "weak anvil" will reset the edgeguard, and is best reserved for when you want to hit someone for being obvious, but aren't confident enough to ride the anvil down.

Vs. tether recoveries, you can dash offstage, place a block, and then jump anvil to cause the anvil to fall on them as they grab ledge. Works best on stages where one block off to the side offstage has onstage decay.

Minecart

Can be used as a follow-up or complement to other forms of pressure to force out options. Bailing out of minecart early sends the cart diagonally downward, which can force out options. Can be b-reveresed to make the bailout less costly in terms of positioning. Powered minecart hits like a truck, but is rather thin, so save riding in it for reads

Unpowered minecart can be uased to set up resets if it connects or otherwise force trajectories off of low recoveries/strong BAir/sour FAir that you can then punish. Using it in this way is best for characters who have exploitable low recoveries, like Hero or Luigi. Powered minecart allows you to reach practically all the way to the blast zone, as well as generally set up your minecart pressure faster. Minecart is still best used when you're onstage, however, and you have to be careful not to overextend with it. Being in the area that isn't the block grid after using cart will force a recovery in a lot of situations, which means youi're probably up to get reversaled for overextending. It will rarely be the thing that gets you the crazy kill, especially unpowered cart. Rather, you use it to stuff and force out options you then punish.

Kind of a niche option because in a lot of cases block stalling is a safer, better way to set up for hits.

VS. Low/High Speed Recoveries

Generally, low speed recoveries will be because of airspeed or a lack of fast recovery options. Faster recoveries will involve higher airspeeds or options like quick attack that move quickly. Generally, higher speed recoveries need to be centered on the place they intend to go to beat, and slower recoveries are dependant on the recovery options. There aren't a lot of truly fast recovery moves in the game, but the ones that do exist are rather flexible and require you account for different angle mixups.

Baiting Out Offensive Options

A lot of recoveries have hitboxes, and a lot of characters have methods to make you back off if you get too close to them while edgeguarding. Generally, this can be countered by focusing on targeting the recovery's weak point. Shield on block isnt the best due to offstage decay meaning it only lasts for a moment, and steve doesn't quite have the range to trade with a lot of characters. Be extra aware of characters who get higher reward off of reversaling you, like Falcon/Ganon getting to use their up b again. Getting hit can mean a reversal kill or being put on ledge vs an opponent who has recovered. Don't push your luck unless you're sure it will work out

Low Recoveries

Low recoveries are where Steve truly shines. He has a massive variety of options to poke at his opponent and set up worse and worse situations. More is discussed below.

High Recoveries

Largely where Steve is focused on occupying space. Standing on blocks near ledge and throwing out minecarts can do well to force an option for characters who recover where steve is standing, and if steve connects an up tilt, it can connect into U-Smash for a kill or B-AIr for a kill

Pivot Up tilt in the corner covers the entire upper part of the ledge, so you either force them on stage which you can punish or hit the Up tilt

Super High Recoveries

Seen on characters like R.O.B. and Snake that can extend past ledge and turn things into a juggle situation. See juggling for more info on how to counter these.