Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
Pyra’s raw damage and kill power are huge, but her run speed and move cadence are still slow enough that Byleth can control the pace by staying at spear and sword tip range and making her swing first into empty space. Instead of brawling straight in front of her, Byleth should keep backing up with fair, forward tilt, and Neutral B to pin down landing spots and forward movement, then punish the shield or jump Pyra is forced to choose.
The table shows that forward tilt, down tilt, fair, bair, and dair are all punishable on shield by Up B (9f) or OOS nair (9f), while her jab strings, up tilt, dash attack, smash attacks, and Up B become punishable by grab (10f) and stronger follow-ups. Pyra becomes much heavier once she has to respect shield because she does not have many truly safe pressure tools, so the defense here works best when Byleth is selective about which moves to block rather than constantly trying to escape close range.
Kills are more repeatable when Byleth uses Pyra’s slower landing and linear recovery to push her to ledge, then covers the exits with bair, uair, forward tilt, and charged Neutral B. If Byleth overreaches into Side B or tries to force an answer on deep dair every time, one wrong trade can put him directly into Pyra’s kill windows, so any spot without a clean punish should turn into landing and recovery coverage instead.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Byleth OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 3 | -14 |
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| Jab 2 | 5 | -23 |
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| Jab 3 | 5 | -24 |
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| Rapid Jab | 9/13/17… | — | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 6 | -25 |
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| Forward Tilt | 12 | -10/-9 |
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| Up Tilt | 11 | -19 |
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| Down Tilt | 9 | -11/-9 |
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| Dash Attack | 17 | -18 |
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| Forward Smash | 20 | -34 |
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| Up Smash | 15/17 | -47/-40 |
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| Down Smash | 12/18 | -26/-28/-20/-22 |
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| Neutral Air | 11 | -11/-11 |
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| Forward Air | 11 | -9 |
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| Back Air | 16 | -9 |
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| Up Air | 13 | -4 |
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| Down Air | 17 | -9/-9 |
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| Neutral B | 13/27/33—56/68/78/87/94 | -18 — -11 |
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| Side B | 14/16…74 | ** | ||
| Up B | 13/41 | -48 |
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| Down B | — | — | ||
| Grab | 7 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 12 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 13 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Stay at spear and sword tip range, and use retreating fair, forward tilt, and Neutral B to make Pyra commit to horizontal movement or jumps first.
- After blocking forward tilt, down tilt, fair, bair, or dair, take the guaranteed punish with Up B (9f) or OOS nair (9f) instead of letting Pyra reset.
- After blocking jab strings, up tilt, dash attack, smash attacks, or Up B, cash out with grab (10f), OOS uair (13f), or up smash (13f) whenever spacing allows.
- Build kills through ledge pressure rather than center-stage guesses, using bair, uair, forward tilt, and charged Neutral B to cover ledge jump and neutral getup together.
- When Side B or high aerial drift is not directly punishable, do not force an immediate answer. Cover the next landing or recovery route and deny Pyra the explosive second hit instead.
Actions to Avoid
- Swinging first right in front of Pyra and taking her long-range, high-damage whiff punish head-on.
- Repeating shallow aerial pressure into shield and handing Pyra an easy Up B or up smash punish at point-blank range.
- Trying to challenge every Side B or high landing immediately and getting clipped by the explosion or bair on the way in.
- Overchasing offstage for an early stock and letting Pyra’s recovery hitbox or reversal scramble Byleth’s own stage control.