Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
This matchup gets messy for Chrom when he runs straight into the tip of Byleth’s spear and bow coverage, because that lets the long-range fighter keep resetting the exact spacing the matchup is supposed to break. Chrom needs to enter with smaller bursts, walk adjustments, and nair pressure that move the weapon placement before the real approach starts.
Once Chrom reaches the inside lane, Byleth’s lower mobility and slower close-range rotation become much more obvious. Nair, fair, and utilt should turn into landing traps and ledgetraps that deny the time Byleth needs to swing the long weapons again.
The frame table shows jab strings, ftilt, utilt, dtilt, dash attack, every smash attack, nair, bair, uair, dair, heavier neutral B, side B, and up B are punishable with OOS Uair (8f) or OOS Nair (9f). By contrast, fair and lighter neutral B charge are much weaker immediate punish windows, so shielding those and swinging back every time only sends the game back to tip range.
The win condition is to make one inside entry erase the range disadvantage for a full advantage state. Staying stage-side and keeping the corner is more reliable than deep offstage plays when Chrom’s own recovery is the bigger structural risk.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Chrom OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 4 | -15 |
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| Jab 2 | 4 | -17 |
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| Jab 3 | 5 | -22 |
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| Rapid Jab | 11 | ** | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 6 | -40 |
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| Forward Tilt | 8 | -15 |
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| Up Tilt | 9 | -15 |
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| Down Tilt | 13 | -14 |
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| Dash Attack | 9 | -26/-23 |
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| Forward Smash | 23 | -31/-27 || -32/-28 || -32/-28 |
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| Up Smash | 13 | -22 |
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| Down Smash | 19/29 | -40/-30 |
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| Neutral Air | 6… | -11/-11/-9 |
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| Forward Air | 12 | -7/-6 |
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| Back Air | 13 | -9/-8 |
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| Up Air | 10… | -12/-11 |
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| Down Air | 22 | -21 |
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| Neutral B | 45/114 | -8/-21 |
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| Side B | Ground: 20 || Air: 21 | Ground: -20/-34 || Air: -16/-35 |
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| Up B | 9(ground) || 10(air) | -35(ground) || **(air) |
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| Down B | 62 | ** | ||
| Grab | 6 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Do not dash in a straight line through spear and bow spacing. Use walk steps, shorter dashes, and nair entry timing to shift the weapon placement first.
- After blocking Jab 1-3, Rapid Jab Finisher, ftilt, utilt, dtilt, dash attack, any smash attack, nair, bair, uair, dair, heavier neutral B, side B, or up B, punish with OOS Uair (8f) or OOS Nair (9f) and keep the close-range advantage rolling.
- Treat fair and lighter neutral B charge as spacing checks rather than automatic punish spots. Hold the inside position and punish the landing or retreat instead.
- Once Byleth is cornered, cover jump, roll, and post-wire landing with utilt, bair, and Up B while staying stage-side.
- Finish stocks by extending ledge pressure and landing traps instead of gambling on deep edgeguards that expose Chrom’s own recovery weakness.
Actions to Avoid
- Running directly into the tipper zone and making Byleth’s range management easy.
- Converting an inside entry into one rushed kill guess instead of the repeated pressure Chrom actually wins with.
- Whiffing after every blocked fair or light neutral B and letting the game reset to long range.
- Overcommitting offstage and turning Chrom’s own recovery into the bigger problem.